"The purpose of charity is to end the need for charity"

IIRC, paraphrasing a quote from u/chubot, or someone very much like them.

My personal prime motivator is something like:

   Help people help themselves.
   And help those who can't.

If I'm really devoted to feeding the hungry, for instance, I should always remember the proper goal is to end hunger (outright).

Even if that goal is unattainable. Maybe because that goal is unattainable. Which leads to a deeper inspection of the root causes, moral foundations, social context, etc.

It's just so easy to get caught up in the immediate necessity and lose site of root causes.