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I have seen that traditional approaches to charity and aid don't solve problems of poverty. In fact, too often they create dependence.

If you don't improve the lives of the poor, it's not charity.

You can't get rid of poverty by giving people money.

The best way to end poverty is to simply give people work, which isn't considered 'sexy' among donors who want to fund a preschool or cure a disease.

Strangely, charity sometimes gets dismissed, as if it is ineffective, inappropriate or even somehow demeaning to the recipient. 'This isn't charity,' some donors take pains to claim, 'This is an investment.' Let us recognize charity for what it is at heart: a noble enterprise aimed at bettering the human condition.

Most organizations should be pro-active, but philanthropists concerned with poverty should deliberately be reactive, learning from the efforts of ordinary folks who tired of looking the other way as their communities fell apart.

Poverty is not inevitable. It is a human ill that we can fight if we decide to do so together.

One of the most crucial kinds of intervention is in advocacy. We can think about charities in the context of delivering services, and indeed that is part of their job, but advocacy is also getting governments to step up to the plate. They can also give more voice to those who don't have one.

Charity can be the outward expression of faith and hope.

An important lever for sustained action in tackling poverty and reducing hunger is money.