Having spent from 1980 to 2000 in the arena of international aid and having had to learn 
to go over budgets and allocations with a fine tooth comb as a defense mechanism for 
preserving the hard earned grants that I wrote from the "development" department 
raiding for other projects, I highly recommend that anyone donating look closely at the 
organization when you are donating.

These are just a few items on my list:

1) Are the interventions likely to be sustainable and address the underlying problem?  
That is, does the organization assist locals to develop a system so that the intervention 
will continue once they leave?  For instance, if a nutritional supplement company offers 
iron supplements for pregnant women, will the area in question be forever tied to 
ordering those supplements from the nutritional supplement company when they stop 
funding the project?  Or would it be better to focus on a local food (e.g. grilled liver 
snacks are available in Niger, but are usually only eaten by dads because of gender bias 
– the was a practice that was successfully changed)?

2) If products or services are temporarily provided are these (e.g. foods) culturally 
acceptable?  For instance, when food is sent, is it in the form that the population knows 
how to prepare and will eat?  I’ve seen minestrone soup sent to some areas of Africa 
where you would have to open the cans with a knife (I actually forgot about can openers 
for 6 months after Peace Corps) and they are not used to eating soup.  Many food 
distribution organizations don’t provide a nutritious balance of foods, leaving out crucial 
micronutrients.  This may have changed since I stopped working internationally, but it is 
important to check.

3) Is the organization may actually be a "token" nonprofit whose main purpose is to 
improve the public image of a company that may be involved in activities that are not so 
great for the rest of humanity.  For instance, using a miniscule amount of the profits from 
the sale of water bottles to fund water projects in developing countries, hides the fact 
that the cost to society of recycling the plastic, drinking from plastics which may contain 
BPA, and use of fossil fuels to transport water when water is already locally available 
may far outweigh any benefit to the small numbers of people that may benefit from their 
program.  Or claiming your are saving HIV orphans with breastmilk, but really using most 
of the breast milk for research purposes.

4) Does the marketing of the “aid” supercede the actual services or products provided?  
Take a look at the ANNUAL reports.  I know personally that if the Development 
Department budget is higher than the Program Budget, the Development Department is 
draining away money from real programs.  Those fancy dinners where people pay money 
to attend for charity often do NOT yield much actual money for the program activities.

Best, Susan Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC  

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