The Question

The question that I have heard numerous times lately is "where, or who deserves my donation? How do I know that the charity is a worthy cause?" The answer: Like any investment it requires some research. You wouldn't put your money just anywhere would you? Not long ago one of the most respected and successful investors of all time, Warren Buffet, donated a rather large sum of money to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When quized as to why, he replied: they would spend it better than he ever could. There is no magical answer to where/who you should donate. Like any investment it must meet you personal values, beliefs, and vision for how you want your money to be used. The good news is that it is getting a lot easier by the day to find out more about where your money is going.
The micro-credit craze has caught on to unprecedented levels, to the point that you or I could log onto the internet and immediately loan an entrepreneur millions of km away the necessary funding to get their business going. You can read about the business, the entrepreneur, and find our just what your money will be doing. The best part? When the entrepreneur is capable of paying you back, they will so that you can then turn around and loan it to another worthy entrepreneur. All from a seat at your desk. Check out Kiva.org in my links section to find out more about this exciting new system.
It is important for you not to feel compelled to donate based on the name of the organization, the cause to which it 'says' that it is trying to fix, or to the initial sales pitch. Making a donation should be done with care and due diligence. Take your time and make sure that you know exactly who and what your money will be going towards and doing. Unfortunately, there are a lot of organizations that claim to be something they are not, and do things that they don't. It is up to us as donors to weed out these malicious organizations and place our money where we know it will accomplish the greatest amount of good.