What are the considerations you deem most important when deciding which charity to donate to?
My donations are partly in responses to specific current needs and campaigns, eg UNICEFs work in Syria and the current Greenpeace campaign to stop oil drilling in the Arctic; and partly towards longer term work in areas like climate change that I am concerned about, eg RSPB, Oxfam, Scottish Green Party.
I do not give donations to Christian-based charities like CAFOD or Salvation Army because they hold views that I disagree with, eg Catholic charities working in Africa but not prepared to recommend contraception, or the use of condoms to prevent spread of AIDS. I do give donations to Buddhist-based charities (eg Karuna Trust, Green Tara Trust) because I’m familiar with their ethics and I know from personal experience that they work with those in need irrespective of their religion and without any ‘strings attached’ like trying to convert people to Buddhism.