For several years I've preferred people give to charity rather than give me Christmas or birthday gifts. This year I may also just donate rather than give gifts to anyone, up to and including my husband. I hope no one takes this as a sign that I don't care about them.

Some recent recommendation lists come from BoingBoing, Jed (from last year), and Charity Navigator's guide to holiday giving. The charities that really speak to me this year are about freedom, sex, and science fiction:

• The ACLU, which is at least trying to hold Obama's feet to the fire on civil liberties. Charity Navigator gives them four stars. Incidentally, there's an "American Civil Rights Union" founded in 1998 that gets one star.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation, also four stars, probably the charity closest to my heart.
• The Sylvia Rivera Law Project comes recommended by my awesome lawyer Danielle Sucher. Its mission: "Fighting Discrimination against Gender Non-Conforming People: Focusing on People of Color and Poor People." (SRLP is not yet on Charity Navigator, but is on GuideStar.) I welcome further recommendations for charities that serve the transgender community specifically and well. I know there are a lot of fine LGBT organizations but this year I am particularly interested in the last letter.
• Scarleteen, sex ed for young'uns who can't get it any other way. As that page explains, you can give via the 501(c)3 charity Center for Sex and Culture if you want tax-deductibility.
• Strange Horizons (501(c)3, not yet listed in Charity Navigator, transparent about budget, listed on GuideStar). To repeat myself: When I started realizing that they've been publishing quality fiction and nonfiction weekly for more than seven years, paying pro rates, and generally been ahead of every curve I thought I was exploring, I couldn't believe that I hadn't been a fangirl earlier.
• Duotrope's Digest (not a 501(c)3), a writer's resource that lets you slice and dice statistics about markets' responsiveness and acceptance rates.

Leonard, per his request, will probably get a donation to Heifer International or Oxfam. I sometimes also give via DonorsChoose, and other friends have recommended to me several charities including:

• "the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), which operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline as well as a bevy of other really good resources for victims of sexual assault"
• Children's Aid Society "(we appreciate its focus on New York children and families)"
• Immigration Equality (for GLBT immigrants)
• Robin Hood Responds (feeding the hungry in NYC)

(In talking with some people about this, I realized that "what charities are you giving to?" can be an awkward question along the lines of "what books are you reading these days?")

And please don't worry that I'm going all ascetic. I'm getting a huge end-of-year gift already, a free N900 mobile computer, from my bosses. Incidentally, this means I don't need to hunt down a Linux-friendly portable music player, but I do need to look for a guide to the best aftermarket tweaks and apps, along the lines of "Top things to do after installing Ubuntu Linux 9.10 Karmic Koala". Playing .ogg files would be nice.