Give mindfully this holiday season!
There are countless reasons why it's a good idea to donate to charity during the holiday season. Beyond being a great way to contribute to causes and movements that you care about, giving just feels good. In fact, numerous studies have observed that we actually derive more joy—both immediate and long-term—from giving, rather than receiving. Making a donation of time or money to a cause you care about is also a great way to bring some mindfulness into your busy holiday season.
If you're going to donate to a charitable cause or nonprofit, you want to make sure your donation is actually going to do some good. That said, it can be somewhat difficult to tell just where your donation is going and how much of an input it's actually making if you don't do your research beforehand. With peak holiday fundraising season right around the corner, let's take a look at the questions you should ask before you write a check for a charitable organization.
First Thing's First: Understanding Overhead
If you're not familiar with the organization that you're donating to, then it can be easy to be off-put by high overhead costs. Many large charities will report administration costs that occupy 60-70% of their budgets. From a distance, this may look like the organization is only putting 30% of its donations towards charity and quietly pocketing the other 70%. In reality, these administrative costs represent much of the infrastructure that the organization needs in order to do charity work. After all, being able to provide medicine, education, or other resources to people in need requires skilled works—and that requires paying them!
The exact ratio that an organization spends on administrative and charitable costs shouldn't be taken as a picture of the organization's success in reaching people in need. After raising $115 million during the Ice Bucket challenge in 2014, the ALS Association drew criticism for only spending 27% of its charitable earnings on research, for example. What this criticism often missed was that the ALS Association also spent 32% of its income on patient education and care, along with 19% on direct patient and community services—totaling an impressive 79% of its earnings. Despite being such a high percentage, that one is easy to lose track of if you only focus on ratios.
Look for an Articulated Mission Statement
When you first consider donating to a charity, take a second to look at their mission statement. What sort of cause are they advocating? More importantly, how do they plan to further that cause? Reputable, established organizations impact their communities by actually working in them—and it's important to make that distinction when you read about what they do. If an organization's goals are limited to "raising awareness," then your donation might not have the same immediate impact as it would with one that interacts directly with members of your community.
Beyond that, it's worth asking yourself if their values align with yours as well. While almost everyone is going to agree that issues like extreme poverty or famine should be addressed, different organizations are going to have somewhat different ideas on what the best avenue is for doing so. To this end, it's entirely reasonable to agree with an organization's goals but disagree with its exact mission statement. It's ultimately up to you where the line is, but it's always helpful to be mindful that it may be there!
Look for Real Community Impact
As we noted above, charities can often measure their successes by the impacts they've had on a local, community level. It's one thing to make big promises about solving the education crisis, it's another to actually make sure children have access to classroom resources, tuition, and mentorship. To that end, you can see what a successful track record looks like by examining a charity like ACE Scholarships, a Colorado-based organization. This is an organization that measures its success in both the number of scholarships that it's able to award, but also the opportunities that those scholarships create.
Understanding the actual human benefit of an organization should be a motivating factor in choosing which ones to donate to this season. Beyond making sure that your donation has the highest possible impact, it's okay to be a little selfish when picking organizations that do real good in your community. After all, you live in your community! There are few ways to show appreciation for the people, groups, or city around you more sincere than giving back. Wanting a better quality of life for the world around you is an awesome thing to channel during the holidays—and picking the right charity lets you contribute towards that!
When All Else Fails, Just Ask!
If you're interested, but not completely sold, on a charity, there's no shame in asking them to sell you on it! As we mentioned above, an actionable mission statement and a measurable community impact are two things a charity should be able to point to—so don't hesitate to reach out! If nothing else, you'll walk away from the conversation with a better understanding of how their relevant cause works, meaning you'll be better equipped to engage with other charities in the future.
Another way to find out more about the organization is to get involved! Many organizations, especially ones that address food and resource inequity, will host drives or event days that are open to volunteers. Showing up and talking to community members is an awesome way to get a sense of what the organization does and the sort of impact that it makes.
With a little due diligence, you can make sure you're doing the most good with every dollar you donate. In a year that's been as hectic as this one, that's a surefire way to bring some warm fuzzies to the holidays.
What charities are you planning to donate to this holiday season? Sound off in the comments!
