Dr. Michael R. MacDonald
Most of us would like to contribute more to charities.
If we have some money available, this should be easy to do.
If we want to include a charity in our wills, this too should be easy to accomplish. We could allocate just 1% of our estate and make a huge difference in the lives of vulnerable people.
Unfortunately, this process is not easy. Many of us don’t know where to start. There are too many choices.
Here are a few simple guidelines I use.
I Like to Get My Money’s Worth.
And whenever I can, I like to get as much value as I can for each dollar I spend. When it comes to charities, I want to do as much good as I can.
With this in mind, my interests go to international charities that help people in low-income countries. The main reason for this preference is that money donated goes much much further.
A dollar a day will provide some help in a rich country such as Canada where I live. In a poor country, this will provide a tremendous amount of help.
Here’s is how this works.
1. Purchasing power is different
In many low-income countries, the cost of basic goods and services is far lower than in wealthier nations. For example:
- $1 can buy several meals’ worth of staple grains (like rice or maize).
- $7 a week could provide essential medicines or mosquito nets to prevent malaria.
- $30 a month could cover a child’s school fees, uniforms, and supplies in some regions.
2. Scalability matters
Individually, $1 a day might not seem like much, but if thousands of people commit to it, the combined effect is huge. For instance, if 10,000 donors give $1 a day, that’s $3.65 million a year — enough to fund hospitals, schools, or clean water projects at scale.
Some Amazing Facts
By helping people from a poor country, your money can often go 100 times further than if you had used your money to help someone in a richer country.
Some charitable organizations can provide 10,000 times more benefit then others.
These are some of the impressive ideas explained by philosophy professor William MacAskill in his book, Doing Good Better (2016). All author profits are donated to the world’s most effective charities.
Bill Gates describes William MacAskill as “A data nerd after my own heart.”
I Like to Support Girls and Young Women
If you had billions of dollars how would you use that money to make our world a better place?
Who would you help first? How would you make that happen? How would you make sure that your donations were not wasted?
These questions and concerns are part of the everyday life for Melinda French Gates, a philanthropist, businesswoman, global advocate for women and girls and co-founder of the amazing Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
How Does She Do It?
Let me start with a clue. You don’t have to be a billionaire. Of course, it helps, but money is not the key to her success.
Her fabulous book, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World is a good place to start learning how she does it. It is an incredible read. Well written, entertaining and inspiring.
On every page, French Gates gives us an uplifting tone of possibility and optimism. No hype – just crystal clear thinking and an appreciation of how very complicated and important things can be accomplished.
Gender Equity as a Path Forward
Her work with the Gates Foundation has led French Gates to focus on gender equity as an important path to meaningful change. In her book, she makes a bold claim: when we lift up women, we lift up humanity.
Her research shows how this can work.
“When you send a girl to school, the good deed never dies. It goes on for generations, advancing every public good, from health to economic gain, to gender equality and national prosperity.”
To me, these gains add up, almost like compound interest.
How’s that for getting your money’s worth.
Here is a prime example of an international charity that supports girls and young women.
Room to Read, An Amazing Mission
I have written quite a bit about Room to Read on this website and blog. My passion continues. (You can read about my inspiration with this Yes You Can link. It might get you inspired too, it’s such an amazing story.)
Before writing this post, though, I thought I should get up-to-date on what Room to Read has been up to lately. I had several questions that have been answered by my research. Here’s what I found out.
Room to Read has consistently upheld the core values and goals set out by its founder, John Wood. They continue to focus on literacy, gender equality, and sustainable, data-driven impact in education for children in low-income communities.
The Founder’s Vision
John Wood’s original vision was that “World Change Starts with Educated Children”. After leaving Microsoft, he founded Room to Read aiming to combat illiteracy and lack of educational resources by building libraries, publishing books, and eventually supporting comprehensive literacy and girls’ education programs.
Commitment to Literacy and Gender Equality
Room to Read has continued and deepened its alignment with Wood’s goal by:
- Promoting literacy through innovative programs that teach primary school children reading skills and nurture a lifelong love of reading.
- Advancing gender equality by supporting girls to complete secondary education and by offering mentorship and life skills programs.
Sustainable Growth and Community Partnerships
Room to Read operates with the principle of scalability and sustainability, collaborating with local communities, organizations, and governments, mirroring Wood’s business-oriented approach to nonprofit work.
- Decentralized program ownership encourages local engagement and long-term success.
- Data-driven evaluation ensures continuous improvement and accountability of outcomes.
Measurable Impact
By 2025, Room to Read has:
- Opened libraries and built schools for millions of children in 28 countries.
- Distributed over 42 million books in 57 languages and produced thousands of original children’s titles.
- Achieved key milestones ahead of schedule, such as reaching 10 million children five years early.
- Room to Read strongly embodies John Wood’s founding values by prioritizing education access, focusing on measurable literacy growth, supporting girls’ education, and forging sustainable community partnerships for lasting impact.
More for Your Money
You can make a difference even in today’s difficult world. In fact, your help is needed more than ever.
It may not be easy to whittle down your choices. But it is important to get started. Being paralyzed by indecision does not help anyone.
And you can always change your mind. It is not that hard to change your will or to change beneficiaries of an insurance policy.
So let’s get moving.
Until next time, let our warm hearts soar!
Michael
michael@aWarmHeart.ca
And thank you for caring that little bit extra – it really makes a big difference.
