Philanthrophy: Think Before You Give

From the February 2016 issue of The Rotarian

The idea of trying to get the best value for our money should not strike anyone as strange. Would you be happy to learn that the high-priced dishwasher you purchased does not clean dishes as well as another brand that sells for half the price? To avoid such aggravating mistakes, people check online ratings and read Consumer Reports before making large purchases. Yet when donating to charity, most people do no research at all.

The variation in value for money that can be found among charitable programs is far greater than that among dishwashers. None of the dishwashers on the market costs hundreds of times more than a dishwasher that cleans just as well. If it did, the manufacturer would soon be out of business. Ineffective charities, on the other hand, continue to receive donations because donors do not demand hard information about the effectiveness of their programs.