I'm not hot shit in a wineglass, more curried goat in a paper cup

I finally remembered to go look up the Locks of Love hair donation requirements.  Soon.  Soon.  My hair just barely makes ten inches, but it's driving me absolutely batshit, getting in my eyes and tickling my nose.  Everyone else is always, "Oh, it looks so nice long, why do you want to cut it?"  But I don't really get to experience the niceness very much of the time.  Most of the time, because I have to have it tied up for work all I know of it is the pulling on my scalp (and yet it's still in my eyes, tickling around my face and irritating, even though I have it pulled up).  I catch sight of myself in a mirror and, with it all pulled back, I'm just a huge face - the hair might as well not be there.  Between getting home and going to bed I might have it down, but when I go to bed I really need to braid it, or it'll be getting pulled all night, and more gets broken off. 

When it's short it's all curls around my face, I get to run my fingers through it and toss it around - basically, when it's short I get to enjoy it as hair, and show it off. 

The donation requirements don't mention anything about split ends.  If I trim the split ends off it won't make ten inches.  But, I want to give them a good donation, not one they can't use.  What should I do?  Get it trimmed and let it grow a little longer?  Or cut it as is?  A skilled hairdresser might be able to get ten inches out of it.