First things first: it’s obvious we agree on more than we disagree on, and this is just quibbling about details when we’re on the same page on the big picture stuff. I agree that giving directly is the best way to bypass the very real problem of the giver misidentifying the recipient’s highest priority needs. But I’m pointing out that at this particular moment, the balance may need to shift towards more efficiently meeting needs at large scale.

It look me less than 30 minutes to hand out $400 with $20 to a car to those in line at the food bank.

You see what I mean, though, right? You’re talking about the effort required to find a charity but your strategy of giving directly already starts from leveraging a charity you’ve already found.

Many food banks around the country are turning people away after running out of food. In that kind of context, I think $100 to the food bank likely does more good than $100 directly to individuals.

So if we’re talking about balance, I’m currently putting almost all my charitable giving towards those organizations and rarely handing out cash, and it’s generally only to the needy people I’m already familiar with in my neighborhood. My ratio is very skewed at this point in time but I believe I’m maximizing the benefit from my giving.