When I first started taking a closer interest in supporting charities, I assumed that it would be pretty similar to finding good investments. By carrying out research I would soon be able to identify those doing the best job. How wrong I was!

Whereas companies need to attract more customers in order to grow, charities just need to get better at raising money. There is often no link between the success of their work and the amount of money raised.

However, this is beginning to change. The emerging discipline of impact measurement is slowly providing the tools and data to allow donors and charity managers understand better what works best.

Selecting good charities is one of the toughest tasks that I’ve encountered. But if that sounds rather negative, don’t be put off. Helping others is THE most rewarding activity available to us and I recommend it heartily.

I hope that you find this guide helpful and that your giving provides you with as much pleasure as mine.

John Spiers
Chief Executive, EQ Investors

The EQ Foundation

The EQ Foundation is a registered charitable institution that receives funding from the EQ Investors Group and other related parties. It’s donated over £800,000 since 2015 to a number of registered charities. You can find out more about the work it does here.