Donor Education

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

I received an email from a philosopher recently with a link to his article An Appeal to Aid Specialists in which he makes a strong appeal to aid specialist to help non aid experts understand aid and make…

Making Merit

Friday, March 26th, 2010

The story of the twin temples

When I was in the Peace Corps I was struck by the twin temples that sat next to each other on the bank of the river. They appeared to be the exact same size…

Don’t earmark your donation

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Although it’s common advice for donors, earmarking or restricting charitable donations is not a good idea. Instead of ensuring that your money is well spent, it can actually prevent the organization from using your donation where it can…

The DOs and DON’Ts of Disaster Donations

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Do look at a variety of agencies before giving
There are hundreds of agencies that respond to a disaster, take the time to evaluate a few before giving, just because they have name recognition does not mean they’re best able…

Choosing organizations to donate to after the Haiti earthquake

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

I’m opening this blog up to advice from aid workers to donors on choosing which organizations to donate to after disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti. What type of organizations should they look for and what should…

Does your organization’s website inform or misinform donors?

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Donors are often not given the information they need to distinguish between professional and unprofessional aid agencies

To the average donor, aid agencies that spend time and money ensuring professional practices are indistinguishable from those that do not. If your…

It’s time to stop telling pretty stories and start really evaluating the impact of aid

Friday, June 5th, 2009

With GiveWell’s Charity Reviews due in early July, the lack of available evaluations of aid agency work is once again highlighted.

After the tsunami in Thailand over 200 aid agencies of all types and sizes flooded into the area…

The Allure of the Quick Fix

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

“Hit the ground running”

As a Crisis Corps Volunteer (part of the US Peace Corps) I was sent back to Thailand to help with the tsunami recovery efforts. Before my departure Peace Corps sent out a press release which…

"Sexy" projects are easier to fund

Monday, May 4th, 2009

This posting is from a journal I kept as a Crisis Corps volunteer working on the tsunami recovery in Thailand.

Boats are "sexy"

Boats have become the "sexy" projects of the tsunami recovery.  Go onto the web site of most…