Everyone can make a difference for their own community and other communities around the world - but it can be daunting to get more involved if you do not know where to start. This reading list is a slideshow presentation by Bryan Schaaf.

1. B Y B R Y A N S C H A A F
READING LIST
ForMakingaDifference

2. Everyone can make a
difference for their
own community and
other communities
around the world – but
it can be daunting to
get more involved if
you do not know
where to start. This is
an initial reading list
for humanitarians,
volunteers, and
activists.
Get inspired!

3. Everyone around the world is asked, daily, to help
meet the needs of another. From friends to beggars
to co-workers, everyone is seeking the time,
resources, or emotional support of others. While most
of us take the time to do what we can, a lot of us
worry we are giving too much. Can you handle the
emotional burden? Can you keep up financially? Do
you have the energy to add more to your to-do list?
Are you choosing to help in a way that is effective?
This book tells true stories of compassion and
change, and uses these stories as well as advice to
help steer you through these waters. It employs
psychology, spirituality, and common sense to help
you listen to yourself and to the voices of those you
are helping, and to connect with others on a deeper
level…not just by doing, but by being who you are.
HOW CAN I HELP? STORIES
AND REFLECTIONS ON
SERVICE, BY RAM DASS &
PAUL GORMAN

4. Each year more than $60 billion is spent globally on
foreign aid. Assistance has and will continue to make
a difference in the lives of many. However, there is a
dark side. International aid does not always help,
sometimes it does great harm. This book uncovers
and discusses the shortcomings of aid, from political
corruption to inefficiency in organizations. While the
book is a little dated and written by a disillusioned
author, it is an essential and unflinching read for
understanding that we have responsibilities to ensure
that the funds we give to charity are empowering
communities and helping them become more, rather
than less, self-reliant.
THE LORDS OF POVERTY: THE
POWER, PRESTIGE, AND
CORRUPTION OF THE
INTERNATIONAL AID
BUSINESS BY GRAHAM
HANCOCK

5. This book centers around the idea of people going
into the realms of charity, philanthropy, and
humanitarianism motivated by emotions, and
assumptions, rather than data. Good intentions are
wonderful, but can be misguided. This book speaks
to a practical approach, backed by data, in order to
make an enormous impact with our work, regardless
of resources. When you start with evidence and
careful reasoning, and then use the heart to
motivate, the ability to achieve results increases
exponentially. The author’s background is in
economics rather than altruism or NGO’s, which
leads to a few spurious conclusions and a lack of
broader perspective, but the thought process
outlined in the book is valuable for any person
wanting to help others effectively.
DOING GOOD BETTER BY
WILLIAM MACASKILL

6. On questions from individual carbon footprint to the
ethics of buying luxuries when others can’t afford
food, this book is the classic introduction to applied
ethics. Found in classrooms around the world, this
text’s provocative questions are just as important to
people who are thinking deeply about the ways that
he or she is currently living. The arguments are
provocative, and some find the book’s ideas
polarizing, however each position that Peter Singer
takes is well-reasoned and explained thoroughly. The
ethics of daily living are often unexamined, and can
cause friction for those that are trying to do good in
their lives. This book is often cold, devoid of
spirituality, religion, or upbringing as a means to
determining decisions, but is invaluable for helping
the reader think deeply about the effects of one’s
own life.
PRACTICAL ETHICS BY PETER
SINGER

7. If you are looking to create a future with meaning,
this book is essential reading. With real-world stories
of entrepreneurs looking to impact change in the
world, this book is inspiring and educational. If you
are unfamiliar with social entrepreneurship, this book
is a perfect crash course. If you are familiar, this
book’s real-life anecdotes (focused on companies
who aim to aid education, health, protection, and
access to electricity and technology) are the perfect
motivation tool to get your own endeavor up and
running. Though not as much a how-to as the title
would imply, there is a well-balanced list of resources
for potential social entrepreneurs and mapping of
the examples given in the book..
HOW TO CHANGE THE
WORLD: SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEURS AND THE
POWER OF NEW IDEAS BY
DAVID BORNSTEIN

8. T H E M O S T G O O D Y O U C A N D O : H O W E F F E C T I V E A L T R U I S M I S
C H A N G I N G I D E A S A B O U T L I V I N G E T H I C A L L Y B Y P E T E R S I N G E R
B A N D - A I D F O R A B R O K E N L E G : B E I N G A D O C T O R W I T H N O B O R D E R S
( A N D O T H E R W A Y S T O S T A Y S I N G L E ) B Y D A M I E N B R O W N
M O U N T A I N S B E Y O N D M O U N T A I N S : T H E Q U E S T O F D R . P A U L F A R M E R ,
A M A N W H O W O U L D C U R E T H E W O R L D B Y T R A C Y K I D D E R
T H E T H I N B L U E L I N E : H O W H U M A N I T A R I A N I S M W E N T T O W A R B Y
C O N O R F O L E Y
S T R A T E G I C G I V I N G : T H E A R T A N D S C I E N C E O F P H I L A N T H R O P Y B Y
P E T E R F R U M K I N
T H E L A S T H U N G E R S E A S O N : A Y E A R I N A N A F R I C A N F A R M
C O M M U N I T Y O N T H E B R I N K O F C H A N G E B Y R O G E R T H U R O W
WANT MORE?
A N D V I S I T B R Y A N S C H A A F . C O M F O R
M O R E O N H U M A N I T A R I A N I S M ,
P H I L A N T H R O P Y , S E R V I C E , A N D C H A R I T Y