Donation tips in the media: a tragedy

Note from the Effektiv Spenden-Team: This article references only German media. The links exclusively lead to articles written in German.
Christmas is also a time for giving. Actually, and especially for me, a reason to be happy. On the other hand, it is also the time of year when practically every news portal, newspaper, magazine, radio and TV station and, of course, social media is bombarded with tips on what to look out for when donating. In principle, this is anything but a problem, but the quality of much of this reporting drives me to the brink of madness year after year.

My negative “highlight” in this regard last year came from Stiftung Warentest. The here on the subject of donations repeatedly referred to the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI) awarded donation seal and suggests that it is a particularly meaningful award. This is not the case, as the DZI merely taps into a few more or less meaningful minimum standards, such as the absence of “\[u]nappropriately emotionalizing”Advertisement. However, there is just as little information available regarding the effectiveness of these organizations as there is any comparison or ranking of aid organizations. Unfortunately, the situation is similarly superficial when it comes to the Austrian Charity Seal of Approval and the Zewo seal of approval from Switzerland.

Therefore, it is unfortunately consistent that Stiftung Warentest also lacks what constitutes the core of any test: the test winner. Anything that, from test.de’s perspective, does not appear to operate wastefully makes it onto the list of “organizations that operate economically.” There is no further differentiation, even though it is widely accepted in scientific literature that the effectiveness of donation organizations varies massively, sometimes by more than 100-fold. The basis for classifying an organization as economically operating is, ironically, the expenses for administration and advertising of the NGOs.

That administrative costs are not a useful measure for evaluating charities should be clear from the fact that Stiftung Warentest does not apply this measure to any other product category. Have you ever wondered about the administrative costs of Apple or your favorite pizzeria to decide which phone to buy or which pasta provider to choose? Probably not, and rightly so. For nonprofit organizations, this number, which is not even calculated consistently, is of no help when it comes to evaluating the price-performance ratio—how much help is provided with each euro. And that is all that matters.

This year, I had hoped for more differentiated reporting, not least because our evidence-based approach to nonprofit work has gained some recognition. For instance, we were mentioned in the Spiegel and in the Finanztip newsletter.

The fact that this or the Donation tips have no lasting effect on the level of discourse on our website was unfortunately only recently brought home to me once again. It all started with a dpa report which, although it could hardly be surpassed in banality, was copied one-to-one from Time, South German, Handelsblatt (no longer available), FAZ (no longer available) and was picked up by many other quality media outlets. Headline: “Don’t Let Yourself Be Pressured into Donating.” Strictly speaking, this isn’t wrong, but aren’t there much more relevant statements on the question of how to help the most people with your donation?

Differently, but not really better, it’s done in this article from Die Zeit. As a tip for donating effectively to support climate protection, you seriously read the following sentence: “A reputable organization provides a street address and a means of contact.” Well, thank you very much! If I had known it was that easy, I could have spared myself the last few years of work. Instead of collaborating with partners like GiveWell, who have spent years sifting through thousands of studies and whose evaluations of charities read like mini doctoral theses, I could have just checked which initiatives have a valid address. Is the zip code five digits? Check! Do the city and street names sound plausible? Check! Is there even a contact form or email to be found? Check, check, check! One really couldn’t ask for more…

One could almost laugh, if it weren’t literally a matter of life and death for many charities. But it is. It’s about life and death: of people, of animals, and of our planet. Poor organizations cause harm. Mediocre organizations mishandle donations and achieve sporadic success. Only a small group of excellent organizations truly achieve great things.

The differences are immense. Depending on where you donate, the impact can be multiplied tenfold or even a hundredfold. It’s time for this scientifically proven insight to finally reach where it belongs: among the millions of people who are not only misled by charity canvassers in shopping zones but also kept in the dark by superficial journalism.

Our resolution for the coming year is to talk to many more people, especially journalists and other multipliers, to show how much good can be done as a donor if you just take the trouble to look a little closer.

Do you feel addressed? Then please write us an e-mail or call us.

About the author

Sebastian Schwiecker

Founder and Managing Director

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I am the founder and managing director of Effektiv Spenden. If you have any questions or feedback about this article, you can send me an email or reach me at 0176/23570281. You’re also welcome to book a free donation consultation with me.