With the biggest generosity event of the year – Giving Tuesday – coming up on November 28th, now is the perfect time to reassess our giving strategies. Since its inception in 2012, Giving Tuesday has become a worldwide movement that inspired $3.1 billion in charitable giving last year alone1. But most donations still come from the heart, not the head.

Enter "effective giving" – an evidence-based philosophy that analyses how to do the most cost-effective measurable good per dollar donated. Much like savvy investors who select stocks, effective givers rely on data, efficiency benchmarks, and concrete impact assessments to guide funding decisions.

Why does strategic giving matter? When donations pay for nice-sounding but ineffective programmes, it takes money away from initiatives that make a real difference in people's lives. Groups working to address nutrition, homelessness, global wellbeing, illness, and other critical issues end up severely underfunded because giving often prioritises heart-tugging stories over evidence-based solutions. Independent research reveals vast differences in impact between the most and least effective philanthropic interventions. For instance, in a study of different health treatments, the least effective HIV/AIDs intervention, which was still effective, was 1,000 less cost-effective than the best one2. More people slip through the cracks when donations chase emotions rather than wise investments in proven programmes.

"We have the opportunity – even obligation – to give smarter," says Dr Michael Plant, Oxford philosopher and founder of the charity evaluator, Happier Lives Institute. "There can be a big difference between what we believe will help people most and what really does. That’s why we need to do the research into wellbeing, to find out what those things are, then change what we do."

Some ways to maximise your impact without spending more this Giving Tuesday (and beyond), include:

Committing to regular giving for maximum sustained change.
Considering diversifying holiday donations across highly-vetted organisations for widespread impact.
Leveraging evidence-backed charity recommendations to put your dollars towards solutions scientifically shown to advance societal wellbeing further.

The Happier Lives Institute has put together this straightforward Effective Giving Guide (https://mailchi.mp/happierlivesinstitute/effectivegiving) with tips on how to evaluate charities and ensure your donations have the greatest positive impact.

Together, by embracing principles of effective giving, holiday generosity can help build a more equitable world.

For more information on the Happier Lives Institute and to view their latest charity recommendations, visit https://www.happierlivesinstitute.org/give-now/ or email [email protected].


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References
https://www.givingtuesday.org/blog/millions-worldwide-celebrate-givingtuesday-2022-with-acts-of-generosity-giving/
https://www.cgdev.org/publication/moral-imperative-toward-cost-effectiveness-global-health

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MEDIA CONTACT
Lara Watson
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ABOUT The Happier Lives Institute

The Happier Lives Institute (HLI) is an independent research organisation. It uses the latest data on subjective wellbeing to find the most cost-effective ways to help people live happier lives, then provides recommendations to policy-makers and charity donors.