I'm a photographer planning a 14-month RTW trip in July of this year. I've been considering starting a charity/nonprofit through which to distribute funds to charities I come across on my trip, and I'm hoping some of you have gone through similar processes and have some advice for a novice in this area.

I am creating a website that will integrate my travel logs, photography gallery and sales, and a vehicle for donations to grassroots charities that I come across on my travels. My hope is to reach charities that are little known in the US. Descriptions of the charities, background info, interviews, etc. will be posted on my website, where visitors will be given the opportunity to donate. Also, a percentage of my photography sales will go to these charities. I'm not attempting to use these donations to fund my trip in any way; that's what my photography business is for.

My question for you guys is: Should I start my own charity/foundation to receive donations and distribute them to these charities, or is there a better way to do this?

I've considered using a third-party service like justgiving.com or others, but all of the charities available to give to are US-based nonprofits, and I want to get money to charities that aren't registered in the US. Another possibility would be to simply provide the information for individuals to donate directly to these organizations, but from experience I know that making a donation directly to small NGOs in developing countries can be very difficult given language barriers, money transfers, foreign banks, etc. These difficulties can be prohibitive and discourage donations. I want the process to be simple, effective, and rewarding for donors.

All advice is welcome- and I thank you in advance,

Marcus