Expert sparks heated debate over what's a 'worthy' charity

Beyond the Christmas decorations, gift-giving and parties, this is the time of year to sift through the mountain of requests for charitable donations, from groups that fight hunger and cancer to our alma mater and places of worship. So how can we gauge which groups are most deserving of our money?

Princeton University philosophy professor Peter Singer, an advocate of “effective altruism,” says we need to use our heads as well as our hearts in choosing which charities to support.

“Simply giving to get a warm glow, giving to the person on the street who holds out a cup or giving to a charity that shows you a brochure of a smiling child, that may or may not be doing good. You really don’t know,” Singer says.

What’s needed, he argues, is a charitable means test. Most shoppers wouldn’t spend a thousand dollars for a dishwasher if they could find one for half the price that is just as effective, he points out. So why don’t they act like smart consumers when choosing a charity?

Years ago it might have taken a good deal of digging to measure a charity’s effectiveness. But now there are websites to help, including thelifeyoucansave.org, based on Singer’s writings and research into giving. There’s also givewell.org, started by two former hedge fund managers who wanted to donate substantial amounts of their personal fortunes but found there wasn’t enough public data to judge many charities.

“The curious thing is that with charity, people don’t ask, ‘Do I get better value for my money by giving to this charity rather than that one,’” Singer says. “So that aspect of market thinking, that I want value for money, is something that effective altruism is trying to bring to philanthropy.”

Charity is big business. The USA has an estimated 1 million charities that raise about $200 billion a year.

Singer first began writing about effective giving in 1972. In his latest book, The Most Good You Can Do, he says financial giving should focus on life-saving charities.

One of the charities he takes to task in his book is Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of dying children. “They’re not even saving one child’s life, they’re giving a child one great day,” Singer says. He argues it would be more effective to donate bed nets for African children to prevent the spread of malaria and potentially save the lives of many more children.

That advice doesn't go down well with many. “I’d like to see Professor Singer sit down with a child and tell them their dream, their fantasy is not going to be realized because he doesn’t think Make-A-Wish is a worthy organization,” says Michael Rosen, president of ML Innovations Inc., a Philadelphia-based fundraising firm that represents several major charities.

“The reality is we need to support life-saving charities, but we also need to support quality of life charities,” adds Rosen. “What we need is to have the philanthropic community use both the heart and the head in making these decisions.”

Singer also frowns upon the common practice of tithing — donating 10% of your income to your place of worship. It totals about $100 billion a year.

A portion of tithes, Singer acknowledges, may go toward helping people in extreme poverty across the world. “But some of it may go to build a grander church, and I certainly don’t think that building a grander church in the United States is anywhere near as good as helping people in extreme poverty,” he says.

For the estimated 2.7 billion people in the world who live in dire poverty, even small donations can accomplish a lot, Singer says.

Singer bases his giving strategy on the New Testament and the 4th Century writings of Saint Ambrose. “If you really read the words of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels, I think it’s pretty clear that he placed enormous weight on helping the poor,” Singer says.

Donations to museums and other arts groups, even one’s beloved alma mater, should be low priorities because those institutions can tap into other sources of income, according to Singer.

That suggestion draws criticism as well. “One of the things I find ironic about Professor Singer’s position regarding educational philanthropy is that he is the beneficiary of such philanthropy,” says Rosen. “He holds a position at Princeton, an endowed professorship, and receives his salary because a donor gave very generously to the university to fund his position.”

Singer tells his students that if they want to make a real difference in the world, they should aim for high-paying jobs. That way, they can donate larger amounts of money to worthy causes. And that’s something on which both Singer and Rosen agree.

“When people become more generous ... that actually adds to their happiness," Singer says.