The major religions extol us to give charity - so what was charity like when their Holy Books were written?

I presume Oxfam and Cancer Research had not been founded yet. I can't imagine Jesus, for example, saying directly give your money to one of the large major charities. He also presumably did not mean give it to an established church, as the churches had not been founded then yet either. He might also have disagreed with any government or secular definition of what a charity might mean. So what do you think he meant? Hand it out to pan handlers or your next door neighbor if he was having a hard time? Do you think he intention would have changed in today's society?