How to Pick a Non-Profit to Support

Picking a Non-Profit to support is not as simple choosing a name from a list. Finding true harmony with a charitable cause and ultimately a specific organization can yield incredible results for you and them.

These SEVEN guidelines can help you to find a real harmony with an organization that aligns with your personal needs and desires.

So, you’re ready to pick a charity. It might be because you have entered a point in life where charitable giving, or community service makes sense; some catalyst has helped you to realize that your time or money, or unique skillset can help to ensure the long-term success of a favorite cause of yours, or it may be something else that compels you.

Whatever makes you interested in giving this year to local charities or beyond, you would be best served to understand what you are getting into before you make big decisions involving time, money or efforts that you won’t be able to get back If you make an uninformed decision.

Let’s be clear: the non-profit world is not an easy one to reside in. Countless non-profits are struggling, even if they appear to be solid and functional. That said, with good leadership, dedicated board members, donors and volunteers, any non-profit can thrive.

Your help can be the tipping point for a non-profit, particularly a local one to bring them into a more sustainable future with improved fundamental economics and a better ability to service the end user.

We think we have compiled a list of concepts to help you understand where you might best serve and best be utilized in the Non-profit world, without giving away your precious resources without getting great value for them – whether thy are skills, time, money or some other resource.

Know yourself and clarify what your core values are

Does the landscape of local charities fit within your values set? Do you need to look at a national charity instead?

What drives you, and what causes are you passionate about? Does your desire to participate stem from a sense of community or is it centered on your particular geographic location?

One example might be: A survivor of a crime may support a non-profit organization that seeks to combat such crime or helps with victim advocacy or other service. Having such a driving force can help to define what your scope and push will be.

Someone who was homeless before being able to start a successful multinational business may be particularly passionate about helping to end homelessness or working towards better awareness of the concern for those who might not have a powerful voice or the resources to enact real change.

Do some basic research

Does your community support organizations that do what your core values establish as your defining causes? Are there even organizations in your community that can service those causes?

If you are particularly interested in supporting wounded veterans, is there a way for you to do that locally? What if the type of non-profit that you think best fits you is 1000 miles away? It might make sense to support a hyper-local non-profit if you can actually accomplish the goals you have regarding charitable causes. But it might make more sense to seek out a national or international organization if they align more closely to the specific change you wish to be a part of.

For instance, if you are particularly interested in helping military service people with finding great career transitions, you might not be able to find a charity close by you. But Robert J. O’Niell, the NAVY SEAL who was the triggerman on the primary target in the Raid on the Osama Bin Laden Complex, has a recommendation that might make sense to you.

He is on the founding board of a NFP (Not for profit) called Your Grateful Nation, which has the exclusive mission of delivering ex-service personnel (special operations personnel mostly) into positions of extreme compatibility with their skillsets, while also aligning with their most desirable types of work. Think: an ex-marine core sniper that wants to be in sports radio. That’s anecdotally the type of thing they do.

So, you’ll need to know if something that fits with your desires exists in your geographical sphere and they see what makes the most sense.

Meet the people who are doing this stuff already in your
community

Not only does a meeting with key people help you to interface with people already doing what you want to do, but it helps you to determine if a local non-profit is capable of accomplishing the type of result you want to see.

It also helps you to understand what the reasons are that people are donating time and money to individual charities and NGO’s, especially locally. It will help you determine the advanced capabilities that you might not already be aware of, or help you to realize that the organization doesn’t really do what you want to do.

Such meetings can help clarify how an organization runs too. Are they 100% grant funded or do they run a grass roots individual donor based organization?

Most importantly, it will tell you what a website or a simple elevator pitch cannot tell you about the organization and the legitimate benefits of the work they do. As Andrew Carnegie alludes to in his classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People – letting someone talk about what they love and what they are and what they do, will help you to become endeared to them and help them to express something far beyond surface level to you, the listener.

Check the financials and take a look at the board members

There are financial records available online for non-profits. This is a mandate by their Tax-exempt status. It can be helpful in determining which charity aligns best with your level of prudence in spending and organizational structure. Word to the wise though, a 990 does not an organization make. Just because (for example) it seems that they pay their directors too much money on their financial statements, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the financials are poor. Look at multiple years to identify trends and understand the changes taking place in the organization.

See who is running the behind the scenes compliance, financial and legal oversight. That can have a huge impact on the credibility of the organization. Remember not to make hasty decisions just because a board isn’t filled with celebrity philanthropists. Many local organizations are made up of day-to-day local movers and shakers (and more importantly), dedicated community minded individuals. It is these individuals that can move an organization forward fastest, as their goals are most aligned with the organization. Contrast that with national organization board members who are sometimes included there in name only. Though that concept is not a hard and fast rule.

Be realistic

Sometimes you cannot just walk up or call up and get a meeting with the Executive Director. Non-Profit employees are generally notoriously underpaid and overworked.

From a different perspective: some organizations simply must stay in business, even if they generally run a semi-backwards budget. That’s usually because they are an essential community function. Like a Rape crisis center, that serves the greater community with essential services. They might be entirely grant funded, so their financials don’t look amazing at all times, but they still provide a service that cannot be overlooked and have longer-term stability.

Many employees in non-profit organizations are hired because they are some of the best talent in their particular lane. They might not be as well-rounded in some of the topics and areas you might be interested in. Make sure you don’t make a snap decision on a single underwhelming interaction with an organization’s employee. It’s generally best to target a board member; current donor or the Executive Director or community outreach specialist to get the best idea of what the organization is capable of.

Don’t fall into the “Apples vs. Oranges” Comparisons

A charity is defined by their actual progress and day-to-day work. Just because their mission statement is similar doesn’t mean they do the same thing. Similarly, the cost of doing business varies greatly by region or in specialized industries. Certain organizations might have public mandates by virtue of the grants they operate within.

You want to be evaluating organizations on a case by case basis once you determine the short list of companies that fit your needs. Daily spends; operating budgets, employee mix and general day-to-day operational aspects greatly vary. It goes far beyond what a mission statement of organizational vision could possibly indicate.

Trust your gut instincts

If you’ve gotten to a point where you can legitimately devote significant resources of any kind to a charitable organization, you have likely had to rely on your gut and been right a lot in your life.

If something doesn’t make sense and you cannot reasonably define why it doesn’t, it probably means you should move on. Otherwise you’ll likely be at an enhanced risk of being disappointed in your involvement at some point in the future.

Some conclusions

While It might not have been completely obvious in the run up to these conclusions, we do think it’s best for a majority of charitably minded individuals to support local and regional organizations over national or international ones. Far and away the biggest impacts can be made locally. Both because you are more invested, and because you can be utilized to a higher degree with more efficiency.

National and international organizations are incredibly important though. For instance: the Polaris organization and Shared Hope International are crucial players in the anti-human-trafficking segment. It benefits everyone but the criminals running trafficking organizations to have such strong, focused, integrative not-for-profits and NGO’s in the space. These non-profits have a ton of funding, but that doesn’t mean that additional funding is unappreciated or unnecessary. Champion all areas of your given cause if you have the means to, as every fundamentally oriented, stable organization can have a huge impact on the problem they seek to combat.

Don’t be afraid to follow up. You would be surprised how easily email spam and busy days can quickly derail an employees urgency to return a call from a potential donor or volunteer. If you are persistent, you will likely be met with an eager, helpful representative that can help you understand how you can help. But don’t abandon

the organization on the first unanswered email. Many employees in non-profits are wearing multiple hats and that can impact their ability to connect with you immediately at different times.

Money isn’t the only way that you can help. Are you a marketing genius? A YouTube personality? A graphic designer? A credentialed counselor? Are you someone with a specific skillset that cannot be found easily? A lawyer with a few hours pro-bono time could be a very valuable asset to a non-profit going through a leadership transition. A small business owner that can donate excess inventory could also be a huge windfall asset to a charity. Even just someone with a moderate social media following can be a major help to an organization during peak season for donations. A writer could help with website copy that isn’t converting potential donors or volunteers.

Another major need: Qualified Board representatives for local organizations that have the same vision as the organization and are willing to champion the cause year round.

Don’t think just because you aren’t ready to contribute thousands to the organization that you cannot be a major influencer on the progression of the organization.

You’d be selling yourself short.

Non-Profits are forced to be keen, lean, aggressive entities that can uncover talent and resources where they might be hidden normally. If you step up, most of them, at least the good ones, will too.