Who deserves your money?
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Let’s face it; whether you are a business or an individual, you work hard for your money. When it comes time to consider making a gift or grant, there are several vehicles and seemingly worthy recipients. How do you sort through the myriad of requests and reward the organization that will have the best outcome and amplifies the impact of your gift?
Whether you are working with a smaller, donor-advised fund or serving on a grants committee of a larger organization, deciding where to place your dollars can take time and effort. Primarily because, as I wrote in an earlier article, donor trust in nonprofits continues to decline as measured by leading professionals in the field.
As a nonprofit consultant, I’ve witnessed, with increasing frequency, educated donors seek to support those organizations with a compelling mission, proven track record, efficient operations, and positive outcomes. Donors have become increasingly savvier. Rightfully so, because the resource pool is limited, we want to distribute those to the most responsible and effective steward. Therefore, we need to consider tools that might be available to foster those decisions and help reinforce them.
As a potential donor or grantor, you will benefit from becoming better informed and educated on the organization’s mission and how your gift will make a difference. You want to ensure you have all sides to their story before contributing, understanding the dynamics and environment in which the organization operates.
Ideally, organizations seek to develop strong relationships with potential donors, and many larger organizations have the staff to do just that. These relationships serve to build trust and familiarity. However, many of those in the trenches doing stellar work don’t have the luxury of a team dedicated to development work. Those organizations can be more efficient and worthy but are often easily missed. However, you can do your research to allow them to rise to the top.
Talk to your friends and colleagues to get their perspectives. Check out the news around the organization and then talk to them. Depending on the gift size, consider asking for the last annual report, their case statement, or a meeting with their development or executive director. Formulate basic questions surrounding their programming, strategic planning, and most impactful initiatives. You will soon learn about the organization and its professionalism in dealing with the issues.
The impact you can have with your donation will increase exponentially with more effort in determining whether the organization is a proper fit. You can utilize any one of a myriad of resources online, like Candid (formerly Guidestar) or Charity Navigator, to get different sides to the nonprofit’s story.
When I consult with nonprofits, they always have legitimate concerns about conveying the proper messages and providing information to attract donors. They, too, have limited opportunities to get their story out, so they will most likely welcome the inquiries. If they do not, that should provide the only clue you need to make a decision.
I’ve served on committees of larger grantors, and the formality of their processes can be intimidating to small- to medium-sized organizations. I challenge those grantors to recognize the forest for the trees because there are some outstanding outcomes by organizations in that realm. I also encourage those funders to bridge the gap by encouraging applications, facilitating the building of the capacity of those organizations, and uncovering the treasures buried in the sands.
Corporate contributions are frequently driven by enlightened self-interest rather than concern for transformational outcomes. We can understand the motivation, but we could see a more significant impact if we focus on the latter.
In the end, making decisions relative to the distribution of funds does involve a great deal of trust and requires a deeper understanding of the inner workings of nonprofits. However, the potential impacts are well worth the extra time it may take to do it right.
David J. Fry is Founder/CEO of Effective Advancement Strategies in Greensburg and author of Build a Nonprofit Castle. He consults with individuals, businesses, and nonprofits throughout Indiana. He may be contacted at strategies@etczone.com