When people give, they want to know they are making a difference. So here are some tough-minded programs we’ve written about since Fixes began in October 2010, that make particularly good use of charitable dollars. Like all the ideas we’ve highlighted in Fixes, they are proven to work. All of them spend a relatively small amount now to create huge savings down the road. But these are also programs where a little bit of money can make a huge difference…
…Every city has a strategy for getting the homeless off the street, but those strategies have often failed because they are uncoordinated, poorly informed and badly designed. The 100,000 Homes Campaign makes a difference by standardizing the process and helping cities teach one another how to do it. It’s now working in 103 cities.
Like the other projects on this list, this effort requires a small investment for large savings — moving people into housing linked with services they need is far cheaper than leaving them on the streets.
