If you were investing in a business, you would want to be confident that it was well run and there was potential for return on your investment. It's no different if you want to give your money away to charity.

At NPC we believe that taking a structured approach to giving can make the experience a lot more rewarding, as well as making sure the donations make as much impact as possible.

There are three key pieces of information you need to find out whether your giving is going to make a difference:

• What is the charity doing to make a difference?
• What does success mean for that charity? How does it know that its services are making any difference to its users and/or the wider world?
• What is the approximate cost of each "success"?

Once you have decided what type of charity you want to support, looking at the charities that interest you and researching their background can make you more confident that your money will be used effectively.

NPC's recently published report, Funding success, describes how we analyse charities and how donors can create the greatest impact by ensuring that their giving is based on results.