Many people are thinking about what charities to donate to this time of year. In doing this, a question being considered more often is how can we be most effective in helping the neediest, most marginalized people?
We live in one of wealthiest, most powerful countries in the world. As an illustration, when COVID hit, our government injected trillions in unemployment benefits and other aid. We also have free COVID tests and vaccines easily available.
We’re far from perfect and there are many people in our country who need help, yet the needy in America are very different from those in the developing world. Many of those countries have no unemployment benefits and little access to COVID vaccinations, let alone clean water and access to public schools. Many suffer from preventable illnesses that have been virtually eradicated from our country, such as malaria and tuberculosis.
One of the most common concerns with giving internationally is that many donors aren’t familiar with the charities, so they can’t have confidence that their gifts are having an impact. This was once valid, but now there are charity evaluators, such as GiveWell, that have full-time researchers to identify top charities where donors can get the best bang-for-the-buck. These evaluators make it easy to find very high-impact charities, and it is incredible how much good even small donations can do when they are given to the most effective charities.
This holiday season, I am grateful for my country and community, but when giving to charity, I will donate internationally where it may have a bigger impact.
Eric Friedman
Oak Park
Author of “Reinventing Philanthropy: A Framework for More Effective Giving” www.reinventingphilanthropy.com