The Purpose of Giving

You might not remember Yegna, but you probably read the story about them. They were an Ethiopian Girl band who were funded by the UK government.

It sounds ridiculous. Why should the UK tax payer fund a girl band in Ethiopia? It became an example of aid wastage. Politically untenable.

There are endless examples of aid either from development agencies or charities, giving to causes or running projects which at first glance appear like a waste of money.

In truth, we don’t know the ins and outs of this. We don’t know whether it was a waste of money or was having significant impact on the gender equality in Ethiopia, which leads us to the real question. The nub of the matter.  

Why do we not know whether this was impactful or not?

Impact measurement is never easy. How do you measure the impact of something, particularly when it is intangible? But it is possible to measure somethings. For example, in the case of Yegna, its possible to measure their reach. Its possible to sample girls who were in their target demographic and measure changes in opinions, ambitions, education levels against a control group.

Difficult things to measure. Not 100% certain, but indicators of success or failure.

What we would deem a high risk investment.

But that is the purpose of giving. Impact.

And that is the purpose of GiveImpact.

See what projects have measurable impact. Fund the project. Record the results. Make giving transparent.