We all want to make a difference in the world, but it can be difficult to know where to start. Should we volunteer at a local church, make a monthly donation to an animal charity, or go off to Africa and help people in need? With so many options, how do we decide which one is most deserving of our time or money?

 

Start by thinking about whether you would feel more capable of donating time or money. Some people are very busy and would feel they could be more productive if they were to make a monthly charitable donation. In fact, there are some people who deliberately take on extra hours at work in order to make a donation with the extra money they make. In effect, they are working some of the time just to make money for the charity they support. There are also people like Lois Pope a philanthropist who helps a wide range of causes by making considerable donations from the wealth she has already accumulated.

There are many people who find themselves in the opposite position. They have some spare time each week, or maybe they even have a few months to spare. But while they have time, they don’t have money. In this case, it’s best to choose an organization that could benefit from your volunteering.

If you want to volunteer, start by thinking about the unique skills that you could bring. Many charities need a wide range of skills to run their operations and to help with the core services they provide. As a lawyer, for example, you could help any type of charity with their legal operations. You could also choose to help a charity that gives disadvantaged people pro bono legal representation. Both of these choices would be good uses of your time, and you would ultimately be making a big difference.

 The same ideas can be applied to any profession. An accountant could help charities to keep their books, or could work with an organization that helps people to set up and run businesses in poor communities. If you are a plumber, you could work for a housing charity or you could help the charities to maintain their own property.

 

If you are donating money or time, you ultimately want to know that you are working with an organization that is truly making a positive impact. That is why it’s good to initially spend some time researching causes and organizations. Some of us want to work with a cause that is close to our hearts, while others want to find the cause where their time or money can be used most productively.

It’s best that you take an approach that combines both. Search around for causes that interest you, and then do some extensive research on organizations that help toward that cause. Reading a charity’s annual report will give you great insights into the types of things they do, and how productively they do it.