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Can anyone recommend ways of finding out about low cost / direct impact things like this? I'd much prefer to fund a specific laptop than throwing money into the

Can anyone recommend ways of finding out about low cost / direct impact things like this? I'd much prefer to fund a specific laptop than throwing money into the void of big charities.

jkot 10y ago
Poor people are everywhere. For low cost / direct impact, you could "remotely adopt" kid in India or Africa and provide basic education. You get letters, pictures etc... Its very nice. I found catholic charities to be best for this (I am not catholic). They work on site, have long tradition and very small overhead.
- ryandrake 10y ago
  Wow, I've always just assumed those things were total scams. How do you verify that your money is providing care for an actual kid and not funding some entrepreneur's third yacht while he sends you stock photos of kids?
  - whamlastxmas 10y ago
    You have to pick a charity that goes above and beyond the legally required reporting. This provides transparency into how the money is spent on a more granular level. I don't know how common this is, I suspect not very.
  - jkot 10y ago
    My friend went to India to visit adopted kid. There are stories on news papers, some students even came to study university in Europe.
ashray 10y ago
Please email me (link in bio), I'm also looking to fund grassroots initiatives like this and I've found a few but two heads are better than one :)
nanna 10y ago
There's a group in Canada called Computers for Refugees that does this sort of thing. https://www.facebook.com/computersforrefugees https://www.facebook.com/computersforrefugees I've been thinking about setting something like this up where I come from in London, UK. A worker at a refugee centre told me that laptops are an extremely helpful tool for refugees so they can communicate with authorities and aid agencies in good time, but that they were out of reach for most. Refugees generally have stupidphones because they're cheap and easy to get a hold of, but not laptops. Anyone interested in working together on something like this in London?
netcan 10y ago
When that sort of thing gets big enough for HN to recomend, it loses a lot of the directness. There are lots of attempts to scale personalized, direct giving but if you want the real deal, there's nothing wrong with small. Find local people in your area. Religious communities are a good place to start, especially if you have any sort of affiliation yourself. There might be refugee focused charities or community groups, PC recycling charities.. Shouldn't be hard to find. Call them. Ask what they need or tell them what you'd like to do. Other than PCs (and other material things they need), it can be good to just have newly arrived refugees to dinner. It helps to know local people like you personally.
erubin 10y ago
One charity that I contribute to is GiveDirectly[1]. They are one of GiveWell's[2] highest rated charities and are quite transparent about the impact they have. GiveDirectly is also currently experimenting with basic income and have matching donations for that project. [1] https://www.givedirectly.org/ https://www.givedirectly.org/ [2] http://www.givewell.org/ http://www.givewell.org/
Kluny 10y ago
Ask a local church to recommend a parishioner who would benefit from it. They usually have a long list.
Hydraulix989 10y ago
Watsi seems pretty transparent. I can't help but feel good even pitching in $25 to fund someone's sometimes lifesaving medical treatment from across the world. As an aside, the costs are actually representative of the treatment, unlike in the inflated world of American insurance.
cuchoi 10y ago
GiveWell recommends charities where you should donate based on impact-per-dollar: http://www.givewell.org/ http://www.givewell.org/

Can anyone recommend ways of finding out about low cost / direct impact things like this? I'd much prefer to fund a specific laptop than throwing money into the void of big charities.

jkot 10y ago

Poor people are everywhere. For low cost / direct impact, you could "remotely adopt" kid in India or Africa and provide basic education. You get letters, pictures etc... Its very nice. I found catholic charities to be best for this (I am not catholic). They work on site, have long tradition and very small overhead.

ryandrake 10y ago
Wow, I've always just assumed those things were total scams. How do you verify that your money is providing care for an actual kid and not funding some entrepreneur's third yacht while he sends you stock photos of kids?
- whamlastxmas 10y ago
  You have to pick a charity that goes above and beyond the legally required reporting. This provides transparency into how the money is spent on a more granular level. I don't know how common this is, I suspect not very.
- jkot 10y ago
  My friend went to India to visit adopted kid. There are stories on news papers, some students even came to study university in Europe.

ashray 10y ago

Please email me (link in bio), I'm also looking to fund grassroots initiatives like this and I've found a few but two heads are better than one :)

nanna 10y ago

There's a group in Canada called Computers for Refugees that does this sort of thing. https://www.facebook.com/computersforrefugees https://www.facebook.com/computersforrefugees I've been thinking about setting something like this up where I come from in London, UK. A worker at a refugee centre told me that laptops are an extremely helpful tool for refugees so they can communicate with authorities and aid agencies in good time, but that they were out of reach for most. Refugees generally have stupidphones because they're cheap and easy to get a hold of, but not laptops. Anyone interested in working together on something like this in London?

netcan 10y ago

When that sort of thing gets big enough for HN to recomend, it loses a lot of the directness. There are lots of attempts to scale personalized, direct giving but if you want the real deal, there's nothing wrong with small. Find local people in your area. Religious communities are a good place to start, especially if you have any sort of affiliation yourself. There might be refugee focused charities or community groups, PC recycling charities.. Shouldn't be hard to find. Call them. Ask what they need or tell them what you'd like to do. Other than PCs (and other material things they need), it can be good to just have newly arrived refugees to dinner. It helps to know local people like you personally.

erubin 10y ago

One charity that I contribute to is GiveDirectly[1]. They are one of GiveWell's[2] highest rated charities and are quite transparent about the impact they have. GiveDirectly is also currently experimenting with basic income and have matching donations for that project. [1] https://www.givedirectly.org/ https://www.givedirectly.org/ [2] http://www.givewell.org/ http://www.givewell.org/

Kluny 10y ago

Ask a local church to recommend a parishioner who would benefit from it. They usually have a long list.

Hydraulix989 10y ago

Watsi seems pretty transparent. I can't help but feel good even pitching in $25 to fund someone's sometimes lifesaving medical treatment from across the world. As an aside, the costs are actually representative of the treatment, unlike in the inflated world of American insurance.

cuchoi 10y ago

GiveWell recommends charities where you should donate based on impact-per-dollar: http://www.givewell.org/ http://www.givewell.org/