Resource Guide

I have chosen 15 online resources that are helpful in dealing with the issue of charity.

Miniature Earth
This video really puts the world into perspective and presents statistics about the earth in a very understandable way. It tackles some issues such as economic inequality, health, and water availability.

University of California Atlas of Global Inequality
This website has an incredible amount of data and statistics. They cover income inequality, economic globalization, gender, communication, and others. This data is available for all countries and they also have a lot of research posted on the site.

United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is a good place to start when you want to find out what is going on in the world. Their website explains what the UN is doing around the globe, what kinds of laws are in place, and what governments and organizations are doing to stop various issues.

Charity Navigator
This website rates American philanthropies on their organizational efficiency (program, administrative, fundraising expenses and fundraising efficiency) and their organizational capacity (primary revenue growth, program expenses growth, and working capital ratio). This is a great site to use to find out if charities that you support are efficient and use their resources well. For each charity, Charity Navigator also provides an income statement, list of executives and what they are paid, and the charity’s mission.

Forbes.com’s Genuinely Needy article
Forbes.com evaluated 200 nonprofit organizations and “rated them on how efficiently they collect and distribute charity.” Their top ten charities include Big Brothers Big Sisters, Heifer International, and the Salvation Army.

National Center for Charitable Statistics
This is a great source for data and statistics on charities in the United States. They have all kinds of data about how much time and money Americans spend on charities. One handy aspect of this site is their data analysis tools. You can select what information you want displayed on a table. One downside is that you have to pay for some of their reports.

“Charity vs. Justice”
This article is a great summary of the differences between charity and social justice. The author highlights the different approaches that charity and social justice take and the effect that they have on people.

“Social Justice vs Charity”
This article by Sharon Gaskell of the Starthower Foundations delves into the differences between the arrogance of charity and the humility of justice. Gaskell presents the issues with charity and explains how social justice can make more of a lasting and valuable difference by working with people in poverty.

Paul Farmer on Development: Creating Sustainable Justice
This Youtube video shows a lecture by Paul Farmer, medical anthropologist, doctor, and social activist, at University of California. Farmer talks about medical treatment for people in poverty. He uses his work in Haiti through the organization Partners in Health as an example. He especially addresses the issue of developing “sustainable justice in developing countries.”

International Justice Mission
The International Justice Mission (IJM) is a great example of an organization that helps people out of slavery and oppression by changing the system. They use an approach that takes into account victim relief, perpetrator accountability, victim aftercare, and structural transformation. IJM’s website has a ton of statistics, case studies, and video that are very educational about issues in today’s world and what is being done to change them.

“Charity”
This essay by Deborah Taggart explains the history of charity including its historical roots, connection with religion, history of the word, and the differences between charity and philanthropy. The essay also includes a history of charity in the United States.

Questia
This website provides a list of books that deal with social justice. You can look at the book’s table on contents, read a selection from the book, and see reviews and ratings of the books.

Daughters of Charity
This organization has a website that explains many of the social justice issues of today. They have some newsletters that have provide information about these issues.

University of Alberta Visiting Lectureship in Human Rights- Dr. Kevin Bales
This is the transcript of a lecture that Dr. Kevin Bales, sociologist and slavery expert, gave at the University of Alberta. Bales talks about modern slavery, violence, and solutions to the issue. He mentions his organization, Free the Slaves, and other parts of the movement against slavery.

“Structural Violence as a Human Rights Violation”
This journal article by Kathleen Ho really delves into the issues of structural violence and inequality and how they are a human rights violation. She stresses the need of social and economic rights, not just civil and political rights.

Have fun exploring these resources!