Blog


Contributor Guidelines

Submitting guest blogs is open to Global Washington’s members of the Atlas level and above. We value a diversity of opinions on a broad range of subjects of interest to the global health and development community.

Blog article submissions should be 500-1500 words. Photos, graphs, videos, and other art that supports the main themes are strongly encouraged.

You may not be the best writer, and that’s okay. We can help you shape and edit your contribution. The most important thing is that it furthers an important conversation in your field, and that it is relatively jargon-free. Anyone without a background in global development should still be able to engage with your ideas.

If you include statistics or reference current research, please hyperlink your sources in the text, wherever possible.

Have an idea of what you’d like to write about? Let’s continue the conversation! Email comms@globalWA.org and put “Blog Idea” in the subject line.


The Ten Biggest Mistakes People Make When They Donate to a Charity

By Bill Taylor, Founder, SE Asia Foundation

Typewriter typed out “Donations”

As our work with the SE Asia Foundation continues to mature, I’m often asked about how one can know if their charitable donations are doing all the good they expect. Usually, I just answer such inquiries with a top-of-the-head response. But recently a friend wanted to delve more deeply into that question so I decided I’d better put my thoughts together more concisely. So, here you go: Ten serious mistakes to avoid when giving, followed by one positive suggestion. Continue Reading

Supporting the Tsay Keh Dene’s Efforts to Sustainably Manage their Territory

By Earthworm Foundation, reprinted with permission

View of trees

3M, Mars, Nestlé and Earthworm Foundation are partnering with the Tsay Keh Dene First Nation in British Columbia, Canada to help respect their rights to decide how their territory is managed. This includes protecting key areas in their territory from unwanted harvesting for pulp and paper or other industrial activities. Continue Reading

Please Don’t Complain About the Rain

Millions in Horn of Africa are in dire need of innovative water solutions

By Cathy Herholdt, World Concern Senior Communications Director

Dead livestock

Dead livestock in Somalia. Photo: World Concern.

Here in Western Washington, we have a tendency – a compulsion, maybe even – to complain about the weather. Understandable this year especially, as we’ve had an unusually cool, damp spring.

Just last evening, I went for a walk in my neighborhood, as I do most evenings. It was sprinkling when I left the house just before dinner, but by the time I got a half mile from home, the sky opened up and unleashed a torrent of rain on me. At first, I sighed in frustration and headed back home, but as the water ran off the hood of my rain jacket, I paused and looked up, letting the water run down my face. Continue Reading