Charity donations: how to make sure you give well

Growing awareness of the scale of the Syrian refugee crisis has left many people wanting to help in any way they can. Some have donated clothes and food to refugee centres. Others have offered to take in refugee families. And charities have reported a surge in donations. But if you want to donate, how can you be sure that your money will a) be used effectively and b) get to where you want it to go?

Firstly, check that any organisation you want to give money to is a bona fide charity. Sadly, where there's a man-made or natural disaster, you'll find an army of cynical fraudsters ready to take advantage. Ignore unsolicited emails or cold calls from charities you've never heard of.

If you are in doubt as to whether a charity exists, check the website of the Charity Commission (for England and Wales). Door-to-door and street fundraisers are also required to have identity cards.

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Of course, just because a charity is legitimate doesn't mean it will address the problem that you are interested in. While no reputable charity will lie, some might fudge the issue, using pictures of a headline-grabbing crisis to generate donations for a general fund, whichcould be spent on other causes. Of course, there are limits to the control you can reasonably expect to have over where your money is spent, but if you're donating to something specific you should find out whether the money will actually go to that cause.

Charities also vary in geographical focus. In the case of Syria, some target aid towards refugee camps, while others focus on Syria itself, including the parts occupied by the Assad regime and Isis. Operating in such areas involves having to negotiate with some very unpleasant groups, including those responsible for the current chaos. However, it may be the only way to deliver essential services to civilians trapped on the frontline.

As for efficiency, various groups have tried to develop more objective criteria as to whether a charity is making the best use of donors' cash. Several websites rank organisations on the amount of money that goes into their work (as opposed to fundraising oradministration). Some also look at other criteria, such as financial transparency and donor privacy. But remember that the charities with the lowest administration costs may not necessarily be the best, and most sites are very US focused, sodon't rely solely on them.

One good site to start with is GiveWell, which measures international charities against a set of criteria that goes beyond the financial to try to account for "good achieved per dollar spent".