Hey Nick, I agree with you on the choice aspect of it, you usually need to go where the funding (or the funding priority) is, if you are a smaller NGO. Now, the starting point for NGOs, from my point of view, is often because the founders thought it might help to solve the problem in that specific community (which might be the most important thing to them). Even if it's not aligned with current funding trends, I think the initial motivation is often rooted in addressing local/community needs (later shifting towards funding priorities mainly for sustainability - would be fun to run a small research on this).

Thank you for your post! Nice to see fellow humanitarian/development workers taking the initiative to run their own research activities on local charities/projects (we are trying to do something similar but related to coordination). 

Your research seems to add to the notion that nothing that orgs will often prioritize trendy topics "usually" favored by funders over actual field needs.

Fantastic post! I had interacted with Rotary Clubs many times in a few projects I coordinated in Latin America and personally. There's a lot to learn from them, especially the way Rotary builds communities, and their influence in some is very interesting (in a few Brazilian states, they partnered with courts to donate a % of fines to communities). Although I'm new to EA, I would love to see how this collaboration could go and the potential impact of it.

As an aid worker, I think this is a very interesting idea. Many folks have already mentioned a few tools that can be useful, such as OpenStreetMap. I would also love to see one that could also assess the current needs of these communities.