Best Charities to Donate to for Children
With so many worthy organizations tackling an endless array of problems, it can be extremely difficult to choose which charity to support. This guide aims to help you think through your decision so you can give with confidence.
The best charities to donate to: How to decide?
When trying to decide which charity to donate to, start with some personal reflection. Which causes do you care most about? What problems do you most wish to solve? Then identify the organizations that are actively addressing those issues. Look at mission and program reach. Check for financial transparency. Which ones are holding themselves accountable for results — and can show real impact?
The case for donating to UNICEF
With a presence in over 190 countries and territories — and an 80-year history of being in the right place at the right time — UNICEF is ideally suited to meet the challenges of today, as more and more children and families are caught in conflicts, climate disasters and other crises.
For decades, UNICEF has upheld children’s rights to clean water, nutritious food, health care, education and the basic freedoms we can’t imagine children living without. UNICEF won't stop addressing the world's toughest problems until every child has the childhood they deserve.
UNICEF: Best charity* to address climate risks for children
UNICEF works to keep climate change top of mind for governments and policymakers, believing it to be one of the most critical issues facing children today. The rise in climate-related disasters and extreme weather makes this work increasingly important. While children contribute the least to climate change, the most marginalized children are the ones hardest hit by its impacts.
UNICEF works to protect children from climate shocks by providing clean, safe water and sanitation, medicine to combat waterborne diseases and other emergency medical supplies as well as educational programs so that in the event of a hurricane, flood, earthquake or other emergency, children don’t fall too far behind in their learning. UNICEF also promotes education on environmental issues to empower children to become champions of the environment they will inherit.
Learn more about children's climate risks — and UNICEF's response to the climate crisis
*UNICEF is an agency of the United Nations and relies entirely on voluntary donations from governments and other public- and private-sector donors, including individuals. UNICEF USA is a registered 501(c)(3) dedicated to supporting UNICEF's mission through advocacy, education and fundraising. Donations to UNICEF USA for UNICEF are tax-deductible.
UNICEF: Building foundations for peace
Today, the number of countries with violent conflicts is the highest it has been in 30 years. More than 1 in 5 children in the world are currently living in or fleeing from active conflict zones. Attacks on schools and health facilities in war-torn places like Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen have disproportionately harmed children.
For 80 years, UNICEF has looked after the children forced to live in some of the world's most dangerous places. When fighting destroys children's homes, schools and the community spaces they need to stay healthy and safe, UNICEF steps in to provide clean water, health care, nutrition, protection and learning opportunities, working to ensure equitable access to these essential services and build resilience. UNICEF's approach helps foster the peace and stability children need to recover and go on to reach their full potential.
Learn more about why UNICEF is one of the best disaster relief organizations to donate to
UNICEF: Committed to protecting children's health
Every day, more than 13,000 children die before reaching age 5 — yet most of these deaths can be prevented.
Meanwhile, close to 50 million children are displaced and on the move, facing serious threats to their health and safety, and jeopardizing their futures.
UNICEF does whatever it takes to protect children’s health, employing tried-and-true interventions like immunization against diseases we can prevent. As the world's largest single vaccine buyer, UNICEF procures and distributes more than 2 billion doses annually for routine immunization campaigns and outbreak response — enough to vaccinate roughly 45 percent of the world's children under 5.
UNICEF also works worldwide to educate parents about the importance of vaccines, answering frequently asked questions and countering misinformation and disinformation.
Learn more about how UNICEF supports children's health
Charities for Children: A child protection focus
Giving to charities that manage child protection cases is one of the best ways to donate in support of children. Grave violations of children's rights are at an all-time high, and they occur in every country, cutting across ethnic and economic lines. Every year, more than half of all children experience some form of violence. One in 8 children regularly experience severe physical
punishment in their home, and an estimated 90 million children alive today have experienced sexual violence.
Protecting the world’s children from violence, exploitation, abuse and other harmful practices is core to UNICEF’s mandate in both development and humanitarian settings. UNICEF strengthens child protection by working with governments to develop policies that address the risks to children, promoting legislative protections and working on the ground to help children who’ve been assaulted, abused, exploited, trafficked or separated from their parents.
UNICEF helps girls whose families' economic pressures have nearly sacrificed them to child marriage. When schools close and families fall deeper into poverty, UNICEF strengthens child-protection systems to combat child labor.
In 2025 alone, UNICEF and partners reached 10 million children and women with gender-based violence prevention, risk mitigation and response interventions. Close to 54 million children and caregivers were reached with mental health and psychosocial support services.
Best charity to donate to when you want to give safe water
Globally, 3.4 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation services, and 1.7 billion lack access to basic handwashing facilities with soap and water. While service coverage has expanded in recent years, progress remains uneven. Deep inequalities persist, as climate-related shocks continue to intensify existing vulnerabilities.
Donating to support UNICEF’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs is a great way to move the needle on these issues and make a significant impact for children and the communities where they live.
Programs that help children and families maintain good hygiene are another truly cost-effective way to ward off disease and keep everyone in good health. Access to with soap and water to support handwashing reduces cases of diarrheal disease by 30 percent and acute respiratory infections by 17 percent.
UNICEF works with governments, community-based organizations and families to ensure children and their families have clean water and sanitation — even during emergencies. UNICEF also improves sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools, which helps keep students healthy and their attendance up.
In 2025, 34 million people gained access to safe water, over 17 million gained access to at least basic sanitation services, and over 15 million gained access to basic hand hygiene services thanks to UNICEF.
Learn more about UNICEF's safe water projects
Improving child nutrition with UNICEF
Children can’t survive without proper nutrition, both before they are born and after. Despite some progress closing nutrition gaps, child malnutrition remains a persistent problem, affecting an estimated 1 in 5 children globally. When a child is not well nourished, they face higher risks of infection and disease and potentially lasting effects on their health and development. Children who are malnourished also have trouble learning, which can keep them from reaching their full potential.
UNICEF's strategy for improving child nutrition includes a range of interventions from providing emergency treatment for life-threatening cases of severe wasting to preventing malnutrition in the first place.
UNICEF safeguards nutrition from a child's first day of life by promoting breastfeeding, their first and best protection from illness and disease. UNICEF also provides pregnant women and children with nutritional supplements and vitamins to keep babies and moms healthy before and after birth.
UNICEF works hard to prevent the conditions that can tip a malnourished child into crisis. But for those who do become severely malnourished, UNICEF has the answer: ready-to-use therapeutic food, which can literally bring a child back to life.
Learn more about UNICEF's child nutrition work
Protecting every child's right to an education
If you care about education, UNICEF works in 155 countries to give the most marginalized children the chance to learn. What's more, supporting education is one of the smartest investments one can make to improve a child's life, while also breaking the cycle of poverty that can grip a family for generations.
Even one additional year of education can increase a child’s earnings later in life by 10 percent. For that reason alone, supporting education is one of the most meaningful ways to donate to children.
Education is also crucial to empowering girls, who all too often don’t get their fair chance to learn. The dramatic reductions in child mortality between 1970 and 2009 are attributed in large part to the education of girls and young women.
An estimated 273 million children and young people are out of school worldwide today, concentrated in the poorest and most fragile places, with conflict as a major driver of exclusion. For kids who are in school, learning itself is often out of reach: globally, 6 in 10 children still do not reach minimum proficiency in reading and math by the end of primary school.
To ensure that every child and young person can exercise their right to learn, UNICEF works to improve access to and quality of learning, while strengthening education systems to deliver education for every child.
From 2022 thru 2025, nearly 178 million out-of-school children gained access to education through UNICEF-supported programs. From the safe learning spaces in Sudan to the tent schools of Madagascar, UNICEF is helping children build the skills they’ll need to forge a better future.
Learn more about UNICEF's education programs
Empowering girls and women through charitable donations
Discrimination against girls can begin at birth. Infant girls are often deprived of both medical care and nutritious food, a dangerous form of discrimination that has contributed to higher mortality rates for girls. Girls’ perceived inferiority in some cultures can also limit their ability to go to school, live free from violence, make autonomous decisions about their lives and later earn enough income to support themselves and their children.
When poverty and inequality grows, essential services like health care, education and protection are disrupted. This is especially threatening for girls. Negative coping mechanisms expose girls to child marriage and other forms of abuse and exploitation.
UNICEF works with partners to mitigate these risks, working especially hard to ensure girls have equal opportunities to access education and to end child marriage and other harmful practices.
Learn more about how UNICEF supports girls' education and protect their rights
How do I find out if a charity is legitimate?
Before you write a check or provide your credit card details, you'll want to make sure the charity is legitimate. Doing your research will help you feel good about making your charity donations, especially if you are looking to make your gift monthly.
Below are a few research tools to help you choose reputable charities to donate to:
Four tools for finding the best charities to donate to that help children:
IRS Nonprofit Charities Database: Enter the name of any charity you wish to check out into the site's Exempt Organizations Select Check Tool to ascertain its 501(c)(3) tax exemption status, which will tell you whether or not your donation will be tax-deductible.
Charity Navigator: This organization rates charities based on their financial health, accountability and transparency to help prospective donors gauge how efficiently a charity will use their support, its programs' and services' performance over time, and the charity's commitment to accountability and transparency.
UNICEF USA receives the highest ratings for accountability and transparency from Charity Navigator, and our program expense ratio of 84 percent means we are a highly efficient charity, as defined by independent monitors.
Learn more about UNICEF USA's charity watchdog ratings
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance: BBB rates organizations according to 20 metrics, including governance and oversight, effectiveness, finances, solicitations and informational materials. Compliance with each standard earns charities one point. Organizations receiving BBB accreditation — like UNICEF USA — score a perfect 20.
This story may also help you when deciding what is the best charity you can donate to to help children.
Learn why donating monthly works best
HOW TO HELP
There are many ways to make a difference
War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.
Would you like to help give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential? There are many ways to get involved.
