How to increase charity ratings
Charity ratings are something so inconsistent that highly rated charities might easily find themselves outdone in rating by unknown ones that materialize out of nowhere. Charity Water is a representative though new sample of this. The power of the online medium and ingenuity are helping brand new charities to drive their ratings sky high. A charity that may not have any rating one day might be considered as one of the top of the chart charities by the New York Times the next day and their rating would then go through the roof in no time.
Because of the power the mass communication media have over the people, when a charity is in the good books of the media, it expands very quickly and manages to get a lot of charitable giving. By that same yardstick, when media do not have much interest in propping up a given charity, its rating also plummets in the same proportion.
Directory lists of charity rating
With scepticism running quite high with charity watchdogs pinpointing charity problems such as misconduct, having exceptionally high amounts of funds spent on admin or the misappropriation of funds, charity rating directory lists are flourishing. It’s so funny that philanthropic organizations that set out to give to others are now under the eye of charity watchdogs. Philanthropy is becoming a little complicated!
Institutions like Givespot.com, Guidestar.org etc. provide comprehensive listings of charity ratings. GiveSpot 100 list is the list of the 100 highest ranking charities that is provided by Givespot.com. Another one that provides similar data is charitynavigator.com which has a list of the top ten charities as well a charity check system. Finding out charities is made easy by this. The biggest charity director of US is Guidestar.org with lots of free data on charity as well as information that can be availed for payment. Though its name gives a different impression, Better Business Bureau is a charity directory that gives a list of both commercial and non-profit ventures of USA.
The fact is that there are enough guides that provide information about 100 top ranking charities but these ratings does not, in reality, convey the correct picture. The ratings of a charity has actually nothing much to do with what actually makes it superior to the rest. There are unique features that place a charity or non-charity institution above the rest.
Charity Ratings and faith in the public
A 2005 YouGov poll published that the majority of the British population – 56% – had only a ‘fair amount’ of trust in the global charities like Save the Children and Oxfam . Only 15% of the charities surveyed had ‘a great deal’ of trust – even in the ones that do well in charity ratings.
Charity Critics’ Warnings are profuse
Belief in charities is at an all time low these days. Public can hardly be blamed for this. Charity watchdogs are ringing warning bells of charity institutions spending even up to 60% of the amount collected on overheads that include big salaries for managers so that very little remains for real charity giving.
Recent studies show that the average costs of raising funds in the UK and Australia are 18% or 22% respectively. In the USA, the Association of Fundraising Professionals found the statistic to be around 30%. These figures do not even include admin expenses, which are often much higher. Some charity givers see this as a key issue especially with charitable giving often in the media spotlight like it was in Singapore a fewyears ago. The additional negative focus tends to reduce charitable giving which is not good.
Charity ratings secret exposed
There is not much difference in the way in which charity organizations and commercial organizations try to get money. How they eventually use that money may be different, but their modus operandi for attracting that money is essentially the same.
To increase the charity rating as well as attract better flow of funds the secret can be found in a single word – attraction.
When we see an object and would like to buy it, or make an investment in it, or want to connect with it, we tend to take a decision on the basis of how tempting it is to us. If it is very appealing, we might instantly buy it or plan to get it but if it is not all that tempting, we would definitely postpone the idea.
Charity Water is highly attractive and hence why it’s charity-rating sky rocked so quickly and the media got behind the idea. The simple idea of selling a bottle of charity water for a premium price with the extra profit been giving as a donation to the needy to access clean water was highly attractive.
The elements making up the attractiveness for Charity Water and boosting it’s ratings are quite obvious.
* First of all it has an ideal name, Charity Water, which strikes a chord in people’s heart. The person behind the idea was obviously passionate about the image and about taking it to the people.
* Their idea of the vocation and their message is lucid, plain and remarkable – sell water and give water – Buy One Give One
* Their focus was on how to solve the problem and not the problem itself. It is important for charities to properly define their focus if they want people to rate them highly. No one has interest in getting their attention turned to the unpleasant things in life. People want a positive focus. So when they are told that they can make a positive change in the lives of others by buying a bottle of water they feel happy.
How to reduce you Charity Ratings in a heart beat
The fastest way in which a charity’s ratings would go down is when it turns itself less tempting by centring its attention on the problem. People are by and large disinclined to listen to negative things. On the contrary, most people are keen on listening to positive things that involve verve, dynamism, motivation and effort to bring in a fresh vision.
All we have to do is see ourselves with our own kids and understand how we easily answer in the affirmative when they request for things in an eager and happy and excited way. But when they prefer to make their demands in a peevish or weepy way, we may tend to refuse.
The picture a charity projects would strongly affect its ratings. By projecting an arousing and motivating picture of itself it will be able to influence people well. Then people will be ready to give more in response.
Social Enterprise raises Charity Ratings and reduces Fundraising Problems
Social Enterprise is a new business pattern that evolved a few years ago. This combines trading with a social purpose. This pattern is a result of the interest of some businessmen who have social objectives but does not find the type of functioning of charitable enterprises satisfactory enough.
The medium of a conventional business enterprise may not be suitable for many businessmen whose ideas of ethics and integrity would be contrary to the way decisions are made in a commercial world. Such people use a social enterprise to use their acumen and ability to create a profit and effect great changes in the social arena. A typical example of such a social entrepreneur is Muhammad Yunus who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his rich contributions to improving social conditions.
Buy1GIVE1 commonly known as B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1), is a global organisation that is a recent entrant into the world of charitable giving. It is a perfect blend of business and valuable causes functioning at the global level. Buy1GIVE1 has so minimised its expenses of fundraising and management that it is able to give for charity all the funds collected. The institution is similar in its attributes to the online organization Kiva.org, which has been promoted by Bill Clinton; unlike conventional charities, Buy1GIVE1 involves direct giving to charities. Many people are convinced that it is a better way for contributing things and receiving richly in return.
Entrepreneurs, who are forever on the lookout for avenues to give in return to the society in effectual ways and to donate to beneficial charitable causes, realise the exemplary worth and strong marketing principles of organisations like Buy1GIVE1. Each and every sale that is made makes a change – not merely philanthropically. It makes a change with its strong impact as well, for every sale that is made becomes a poignant story that is an eye-opener. Buy1Give1 is a far cry from the commercial enterprises that might donate a million dollars to charity, for it lets the customers fully relish the joy of giving. The transaction-based giving of Buy1Give1 is a lesson in perfection.
Businesses like Buy1GIVE1 profile charities and it tends to be the charities or worthy causes as they call them, that are the most attractive that receive the most contributions. Intrinsically business owners understand the power of attraction and they tend to go with non-profit causes that have the best story rather than look at their direct rating. They intrinsically know that their customers will connect with a better story and not ever think about a charities rating.
Maple Muesli of Australia has allied itself with a charity called Midday Meals in India, in the city of Mumbai. As a result when a packet of muesli is bought, a needy kid is given food in Mumbai. Since a simple meal is available there at the cost of 30 US cents, Midday Meals daily manages to feed about 125,000 kids. The charity feeds these children in schools and it helps substantially in protecting children from begging and other harsh realities and abuse of street life.
Maple Muesli has helped to put Midday Meals on the map as a worthy and well-rated cause in Australia. Maple Muesli share their giving story with all their customers increasing the natural rating of this amazing organisation in Mumbai without Midday Meals doing anything other than feed children. Effective Giving – The Era for Plain Charity Donations is ending
A change is impending in the setting of the top 100 charities and would become visible in a few years as more novel and productive ways of charitable giving take shape. Nowadays only limited choices exist for making donations for charitable purposes. All the existing ones are not good enough to create enough difference.
Other methods of Charity Ratings
Some of the new and different ways to give are highlighted and rated in the table below. Charity Comparison Points
Some better known and not so well-known charities as well as Social Enterprises are evaluated and rated below so as to be of help to those who contribute to these.
THE SALVATION ARMY
PATH TO GIVING : DIRECT GIVING
The Salvation Army comes among the top 100 charities globally – contributions are made directly by both businesses as well as individuals.
OPENNESS – B – Not sufficiently open – Plenty of money is being collected – but the results are not always completely clear.
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – C – Contribution to Salvation Army gets mention in the press even if it is a one time contribution.
FUNDRAISING COSTS – B – Spends millions of dollars annually to raise funds.
DONORS’ CHOICE POTENTIALS -B- For those who want to give directly, there are plenty of charities to choose from.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE -C- No potential noticed for bringing about a market change.
PRODUCT (RED)
ROUTE TO GIVING: MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Product (RED) is a brand licensed to collaborate with companies, and collect money for their Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in Africa
CANDOUR – B – Insufficient candour – Lots of money is donated – but result is not completely quantifiable.
MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS – A – People and businesses love to support (RED) as it is backed by adored personalities like Oprah & Bono. Marketing results a little hard to track though.
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS – C – Spends huge sums of money on advertisements – giving that money directly to Africa would have been more practical.
CONTRIBUTORS’CHOICE OF CHARITY – C – Partner businesses do not have much choice in the charities that receive their contributions – all are in Africa.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE – B – All partners of Products (RED) are huge ventures and the entire profit is spent on helping people of Africa.
THE BODY SHOP
ROUTE TO GIVING: BUSINESS TRADE & GIVING
The Body Shop engages in community trade helping Third World countries; and makes huge donations to charities from their profits.
CANDOUR – B – Insufficient candour – Lots of money is donated – but result is not completely quantifiable.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – A-tve – Clients are by and large happy to become part of the community trade and are encouraged to buy more – the enterprise could afford to be more visible.
COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – A -Comparatively low – It is a good business pattern that makes a lot of donations to charities and enhances community trade.
DONOR’S CHOICE OF CHARITY – A – Enterprises are at liberty to choose where their contributions should go.
POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – B – Businesses’ giving back is great – but very few take the added effort to push for change like Body Shop.
LIVE EARTH
ROUTE TO GIVING: EVENT FUNDRAISING
Live Earth was a series of worldwide concerts held on 7 July 2007 that initiated a three-year campaign to combat climate change.
OPENNESS – F – Intelligent Giving had reported that the takings from the concert tickets sales were not accounted satisfactorily.
MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS – B – Business sponsors got good coverage – but it was only a one time event and it is not easy to test and measure results.
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS – C – Substantial sums were spent on promotion of an event which was considered a fiasco by many as it did not have any proper objectives.
DONORS’ CHOICE POTENTIALS – C – Funds were made available only to three charities.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE – C – Such events can be held just once or at the most once a year. The amount collected generally goes to better known charities.
Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1 )
ROUTE TO GIVING: SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
B1G1 is a brand licensed to any business – partnering them with any charity anywhere in the world. A truly global concept.
TRANSPARENCY – A – One for one giving ensures funds given are used for what they were intended. Customers know their giving translates into real change (e.g. numbers of trees planted, numbers of children fed).
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – A+tve – Outstanding marketing value due to:
* Calculable giving * Media interest * Effective stories * Person to person * Returning customers
COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – A+tve – Absolutely no cost – B1G1 can oversee a charity’s needs for raising funds and also manage much of the administration as well. So the funds go entirely to the charity.
CONTRIBUTORS’CHOICE OF CHARITY – A – Business givers can choose their charity project or elect to give to a charity cause such as food or education, etc.
POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – A – Exponential. If more businesses partner charities globally, the potential for real change is massive.
You Would Think Giving away Money Would Be No Big Deal!”
Donating money may not seem to be a difficult job – it is just a question of handing over some money as cheque, cash or via the credit card. Still, someone like George Sores, who is as generous a donor as could be, agrees that effectual giving is no cakewalk. Underprivileged communities and countries receive millions of dollars in aid and still the situation remains much the same year after year.
People asking smarter questions will bring about the needed change. Social Entrepreneurs like Mohamed Yunis, Nobel Prize winner, creating innovative solutions to poverty and environmental issues with Micro Finance are carving the way to a new future where business initiatives, social enterprise and conscious consumerism transform our world. Initiatives like The Body Shop’s ‘Trade – Not Aid’ need to be replicated. New ideas like Buy1GIVE1 need to be embraced. The value of social enterprise needs to be recognised.
When questioned on how one can bring about some positive global change, Bill Gates showed Kiva.org and Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com) as examples of charities that enrich the giver. Those who sponsor a business are updated by Kiva.org about the activities of the business. Buy1GIVE1 also does this. By this arrangement enterprises get enough stories to tell their clients – if they buy a laptop they will know that it will help in some needy person somewhere else getting a computer.
Other ways to improve your Charity Ratings
Ensure that you have an inquisitive mind, and remain connected to a computer, and spare some time to find out about the new types of charities and how they function. These programs are mainly based on networking and work through the internet.
As of now if one is not connected with good international networks via the internet, the chances of losing out are substantial even with good charity rating, tomorrow things are bound to change – totally.
There are more and more examples these days of companies rising up from nothing and being sold three years later for over a billion dollars. This was unheard of ten years ago. Today this is becoming a regular occurrence. All these new Internet companies are doing one thing – tapping into global networks or creating global networks.
Buy1GIVE1 (Buy One Give One)
Buy1GIVE1 is a relatively new Social Enterprise founded by a Japanese lady called Masami Sato in 1997. Today any business anywhere in the world can be a Buy1GIVE1 member, with membership for small businesses only costing $1 per day and contributions starting from just 1c per sale. Buy1GIVE1 is leading the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving global movement. Working with Buy1GIVE1 is easy for a charity worthy cause or a business. Their model is unique, flexible and inspiring. A business simply marries any or all of its products or services with a charity project (Buy1GIVE1’s or their own) and then every time they sell something record the sale and pay their contribution each month or quarter direct to their cause or through Buy1GIVE1.
If you are not forging an alliance with Buy1GIVE1 and encouraging your business sponsors to become Buy1GIVE1 members you will be missing our more and more as this amazing enterprise makes a huge impact in the world of giving.
The dawn of a new age in charity giving
Companies that had no presence a few months ago are ravaging cyberspace with the echo of user acceptance. Services life Twitter , Facebook , MySpace , YouTube, NING and TipJoy are places you must have a presence in. Organisations like Change The Present, Kiva and companies like Buy1GIVE1 you should be building relationships with. These are all the new future and will all help maintain and build charity ratings. Today is a new opportunity to build a new future.
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