Where the issue is:   Do you focus on the closest first or try to determine where your efforts will deliver relief to the greatest?  Some chose to only contribute time or money to local, regional or national issues.  Perhaps they follow the adage about charity starts at home.  Others still look to a larger geographic range or maybe not at all.

NPO Position:  Today I read a blog where the writer focused on donating to NPO’s based on whether they look at immediate relief for current problems in addition to planning to prevent reoccurrences.  In other words – here is a fish, eat it and then I will show you how to catch one yourself.  ‘Deal with it now AND work to make sure it doesn’t happen again if you want my money’ is his position.

Is the NPO effective:  There are thousands of non-profit organizations in the United States alone (Even excluding churches, daycares, soup kitchens, etc.).   There are many other non-profits beating their drum to tunes many consider overplayed because there are so many NPO’s attempting to do the same thing or nearly the same thing.  One has to ask which one is the right one for me, which one is most successful – who will make the best use of the resources provided to them.  

What’s the issue:  How do you prioritize which cause should be addressed first?  Anyone can look around on the way to work, or listening to the radio, and find areas for philanthropic resources to be focused.  Issues such as homelessness, poverty, pollution and so on abound.  There will always be things needing to be fixed.  The question is which one comes first?

How do you choose?