If you have/ plan to make handmade items that you want to donate, I recommend checking with the smaller non-profits in your area. They tend to be more open to these types of donations. For example: My mom and her class of inner-city high school kids knit some stuffed toys with the intention to send them to AIDS orphans in South Africa. But when that fell through I was able to arrange that they go to an agency that I work with who serves families living with HIV. The local agency was thrilled to get them.