14. Charities That Make a Difference
There are so many needs in the world, and the needs are often so great that it can sometimes discourage us from trying to help. But as we have seen many times in this book, God's word makes it clear that helping those in need is a responsibility we should all acknowledge and not avoid (Hebrews 13:16; 1 John 3:17; etc.).
However, because not every apparent need is real (as we discussed in Chapter 13), giving to an established charity is often the best way to help genuine cases. But even when we want to help where the need is real, finding charities that do the most good is not always easy. Some charities spend a great deal of what they receive on overheads and salaries (as much as 60–80 percent in some cases), while others may support good, but hardly vital, causes.
Yet there are many charities that do accomplish a great deal. How can we find them? One of the best strategies we can utilize before donating to a charitable organization is to look at its ratings and use of funds by checking some of the online sites run by charity monitoring organizations. For example, the Charity Navigator.org website allows you to search its rankings by charity name or browse charities by type. The site also allows you to just see the top-rated charities in any given category if you wish, and it even has a list of those charities that have been awarded perfect scores. For example, Charity Navigator gives a perfect 100 percent score to the organization Lifesong for Orphans that provides adoption and assistance for homeless children around the world – so if you give to them, you know your gift is helping that particular need about as much as is humanly possible.
Another great example of a charity given a 100 percent rating by Charity Navigator is the wonderful Children in Christ ministry that is carrying the word of God to unreached people groups in Africa and India (with more areas projected), by means of children's clubs and in other innovative ways. A little research on this charity shows just how cost effectively it functions in accomplishing its work (the CEO even works on a volunteer basis) and how excellently it performs in spreading the gospel to and through young people.
Some smaller, newer, or non-traditionally organized charities may not be rated by monitoring sites. But in many cases online research can find out enough about an organization to judge if it warrants our support, and dramatically increase the chances that our contributions will be used for maximum good.
Yet even when we only look at the most effective charities, there are still dozens that we might consider. How do we choose wisely among them? One thing we can do is to narrow the field by looking only at charities that focus on the relief of life-threatening and dire human needs as opposed to simply good causes. If we do that, there are three main types of need:
Disaster: Disasters of various kinds strike almost continually at different places around the world, suddenly plunging many people into dire need. Jesus referred specifically to situations of this kind when he said "those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no!" (Luke 13:4–5). Fortunately, a number of charities do good work in this area, but some have high overhead costs. A safe and great way to help in this area is through major disaster relief funds such as the International Red Cross or various church charities that send aid to countries around the world to help with devastating disasters such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, tornadoes, and tsunamis. Mega-disasters of this type may receive extensive media coverage, but smaller-scale events are just as life threatening to those involved, and this kind of disaster occurs frequently at some point or other in the world. As a result, if you feel led to help others in this area, you can consider signing up to receive disaster and relief effort news reports by email from one or more of the larger disaster charities.
Hunger: The United Nations Global Hunger Report (6 July, 2022) estimates that about a billion people – some 10 percent of the world's population – are hungry or starving at any given time, and this is a very real need that the Bible shows God's people should consider. The book of Proverbs tells us "The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor" (Proverbs 22:9), and Jesus made the point even more strongly, telling his disciples "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink" (Matthew 25:34–35).
Some well-known charities like Action Against Hunger do very good work, but this is an area in which it pays to be especially careful. Some of the charities in this group also use funds for tangential causes such as unspecified "human services," which may include a number of non-hunger related expenses. So it wise to research some of these charities carefully before contributing. Medical: The book of Ezekiel records God's promise that he "will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak" (Ezekiel 34:16), and God's desire that we also help those suffering medical needs is clear in many scriptures ranging from Jesus' commission to his disciples (Matthew 10:8; etc.) to his parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Today, there are specialized charities for many medical needs – all of them worthy causes – but the ones which can potentially save lives as well as bring relief from great suffering are surely especially deserving. For example, Smile Train and other cleft repair charities provide cleft lip and palate surgeries to children around the world, enabling them to properly eat and drink as well as to be free of a debilitating disfigurement and to lead normal lives. The American Leprosy Mission is another example of such excellent focused charities.
Praying for guidance in giving, and being willing do a little research, can make a great difference in the effectiveness of what we can give. Even small contributions can help well-run charities, and strong currencies such as the U.S. dollar go a long way in Third World countries where the needs are often greatest. So never think that a small amount will not accomplish much. We may have no idea of how much someone may be helped by our support. And even if we are not able to give financially for some reason, we may still be able to find worthwhile charities and perhaps volunteer time with them – and we can all pray for the success of charities that serve and help those in genuine need.