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The Best Ways to Give

During this holiday season, we should use what we know about successful dieting to inform our charitable giving. As with eating, when it comes to helping others, following our immediate impulses does not always yield the best result.

NEW HAVEN – The holiday season is a time of charitable giving. For many, it is also a period of indulgence ahead of the diet season, when we wonder why we failed to rein in our impulses.

During this holiday season, we would be wise to use what we know about successful dieting to inform our charitable giving. As with eating, when it comes to fulfilling our natural desire to help other people, following our immediate impulses does not always yield the best result.

Over the last decade, my colleagues and I at Innovations for Poverty Action have identified some of the best-performing non-profit organizations around the world and researched the most effective ways to give. Here are four things I have learned about how to get the most out of your charitable donations.

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