Minorities comprise 10-20% of the global population in today’s multi-ethnic, multi-national societies. However, they often face serious threats, discrimination, and racism. Therefore, it is crucial to protect the rights of minorities worldwide. Fortunately, nonprofit organizations work to advance minority rights and guarantee their fair representation. So we had to ask: What are the best charities that fight for minorities?

The best charities that fight for minorities are the Latino Community Foundation, The Sentencing Project, and United We Dream. Charities like Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Southern Poverty Law Center advance minority rights to protect the marginalized.

Whether you want to protect minority rights, advocate for policies that support minorities, or fight racial injustice, there is a charity for you. Keep reading to learn more about what the best charities that fight for minorities are all about, how they work, and what your best way would be to contribute.

Here’s What All the Best Charities That Fight for Minorities Have in Common

The charities on this list were chosen based on their impact in protecting minority rights. They are committed to fighting against racism and discrimination toward minorities.

Many of these charities focus on creating safer and more equitable environments for minorities, including people of color, the Latino community, and Asian Americans. 

Other charities provide free legal services to protect targeted minority communities.

Yet they all share a common goal of fighting for minorities. 

These Are the 9 Best Charities That Fight for Minorities in 2024

Below are our favorite charities that fight for minorities (you can click on their link to directly jump to their section in this article):

Best Charities That Fight for Minorities

Latino Community Foundation

The Sentencing Project

United We Dream

Asian Americans Advancing Justice

Southern Poverty Law Center

Center for Constitutional Rights

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

National Urban League

Black Girls Code

(At the end of this article, we’ll also share our six-step approach on how you can select the best charity to support.)

Latino Community Foundation: Helping Latinos Unleash Their Potential

The Latino Community Foundation was founded in 1989 by Sandra Hernandez to increase workplace donations to Latino organizations. Today, they are a statewide nonprofit organization working to improve the health and well-being of Latino households in California.

The Latino Community Foundation has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. They also hold the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.

“We are building a movement of civically engaged philanthropic leaders, investing in Latino-led organizations, and increasing political participation of Latinos in California.”

Latino Community Foundation

The Latino Community Foundation is dedicated to helping Latino individuals and families thrive in the US. For example, they have established the Giving Circle Network, the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the country, who invest in Latino-led organizations that create opportunities for youth and families to thrive. They also provide grants to Latino-led organizations advancing education, health and safety, civic engagement, and youth leadership in communities across California. In addition, they lead multiple campaigns to increase the civic and political participation of Latinos in California.

Since their inception, the Latino Community Foundation has invested over $25 million into more than 375 Latino-led nonprofits in California. They also host the Latino Nonprofit Accelerator, which has assisted 18 organizations with leveraging $7 million in new funding. In addition, they launched one of the most extensive campaigns to mobilize the Latino vote in California, reaching over 31 million Latinos. They also worked to secure California’s highest Latino voter registration rate in history at 73%.

You can donate directly to the Latino Community Foundation through their website. You can also assist them by joining their Giving Circle Network.

The Sentencing Project: Ensuring Voting Rights for All

The Sentencing Project was established in 1986 by Malcolm Young to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Today, they advocate for expanded voting rights and ending extreme sentences, particularly for people of color. 

The Sentencing Project has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. They also hold the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.

“We want to promote effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.”

The Sentencing Project.

The Sentencing Project combats practices that unfairly criminalize, stereotype, and marginalize minorities, particularly people of color. They achieve this by promoting voting rights for minorities with felony convictions. They also fight to end mass incarceration and challenge the ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system fueled by racial injustice. In addition, they create campaigns focused on empowering youth through advocacy and challenging legislation that hinders people of color from accessing their civil rights. 

Since their inception, The Sentencing Project has partnered with 220 state-level and 76 national organizations to expand voting rights for people of color in the US. They also successfully advocated for new legislation that automatically restores voting rights to over 11,000 citizens, including minorities, completing their felony sentence on probation or parole.

You can donate directly to The Sentencing Project through their website. You can also contribute to this nonprofit organization by supporting the Freedom to Vote Act.

United We Dream: Fighting for the Rights of Minorities and Immigrants

United We Dream was established in 2008 by Jose Marantes, Julie Gonzalez, Carlos Saavedra, and Walter Barrientos to train and support immigrant youth to engage the power of their communities. Today, they are the largest immigrant youth-led network in the US, fighting for justice and dignity for all immigrants, especially minorities.

United We Dream has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. They also hold the Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.

“We create welcoming spaces for young people – regardless of immigration status – to support, engage, and empower them to make their voice heard.”

United We Dream

United We Dream strives to end racial violence, patriarchy, systemic racism, and structural oppression. They fight to prevent immigrant families, particularly minorities, from inhumane deportations through advocacy, education, media campaigns, and leadership development. They also run the Deportation Defense Hotline to document inhumane deportations and ill-treatment of immigrant youth, especially minorities. In addition, they organize a 3-week training program to provide economic empowerment to young people from immigrant communities, including mixed-status families, refugees, and people of color.

Since their inception, United We Dream has become the largest immigrant youth-led network reaching over 5 million people, including minorities, every month through advocacy, media, and education. They have over 800,000 members in more than 100 local groups across 28 states in the US. In addition, their deportation defense hotline has received over 1,900 calls tracking rogue law enforcement and inhumane deportations of undocumented immigrants, particularly minorities.

You can donate directly to United We Dream through their website. You can also assist them by joining their petitions and campaigns. 

Asian Americans Advancing Justice: Advancing Human and Civil Rights for Asian Americans

Asian Americans Advancing Justice was founded in 1991 by the Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus to protect the human and civil rights of Asian Americans. Today, they are a non-profit legal aid organization fighting for civil rights and empowering minorities, particularly Asian Americans, to thrive in the US.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. They also hold the Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.

“We fight for civil rights and empower Asian Americans to create a more just America for all.”

Asian Americans Advancing Justice

Asian Americans Advancing Justice raises awareness about racism and discrimination against minorities, especially Asian Americans, through their Stand Against Hatred platform. Moreover, their Anti-Racial Profiling Project offers resources for immigrant scientists and researchers affected by governmental agencies’ targeting and profiling. In addition, their Value Our Families campaign reduces family immigration backlogs and promotes the timely reunification of immigrant families.

Since their founding, Asian Americans Advancing Justice has raised awareness about and promoted equal protection for minorities. For example, in 2021, they conducted 168 presentations and press conferences, spreading awareness about minority rights to over 28,000 people. They have also completed 220 training sessions for over 100,000 people across the US and Puerto Rico, empowering them to intervene safely and stand up to hate. Through citizenship workshops organized by their New Americans Campaign, they simplify the immigration process for 97,000 Asian immigrants annually. 

You can donate directly to Asian Americans Advancing Justice through their website. You can also support them by joining their Community Partner Network.

Southern Poverty Law Center: Fighting Hate. Seeking Justice.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 by Morris Dees and Joseph Levin Jr to advance the civil rights movement. Today, they continue to fight for the most vulnerable and discriminated against members of society, including minorities, immigrants, asylum-seekers, and detainees.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. They also hold a Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.

“To protect the rights of immigrants and their children to ensure they are treated with dignity and fairness.”

Southern Poverty Law Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center protects the rights of minorities, particularly immigrants and their families, to ensure they are treated with dignity and fairness. They do this by providing legal representation to help immigrants get justice. They also work to reveal abuse and discrimination in the immigration system against minorities and file lawsuits against such abuses. In addition, they advocate for a fairer deportation process that considers each immigrant’s case on its merits. The organization also works to reunite immigrant families separated at the American border.

Since their founding, the Southern Poverty Law Center has become a network of over 100 lawyers and advocates providing pro bono legal services to minorities across 4 immigration detention centers in the US. For example, in 2019, they filed a lawsuit against the American Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to represent 100 Latin American workers detained based on their perceived ethnicity and immigrant status.

You can donate directly to the Southern Poverty Law Center through their website. You can also contribute by starting a fundraiser for the organization.

Center for Constitutional Rights: Utilizing Law as a Positive Force for Social Change

The Center for Constitutional Rights was established in 1966 by William Kunstler and Arthur Kinoy to fight structural racism and gender oppression. Today, they are a nonprofit legal and advocacy organization dedicated to fighting for social justice and liberating minorities.

The Center for Constitutional Rights has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator.

“We fight for a world without oppression where people can achieve justice and guarantee the rights of all.”

Center for Constitutional Rights

The Center for Constitutional Rights advances and defends the constitutional and human rights of minorities and communities under threat. They do this by providing free legal services to minorities and immigrants without access to justice. They also challenge and campaign against local and federal discriminatory policing, profiling, racial injustice, and torture of minorities. 

Since their founding, the Center for Constitutional Rights has spent decades fighting xenophobia, settler colonialism, and racist oppression. For example, in 2020, they ensured the passage of the Safer New York Act to hold the New York police accountable for brutality and anti-Black policing.

You can donate directly to the Center of Constitutional Rights through their website. You can also support them by volunteering.

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: Securing Human Rights for All

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) was founded in 1974 by Margaret Fung to promote and protect the civil rights of Asian Americans. Today, they are a national organization working with Asian American communities across the US to secure minority rights by combining litigation, advocacy, and education. 

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund holds a Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.

“The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund focuses on critical issues affecting Asian Americans, including immigrant rights, voting rights and democracy.”

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is dedicated to advancing the rights of minorities, particularly the AAPI community. They educate immigrant community members on their legal rights and provide them with professional legal representation. Through their #StopAsianHate Project, they offer legal advice and direct assistance to anti-Asian violence and harassment victims. In addition, they offer community education, support, and legal representation to immigrant communities on land use and environmental justice issues through their Housing & Environmental Justice Project. 

Since their founding, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund has litigated numerous cases that have significantly impacted minorities. For example, in David v. Signal, they obtained $14 million in punitive and compensatory damages for immigrant Asian workers who had been victims of human trafficking, discrimination, and forced servitude by their employers. They also filed a complaint on behalf of 35 Vietnamese and Spanish-speaking students and their parents for failing to meet their language needs, thus reducing the quality of their education.

You can donate directly to the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund through their website. You can also support them by volunteering for translation, pro bono, and outreach support.

National Urban League: Empowering Communities. Changing Lives.

The National Urban League was created in 1910 by George Edmund Haynes and Ruth Standish Baldwin to uplift and empower Americans. Today, they are a civil rights organization advocating for economic and social justice for minorities and against racial discrimination in the US.

The National Urban League has a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator. They also hold the Silver Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.

“We want to help African-Americans and others in underserved communities achieve their highest true social parity, economic self- reliance, power, and civil rights.”

National Urban League 

The National Urban League provides economic empowerment, educational opportunities, and the guarantee of civil rights for minorities in America. For example, they organize initiatives to ensure that all Americans, especially minorities, have equal rights and responsibilities to participate in democracy and civic processes fully. In addition, they increase access to public education for Black and Brown students, urban students, and marginalized students in the US. 

Today, the National Urban League improves the lives of 2 million people, including minorities, annually in 300 communities across 37 states. For example, in 2021, they enrolled 198 marginalized individuals into their tech job program and 136 people into a local apprenticeship program to help them make a living. Also, through Project Ready, an initiative that addresses the issues facing marginalized youth, they achieved a 54% college enrollment rate with 2,000 enrolled students.

You can donate directly to the National Urban League through their website. You can also contribute to the charity by joining their digital community.

Black Girls Code: Promoting Racial Equality by Empowering Women of Color

Black Girls Code was founded in 2011 by Kimberly Bryant to empower young, Black women in STEM-related fields. Today, they are a non-profit organization that provides technology education for African-American girls.

Black Girls Code has a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator. 

“We want to provide Black girls access to engaging computer programming education that sparks their interest in technology, unlocks their potential.”

Black Girls Code

Black Girls Code promotes racial equality by providing minority young women with the skills necessary to succeed in tech industries. For example, they offer training courses to help African-American young women build and develop technical skills to compete in the STEM fields. They also organize hack-a-thons to allow girls of color to flex their technical knowledge using the skills gained from their programs.

Since their inception, Black Girls Code has reached over 20,000 Black girls across the US, equipping them for a career in technology. For example, in 2022, they helped 4,317 girls of color gain the skills needed to break into the tech industry.

You can donate directly to the Black Girls Code through their website. You can also support them by volunteering.

How Can You Select the Best Charities to Support?

The charities on the list are, we deem, the best charities that fight for minorities. However, you may have a particular charity you want to support. Let’s look at what you can do to ensure your contribution has the most significant impact.

• Check out the charity website. Charities that are worthy of your donations are transparent in their mission and their figures. Familiarise yourself with their history, mission, and values. Their website usually is the best place to start.
• Identify the charity’s mission. Without a goal, the charity is likely to fail. If the charity’s mission isn’t clear, it’s probably worth looking for a charity that does have a clear mission. 
• Check if the charity has measurable goals. An effective charity has clear goals. You want to know your donation will help the charity reach its goals. But if it doesn’t have targets, it’s likely to fail or squander your gift. The charity should be able to account for its spending and supply evidence of the work they do.
• Assess the successes or goals the charity has achieved. You wouldn’t invest in a business if it kept missing its targets. In the same way, charities are like this too. If no one is assessing a charity’s progress in reaching its targets, the chances are they’re not making a substantial positive change.
• Check the charity’s financials and stats. Trustworthy organizations will publish financial statements and reports each year. Some might be exempt from having to do so, but they should be able to provide them to public members who are interested in donating.
• Locate sources who work with or benefit from the charity. Word of mouth and first-hand experience of a charity’s work lets you know the charity’s quality. If you’re able to do so, check out the charity for yourself or speak to someone familiar with it. This way, your donation will go to the right place. 

How Can You Best Support These Charities?

After you’ve made your decision, it’s time for you to decide on how you’d like to help the charities you’ve chosen. Check how you can help – each charity runs specific programs that have unique aims. Find out what the aim of such programs is and whether they are right for you. 

Here are a few ways you can help your chosen charity:

• Donate money. You can find donation pages on the website of most charities. Your donation can be a one-time payment, or you can set it to be deducted regularly at different intervals. You can mostly pay via credit card, but some charities also take PayPal or Bitcoin payments.
• Buy their official merchandise. The charities can also raise money by selling merchandise. So, you can support them by buying the mugs, shirts, caps, pens, pencils, and any other such items they may be selling. Ideally, you should buy as much as you can to share and spread the word about the charity’s activities.
• Engage in volunteer work. As you’ve seen from our descriptions above, some charities engage in a lot of local and grassroots programs. You can help by taking on and organizing the program in your local area.
• Help their fundraising efforts. You can spread the word about the charity in your workplace, school, church, etc., and hold creative fundraising drives on social media or offline within your small circles.
• Share their stories. Most charities have compelling stories that you can share with your audience to attract more people to the cause.

Final Thoughts

Now it is up to you to select the charity that resonates most with you. And whichever charity you end up choosing and contributing to, we are sure that they will immensely appreciate your support. Hopefully, the information within this article has made this selection process a bit easier for you to support charities dedicated to minorities – based on the causes that matter most to you.

Stay impactful,

PS: Finally, I want to leave you with a thought-provoking TED talk from Dan Pallotta, a leading philanthropic activist and fundraiser, about what is wrong with the way we think about charities – and what we can do about it:

Sources

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