This is a question that is bouncing off of Edem's post.
How are we--consumers, powerholders (if you're American, you're automatically a powerholder), well-intentioned but often ignorant "followers" of current events--supposed to navigate the complex and often purposely misleading world of charitable organizations? How do we figure out how to best give of our time and/or money? Is it better to give a little bit of money to a wide variety of organizations, or to give generously to one or two? And, perhaps most importantly, how are we supposed to know which organizations are genuine and which ones are scams?
The example that comes to mind is Heifer International (this is a pretty well-known organization, but if you want to learn more about it, this is their website: www.heifer.org). I used to be a big fan of HI, and in 10th grade my classmates and I raised a bunch of money and bought several animals from HI. We were proud of ourselves, and I really believe that we did a good thing. I know we impacted someone, somewhere. But when I visited Nepal this summer, we had a conversation about this kind of charity work with one of our hosts (Anne-Marie, for those of you who went). She has done a lot of this kind of work in Nepal, and the subject of HI came up. Anne-Marie said that HI is ok, but that it charges a lot more money for each animal than what it is really worth, and they pocket the profits. This is significant because HI specifically advertises itself as a "non-profit organization." Is this a legitimate way for them to support themselves? Do they simply have a loose interpretation of "non-profit?" Or is it a scam? And how are we supposed to tell the difference?
This example can be applied to all kinds of scenarios. So HI might not be the most honest and forthright organization. But what about other well-known organizations? What about World Vision? Project Bread? To Write Love on Her Arms? (This is not a direct attack on any of these organizations; I'm just putting out some familiar names.) How are we supposed to get accurate information about these? I learned about HI because I talked with someone who had firsthand experience with that kind of work. But most of us will never get a chance to have a conversation like that. Is there a way for ordinary people to get access to information about charitable organizations?
2 comments:
Great post.
HI is a non-profit in as much as it has a 501c3 tax status and does note make a profit on their project. All non-profits registered in the U.S. have public tax records. These records are a great way to see how much money is being spent on what. The documents can be confusing to read, and they don't always tell you everything you want to know, but it is a start. HI lists theirs on their website at http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.201468/.
HI "pockets" the money for the administrative costs of running the organization not as a for profit company. A great question to ask before donating is how much of every dollar donated goes to admin. overhead and how much goes to direct service.
Wow, this was a very accidental coincidence, but i was browsing msn.com and came across this article: http://specials.msn.com/Tips-for-2008-Holiday-Donations.aspx (I happened to notice that HI was not listed, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is not a reputable organization).
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