If you’ve been involved in the discussion about poverty and international development in the past few years, you probably know the name Jeffrey Sachs.  Sachs is a development economist at Columbia University, advisor to the UN on the Millennium Development Goals, and author of the bestselling work, The End of Poverty.  You may or may not know the name of William Easterly, another development economist and author of The White Man’s Burden, something of a counter-argument to Sachs’. 

Sachs’ and Easterly’s opposing viewpoints on international development may well be summed up in the subtititles of their books: Sachs’ reads, “Economic Possibilities for our Time” and Easterly’s, “Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good.”

Sachs is often cited as an optimist and Easterly as a pessimist.  Easterly, however, may not be so much of a pessimist as a realist, arguing that experience does not always lend itself to theory, and a history of theory-based approaches to aid and development have resulted in little change in living standards for the world’s poor.  Easterly is by no means arguing for an end to aid; instead he advocates for a more grassroots, community-based approach.  Sachs and Easterly each have important things to say on the subject, and both arguments should be heard.

Whether you lean in the direction of Sachs or Easterly when it comes to development theory and practice, it is important to note that both economists recognize the weightiness of the challenges posed to the world’s poor and the dearth of resources available to them, including funding for projects designed to improve quality of life and standards of living.  In other words, both approaches recognize the need for financial resources to be made available.  Translation: fundraising!

What is a donor or fundraiser to do?  You want to invest your dollars wisely, where they will be used efficiently and have the most impact.  Which NPOs and NGOs do you support with donations and fundraising pages?  Lest the debate threaten to paralyze you completely or incite you to do nothing, here are a few thoughts on how to do good well:

1. Use your social media (and your brain).  Web 2.0 and social media make it easier and easier to get the inside scoop on what people are doing and how effectively.  Join a social network and/or discussion around a specific topic, like clean water, or around international development in general.  Start reading and talking to other people about who does what and who does it well.  Check the Social Actions, Just Means, and Eldis communities, and also take a look at blogs like Chris Blattman’s, The Center for Global Development, and the World Bank Group.

2. Consider the impact of the work.  Is it a short-term project or a long-term one (or both?)  Is the goal sustainability or self-sufficiency?  Does it have any longevity beyond the project itself?  Some NPOs, like United Way, will tell you exactly what your donation funds with an impact calculator (thanks to Conor Byrne for the heads-up on this).

3. Choose an NPO or NGO whose work you want to support and start fundraising!  There is lots of good work to be done!

4. Reading and research are very worthwhile, but they take time.  Do you know someone else who has done their research and who shares your values?  Support your friends and people you trust by donating to their fundraising pages.  You can even search for a friend’s page from the Firstgiving.com homepage.   

Do you have other thoughts on doing good well?  Leave a comment below.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 10:47 am and is filed under Fundraising Ideas, Fundraising News, Social Media Fundraising, Tips & Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.