PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy has released its latest investment guide, “Haiti: How Can I Help? Models for Donors Seeking Long-Term Impact.”  The guide focuses on health, livelihoods and education, and it points to solutions where charitable dollars could make the biggest difference.

“Haiti: How Can I Help?” illustrates sustainable, high-impact models for donors to fund, all of which have been operating on the ground in Haiti, and it provides cost-per-impact estimates for each philanthropic opportunity. 

“For $25 per person, there are health systems that dramatically decrease child death rates,” Katherina Rosqueta, the Center’s executive director, said. “For $90 a year, there are agriculture models that produce more food and increase a farmer’s income while regenerating Haiti’s deforested soil.  These are the kind of high-impact opportunities we found can have a lasting effect after the headlines have faded.”

To help potential donors understand where high-impact opportunities exist, the Center’s multi-disciplinary team researched effective models and compiled background information to provide independent, objective and practical advice for donors who wish to move from simply having good intentions to actually making an impact.  They found that although Haiti’s poverty existed long before the Jan. 12 earthquake, the nation’s problems can be addressed.

“Philanthropists can be a part of the solution by supporting programs that are known to be effective.  The guide outlines ways donors can help Haitians develop the capacity they need to build a brighter future,” Carol McLaughlin, the project leader for the Center’s Haiti efforts, said.  “By involving affected communities in their own recovery and rebuilding, the models profiled in the guide produce sustained results, positive change that lasts long after you have made a donation.”

The Center for High Impact Philanthropy is a resource established by alumni of Penn’s Wharton School and housed at the School of Social Policy & Practice.  It provides independent analysis and decision-making tools for ensuring that philanthropic dollars have the greatest possible impact.

The Center’s latest guide is available here: Haiti: How Can I Help? Models for Donors Seeking Long-term Impact: http://impct.info/aGY5ZZ.

The general public can now download the guide for free at: www.impact.upenn.edu.