Effective giving

How to donate responsibly

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By worldly and historical standards, Canadians are incredibly wealthy, with much more than we need for our daily living. And Canadian Christians are generous givers to Kingdom causes, living out this command from Hebrews 13:16: “Do not neglect to do good, and to share what you have, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased.”

Unfortunately, scammers and thieves will often try to take advantage of this generosity of spirit, and they do succeed. So how can we ensure that our giving is as effective as possible? Here are a few suggestions.

Local is easier to assess

If you support a food bank in your town, you can visit the facility, talk to staff members, and find out about needs. When you donate to local causes, you can witness in person how effective the institution is in its core mandate, and you can monitor how funds are used with their published financial statements and in annual meetings. While there are many worthy causes all over the world, it’s good to be able to see in person how an organization functions, and what it does with the gifts it receives. So does that mean you shouldn’t donate internationally? You can, but only to trusted organizations – ideally ones you’ve researched and known for years, or one your church is suggesting – and not to distant organizations who introduce themselves over the phone, via email, or through the mail.

Look for oversight

A charity should be well governed to be effective in its mission, and to prevent fraud and personal enrichment. Look for a board of directors, with more than one or two members, that oversees the organization and sets direction. Reformed churches often set up boards to govern and direct mission projects, theological schools, and other causes. Sometimes these boards report directly to a church’s consistory: this can be a helpful structure for accountability and guidance.

Consider carefully

If you can’t see a charity in action, do a little further investigation to find out about its operations. How many orphanages are really in use? How are they managed? How do they hire their staff? What percentage of their budget is spent on “head office administration”? Canada Revenue Agency publishes tax return information for registered Canadian charities on its website and even shows a pie chart with a breakdown of how funds are received, and how they are spent. The IRS publishes tax returns for American charities at this website.

Even with these tools, it can be very difficult to judge how effective a charity is when we are far removed from their locations. “Considering carefully” means that you will say no to some organizations, not because you know they are bad, bust simply because you aren’t able to verify with confidence that they are being good stewards.

Concentrate your giving

Some charities rely on direct mail to solicit donations, and sometimes they will ask for very small amounts (every gift helps!). When you respond to their request with a gift of $10, you have just become another target for them to send more and more mail! Sometimes, your small gift will actually cost that charity money, because of all the additional pleas for help they will send your way in the coming months and years. It may be wiser to concentrate your giving on charities that you know more about, and where a higher percentage of your gift will be used on its mission (and not on more mailing!).