Hi friends,
So I do some philanthropy (very small amounts). I am considering adding a couple of organizations which promote the conservation of wildlife - particularly ocean wildlife and in South America. I’m also open to other areas/organizations. I was wondering if anybody here has an opinion on reputable organizations which donate a vast majority of their money in an effective way? I know there are some scams out there and organizations that spend more money paying people to speak than buying land or planting trees or cleaning up garbage and I would like to avoid those organizations.
We could also discuss philanthropy in general here if that’s of interest.
Great topic.
I will go through my usual spiel here... when I was 13 my parents taught me how to donate to money. Every year since then on my birthday I select what causes I’m going to donate to and how much (after researching of course- Charity Navigator is a great resource- also discussing with your financial advisor isn’t a bad idea either for tax purposes). That makes it very easy to avoid many of the people canvassing the streets looking for long term donations. I pretty much stick to that plan and don’t really deviate unless it’s like buying girl scout cookies or a personally significant cause pops up. I generally donate 5-10% of my disposable income, so it’s a significant enough amount that I should know where it’s really going.
One cause I never donate to are political parities. They have too much money already and I’d rather support people/agendas with my vote than blowing the money on something that may or may not really help in the long run.
I also find environmental funds often to be a little sketchy- especially in the green energy and carbon offset arena. A lot of the donated money seems to go to insuring projects, paying off interest, and excessively high administrative costs. Some of these projects these charities invest also don’t necessarily have proven positive environmental outcomes or unforseen evironmental consequences. I know there have been cases of charities/carbon offset programs buying up rainforest only to evict the native tribespeople who have lived there forever -with nature- only to be forced into cities and poverty. Or planting new forests with invasive speices or ones that cannot survive. Another example would be Greenpeace, who has questionable tactics and methods- like harassing Apple who is probably one of the most enviro-conscious companies meanwhile other less enviro-conscious companies don’t get bothered at all.
I haven’t donated to a specifically an environmental cause in quite some time. But I would suggest being very thorough with environmental in your research- not to say other areas shouldn’t be either. I don’t want to make it sound like Environmentalism is not a worthy cause either, it is, just as long as the money is being put to good use (as with any charity).
Charity Navigator allows you to filter charities by type, location, and other factors. I highly recommend it. Charity Watch is another great resource.
I would also suggest considering donating your time. I donate a fair amount of time most every month- either giving out free vaccines in underprivileged areas or providing Narcan training for families, teachers, police/fire, etc.
