I also recommend consulting the annual report of a non-profit organization. Does it inspire you? Does he seem to have a sense of mission, courage, boldness, or is he cautious and formulaic? See Invisible Children, Share our Strength and the charity Water for examples of organizations that are inspirational, including their materials. However, in general, don't just trust a website. 55 percent of employees would choose to work for a socially responsible company even if the salary were lower.
However, it can be intimidating to know how to choose the best charity when there are thousands of worthy causes to choose from, and especially when the world is recovering from a massive pandemic and economic crises that continue to cause suffering around the world. Bringing a cold and tough business sense to the management of charities can help transform the philanthropic landscape for everyone and for the better, Pallotta says. He found that they were all very effective, but they also cost much more than the best foreign charities. Employees may have a charity very close to their heart, so opening the word and allowing them to contribute suggestions is a great way to discover new charities and potentially find a cause worth supporting.
Volunteering can be an option, especially for local charities that don't have the overhead for administrative functions and daily operations like those of their larger counterparts. As you frequently write about philanthropy, outsourcing your donations to GiveWell prevents you from donating directly to specific major charities that you could cover in the future, as does investing in index funds to avoid conflicts of interest when writing about certain companies. There are a lot of charities to choose from that support a wide range of people with varied needs, so finding the right one can be overwhelming at first. GiveWell also supports innovative interventions, but through its All Grants Fund, not its main charitable fund.
That's why charities have development departments to encourage and establish relationships with donors. It's very difficult to adequately express how much richer developed countries, such as the United States, are than developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda and other countries attacked by GiveWell's most effective charities. GiveWell chose those charities based on the benefit that each additional donation would have, not necessarily on how good the groups are in general; in other words, these are organizations that can use new funds, instead of keeping them. Donating to charities nationwide is commendable, and many people feel it's right to give first to the communities in which they live.
Years ago, GiveWell researched several American charities, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership program for babies, the charter school chain KIPP and the HOPE job training program. Animal charities, especially those that participate in corporate pressure campaigns to improve the treatment of farm animals, in particular chickens, can be effective in improving animal welfare.
