Once you’ve identified a worthy charity, recognize that it will have to pay someone to pick up your car or boat for you. To help the charity maximize the benefit of your donation, drop the car or boat off yourself.
We are on the precipice of a sea change. I believe in our lifetimes we will see a human services sector that demonstrates its desire to make a difference by proving its impact, that measures and improves the difference it makes not merely by anecdotes and that drives change at every level by relentless attention to data. This transformation can’t come soon enough. We certainly haven’t done ourselves or the individuals, families and communities we serve any favors by failing to distinguish the interesting from the useful. Arguably, we have been complicit in, if not outright causing harm to those we aspire to serve.
