Donations are resources. Who donates invests. Therefore, every donor is interested in how likely it is that the goals of the donation will be achieved. Assessing and classifying this probability of reaching the aims of a donation is the subject of a charity rating.

What do donors want to donate? Donor priorities change with circumstances and people’s perceptions. If flood disasters occur or earthquakes shake the cities, donors focus on those affected. Charity organizations also use the pictures of refugees to collect donations. What were the motives for people in the USA to donate in 2020? An indication of the goals pursued with donations results from the search queries on the search engines. This is how Google Trends lists the most frequent search queries.

Protection against infection by the corona pandemic reached the top ten most popular donation motives in the USA. Americans were particularly often looking for ways to donate protective masks.

The list shows what US donors searched for on Google

N95 respirators and surgical masks are examples of personal protective equipment that are used to protect the wearer from airborne particles and from liquid contaminating the face. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirators to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including coronavirus (COVID-19). Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance. The persistent shortage of masks in the US is limiting the ability of many Americans to protect themselves adequately.

The situation is different in Germany, where companies have set up factories since the outbreak of the pandemic and then started producing face masks. However, many people in Germany cannot afford high-quality masks for everyday use because the masks should be changed every day. The expenditures for low-income sections of the population, especially for retirees with low retirement benefits, add up to considerable sums.

Therefore, more and more donors are looking for ways to donate high quality masks. There is a European standard. The EN 149 standard defines performance requirements for three classes of particle-filtering half masks: FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3. FFP1 defines the least filtering mask of the three, since aerosol filtration percentage is only 80% minimum, the internal leak rate has a maximum 22%. Such a mask is mainly used as a dust mask (for example for DIY jobs). Dust can cause lung diseases, such as silicosis, anthracosis, siderosis and asbestosis (in particular dust from silica, coal, iron ore, zinc, aluminium or even cement).

Much better protection is guaranteed by FFP2 masks, which is similar to the N95 mask in the USA. FFP2 masks have an aerosol filtration percentage of not less than 94% and an internal leak rate with a maximum of 8%. This mask offers protection in various areas such as the glass industry, foundry, construction, pharmaceutical industry and agriculture. It effectively stops powdered chemicals. This mask can also serve as protection against respiratory viruses such as avian influenza, COVID-19 or severe acute respiratory syndrome associated with the coronavirus (SARS), as well as against the bacteria of pneumonic plague and tuberculosis.

Donors who value the effect of their donations therefore concentrate on the most effective masks, such as those offered in the STOLFIG.SHOP.