Get yer philanthropy on

Stumped for holiday gift giving ideas? Here are three organizations where you can donate in honor of someone you love:

Women for Women International -- Double your philanthropic power: Any donations given through the end of 2006 will be met by matching funds from someone who is apparently very rich. Or buy something from the org's bazaar. This is my one splurge for charity on my limited funds, and I've sponsored (and communicated with) several Afghan women in the past few years.

Heifer International -- Trapped in the hospital last holiday season, I found a surprising amount of joy in knowing bees, rabbits, and part of a goat had been provided for someone in my name. Not just a charity program, this is an educational system that gives communities ecologically appropriate opportunities, one family at a time.

Whirlwind Wheelchair International -- Ralf Hotchkiss has been working on designing wheelchairs for use by individuals in developing countries since the 1970s and his approach is different than other charities that seek to donate Western-made chairs. WWI teaches local disabled people in 45 countries to build their own wheelchairs, providing a continuing resource for the inevitable repairs all chairs eventually need. There are other organizations that build wheelchairs with plastic patio chairs attached to wheels or collect broken-down used chairs that may not suit the environments they're sent to. WWI considers each disabled individual, allows for custom needs, and creates economic opportunity (often for disabled women) instead of drowning the local market with free chairs. Here's the donation page.