"The other issue is side effects. The aid tourists tell people about it, continue to contribute, influence politicians a certain way, educates his children, etc."

Good point for the feedaneed.org project as well. I anticipate that at least for some volunteers there will be meaningful side-effects (they donate $, continue to volunteer their service, tell others about non-profit x, etc.) I think that for most people, there's a stronger connection when you spend time on a project, than when you just donate $.