Charity
Charity does help the beneficiary; but never solves the underlying problem. Charity is one of the oldest systems that has never truly solved anything for the reason that it lacks a self-sustaining economic engine. Instead, it thrives on pity and mercy, and therefore some form of self satisfaction. If you want to truly improve any part of the society, start a financially self-sustaining enterprise in that domain.
Charity has also become a tool for financial frauds and social repositioning. The frauds are carried out by the rich and criminals, while the repositioning is carried out by certain politicians, corporations, religious leaders and individuals.
When a government conducts charity, it is very ironical because the need for charity itself is a result of their incompetence.
It is best not to donate money to any charitable or philanthropic cause, however noble it is, if its financial accounts cannot be audited down to the beneficiary. It would be exemplary if non-profits and charitable institutions maintain their accounts in a tamper proof (block chain based) and publicly available (open sourced) accounting system.