ThinkingGiving

How do I know my donation is making a difference?

Should I support a large, national charity or a small, local one?

What should I look for on a charity's website?

In just three hours, you can become a better informed and more effective donor

The short course that will empower you to make more thoughtful and effective decisions about your charitable giving overseas – and feel more satisfaction about the difference you are making.

Seven Modules – 25 Lively Videos

Each module consists of short videos that use a mix of live case studies, background information, useful advice, and even a few myth busters. By filling out the accompanying workbook, you’ll end the course with a personal roadmap for your international charitable giving.

The Curriculum

Module One - Your Giving Roadmap
Welcome to ThinkingGiving, the short course that will empower you to make more thoughtful and effective decisions about your charitable giving – and feel more satisfaction about the difference you are making.
Module Two - Who is Doing This?
This section is an overview of charitable giving in the UK – Who are the key players? How does the money flow? What challenges and opportunities lie ahead?
Module Three - What Interests You?
The single most important decision you can make to ensure your gift makes a difference is choosing the right cause and, especially, the right issue area within that cause.
Module Four - Why Is This Happening?
This module offers simple tools for you to better understand the issue you have selected within its context (ecosystem).
Module Five - How to Make Change
This module will show you the different approaches donors can use to help make change happen though the organisations or initiatives they support.
Module Six - What is Impact?
“Impact” is one of the most misused (and misunderstood) terms in charitable giving. This module is a primer on the basic concepts smart donors should grasp to understand to make the most difference.
Module Seven - Who is Making the Most Difference?
By this point, you will have chosen a cause and issue area within it, performed enough basic research about the issue to know which approaches and solutions you wish to support, and created a short list of organizations that fulfill these criteria. To help you in your final selection, we have filmed two case studies showing donors making their charitable giving decisions.
Conclusion - Your Engagement
The mechanics of giving and a short primer on giving overseas.

ThinkingGiving CIC is a community interest corporation, part of the Uplifting Journeys donor education initiatives produced in the USA and UK by SylviaBrownSmartDonors.