"If that is the best way to use money (and you choose an effective charity) that is what they will do." There are actually a lot of legal constraints on charit

"If that is the best way to use money (and you choose an effective charity) that is what they will do." There are actually a lot of legal constraints on charities that make "invest the money for decades and then spend it" not work well for them. If you think this is what makes the most sense at this point you pretty much need to do it yourself, potentially with a donor-advised fund. "Prevention is better than cure." Sometimes. There are tradeoffs, and depending on what you're working on either can be more efficient. (I agree with your bottom line, that giving money now is important, but for different reasons.)