How to give effectively to causes you believe in - how you do you look for a good charity?

Your question set me thinking, Kyra. As some of you know, i work for Oxfam, so in the light of our current DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal, i decided to find out EXACTLY what proportion of donations goes to where it's actually needed...the answer is that 95% of all the money donated to this appeal is being spent DIRECTLY on aid on the ground. So the answer to your more general question, Kyra, is to donate to well-established, reputable charities who are completely open about this.

i look at what they plan to do and what their overall aim is. for example i try give to shelterbox, because its a rotary charity which are usually well organised and it can make such a difference! plus the shelterbox's are carefully designed so the fuelburner can use anything! :)

I don't trust many charities, and certainly wouldn't give money to any charity who stopped me on the street, knocked on my door, or asked me for money in general.

I find that the only way to donate money effectively is to do so yourself, off your own back, for a cause you believe in. I contribute a lot to child welfare charities and causes, but only ones that I am (or have been) actively involved in, and made a judgment on myself. Obviously that doesn't work for everyone, but many of us will at least know someone who might have information about a certain charity.

You'll probably find that all the major charities are similar in that as a result of their size they will have to spend a certain amount of money on overheads eg shops, transport costs, admin fees, staff fees (yes a lot of people have to be employed), fund raising costs (chuggers are expensive) etc.

The only way you can counter this would be to not donate but actually volunteer in the area that you care about and cover your own expenses...

I don't donate to charity for this reason. I understand that they have overheads to pay, but if I am giving my money I want to know what it will pay for e.g. £10 builds a well in Africa, that sort of thing, but want to know that it will actually happen.

I don't think you can ensure your money is put to the best use, unfortunately.

I know, it is tricky. I support the Saharaui cause in Morocco as much as I can. I have met the people that work there directly when I visited Morocco and I know they are doing the best they can and the money goes directly to them. They live there to help the Saharaui people and I trust them in their judgement to use the money in the best way possible to help them.

I have a certain few charities that I give to for specific reasons, usually because the work they support has had a personal impact on someone in my family. It's sometimes really difficult to walk past a collector, or listen to TV appeals and know that I won't be contributing personally, but for major disasters the government sends aid, and my taxes have indirectly contributed to that.

I think you give to what ever is close to your heart me it is cancer and i do a direct debit and i get updates all the time on how my donation is used

It is always going to be tricky because by making a donation to any charity we are entrusting someone else to put it to good use. The only way you can guarantee it is is to go and do the work yourself and for most people that isn't possible. We have to trust.

I think if you feel you want to make a difference then it is best to stick to the main charitable organizations. Yes they have overheads but their aim is to help those in need and my first port of call would be Red Cross. Nobody wants to think that money they are giving to charity will not have a direct impact on those who you are donating to, and whilst these organizations have overheads I think it is best to stick with the better recognized and reputable ones.

Te most beneficial way for the charity to receive is if you donate strait from your salary.