Why do so many of the opportunities to help internationally involve donating money?
There are many ways that families can help besides just giving money (see Idea list). But often in the case of emergency relief after a disaster, money is preferred to a donation of goods. Often the cost of shipping goods to far away lands exceeds the value of goods that are donated. Money can be easily transferred and used to purchase needed supplies abroad. Make sure that you donate your money to organizations who have strong programs and whose missions you support. Q: Are there any tools that I can use to evaluate a non-profit or non-governmental organization that I’m interested in giving money to before I donate? How do you know if something is a good cause or not to support and if they use money well? A: There are some worthwhile resources, including Guidestar which shows financial information on more than 620,000 American based non-profit organizations. In Massachusetts there is also the Catalogue of Philanthropy that highlights some specific non-profit organizations and promotes
