Mulago Foundation

Each Holiday Season I'll gift a cause or charitable group. I figure if I'm finding enough money to buy trinkets and stocking-stuffers that might or might not be used by familiar faces I can certainly kick a little money toward world needs. 

Among non-profits there is a well oiled machine that makes holiday donations easy. Because my donations move around I'm on a lot of donor lists. This means I get a powerful amount of mail this time of year to comb. A lot of good work and inspiring stories find me and it's hard to select where or what or who to select each year.

What I like about Starr's presentation is that he tasks the giver with transforming their good intentions into community and world impact. To look past the theoretical potential of a cause to the actual outcomes. He provides a series of criteria to evaluate the impact potential of giving. I found this lecture both moving and helpful.

Starr heads the Mulago Foundation, a philanthropic fund that acts more like venture capital for upstart world-changers than a typical foundation. Mulago's Scalable Solutions Portfolio includes promising smaller development organizations like KickStart, Samasource, and the One Acre Fund.