1:1 aid is lovely. If no one in the neighborhood has $ to help, sometimes you need a larger neighborhood. There are lots of great not-for-profits which help keep the burden off the state budget.
If we presume all charity are corrupt, that's still 50% of your donation going to help someone instead of a hideous campaign flyer...so I guess if I had to pick, I'd still roll with a charity. However, most are not corrupt and sincerely work to help.