Are you the type of person who is looking to donate money to a good cause it is unsure where you should begin? You have heard that there are a lot of organizations that “spend too much money” on overhead, and you want to make sure that ALL “your money” goes to the “cause.” If so, I’d like to ask you to not be “that donor.” A donor whose only concern is the efficiency of “your money,” and not the impact of the organization. I ask this because that is he wrong position to begin what I hope should be a donation where your dollars are most effective. Which is not simply a measure of how effective the cash flow of the organization is.
I ask this as there are more than a few studies, including this recent one from global giving, that have been published showing that organizations who invest in themselves have more impact along the lines of eradicating polio, malaria, hunger, as well as increasing the opportunities that children have to access education, women have to open businesses, and cities have to support the homeless.
Be the donor that takes the time to review, and understand the organization’s mission.
Be the donor that takes the time to review, and understand, their platform.
Be the donor that takes the time to review, and understand, the impact they are having on the issue they have identified as their core.
Don’t be the donor who worries about “efficiency.” Worry about impact.
Don’t worry about how much they pay their staff. Worry about how good their staff is at their job.
Don’t worry about how much rent they pay. Worry about whether or not they are renting the space they need to support their operations.
Starting with this mindset, what you will find is that while your money may not be as efficient, it will likely have more impact, and ultimately as a donor myself, that is what I ultimately hope of all donors.
That’s the mindset shifts away from efficient organizations to ones that have the impact.