Thoughtful (gift) giving.

Giving is personal. It’s an emotional experience. It’s a decision you make together with loved ones about the causes you care about, things that impact you and your community. Know someone who lost everything in a fire? You give back. Have a neighbor struggling to pay the rent? You give back. Travel to a country devastated by a hurricane? You give back. Have a friend struggling to keep her business afloat? You give back. See the same homeless person on the corner on the way to work? You give back. We are moral beings, and often feel obligated to find ways to make the world we live in a better place – we give back. It’s not always monetary, sometimes it’s with skills, or time. BUT when it is a gift of money, you want to make sure you’re giving to an organization that is responsible, ethical, and making an impact. How can you be sure?

Let’s start by watching a video. Dan Pallotta is an American entrepreneur, author and humanitarian activist. His TedTalk is titled: The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong.

Don’t let his message leave you deflated. Giving back is still important, and it can people achieve their dreams from your neighbor down the street, a farmer in Kenya, or a sick child in a hospital. Dreams are important, they give us hope. Pallotta states, “The next time you’re looking at a charity, don’t ask about the rate of their overhead. Ask about the scale of their dreams, their Apple-, Google-, Amazon-scale dreams, how they measure their progress toward those dreams, and what resources they need to make them come true, regardless of what the overhead is. Who cares what the overhead is if these problems are actually getting solved?”

Ultimately, non-profits exist to impact societal problems that business, and government are failing to solve. Here are some questions that you should be asking before you give to a charity.

1. Have they accurately described the problem they are trying to solve and the metrics that they are working toward solving it?
2. Do they have a theory of change (non-profit lingo for a strategic plan)? Does it make sense? Did they accurately describe their short-term and long-term goals? Are they disruptive?
3. What are the kind of programs they have? What is their annual budget? Are they using technology to achieve their goals? Do they have interesting partnerships?
4. What are their short-term results? Long-term outcomes? What is their progress looking like? Do they have testimonials on their website? What are people saying?

5. What are their lessons learned? Do they admit failure? Do they have a plan for when they ultimately solve the problem? Are they practicing perceptual acuity?

Lucky for all of you, there are organizations out there that are working hard to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of non-profits globally. One resource is Charity Navigator, an organization that has admitted failure and improved their rating methodology significantly. Connecting people that want to give back with those in need is easier than ever and it’s important we take the time to evaluate the organizations we choose to support. 

Engaging with organizations solving big-hairy-audacious-goals (BHAGs) is not just about solving an immediate problem for people today, but about working with organizations that are making long-term systemic change. When you donate, it's like investing in the future of the organization. It's your way of telling that organization, "I believe in you and what you're doing." As individuals, we try to engage with society by giving our time, skills or money to amplify our impact because as a society we believe that significant, social impact is possible (if we didn't we would have stopped trying centuries ago). We also know that when we work together, that impact reaches more people, more profoundly. This season, I hope that you give the gift of knowledge by sharing some of the resources, literature, and thoughts with your family, friends, colleagues, and community.

Stay informed: podcasts, and newsletters I enjoy.

Classy Podcast: Stories of People Who Stand for Something

GatesNotes: The blog of Bill Gates

The gift that keeps on giving: books and literature that I've found interesting.

A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity – Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Behind the Beautiful Forevers – Katherine Boo

Cows Save the Planet – Judith Schwartz

Dead Aid – Dambisa Moyo

Evicted – Matthew Desmond

Find me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum – Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide – Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (a global movement with a movie)

However Long the Night: Molly Melching’s Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph – Aimee Molloy

Start Something that Matters – Blake Mycoskie

The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World – Jacqueline Novogratz

The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change – Roger Thurow

The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person can Create Extraordinary Change – Adam Braun

Find something interesting? Have other book recommendations? Let's have a conversation!

*This is a personal post, and represents my thoughts and opinions as an individual. I enjoy hearty dialogue in this space and welcome your comments, thoughts, and ideas.