Several years ago, a friend mentioned that she was including a certain animal sanctuary in her will. I knew that my friend was crazy about animals, and also that she is shrewd when it comes to money. So I checked out the organization she mentioned, fell in love with it and became a staunch donor.
That's how many of us find the charities we give to...through friends, relatives, the appeal we see on TV, or somewhere in the pile of fundraising letters we get. My relationship with the animal sanctuary has turned out well, But it could, just as easily, have gone bad.
There are lots of things you shouldn't base your charitable giving on, but here are three that stand out for me:
- Don't Depend on Celebrities. Just like my friend's recommendation, a celebrity founded charity, or one that they endorse, may or may not be a good investment of your charitable dollars. Even if you are smitten with a celebrity, check out the charities they endorse or helped start.
Charity Navigator, a well-known evaluator of charities, recently compiled a list of celebrity-related organizations that were both well run and badly run.
I was happy to see that one of my favorites, Michael J. Fox (have you seen his devilish character on The Good Wife?), received four stars for his Foundation for Parkinson's Research. I also discovered that the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education only got one star, and that Dyan Cannon's Operation Lookout got a zero. Stick to three and four star charities as rated by Charity Navigator to keep your donations on the safe side.
- Don't Let the Stories Drive Your Actions.
Almost all fundraising appeals include stories. Sometimes they break your heart, sometimes they make you smile or laugh. Stories are wonderful, and charities should use them. The story is meant to get you to open the envelope, click on the email, or write down a phone number.
But stories should be backed up with facts. Facts about what the charity is doing, facts about its impact, and facts about how it handles its money and your donations. Stop, think, and do some checking before you write that check, click that donate button, or call the phone bank.
- Don't Confuse Efficiency With Effectiveness.
As good as the charity watchdogs, such as Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau, are, it is very tough to evaluate how effective a charity is.
Many charities provide graphs such as this one from Doctors Without Borders in their fundraising material and on their websites. But just because a charity spends the bulk of its income on "programs" says nothing about whether those programs are really working (Doctors Without Borders is a fine organization by the way).
Instead of depending on obvious symbols such as efficiency graphs or even charity badges, dig around for more information on charity websites that illustrate how an organization is actually making progress on its particular issue. Good examples include these pages from Camfed and KaBoom!. Don't hesitiate to call the charity to discuss any concerns that you have, especially if you're making a large donation.
Check out some newer charity evaluators that do measure the effectiveness of charities with techniques based on various data (more of these "super" evaluators are coming along). Examples include GiveWell and Innovations for Poverty Action. These organizations basically do the research for you and then recommend charities that meet their stringent standards for effectiveness.
The fact is that picking charities that match your passions, and that live up to their promises is not easy. But with some foresight, planning, and research, you can make your donations count for something good.
