Thanks for the discussion! They really get you these days with some charities; even if you can look them up; some may be too new to get info on & you always have to keep researching because things change. Look at Komen; they started good & now lost sight of the goal. For Autism; you can also look into places like Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia who has been doing a lot of research. Check out Decoding Autism You can watch the full program at the link Previews on you tube when video is offline- Decoding Autism by Sara Lee Kessler - NJN News Decoding Autism Preview Autism Gene Decoding Autism Behaviors and Ideas for Interventions Early Detection Test for Autism Has anyone donated to Center for Advancement in Cancer Education (CACE) (beatcxancer.org) Guidestar page WIKI link to 501 codes 501(c)(1) Corporations Organized Under Act of Congress (including Federal Credit Unions) 501(c)(2) Title Holding Corporation for Exempt Organization 501(c)(3) Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations 501(c)(4) Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees 501(c)(5) Labor, Agricultural, and Horticultural Organizations 501(c)(6) Business Leagues, Chambers of Commerce, Real Estate Boards, etc. 501(c)(7) Social and Recreational Clubs 501(c)(8) Fraternal Beneficiary Societies and Associations 501(c)(9) Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations 501(c)(10) Domestic Fraternal Societies and Associations 501(c)(11) Teachers' Retirement Fund Associations 501(c)(12) Benevolent Life Insurance Associations, Mutual Ditch or Irrigation Companies, Mutual or Cooperative Telephone Companies, etc. 501(c)(13) Cemetery Companies 501(c)(14) State-Chartered Credit Unions, Mutual Reserve Funds 501(c)(15) Mutual Insurance Companies or Associations 501(c)(16) Cooperative Organizations to Finance Crop Operations 501(c)(17) Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Trusts 501(c)(18) Employee Funded Pension Trust (created before June 25, 1959) 501(c)(19) Post or Organization of Past or Present Members of the Armed Forces 501(c)(21) Black lung Benefit Trusts 501(c)(22) Withdrawal Liability Payment Fund 501(c)(23) Veterans Organization (created before 1880) 501(c)(25) Title Holding Corporations or Trusts with Multiple Parents 501(c)(26) State-Sponsored Organization Providing Health Coverage for High-Risk Individuals 501(c)(27) State-Sponsored Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Organization 501(c)(28) National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust Here is a link that might be useful: Wiki 501(c) organization guide

One more point. Unless you have specific information from a bona fide chairty requesting something very specific, and you are able to deliver to where it is needed, only donate money. I have seen a lot of silliness and waste in the name of relief efforts. A local school in my old town did a canned food drive, and ended up spending 1500 to get a truck to take it to LA. That's wasteful and inefficient. Or the piles of winter coats (?) that people sent to Tsunami victims. Don't tie up logistical infrastructure and personnel with trying to receive, store, sort and distribute a heterogeneous mound of donated goods. Err on the side of sending money.

To my personal knowledge, Marie, Sloan-Kettering never does the kind of solicitation you note. To support my own experience with this hospital, I did an internet search to prove my statement. Please, see the link below. If you have the time and the interest, I, personally, would contact S-K and report the contacts you've been receiving. If it is, as I suspect, fraudulent, S-K needs to know and to handle this problem. They do wonderful work and anything that threatens their reputation threatens their good work. Anne Here is a link that might be useful: Solicitation Policy

I'm sharing this in the hopes future readers don't feel too guilty about making poor food choices in a time of crisis. when news about Harvey dominated the airways, I promptly went to the store to stock up, I thought that being confined indoors would be a wonderful opportunity to try fancy, healthy recipes I had been wanted to try. I purchased accordingly. Harvey became the monster nobody expected and many, us included, lost all our refrigerated food. When hurricane moved a little away from us, We got busy cleaning for us and neighbors. At the end of each day, there has been little energy left for cooking. Pizzas, Doritos, donuts were welcome sustenance. I vow to get back on track, but went on a junk food regimen out of convenience. I can't imagine any (temporary) shelter focusing on perfect nutritious meals. in fact, in the lessons learned department, I will stock up on easy fast and likely junk food. Grab and go, baby, grab and go.