It Ain’t What You Give, It’s the Way That You Give It
Making Charitable Donations That Get Results
Most donors want their giving to make a real difference. Most don’t know whether it does. Caroline Fiennes, one of the UK’s leading authorities on effective philanthropy, cuts through the mythology and misinformation to show — with evidence, rigour, and enviable clarity — how charitable donations can actually get results.
The title is deliberately irreverent, and so is much of the book. Caroline Fiennes is a donor adviser and the founding director of Giving Evidence, a consultancy that champions evidence-based giving, and she approaches her subject with the scepticism of a scientist and the directness of someone who has spent years watching well-intentioned giving go wrong.
It Ain’t What You Give is a guide to charitable giving that covers the full landscape: how charities work; why assessing them by their administration costs is, in Fiennes’s own word, “bollocks”; how to think about impact and what “systemic” giving means; theories of change; the hidden costs imposed on charities by funders’ own bureaucracy; and the crucial distinction between charities that are good at fundraising and charities that are good at their work.
The book is written for donors of any size — individuals, major donors, foundations, corporate funders — but it is equally valuable reading for charity fundraisers and leaders who want to understand their funders better, and to make the case more effectively for the work they do. One Alliance Magazine reviewer noted that the book “debunks the media-fuelled mythology often accepted as truth that good charities are those with the lowest administration costs” and praised its willingness to challenge foundations and trusts head-on for imposing unnecessarily complex and costly application processes.
Drawing on evidence from medicine, psychology, military strategy, physics, genetics, and history, as well as the charity sector itself, Fiennes offers a framework for giving that is both intellectually serious and practically useful. The book’s price (£16.01 at publication — a deliberate nod to the Charitable Uses Act of 1601, which forms the basis of much charitable law in the UK) signals something of the spirit in which it is written: learned, witty, and committed to taking charity seriously.
About Caroline Fiennes
Caroline Fiennes is the founding director of Giving Evidence, which helps donors and foundations use evidence to give more effectively. She has advised some of the world’s largest philanthropic organisations, is a regular columnist for Third Sector magazine, and has been a charity CEO. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society.
Reviews
“Whether you’re giving your own money, or raising money, and whether you’re giving a lot or a little, this delightful guide is essential.”
Sir Ranulph Fiennes
“Increasingly people see parallels between charity and business, so it’s refreshing and valuable that Caroline brings perspectives from elsewhere, including medicine, the military, politics, physics, history, genetics and psychology. A great read: any donor should read it and heed it.”
Isabel Kelly, International Director, Salesforce.com Foundation
“Caroline’s insight into a very complex topic provides a clear understanding — not only to the complexities of charitable giving, but a guide to the impact of the donation. This book provides a very clear guide for any donor, from the novice to major corporate institutions.”
The Body Shop International
“Starting with the title, Caroline Fiennes’ book is as far away as it’s possible to get from the sometimes over-preachy tone of many ‘how to do philanthropy’ books. The author’s engaging, informative, sometimes irreverent and frequently emphatic style works well. Throughout the book, she skewers many foundations and trusts for imposing on UK charities at least £1 billion in unnecessary cost — and challenges donors to do much better.”
Kurt Hoffman, Institute for Philanthropy, Alliance Magazine
“The Freakonomics of the charity world – with better cartoons”
Martin Houghton-Brown, CEO, Missing People
Book/author website: https://giving-evidence.com/book/
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