A local champion is a donor who is embedded into their local community, and cares a lot about improving the welfare and livelihoods of those within. You may have a preference for supporting smaller charities that do more direct work, as they seem more embedded into their communities and therefore align with your values. Local givers tend to be motivated by the idea that ‘charity begins at home’ and, rather than impact, are more interested in being closely connected to the organisations and causes they support. Although the temptation may be to restrict your donation to a specific cause or program to ensure that local communities receive as much money as possible, it is also important to remember that to be effective, an organisation needs to be able to invest in itself. To allow for this, it is helpful to give general support or unrestricted donations.