Development Studies: Get Involved

MISSION: To connect the community of Greater Boston to the challenges of international development by creating opportunities for dialog and action. Specifically, we aim to: Increase student engagement and preparation for action in international development issues. Facilitate the sharing of ideas among international development professionals and academics with the aim of enhancing development interventions Serve as a catalyst for Boston residents to take direct action in international development issues.

Founded in 1965 in Houston, Amigos de las Américas (AMIGOS) is an international, non-profit organization that provides unparalleled leadership and community service opportunities for young people while concurrently contributing to the well-being of hundreds of communities throughout the Americas.

The FSD Training Abroad programs serve students and young professionals looking to gain international development experience and training while working to support an underserved community. The program commonly acts as a catalyst for building a career in development, strengthening applications for graduate programs, or cultivating relationships with international communities and organizations.

If we could easily save the life of a child, we would. For example, if we saw a child in danger of drowning in a shallow pond, and all we had to do to save the child was wade into the pond, and pull him out, we would do so. The fact that we would get wet, or ruin a good pair of shoes, doesn’t really count when it comes to saving a child’s life. UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, estimates that about 24,000 children die every day from preventable, poverty-related causes. Yet at the same time almost a billion people live very comfortable lives, with money to spare for many things that are not at all necessary. (You are not sure if you are in that category? When did you last spend money on something to drink, when drinkable water was available for nothing? If the answer is “within the past week” then you are spending money on luxuries while children die from malnutrition or diseases that we know how to prevent or cure.) The Life You Can Save seeks to change this. If everyone who can afford to contribute to reducing extreme poverty were to give a modest proportion of their income to effective organizations fighting extreme poverty, the problem could be solved. It wouldn’t take a huge sacrifice.

VIA is dedicated to increasing understanding between the United States and Asia through public service and programs promoting cross-cultural education. We are an independent and entrepreneurial non-profit organization founded at Stanford University in 1963.

World Learning International Development Programs focus on a single purpose: to bridge the gap between the desire for human development and the ability to achieve that goal. Programs in more than 20 countries work to enhance the capacity of individuals, communities, and institutions to take ownership of their own development, secure just and effective policies and structures, and create sustainable positive change.

Guides to Donations and Charitable Giving

Good Intentions

Good Intentions’ mission is to provide donors with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed funding decisions. Donor decisions do matter. The types of charities and projects donors choose to fund impacts the type of aid recipients receive. The pressures donors place on organizations affect the quality of assistance charities provide. Unfortunately well-intentioned donations can accidentally reward bad aid projects and punish good ones. Good Intentions is dedicated to providing donors with the information, tools, and resources they need to ensure their donations match their good intentions.

Charity Navigator works to guide intelligent giving. We help charitable givers make intelligent giving decisions by providing information on over five thousand charities and by evaluating the financial health of each of these charities. We ensure our evaluations are widely used by making them easy to understand and available to the public free of charge. By guiding intelligent giving, we aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation's most persistent challenges.

Please recommend more organizations for this page: wjoseph@wellesley.edu