In 1985, New York City business executive George MacDonald was horrified to learn that a homeless woman he knew had been forced to leave Grand Central Station, and froze to death in the cold on Christmas Eve. In honor of the woman simply known as “Mama,” he decided to establish a nonprofit organization called “The Doe Fund,” dedicated to empowering homeless people to find work and become self-sufficient.

In the Doe Fund’s groundbreaking program, “Ready, Willing, & Able,” MacDonald bought an abandoned building from the city, and secured a city contract to hire and train people to renovate it. He and his wife then visited every men’s shelter in the city, offering the homeless men work in construction, as long as they were willing to stay away from drugs and show up every day. Hundreds of men showed up for the training, and despite the odds, they far surpassed the city’s expectations. Though the city later cut the budget for the work contract, the program adapted by creating jobs in street cleaning and food preparation. In the program’s final phase, participants receive training in job hunting and interviewing. The average pay for a graduate is $9.45 an hour—almost double minimum wage.

Since its start, the Doe Fund’s “Ready, Willing, & Able” program has successfully helped 3,300 graduates get off the streets and find legal paying work. A donation to the Doe Fund could give a homeless person the opportunity to show what he can do when someone believes in him.

Habitat for Humanity is working to end homelessness from the ground up—literally.

Since its 1976 founding, this Christian nonprofit group has grown into a large international organization responsible for building more than 250,000 houses around the world, providing low-cost housing to more than 1 million people who may otherwise remain homeless indefinitely. The organization relies on the donation of construction materials, financial donations from supporters, and labor from volunteer construction workers—including former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who spends a week every year volunteering with Habitat for Humanity internationally. A donation to Habitat can help the organization purchase a new roof to keep a poor family warm and dry inside their brand-new home.

Do you think it’s possible to end homelessness within a single decade? It may sound like an overly ambitious challenge, but the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) believes it can happen.

In 2000, they released a Ten Year Plan to end homelessness, based on extensive research on numerous communities’ successful strategies to reduce homelessness. Since the plan’s release, more than 300 towns and cities have used their advice to combat homelessness—and so far, 180 communities have eradicated the problem of homelessness.

The NAEH is deeply committed to researching the issues that surround homelessness, and working with communities, nonprofits, and lawmakers to create programs that will bring an end to the crisis. A donation to this influential group will support education and advocacy measures that will create sustainable social change for those without shelter.

America’s war veterans may be hailed as heroes in the history books—but real life offers a starkly different story. When you see a homeless man on the street begging for change, or waiting in line at a soup kitchen, chances are high that he once served in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, or another foreign war: veterans account for nearly 25 percent of all homeless people in America.

The National Coalition of Homeless Veterans (NCHV) believes that we should serve the soldiers who served our country. The organization works with hundreds of local nonprofits and federal agencies to help them provide basic necessities like food, shelter, counseling, and job training services to homeless war veterans. The NCHV, which is nationally recognized as the leading authority on issues facing homeless veterans, also provides education and advocacy to publicize the cause. A donation to the NCHV will help to raise awareness for the plight of homeless veterans, and to solicit support for those who’ve sacrificed so much for their own government.

Our nation’s capital, Washington, DC, has the highest rate of homelessness in the entire country. Nearly 12,000 people can’t count on a bed to sleep in each night, and children make up more than 25 percent of the city’s homeless population. In a city that’s intended to represent America’s best, we’re falling far short of the mark.

But since 1970, an interfaith nonprofit group called So Others Might Eat (SOME) has been working to provide essential services to Washington, DC’s destitute and homeless population. The organization supplies homeless and poor people with free meals, clothing, shelter, medical care, counseling, job training, and a wealth of other services intended to help them break the cycle of poverty. By making a contribution to SOME, you can help ensure that many of DC’s neediest residents will be given the opportunity to get back on their feet.