Navigating Options for Giving: Choosing the Right Path to Make a Difference

Millions displaced by global conflicts. Communities reeling from unseasonably strong natural disasters. Lives upended due to healthcare inequalities. In the middle of these crises are established nonprofits, everyday individuals and mutual aid groups — all seeking your dollars to make a difference. But with no shortage of worthy causes and the rise of new giving technologies, how should you donate? How can you most effectively navigate options for giving?

The choices can be immobilizing for those looking to open up their wallets. Many value conventional charities. But others — Gen Z and millennials, as well as the unmarried and less religious, according to 2021 research by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy — like to crowdfund by pooling donations online for folks in dire circumstances.

The approaches reflect differing assessments of impact and trustworthiness. But they are not necessarily opposed.

“It’s really: what is the right type of support that either an organization or a community or an individual needs?” said Bloomerang Chief Customer Officer Todd Baylis, who previously co-founded the platform Qgiv to help nonprofits fundraise online. “And being able to tailor that to the individual giver.”

Here are some questions worth considering as you determine which assistance best suits your objectives:

What Impact Do I Want to Have When Navigating Giving Options?

It might come down to whether you want to make a big difference for one person or help seed large-scale change.

Tiltify is a technology platform that helps nonprofits and individual crowdfunders alike raise money. If donors want to ensure that food gets to communities recovering from disasters, Tiltify CEO Michael Wasserman says a nonprofit contribution is probably best, as established organizations already have distribution pipelines and built-up expertise.

But if you want to ensure a particular person can take care of themselves, he said, a direct donation to a crowdfunding campaign might make more sense than sending money “through a charitable funnel.”

“It really depends on what your goal is as a donor: if you’re trying to help out somebody specifically or if you’re trying to help out people in plural,” Wasserman said.