Zoo Station

As is well known, the lack of information is a problem in many markets. I have found this to be a significant problem for charitable donations (profitable organizations, such as bond rating agencies, have mushroomed to reduce such gaps in other markets). How many times have you given to a charity a friend is involved with only because you now trust the charity more? There is then a need for an organization that can provide us with information on charities and their 'ratings' - almost like how credit rating agencies rate firms. Except how such an organization would make money is not clear!

Via Gayathri, I came to know of one such entity. In their words:

Charity Navigator works to guide intelligent giving. We help charitable givers make intelligent giving decisions by providing information on over thirty-one hundred charities and by evaluating the financial health of each of these charities. We ensure our evaluations are widely used by making them easy to understand and freely available to the public. By guiding intelligent giving, we aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation's most persistent challenges.

It focuses only on the US - but here's a start to make the most of philanthropy.