Expert Sparks Heated Debate Over What's a 'Worthy' Charity

Beyond the Christmas decorations, gift-giving and parties, this is the time of year to sift through the mountain of requests for charitable donations, from groups that fight hunger and cancer to our alma mater and places of worship. So how can we gauge which groups are most deserving of our money?

Princeton University philosophy professor Peter Singer, an advocate of “effective altruism,” said we need to use our heads as well as our hearts in choosing which charities to support.

“Simply giving to get a warm glow, giving to the person on the street who holds out a cup or giving to a charity that shows you a brochure of a smiling child, that may or may not be doing good. You really don’t know,” Singer said.