I find it hard to believe that effective charities working in developing countries never have to do ethically dubious things, like giving bribes, because refusing to do so would make it impossible to get anything done within the local culture.
If you think overhead scares people away from specific charities, then literal bribes definitely would risk tanking the charitynavigator score. Plenty of charities would rather risk getting nothing done within the local system.
It’s my impression that development NGOs accept having to do things like bribe corrupt policeman to use the roads as operating costs. This is how it is for scientists doing field work, at least, which is a world I know better. Knowing how and when to bribe is an important skill for people who travel in developing countries, and among those people it is generally viewed more like deferring to local custom and respecting that you a foreigner in their country than a sullying act of corruption.
If you think overhead scares people away from specific charities, then literal bribes definitely would risk tanking the charitynavigator score. Plenty of charities would rather risk getting nothing done within the local system.
It’s my impression that development NGOs accept having to do things like bribe corrupt policeman to use the roads as operating costs. This is how it is for scientists doing field work, at least, which is a world I know better. Knowing how and when to bribe is an important skill for people who travel in developing countries, and among those people it is generally viewed more like deferring to local custom and respecting that you a foreigner in their country than a sullying act of corruption.