Charity donations: how to make sure you give well

How can you be sure that your money will be used effectively, and get to where you want it to go? Matthew Partridge explains.

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.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri