A mother in Nepal whose life was saved while giving birth in a healthcare facility run by the organization Possible.

Why the World Needs You to “Shop for Impact” this #GivingTuesday.

A year before #GivingTuesday was launched in 2012 as an antidote to the consumerism of the post-Thanksgiving season, I met Peter Singer for noodles at a humble Chinese restaurant in Manhattan.

I pursued a conversation with Peter because his moral philosophy inspired my ongoing imperfect pursuit to become a vegetarian, and his views on giving have deepened my commitment to build an organization that delivers high-quality, low-cost healthcare to the world’s poorest people.

In 2010, he packaged his thoughts on giving into a compelling book, site, and movement called The Life You Can Save. It provided a moral rubric for how I would strive to live my life.

And as we enter the third year of #GivingTuesday, the lessons contained in his book and a burgeoning movement known as “Effective Altruism” provide a critical guide on what to “shop” for during a day of giving.

Why?

First, let’s take an honest, big-picture look at how we consume versus how we give.

How we consume:

• Americans spent $57.4 billion dollars on stuff in 2013 over Black Friday weekend (Thursday — Sunday) alone.
• Americans spent $2.29 billion on stuff in 2013 on Cyber Monday alone.

How we give:

• Americans gave $335 billion in all of 2013.
• Giving as a percentage of U.S. GDP has stagnated at about 2% since 1971.
• Estimates for #GivingTuesday 2014 project $40 million could be raised.

In other words, we consume, in 4 short days, 17% of what we give in an entire year. And in a single day to single day comparison, if we meet giving expectations for #GivingTuesday 2014, we will only give 1.7% of what we spent on Cyber Monday last year.

Facing three realities head on at this time of year could help improve our own lives and dramatically improve the lives of the suffering around the world.

1. We have too much stuff already. And that stuff stresses us out, wastes our time, is bad for the environment, and makes us less happy.
2. We can give more. Remember, even if we hit the target for #GivingTuesday today, we are only giving 1.7% of what we spent on Cyber Monday last year.
3. Not all giving is created equal. Effective altruism is a movement which applies evidence to determine the most effective ways to improve the world. And there are several great organizations that help you find high-impact giving opportunities.

Put it all together, and you start to understand why shopping like an “effective altruist” for high-impact giving opportunities on #GivingTuesday matters so much.

Personally, I really like The Life You Can Save* for helping you decide where to give because they have a helpful calculator that will calculate your recommended giving amount based on income, and there’s a list of their Top Charities that have been vetted based on evidence.

Full disclosure, Possible, the organization I lead, is on their list, and we’ve also looked to #GivingTuesday to launch a campaign that allows you to give to build Nepal’s first rural teaching hospital and receive ongoing, compelling monthly updates on your impact.

My advice for #GivingTuesday is simple:

Give the way you shop. Give a lot, and look for the best “deal.”

When it comes to giving, the best deal means finding an organization who can create the most impact for your dollar. That’s really what #GivingTuesday should be all about.

*Note: I have an extraordinary amount of respect for other organizations who help people find the most impactful giving opportunities. Please also look at GiveWell,Giving What We Can, and the social entrepreneurs in the Mulago Foundation portfolio to find yourself a high-impact organization to support.

Mark Arnoldy is the CEO of Possible, a nonprofit healthcare company that delivers high-quality, low-cost healthcare to the world’s poor. He’s on Twitter at@markarnoldy.