Give a shout-out to your favorite Charlotte charity

We'll highlight readers' recommendations

Help us identify local nonprofits worthy of support

We’re publishing a list with readers’ charity recommendations after Thanksgiving

The end of the year is approaching, a time when people traditionally open their wallets and donate to the charities they value. About 1/3 of all charitable giving takes place in December.

This year, for the sixth year in a row, The Charlotte Ledger is going to help give some recognition to hardworking local charities that are laboring under often-difficult conditions to make Charlotte a better place. And when it comes time for people to donate, maybe they will learn about a few they didn’t know about — and direct some of their money to local nonprofits that could use it.

Local charities that readers have suggested supporting in the past have included (clockwise from upper left) The Independent Picture House, the Trail of History, Mitchell's Fund and Claire’s Army.

Here’s how it will work:

1. If you are a member of The Ledger’s community of paying subscribers — and if you’re receiving this email from us, you are — we invite you to send us a note using the button below and tell us, in 50 words or fewer, what local charity you support with your money or your time, and why.

2. Ledger members may turn in one submission per person. Also, the charities have to be local or have some connection to North or South Carolina. The deadline is next Wednesday, Nov. 26.

3. We will send out the full list of reader submissions in a special edition of The Ledger after Thanksgiving. (You can see last year’s list here.) It will have your name attached to it (no anonymous entries). The newsletter will be sent to our full list of 29,000+ Charlotte residents. We know that our readers are sharp and well-informed, and some of them are probably also wealthy and influential. We’ll also promote it on social media.

If you work for a nonprofit, here’s your chance to tell people about the positive work you are doing.

If you donate or volunteer for one, tell people why. Maybe they’ll join you.

Membership has its privileges: This is yet another benefit of joining the community of Ledger subscribers. We like to think we do a good job of providing Charlotte with original, local news and insights. But we’re also working to build a community of people who care about our city and want to see it succeed. That’s why we promote things like this, hold our annual 40 Over 40 Awards and, of course, publish this newsletter.