The hard truth is most donations are being wasted. Including yours. You must assume your donation is being wasted, it will make it stretch further.
No matter how hard you try, charities waste donations. It typically presents one of these ways:
- Grifters: It’s painful to admit, but the truth is many people in the charity business just want easy jobs. Leaders included. Doing fake work is even recession proof.
- Too much overhead: Charities have to pay rent. But donors want to change the world, not just keep the lights on. Basic operating costs are often higher than you think.
- Siphoned donations: Charities don’t want to admit it, but they spend a lot of money on outside fundraising help. And, even famous, well-respected charities sometimes pay commissions on donations (up to 80%). It’s possible a small fraction of your donation goes to the charity you sent it to.
- “Programs” aren’t always programs: 90% or more of fundraising expenses can be counted as a program, even though they’re not. It’s not just an exaggerated impact, the existence of programs are greatly exaggerated.
- Programs that fail. Even if 100% of your donation could go to a program, that program would need to succeed. Otherwise the entire donation is a failure.
We know charities have to do fundraising, and we want them to succeed. But no one wants their money being spent on outside consultants, bonuses, commissions, or programs that don’t create change.
Donors should make their donation actually accomplish something. It’s time to do something about your donation waste.
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