Comments on: The One Thing You Need to Know Before You Donate to Charity http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2008/12/the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-before-you-donate-to-charity Sat, 20 Mar 2010 07:16:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Sean Stannard-Stockton http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2008/12/the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-before-you-donate-to-charity/comment-page-1#comment-5653 Sean Stannard-Stockton Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:34:45 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/?p=1088#comment-5653 Thanks John. While I realize that not all nonprofits can answer these questions, I do think that donors should only give to those that can. The questions I posed do not require a quantitative answer. They are questions about strategy and competitive advantage. I don't see any reason why a capably managed nonprofit couldn't answer these questions on the spot without reference to detailed data. I do agree completely regarding transparency and trust. That's a topic that I've written a lot about. Regarding nonprofit vs charity. These words are interchangeable in the US. However, I have <a href="http://philanthropy.com/giveandtake/article/268/whats-in-a-name" rel="nofollow">written in the past about whether the names make sense</a>. Thanks John. While I realize that not all nonprofits can answer these questions, I do think that donors should only give to those that can. The questions I posed do not require a quantitative answer. They are questions about strategy and competitive advantage. I don’t see any reason why a capably managed nonprofit couldn’t answer these questions on the spot without reference to detailed data.

I do agree completely regarding transparency and trust. That’s a topic that I’ve written a lot about.

Regarding nonprofit vs charity. These words are interchangeable in the US. However, I have written in the past about whether the names make sense.

]]> By: John C. McGee http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2008/12/the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-before-you-donate-to-charity/comment-page-1#comment-5651 John C. McGee Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:28:30 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/?p=1088#comment-5651 Sean some very interesting points, however you appear to make some significant assumptions in stating what should be available to the public. Those assumptions are centered the charitable/non-profit organizations ability to produce those metrics and make sufficient information available to donors. If you examine small, local organizations you might question whether many of them can produce the analysis necessary to have available for donors the answers to your questions. There may even be questions as to whether they understand the need to produce this information or make it available to the public. Even with legislation and tax forms that necessitate or facilitate public disclosure of information, some organizations do not understand the need let alone the requirement to make such disclosures. If you examine national/international organizations with chapters or affiliates, you assume a consistent effort between the expressed goals of the national/international organizations and the entities in the field. Therefore, if one wants to make a donation to a local affiliate of an organization that files a consolidated tax return, how would they find the information? What I have found interesting in the on-going debate about the need and methodology of rating non-profit organization is the underlying assumption that all organizations have the skill and knowledge to produce the metrics necessary to meet the rating criteria. I do not believe that is valid. Granted you acknowledge “in an ideal world” these things should happen. Second there appears to be an assumption that a ‘charity’ and a non-profit are interchangeable concepts? Considering the world-wide debate on this issue, I am not convinced they are. I do agree that if all non-profits of whatever stripe could answer the questions you posed and make that information available in a form that donors could easily access, donor-non-profit relations would change significantly. What I think you left out of your comments was a statement of how the relationship between donor and organization is a partnership that flourishes on trust and transparency driven in part by the questions you started your comments with. Sean some very interesting points, however you appear to make some significant assumptions in stating what should be available to the public. Those assumptions are centered the charitable/non-profit organizations ability to produce those metrics and make sufficient information available to donors.
If you examine small, local organizations you might question whether many of them can produce the analysis necessary to have available for donors the answers to your questions. There may even be questions as to whether they understand the need to produce this information or make it available to the public. Even with legislation and tax forms that necessitate or facilitate public disclosure of information, some organizations do not understand the need let alone the requirement to make such disclosures.
If you examine national/international organizations with chapters or affiliates, you assume a consistent effort between the expressed goals of the national/international organizations and the entities in the field. Therefore, if one wants to make a donation to a local affiliate of an organization that files a consolidated tax return, how would they find the information?
What I have found interesting in the on-going debate about the need and methodology of rating non-profit organization is the underlying assumption that all organizations have the skill and knowledge to produce the metrics necessary to meet the rating criteria. I do not believe that is valid.
Granted you acknowledge “in an ideal world” these things should happen. Second there appears to be an assumption that a ‘charity’ and a non-profit are interchangeable concepts? Considering the world-wide debate on this issue, I am not convinced they are.
I do agree that if all non-profits of whatever stripe could answer the questions you posed and make that information available in a form that donors could easily access, donor-non-profit relations would change significantly. What I think you left out of your comments was a statement of how the relationship between donor and organization is a partnership that flourishes on trust and transparency driven in part by the questions you started your comments with.

]]> By: Bill Huddleston http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2008/12/the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-before-you-donate-to-charity/comment-page-1#comment-5604 Bill Huddleston Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:16:48 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/?p=1088#comment-5604 In today's very uncertain economic times, I think that another key factor, in addition to the "correct strategy" question, which is a good question - "Is this non-profit still able to attract the resources it needs to be successful?" There are plenty of examples of this in terms of just general corporate support, and I really feel sorry for the people that trusted their funds to Bernie Madoff, and the non-profits that have already had to close because of that fact. I forget the author, but the phrase from the book about networking comes back == "Dig your well before your thirsty." So in the non-profit version, is it diversified enough, and have enough small donors that it can survive the loss of some of its big corporate ones? Regards, Bill Huddleston Advocate for workplace giving -- "the Johnny Appleseed method of fundraising" -- it takes time, but if you plant enough seedlings, it will help fund your non-profit for years. In today’s very uncertain economic times, I think that another key factor, in addition to the “correct strategy” question, which is a good question – “Is this non-profit still able to attract the resources it needs to be successful?”

There are plenty of examples of this in terms of just general corporate support, and I really feel sorry for the people that trusted their funds to Bernie Madoff, and the non-profits that have already had to close because of that fact.

I forget the author, but the phrase from the book about networking comes back == “Dig your well before your thirsty.” So in the non-profit version, is it diversified enough, and have enough small donors that it can survive the loss of some of its big corporate ones?

Regards,

Bill Huddleston
Advocate for workplace giving — “the Johnny Appleseed method of fundraising” — it takes time, but if you plant enough seedlings, it will help fund your non-profit for years.

]]> By: Sean Stannard-Stockton http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2008/12/the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-before-you-donate-to-charity/comment-page-1#comment-5597 Sean Stannard-Stockton Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:42:37 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/?p=1088#comment-5597 Good question Matt. Primarily I was referring to access to tools and professional research. I find it unlikely that individual donors can properly evaluate a nonprofit on their own, just as individual investors are not able to effectively evaluate a stock to buy unless they have access to standardized data, professional research, industry and market level commentary, as well as books and other educational material on stock picking. This isn't a slight to donors' intelligence. It is just unreasonable to believe that non-professionals could readily evaluate organizational effectiveness and program impact without a robust industry to assist them. Good question Matt. Primarily I was referring to access to tools and professional research. I find it unlikely that individual donors can properly evaluate a nonprofit on their own, just as individual investors are not able to effectively evaluate a stock to buy unless they have access to standardized data, professional research, industry and market level commentary, as well as books and other educational material on stock picking.

This isn’t a slight to donors’ intelligence. It is just unreasonable to believe that non-professionals could readily evaluate organizational effectiveness and program impact without a robust industry to assist them.

]]> By: Matt http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2008/12/the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-before-you-donate-to-charity/comment-page-1#comment-5590 Matt Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:03:14 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/?p=1088#comment-5590 "But unfortunately, most donors today do not have the capacity to validate how effective a nonprofit actual is..." Out of curiosity, are you speaking to the capacity of individuals (i.e., simply not knowledgeable enough, nor interested in becoming knowledgeable enough) or the tools available to individuals that enable them to successfully assess the viability of a strategy? “But unfortunately, most donors today do not have the capacity to validate how effective a nonprofit actual is…” Out of curiosity, are you speaking to the capacity of individuals (i.e., simply not knowledgeable enough, nor interested in becoming knowledgeable enough) or the tools available to individuals that enable them to successfully assess the viability of a strategy?

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