Choosing Among Charities

A poster at Ask Metafilter yesterday asked, “How do I choose between two equally worthy charities to receive my donation?” He actually had more than two charities to choose from in the area he had opted to support, animal-related organizations, and he added, “Ultimately, what I want is a method to help me identify a handful of organizations that I feel really good about, and to whom I can donate for years to come.”

There were some terrific responses there; the one that stood out most to me was from a fundraiser who offered concrete advice on reading IRS 990 statements, discussed the important issue of non-program overhead and development expenses, and closed with these insightful, useful thoughts:

At any rate, how much of a gift are we talking about? If you’re giving someone $10,000, okay do your homework, meet the people and make an informed choice. If you’re talking about $250 bucks, just relax. This seems like an awful lot of work and just more distrustful than your level of giving warrants. You’re going to make some poor development officer absolutely batty. I’d like to stress that donors should try not to be overfocused on “where the money is going.” Your money will be used in the best way that agency can use it to further their mission. Whether that’s splinting up a kitty’s broken leg or schmoozing up a major donor, the vast vast vast majority of nonprofits are managed by “true believers” who want your dollars to reach the mission.

It’s terribly easy to forget that the bad apples are actually the exception, not the rule, so it’s nice to read such a passionate and cogent reminder once in a while. | 501(c)