Charitable Giving: Due Diligence

A decision to contribute to a charity tends to be driven by our familial affiliation with the organization.

But how do you know you’re getting the best ‘bang’ for your buck?

How do you know that the contribution you’re making is primarily going towards the intended end result (e.g. education, health, shelter) instead of the organization’s overhead?

Two sites to utilize for conducting your due diligence:

GiveWell 

Charity Navigator

And, for research in general about the state of philanthropy, UPenn has a group working at the intersection of  social policy and business, leading to the goal of more effective giving.

University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy

Your goal when giving is to optimally impact the end result, not the organization’s overhead.

These resources will help you to gain that by educating you on the organizations you are interested in and by providing you with related quantitative research.