Slate Daily Feed How To! | Give to a Good Cause—and Make It Count
Dec 2, 2025
Grace Chang-Nicolette, Vice President at the Center for Effective Philanthropy, shares her insights on impactful charitable giving. She discusses the importance of fair nonprofit salaries and debunks myths about recipients and low overhead costs. Grace emphasizes that lower-income households often give a higher percentage of their income and encourages personal giving strategies like the 10% rule. She also offers alternatives for those unable to give financially, highlighting the power of community engagement and thoughtful evaluation of nonprofits.
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Childhood Gift That Became A Lesson
- Sophie Summergrad describes receiving Heifer International donations as a child and initially not understanding the gift.
- Her mother's tradition later shaped Sophie's appreciation for giving as part of the holiday spirit.
Nonprofits Are Facing A Survival Crisis
- Grace Chang-Nicollett explains nonprofits face sustained high need while losing government and donor funding.
- Many organizations report they're more worried than ever about survival and continuing services.
Overhead Is A Misleading Metric
- Grace warns against using low overhead as the sole metric for nonprofit quality.
- She argues unrestricted funding and fair pay enable organizations to attract talent and do better work.