Is there a right or a wrong way to give to charity?

In our conversations with clients, we often encounter commonly held assumptions about giving that are often more nuanced than they seem.

Giving to charity can be a very personal matter, and quite a complex one, with minimal information on how to do it well.

This article marks the first in a series that we will be publishing exploring How to Give Well.  The series will address commonly held questions and inspire philanthropists to maximise their giving.

Myth two

Big/small charities are inefficient

The size of an organisation is not always a good indication of the quality of its work; the effectiveness of its programmes is a much better marker. At the same time, bigger charities can have advantages to smaller charities in terms of their power, recognition and economies of scale.

On the flipside, lots of small charities working on the same issue but separately can result in duplication of resources and effort that is also inefficient. Either way, by doing your research on the projects delivered by a charity, you are in a better place to decide where to donate money to. 

Myth four

Organisations working directly with beneficiaries and communities are more effective than those working to affect systems level change

Both approaches can be effective. The question is how you perceive the problem you seek to address, and the change you want to see.

An organisation working directly with communities or beneficiaries can be very specific and targeted, and as a consequence may have a higher chance of success. It may also be easier to measure the impact of their programmes, since the link between the intervention, and the result, will be more direct.

On the other hand, organisations working to create a systemic change by necessity have to work with a wider range of stakeholders.

This type of work is harder to evidence because of the number of stakeholders involved, and the difficulties inherent in changing a system. 

However, if successful, it can also be far more impactful because it would result in a change in policy, or the provision of a service, to a whole group of people as opposed to a specific community. 

Myth five

I don’t have enough money to make a meaningful difference

The key determinant of the difference your donation will make is the difference that the charity you’re supporting makes.

While it’s true that the size of your donation can make a bigger or smaller difference to a charity’s finances depending on size of its budget, in terms of the impact your donation can have, it all comes down to the charity you choose.

If a charity runs really effective programmes, then your donation will make more of a difference than if it goes to a less effective charity.

You can find out how effective a charity’s programmes are by looking at the research and evidence into that particular approach.