Quick thoughts on funding projects
But, will this scale?
Money does not solve problems. Even a seemingly simple task, like literacy, costs hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars if we consider the scale of the problem. There are a lot of challenges in disadvantaged communities and we would need an inexhaustible source of money to fund them. A solution must have a reasonable chance at scale.
Standards based
Civilization runs on standards. The shipping container, 110V electric outlet, HTML, are all standards. Standards give us leverage, make the process easily repeatable around the world. If we are funding a project in a specific geographic area, it should be repeatable in any other part on this planet, with local adaptations.
Good intentions
Good intentions don't matter. Most "bad" things being done in society are done by people who genuinely believe they are doing good. There is a proverbial story about monkey and the fish. "First, do no harm" is a fundamental principle.
Self sustainability and longevity
Is the project based on a revenue model or some kind of public-private partnership which will continue to drive itself after the initial seed funding? Would this last at least a decade or two.
Non-profit
A for-profit business has a responsibility to deliver to returns to shareholders. A non-profit, in my opinion, does not mean a charity, but is a business, with plans of growth and revenue; there is no responsibility to deliver returns. Instead, the focus is on a specific objective that will likely help a small or large group of people.
Of course, none of these are hard and fast rules that must be adhered to at all times, there are always exceptions; certain projects may have unique qualities that would not lend themselves to analysis based on a standard formula, but with a larger goal in mind.
I believe in strategically investing tiny amounts, 10K - 100K on innovative ideas that show promises of self-sustaining, of growth and of scale.