I buy girlscout cookies, not because I need the cookies. And not because the girlscouts is the number one most important place to change the world. I buy girlscout cookies because I have a relationship with a family with a girl in girlscouts. So giving in this case is about relationship. Buying a livesmart bracelet from someone you know could be similar. Would we tell that girl we cannot buy her cookies because all our charitible dollars went to Uganda this year? Doubt it.

The guy running for state senate in my district from the green party has a self-imposed limit of $200 in donations from any single person, and nothing from corporations. So if political causes fit into your giving strategy, some would say that spreading it around is even good for democracy.

On the other hand, lots of small donations to big orgs means lots of paperwork they're going to process on their end and then mail you for years to come, so a $10 donation might easily just go for postage to send mail back to ask for more.

I like the grassroots strategy, if we're talking about spreading it around.