3 Criteria for Choosing a Charity

#GivingTuesday is around the corner and hundreds of opportunities will flood social media outlets in the days to come.  How do you choose what charity to give to?

Here are 3 criteria I use in my decision matrix.  

Relationships - Who do you know that is already doing great work? Chances are someone in your relationship network is connected to a charity. Reach out to them! Ask them how things are going....I'm sure you both will be encouraged. First hand knowledge will help you have confidence your funds are being used properly.  

Passions - Each of us is wired differently and have different life experiences. Embrace who you are! As one who is part of a NGO that is helping people around the world (goBGR.org) I am thrilled when a partner asks detailed questions about one of our projects. This not only increases my accountability (you can ask intelligent questions), it provides mutual encouragement! We both care about the same things! We are not alone. 

Data - I like to know that the NGO's story connects to data, both theirs and outside sources. My goto outside source these days is Gapminder. They do a good job of explaining globally recognized UN statistics. For example... here is a short video that gives me confidence that projects that help families work.. 

https://www.gapminder.org/answers/will-saving-poor-children-lead-to-overpopulation/