So Where Should Your Money Go?

In answering this question, you may consider the following:

How much suffering might your dollars prevent? How much human death? How much of your donation actually benefits those in need? (See the excellent Charity Navigator for capital efficiency ratings.) Does this cause hit close to home? Are there hidden consequences to your donation (e.g. animal testing in ALS research)? Fun is not the same as need. You can have as much fun as you like with ice buckets and still give to any charity of your choosing.

Based on the ratio of deaths to donations, as well as death rank versus donation rank, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Diabetes, and Suicide are the most urgent causes.