Every year, I donate to a few organizations I believe in, and donate to walk/run/bike/swim/sitnspin to cure cancer/aids/ms/chickenpox campaigns for friends.
A few of my favorite and regular recipients:
American Civil Liberties Union Electronic Frontier Foundation Sierra Club Earth Justice Mother Jones Investigative Fund Friends of Black Rock City Natural Resources Defense Council San Francisco Bike Coalition UCSC Alumni Association Santa Cruz Hillel Foundation Center for Biological Diversity Doctors Without Borders Public Citizen Environmental Action Burners Without Borders Black Rock Arts Foundation Democratic National Committee KQED