Charity Ratings Are Unpredictable – How To Increase Rating
Charity ratings are a fickle thing with highly rated charities holding the number 1 position today being overtaken by new charities coming from nowhere. Charity Water is a recent and amazing example of this. Originality and the power of the Internet, are driving the ratings of brand new charities through the roof. A charity may not know today with a non-existent rating, but tomorrow it can be rated as number one by the New York Times as being the most amazing charity ever, and wham their rating goes from zero right to the top overnight.
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.
Charity rating directory listings
With cynicism a bit on the higher side and eagle eyed guardians of charity practices ever on the lookout for malpractices, with huge amounts of money spent on managing or misuse of funds, directory listings of charity ratings are having a field day. It is rather strange that altruistic organizations, the purpose of which is to give others, themselves come under the scrutiny of guardians of ethics. Altruism is becoming a knotty issue!
Organisations like Givespot.com and Guidestar.org list detailed charity ratings. Givespot.com has a detailed list called the GiveSpot 100 list, which shows its top 100 rated charities. Other organisations like charitynavigator.org have charity check systems as well as a charity Top Ten list so that look up a charity is easy. Guidestar.org is probably the biggest US charity directory offering an amazing array of charity information some free some at a cost. The Better Business Bureau in the USA, despite its name is also charity directory that lists both business and non-profit organisations.
With enough charity rating guides, there is no data shortage for anyone who wants to get information on the 100 top charities, but what constitutes real rating is something different. What in reality makes a charity superior has nothing much to do with its ratings. There are characteristics that make an organization, whether charity based or otherwise, stand out from the rest.
Charity Ratings and trust 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
People do not have faith in charities any more. They cannot be blamed for this state of affairs. Eagle eyed critics of charities complain about mismanagement in the field with high salaries for the staff and about 60% donations being spent on overheads for running the venture, leaving little for actual charity giving.
It has been shown in recent studies that the expenses for raising funds in places like UK and Australia amount to about18% in the case of the former and 22% in the case of the latter. The corresponding amount in USA is about 30% according to the Association of Fundraising Professionals. These are without administrative expenses, which might be higher. This is a big issue with donors especially in situations like what happened in Singapore a few years ago when the issue fell under the media scanner. This sort of negative attraction leads to a reduction in charity giving which is definitely not a good sign.
Charity ratings secret exposed
There is practically no difference between a charity and a commercial enterprise when it comes to the question of drawing money. They way they put the money to use might be different, but the techniques they use to get that money are more or less the same.
To promote the charity rating and also to ensure better cash flow, there is a one and only formula – enticement.
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 made it to the top of the chart in charity rating and got media support because of its unique and attractive image. The way they sold a bottle of charity water for the best price and projected the idea of using the profit for making clean water accessible to those who required it was very enticing.
The factors that combine to make Charity Water so enticing, making it popular, are easily decipherable.
* They have the perfect name – Charity Water that makes people easily respond to the obvious passion of the founder to the idea, and his eagerness to share it with others.
* Their idea of the vocation and their message is lucid, plain and remarkable – sell water and give water – Buy One Give One
* They gave importance to the solution and not to the problem. This is an assured way for any charity to get a good charity rating in the public’s eye. People by and large have no interest in being reminded of the miseries of life. They prefer to feel elated. So in this case when they know that their act, that of buying a bottle of water, can affect the lives of others positively, they are glad.
How to let Charity Ratings plummet in a second
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.
We only need to observe ourselves with our own children and experience how when our children ask us for something in a fun and lively and enthusiastic way we just want to say yes. And when they ask us for the same thing in a whinging and whining way we say no very quickly.
The images that a charity uses will affect its charity ratings. Using uplifting and inspiring images will uplift and inspire people. Uplifted and inspired people give more and spend more.
Social Enterprises improve Charity Ratings and solve the problems in Getting Funds
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.
Many social entrepreneurs would never survive in traditional business because their ethical and moral values would always be in conflict with many of the business decisions made. Social Enterprise is a perfect arena for these very inspiring and valuable individuals who choose to use the business vehicle to effect social and global change. One of the most famous Social Entrepreneurs of course is Muhammad Yunus who was the first businessperson ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 2006.
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.
Successful businessmen, who are searching for a chance to give back richly to the society and to provide for deserving charities, fully understand the importance and properly structured working credos of institutions like Buy1GIVE1. Every single sale is able to affect a change somewhere – not only altruistically. It has also the ability to forcefully influence things in such a way that each act becomes a unique marketing story. There is a world of difference in the way in which Buy1Give1 works and those charities which give away thousands and thousands of dollars work, because Buy1Give1 lets their customers know what the joy o f giving is. Buy1Give1 transaction-based giving is a perfectly beautiful way of giving.
Enterprises like Buy1GIVE1 provide details of charity requirements, especially those which are really needy causes, and these always manage to attract lots of donations. Entrepreneurs understand very well the fundamentals of these equations and so are more likely to help such causes rather than worry about the charity rating. They know very well that people have an inherent tendency to respond to a more touching requirement, than simply to media rating.
Maple Muesli in Australia has partnered with Midday Meals in Mumbai, India. With every bag of muesli bought, a hungry child in India is fed. Midday Meals is a charity that feeds 125,000 Mumbai children every day for just US 30 cents per meal. The meals are provided in schools to keep kids off the streets and encourage learning while reducing begging and child abuse.
Maple Muesli has familiarised the whole of Australia with the noble cause of the Midday Meals. The company has made all its customers aware of the stupendous service the charity is doing and how their money is helping it. This has made Midday Meals tremendously popular even though all they are doing is providing meals for the kids. The era of Effective Giving has dawned – that of Plain Charity Donations is disappearing at the horizon.
We will surely see a change in the landscape of the top 100 charities over the coming years as new and innovative and far more effective ways of giving are created. These days we are spoilt for choice on how we can make our charitable giving. Not all of them are efficient ways to make a difference.
Alternative Charity Ratings
Methods of charity have changed over the years and newer ways are making their presence, some of which are rated below. Comparison Points of Charity.
Rating and comparison has been done on some better known and lesser known charities and Social Enterprises on issues that concern those who donate to these.
THE SALVATION ARMY
WAY 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.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – C – Even a single donation to Salvation Army by a business might find mention in the press.
FUNDRAISING COSTS – B – Spends millions of dollars annually to raise funds.
CONTRIBUTORS’CHOICE OF CHARITY – B – For direct giving, you can have a lot of charities to check out before settling which one is best.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE -C- No potential noticed for bringing about a market change.
PRODUCT (RED)
PATH 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
TRANSPARENCY – B – Lack of transparency – sum of money is contributed for every purchase – but result is not fully measurable.
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – A – Popular among business ventures as well as people as it is supported by charismatic personnel like Bono and Oprah Winfrey. Marketing results are however not fully traceable.
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.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE – B – All those who collaborate with Products (RED) are big enterprises and all the income is spent on Africa.
THE BODY SHOP
PATH 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.
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – A-tve – Customers are interested in community trade and it increases their interest to do business with the venture. Visibility is not entirely sufficient.
FUNDRAISING COSTS – A – Lower costs – Successful business model that makes donations and boosts 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
WAY 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.
COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – C – Huge amounts were spent on advertising and according to some the whole event was a damp squib without any actual goals.
DONORS’ CHOICE POTENTIALS – C – Funds were made available only to three charities.
POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – C – These events are usually held one-off or annually. Money is often given to larger, more established charities.
Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1)
PATH TO GIVING : SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
B1G1 is a brand licensed to form a partnership with any business – connecting them with any worthy cause in any place. A truly universal precept.
CANDOUR – A – By giving for particular causes, makes sure that funds go exactly for that which it is intended. Customers get information on how exactly their money has made a change – i.e. the children whom it helped, or the environmental cause it protected.
MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS – A+tve – Great marketing value because of:
* Quantifiable giving * Press coverage * Valuable stories * Individual to individual * Continuing customers
FUNDRAISING COSTS – A+tve – Zero costs – B1G1 can take care of a charity’s fundraising needs including a large percentage of admin as well. 100% of funds received go to the charity.
DONOR’S CHOICE OF CHARITY – A – Any donor can contribute to a specific charity, or they can insist on giving to specific causes such as food, environment, or instruction.
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 Easy!”
You would think that giving money is easy – pull out a wad of cash, write a cheque or punch in your credit card details. Yet, billionaires philanthropists like George Sores , have gone on the record as saying that effective giving is one of the hardest things to do. Developing nations receive billions of dollars every year and yet it often seems like nothing changes much.
Asking the right questions is necessary for bringing about the required changes. Social entrepreneur Mohammed Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, has done pioneering work in the field of Microfinance and is revolutionizing the ways in which indigence and environmental problems can be tackled. People like him are showing the way as to how consumerism and social enterprise can change the face of the world. Another such example is the ‘Trade – Not Aid’ of The Body Shop. The ideals of Buy1GIVE1 are equally potent and are a model for charities. Social enterprise needs total recognition.
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.
Next steps to increasing 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.
The present situation is that if a venture is not allied online with global networks of good standing, it stands to lose quite a lot whatever its charity rating is, by tomorrow things are likely to change — completely.
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’97. 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.
You are strongly advised to create lasting bonds with Buy1GIVE1 and also motivate your business associates to join Buy1GIVE1. It is a singular and wonderful organisation doing stupendous work and no one can afford to ignore it.
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.
Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
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