PHILADELPHIA — The holiday season sparks the spirit of giving and to help donors who are looking to make a difference for others through charitable contributions, the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy has released a free, online toolkit outlining the most effective opportunities.

Based on the Center’s previous analysis pin-pointing where private, philanthropic funds can make the biggest difference improving the lives of others, “High-Impact Holiday Giving” features a round-up of pre-vetted high-impact, cost-effective charitable-giving options and non-profit information for those who wish to make a strong social impact with their donations.

Each opportunity is an evidence-based, successful approach to philanthropic giving in the key areas on which the Center has focused for six years: global public health and international development, domestic education and vulnerable populations in the United States.

“No matter if you have $10 or a million dollars to donate, this guide is designed to help donors get more bang for their charitable bucks by highlighting models that have proven to be highly successful at a reasonable cost,” Katherina Rosqueta, the Center’s founding executive director, said.  “High-impact philanthropy is not about how much you give; it’s about how well you give to create positive change.”

Depending on the donor’s interests and how they wish to channel their donations, the Center provides effective charitable-giving opportunities in its online toolkit.  For instance, for donors who are interested in assisting victims of Superstorm Sandy, the website refers them to the Center’s blog about post-disaster relief titled “Hurricane Sandy: How Can I Help?”

"High Impact Holiday Giving" includes the Center's latest model-in-practice, the Comprehensive Rural Health Project, Jamkhed, India, from its ongoing child survival donor toolkit.

Other suggested charitable-giving opportunities center around improving education in the United States, at-risk youth issues, global development and violence prevention. 

The Center offers donors information about ways to make a difference through high-impact philanthropy, not only during the holiday season, but also throughout the year. 

Its online toolkit delivers guidance for ways to give that will provide emergency food for hungry families, give children a strong start in life with nurse home-visitation programs, keep families healthy, redesign schools for better learning, help new teachers succeed and support literacy.  Others deliver life-saving interventions, help people move from poverty to self-sufficiency, fund sustainable agriculture and support community-based primary healthcare systems.

Additionally, “High-Impact Holiday Giving” provides interviews with staff members from the Center that offer various ways to approach year-end giving.

The Center for High Impact Philanthropy, a non-profit resource that provides independent analysis and decision-making tools to ensure philanthropic funds have the greatest possible social impact, was created in 2006 through a collaboration between the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Wharton School.