Excuse me, Asks Heather Carpenter, What Qualifies You For-profit Types to Evaluate a Non-profit?

Non-profit Leadership 601:

There are all these standards of accountability that have been created for nonprofits, however which are these standards of the right one? Does Holden or the folks at Charity Navigator or GreatNonprofits really know what it is like to run a nonprofit organization? Here in San Diego we are having an issue with the Better Business Bureau because it is pushing its way into the nonprofit sector and thinks it knows how nonprofits should run, it has its wise giving standards that are sweeping across the United States. It is frustrating that all these different groups think they know the right way a nonprofit should run. I am more apt to follow the standards put out by the Independent Sector or the Nonprofit Congress which is made up of real nonprofit managers like myself who knows what it is like to actually run a nonprofit.

Comments

[Perla Ni]

Hi Phil,
I want to correct a factual error - GreatNonprofits doesn't set any standards or do any evaluations. We are a website that enables people - volunteers, clients, peers - who know specific nonprofits to share their experience about those nonprofits. Much like Amazon book reviews or any other consumer reviews site (Epnions, Zagats, TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.) You'll see on our site stories of people who have volunteered for nonprofits and stories of people who have received services.

We know how much the help of a nonprofit can mean and also how difficult it is for nonprofits to show that their social impact. I've known nonprofits personally as a client of their services. My parents were poor and we lived five blocks from the train tracks in public housing and countless nonprofits helped us. If you look at photos of me when I was a kid, practically everything I wore came second hand from nonprofits. My cavities got filled for free at a nonprofit community dental clinic.

And that’s why GreatNonprofits is a tool for sharing stories and reviews of people -- people like me, the victims of Katrina, and hundreds of thousands of others -- who have seen the impact of nonprofits up close, and can speak personally and firsthand about it.

Best,
Perla Ni
Founder & CEO, GreatNonprofits

[phil]

Thank you so much, Perla, for setting the record straight. In fact, your site is the exact opposite of a metrics driven exercise. You are bringing together the voices of those who have been touched by a nonprofit. I finally "got" what you are doing. I blogged it here
Thank you for stopping by to point us in the right direction.

[robert guinto]

Giving does not have to be a last minute philanthropy gesture to a nonprofit. Philanthropy to be the most effective giving effort should be planned. With over 1.4 million nonprofits, strategic giving should support a corporation's or indivudals philanthropy. Targeting nonprofits that meet the mission of the philanthropy act of giving will improve the likely successes of nonprofits. Those nonprofits with a mission, which meet corporation’s philanthropy goals towards giving, will increase the likely outcome for both parties to achieve the goals set.

Corporate executives devise and execute business plans to maximize the likelihood of success of the goals and achieve the monetary return on the invested capital. Therefore, an effort to maximize the effect of giving with a philanthropy business plan focus should be acceptable. An individual or corporation identifying those elements required of the nonprofits for the giving to occur or for consideration of giving is the right of the giver.

It is appropriate for a logical process for the nonprofits to identify how their mission matches the giving mission of the philanthropy endeavor. A nonprofit needs to show what outcomes they would plan to achieve from the philanthropy endeavor.

Giving is about outreach with a response to positioning the effort for providing resources at targeted efforts.

A corporation or individual getting involved in various opportunities for interaction with the community needs can greatly increase a corporations, its employees or individuals grasp of their community. The personal nature of giving creates a valuable personal and corporate approach to philanthropy. The message a corporation conveys on its corporate or individual giving program to nonprofits should be for the nonprofit to show why giving is good for their business or personal being. Giving starts with leadership.

The leadership conveys the meaning/purpose of their corporate philanthropy program. The leadership conveys the mission, goals and objectives of the philanthropic giving effort.

Nonprofits in an effort to win recognition by the decision making team needs to understand the past efforts of philanthropic giving. Nonprofits should make an effort to define clear goals for the corporation giving of financial, in-kind services or products.

Show how the act of giving makes a difference.

Neutral opinions whether you agree with them or not is a starting point.

[phil]

Thanks, Robert,

Tracy Gary has a nice phrase for it: "Mission match." The nonprofit should be a mission match for the funder.