Blogs

July 1, 2024

We are extremely proud to announce that Giving is Great has won the 'Philanthropic Initiative Award' at the WealthBriefing Wealth for Good Awards ceremony in London on 27 June. This recognition highlights our innovative approach to identifying charities that are…....more

June 19, 2024

Government spending on charities is highly significant for both parties but the way in which it is allocated is far from optimal. In this article we outline the potential for a more systematic and impactful approach. Background There are over…....more

March 3, 2024

The UK has a higher proportion of the population incarcerated than any other country in Western Europe. Moreover, overcrowding in prisons means that the scope for achieving rehabilitation is severely curtailed. Reducing the rate of reoffending needs to be an…....more

November 26, 2023

Our unique algorithm analyses the digital data available on each charity in order to identify areas of strength as well as those that require further investigation. Our ratings are split into three broad areas: Finances Governance Support Our analysis is…....more

February 9, 2023

It's easy to become disillusioned at the scale of the environmental crisis that we are facing and the seeming reluctance of governments to coordinate responses. Fortunately, many Third Sector organisations are showing what can be done with motivation, determination and…....more

October 10, 2022

If you are considering what charity you should donate to, this is probably the question you want to ask, but the answer should not drive your decision. In other walks of life curiosity about costs incurred in supporting the delivery…....more

August 9, 2022

Donations to charity are tax deductible in most cases, so it's important to make full use of them. Most people have heard of Gift Aid. This allows registered charities to claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated by UK…....more

June 17, 2022

Every day, more people and organisations demonstrate their recognition of the climate crisis by committing to become 'Carbon Neutral'. The first and most important part of that process is to reduce your carbon footprint as much as possible, usually by:…....more

May 1, 2022

The text of this post is taken from an article on the Effective Altruism forum. It suggests that you can achieve the most impact by supporting causes that fight extreme poverty, improving animal welfare and optimising our long term future.…....more

April 5, 2022

Although the latest IPCC report has a few encouraging data points, you can't get away from the overwhelming likelihood that, barring a miracle or an extremely unlikely immediate change in human behaviour, the 1.5 degree warming target will not be…....more

April 3, 2022

The Disasters Emergency Committee ("DEC") is a registered UK charity that acts as an umbrella fund raising organisation for 15 large charities. It was originally setup in 1963 and since then has coordinated appeals for most international emergencies. When an…....more

October 12, 2021

We were delighted to win this award and the accompanying comments: "The judges were impressed by this submission for Charity Champion of the Year from beginning to end. In particular, the panel admired the way The EQ Foundation’s charity website provided…....more

September 2, 2021

The best charities can be more than 100 times more effective than others so it pays to be selective. Giving is Great can help you find them. In all walks of life the best run organisations achieve more than those…....more

August 22, 2021

Helping others fulfils a deep need in our souls and usually results in a feeling of connection and self worth. There are tens of thousands of opportunities to volunteer, in this article we suggest how to go about finding the…....more

June 14, 2021

The G7 summit in Cornwall has helped to remind us that averting catastrophic climate change is a massive challenge, requiring concerted efforts by all of us. Modifying our own lifestyles is the best place to start but after that many…....more

May 3, 2021

Here are some ideas to help you gain more satisfaction from your philanthropy and confidence that the causes you have selected are impactful. Engage your brain, as well as your heart You are unlikely to give away hard earned savings…....more

April 26, 2021

Double your donation is generally how the message goes. If you give £10 to a certain charity another party will add the same amount. Sounds great, what's not to like about it? Well - in some cases that other donor…....more

March 15, 2021

Many people make bequests to charities in Wills, partly because it can be highly tax efficient but to make best use of these incentives there are a few things to watch out for. Gifts fall outside of your estate for…....more

January 17, 2021

In this article we explain the basics of Effective Altruism, which seeks to combine the instincts of our hearts to support charitable causes with hard evidence that allows our brains to support those decisions. In this blog we identify areas…....more

November 17, 2020

In this Blog we outline a strategy to help people who are new to philanthropy and for those who feel dissatisfied with the impact they are having. Effective philanthropy is immensely rewarding for donors, both in terms of witnessing the…....more

September 20, 2020

There are thousands of highly effective charities in the UK and so we've tried to make the Giving is Great search engine efficient for finding them. When it comes to selecting charities that we wish to support financially through the…....more

February 22, 2020

In 2018 I became increasingly frustrated that most of the organisations that we were supporting had been referred through contacts. I decided to try and look proactively for effective charities and immediately discovered that it was almost impossible. Search engines…....more

February 19, 2020

ToC is a relatively new concept that helps to define how a programme or intervention will achieve the desired result. It involves a careful examination of each step in the process and of the evidence supporting its effectiveness. It can…....more

February 19, 2020

When profit is not available it becomes difficult to measure effectiveness, so most charities don’t bother; at best they report on their outputs. But that can be highly misleading. For example, a charity might tell you that they supply two…....more