The Realities of Charitable Organisations and Aid

This unit explores the many facets of non-profits and government aid through environmental, economic, and social criteria to better understand their impact and operations. Students also use refined criteria from The Life You Can Save to formulate a plan to give to charitable causes. These perspectives will challenge students to better understand the complexities of philanthropy and aid across many significant global issues. 

This unit was created in collaboration with The Life You Can Save. The Life You Can Save conducts research to identify nonprofits running highly impactful programs that address the multiple dimensions of poverty. They also help connect people who want to donate money and resources with these non-profits to maximise the impact of their gifts. They aim to create a world where everyone has an opportunity to build a better life and where there’s no suffering or death due to extreme poverty.

Students develop their awareness and skills at using a cost-benefit analysis as a concise summary for measuring the impact of different initiatives. This includes looking at global measures such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as well as a more detailed case study of an Australian charity. Students will grow their appreciation of the scale and need for funding of significant global causes and be involved in making key decisions about how money should be gifted. 

Peter Singer wrote the first edition of The Life You Can Save to demonstrate why we should care about and help those living in global extreme poverty, and how easy it is to improve and even save lives by giving effectively. To delve more deeply into the themes and ideas in this unit, you can access a free copy of the eBook or listen to the free audiobook narrated by Kristen Bell, Stephen Fry, Paul Simon and more on Spotify.