Ask HN: How do you know your donation is making a difference?

A goal for my family this year is to donate much more to non-profits that we feel match-up with our beliefs. For those of you who donate on a consistent basis, how do you select which orgs you give to? How do you know that they are actually helping and staying true to what they advertise?

Do we just have to put our faith in the non-profit and hope that they are actually doing what they say?