Gateses Suggest 5 Tech-Savvy Ways to Give This Holiday Season

Gateses Suggest 5 Tech-Savvy Ways to Give This Holiday Season

Bill and Melinda Gates are often asked how individuals can help with the work the Gates Foundation does. While the foundation isn't seeking donations -- it operates on the Gates family wealth -- Bill and Melinda have suggested five worthy non-profits whose work they admire.

In their joint Impatient Optimists blog post on the foundation's website, Bill and Melinda offer some holiday giving suggestions:

"This holiday season, we decided to list several of the charity initiatives that have sparked our interest. Each of these projects takes a different approach, but they have three things in common: they’re innovative, committed to transparency and accountability, and they’re getting good results."

Here are their five picks:

• Catapult: This just-launched crowdfunding site helps organizations raise money for initiatives combating gender inequality.
• Charity: water: In the past 6 years, this non-profit has contributed $75 million toward building freshwater wells, rainwater catchments and biosand filters to bring clean water to the 800 million people living without access to it.
• Donors Choose: Donors Choose is a forum for U.S. teachers to request supplies, from crayons to science lab equipment. All donations to STEM projects during the holiday season with be matched when you enter the code HOLIDAY at checkout.
• Gifts That Give: This for-profit retailer contributes 20% of your sale to the charity of your choice.
• Care: All of the proceeds from sales from the winner of a recent crowdsourced T-shirt design competition with Threadless will go toward helping women and children's health and education, through the support of Gates Foundation funding.
Bill and Melinda encourage you to investigate these and other charities onCharity Navigator and GreatNonprofits.