Many personal finance teachers include a lesson/activity about "Giving Back" in their curriculum.

This brief quiz (updated May 20, 2023: quiz no longer active!) would fit well there. Students are asked to choose between two charities based on where they think a $100 donation would have greater impact. Here's an example:

After students choose charities for the ten scenarios presented, they can see how their results compare to others who have completed the quiz along these dimensions:

• Most and least supported characters
• Effectiveness of giving
• Preferences and the biases that we may exhibit
• Donating to self/relatives compared to others

Here are a few questions to get the discussion going:

• What did you learn about your giving preferences? 
• What types of organizations are you most likely to give to?
• Do you think that the only criteria for giving should be "how many lives can I save?" 
• Did you demonstrate any of the biases (identifiable victim, famous charity or location bias)?

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Check out more interactive quizzes and games in our Interactive Library. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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