there were many children whose deservingness he recognized and rewarded.
Examples of deservingness
deservingness
However, how a person feels about the deservingness of the recipient determined how much to donate.
From the en.wikipedia.org
The ways in which people think about human deservingness, interdependence, and vulnerability motivate sympathy.
From the en.wikipedia.org
As for the awards, I'll leave it to the film critics to argue the deservingness of Sandra Bullock, or of James Cameron and his giant army of graphics-processing computers.