Charity ratings are something so inconsistent that highly rated charities might easily find themselves outdone in rating by unknown ones that materialize out of nowhere. Charity Water is a representative though new sample of this. The power of the online medium and ingenuity are helping brand new charities to drive their ratings sky high. A charity that may not have any rating one day might be considered as one of the top of the chart charities by the New York Times the next day and their rating would then go through the roof in no time.
Because the general public are swayed so much by the charity ratings the press and media give, a brand new charity can flourish very quickly with a flood of charitable giving being thrown its way. And of course when the media lose interest, then the charity rating can drop out of the sky overnight.
Directory listings of charity rating
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!
Institutions like Givespot.com, Guidestar.org etc. provide comprehensive listings of charity ratings. GiveSpot 100 list is the list of the 100 highest ranking charities that is provided by Givespot.com. Another one that provides similar data is charitynavigator.com which has a list of the top ten charities as well a charity check system. Finding out charities is made easy by this. The biggest charity director of US is Guidestar.org with lots of free data on charity as well as information that can be availed for payment. Though its name gives a different impression, Better Business Bureau is a charity directory that gives a list of both commercial and non-profit ventures of USA.
So if you want to find the 100 top charities then there are so many charity rating guides out there and yet maybe charity ratings are actually about something else. What makes a charity stand above the rest often has nothing to do with its ratings at all. There are special ingredients that make any charity or non-charity organisation successful.
Charity Ratings and faith in the public
A YouGov poll of 2005 stated that about 56 percent of the British population did not have a considerable amount of belief even in well known global charities like Oxfam and Save the Children. Even among the charities that had a good charity rating, only about 15 percent enjoyed the public's belief in them.
Charity Warning Bells are more common
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.
Recent analyses reveal that just the cost of raising funds could amount to about'% in UK and 20% in Australia. The studies of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in USA put the amount to be about 30%. Administrative expenses are in addition to this and could be higher. Many charity givers find that this is the main problem, more so when charity giving grabs media attention as was the case in Singapore a couple of years ago. Such unwelcome focus becomes conducive to a decrease in charity giving which is quite unpleasant.
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 increase the charity rating as well as attract better flow of funds the secret can be found in a single word - attraction.
When we look at something and consider buying it, investing in it or connecting with it, we make an instant decision based on how attractive it is to us. If the level of attraction is high, we are highly interested and take action quickly and of course if low, we take our time or decide no.
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 make Charity Water quite fascinating and promote its rating are the following.
* 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.
* The message and objective are clear, straightforward and singular - 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 reduce you Charity Ratings in a heart beat
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.
To prove this, all we have to do is look at ourselves in the company of our kids and know how our response is positive when children make a request in an exuberant, polite and eager manner. The same request, if made in an irritating or maudlin way, might elicit a negative response.
The picture a charity projects would strongly affect its ratings. By projecting an arousing and motivating picture of itself it will be able to influence people well. Then people will be ready to give more in response.
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.
The medium of a conventional business enterprise may not be suitable for many businessmen whose ideas of ethics and integrity would be contrary to the way decisions are made in a commercial world. Such people use a social enterprise to use their acumen and ability to create a profit and effect great changes in the social arena. A typical example of such a social entrepreneur is Muhammad Yunus who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his rich contributions to improving social conditions.
A comparatively new global social venture, Buy1GIVE1, also known as B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1), combines commercial activities with noble causes and charity organisations across the globe. Buy1GIVE1 has reduced the costs of administration and fundraising so completely that it is able to give away the whole of the funds it gets. It functions in a way quite similar to online enterprises like Kiva.org, which has been given support by Bill Clinton; Buy1GIVE1 is a substitute for the conventional style of direct giving to charities. Lots of people find them a more practical way for making donations while receiving valuable things in return.
Entrepreneurs, who are forever on the lookout for avenues to give in return to the society in effectual ways and to donate to beneficial charitable causes, realise the exemplary worth and strong marketing principles of organisations like Buy1GIVE1. Each and every sale that is made makes a change - not merely philanthropically. It makes a change with its strong impact as well, for every sale that is made becomes a poignant story that is an eye-opener. Buy1Give1 is a far cry from the commercial enterprises that might donate a million dollars to charity, for it lets the customers fully relish the joy of giving. The transaction-based giving of Buy1Give1 is a lesson in perfection.
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 of Australia has allied itself with a charity called Midday Meals in India, in the city of Mumbai. As a result when a packet of muesli is bought, a needy kid is given food in Mumbai. Since a simple meal is available there at the cost of 30 US cents, Midday Meals daily manages to feed about 125,000 kids. The charity feeds these children in schools and it helps substantially in protecting children from begging and other harsh realities and abuse of street life.
Maple Muesli has helped to put Midday Meals on the map as a worthy and well-rated cause in Australia. Maple Muesli share their giving story with all their customers increasing the natural rating of this amazing organisation in Mumbai without Midday Meals doing anything other than feed children. Effective Giving - The Era for Plain Charity Donations is ending
A change is impending in the setting of the top 100 charities and would become visible in a few years as more novel and productive ways of charitable giving take shape. Nowadays only limited choices exist for making donations for charitable purposes. All the existing ones are not good enough to create enough difference.
Other methods of 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.
Some better known and not so well-known charities as well as Social Enterprises are evaluated and rated below so as to be of help to those who contribute to these.
THE SALVATION ARMY
ROUTE TO GIVING: DIRECT GIVING
The Salvation Army is one among the most well-known 100 charities of the world - Both individuals and enterprises make contributions directly to it.
OPENNESS - B - Not sufficiently open - Plenty of money is being collected - but the results are not always completely clear.
MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS - C - Businesses' one-off contributions to Salvation Army may be mentioned 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.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE -C - Nothing specific in the activities that is likely to bring about a change.
PRODUCT (RED)
PATH TO GIVING : MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Product (RED) is a brand licensed to partner companies, to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.
TRANSPARENCY - B - Lack of transparency - sum of money is contributed for every purchase - but result is not fully measurable.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS - A - People and enterprises by and large prefer to support it as it is promoted by popular idols like Bono and Oprah. End result of marketing is not correctly available.
FUNDRAISING COSTS - C - Spends hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising - could have just given that money to Africa.
CONTRIBUTORS'CHOICE OF CHARITY - C - Partner businesses do not have much choice in the charities that receive their contributions - all are in Africa.
POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE - B - Products (RED) only partner huge companies and all their profits go to Africa.
THE BODY SHOP
WAY TO GIVING: BUSINESS TRADE & GIVING
The Body Shop has a purchasing program known as community trade to help Third World countries; and from the income they generate, substantial contributions are made to charities.
TRANSPARENCY - B - Lack of transparency - sum of money is contributed for every purchase - but result is not fully measurable.
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.
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS - A - Costs are kept low - Business design is good enough to attract large contributions and further community trade.
DONOR'S CHOICE OF CHARITY - A - Enterprises are at liberty to choose where their contributions should go.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE - B - The ability of the business to give back to the society is good - still few make the required additional effort to press on for change.
LIVE EARTH
WAY TO GIVING: EVENT FUNDRAISING
Live Earth consisted of a string of global musical programmes which set in motion a three-year campaign to battle climate change and was held on July 7, 2007.
TRANSPARENCY - F - According to Intelligent Giving, there were big questions about accountability as to where the proceeds of ticket sales went.
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.
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS - C - Substantial sums were spent on promotion of an event which was considered a fiasco by many as it did not have any proper objectives.
DONOR'S CHOICE OF CHARITY - C - Only three charities could manage to get funds.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE - C - Such events can be held just once or at the most once a year. The amount collected generally goes to better known charities.
Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1)
ROUTE TO GIVING: SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
B1G1 is a brand licensed to collaborate with any enterprise - uniting them with any cause across the globe. A fully comprehensive model.
TRANSPARENCY - A - One for one giving ensures funds given are used for what they were intended. Customers know their giving translates into real change (e.g. numbers of trees planted, numbers of children fed).
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS - A+tve - Superb marketing value as a result of:
* Quantifiable giving * Press coverage * Valuable stories * Individual to individual * Continuing customers
COSTS OF FUNDRAISING - A+tve - Absolutely no cost - B1G1 can oversee a charity's needs for raising funds and also manage much of the administration as well. So the funds go entirely 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!"
Donating money may not seem to be a difficult job - it is just a question of handing over some money as cheque, cash or via the credit card. Still, someone like George Sores, who is as generous a donor as could be, agrees that effectual giving is no cakewalk. Underprivileged communities and countries receive millions of dollars in aid and still the situation remains much the same year after year.
People asking smarter questions will bring about the needed change. Social Entrepreneurs like Mohamed Yunis, Nobel Prize winner, creating innovative solutions to poverty and environmental issues with Micro Finance are carving the way to a new future where business initiatives, social enterprise and conscious consumerism transform our world. Initiatives like The Body Shop's 'Trade - Not Aid' need to be replicated. New ideas like Buy1GIVE1 need to be embraced. The value of social enterprise needs to be recognised.
Bill Gates, when asked how one can make a difference in the world, pointed to the Internet. Kiva.org and Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com) are organisations that add value to the giver. With Kiva.org, people can receive email journal updates from the business they have sponsored. This happens with Buy1GIVE1 as well. Businesses also get the added benefit of marketing stories to tell their customers: buy a laptop with us, and we give one computer to someone who cannot afford it.
Next steps to increasing your Charity Ratings
Adopt a questioning mind, hop onto a wired laptop, and with a few hours to spare look at some of the new and amazing giving systems that are being created. Most of these new systems are network based and driven from 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 rather new entrant to the world of Social Enterprises and was launched in'97 by a Japanese lady called Masami Sato. Any business can avail a membership in Buy1GIVE1, and membership charges for smaller ventures will only be one dollar a day and donations can be as little as one cent on a sale. Buy1GIVE1 is in the forefront of the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving world movement. Joining hands with Buy1GIVE1 is totally uncomplicated for businesses as well as charity needs. The working pattern of Buy1GIVE1 is perfectly controlled and practical. It connects the products or services of any given business to a needy cause (Buy1GIVE1's or their own) and after that whenever a sale is closed, it has to be recorded and the contribution percentage sent to the charity at the end of the month or end of quarter year directly 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.
A new epoch in charity giving
Organizations that have been non-entities just a couple of months ago have now invaded internet with resounding user acceptance. Having an online presence on sites like MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, NING or TipJoy are becoming survival requirements. Likewise companies like The Present, Buy1GIVE1 and Kiva are organisations that one should build a relationship with. These are the avant garde institutions that help to create and sustain charity ratings. Now is the time to give new life to a perfect future.
Because the general public are swayed so much by the charity ratings the press and media give, a brand new charity can flourish very quickly with a flood of charitable giving being thrown its way. And of course when the media lose interest, then the charity rating can drop out of the sky overnight.
Directory listings of charity rating
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!
Institutions like Givespot.com, Guidestar.org etc. provide comprehensive listings of charity ratings. GiveSpot 100 list is the list of the 100 highest ranking charities that is provided by Givespot.com. Another one that provides similar data is charitynavigator.com which has a list of the top ten charities as well a charity check system. Finding out charities is made easy by this. The biggest charity director of US is Guidestar.org with lots of free data on charity as well as information that can be availed for payment. Though its name gives a different impression, Better Business Bureau is a charity directory that gives a list of both commercial and non-profit ventures of USA.
So if you want to find the 100 top charities then there are so many charity rating guides out there and yet maybe charity ratings are actually about something else. What makes a charity stand above the rest often has nothing to do with its ratings at all. There are special ingredients that make any charity or non-charity organisation successful.
Charity Ratings and faith in the public
A YouGov poll of 2005 stated that about 56 percent of the British population did not have a considerable amount of belief even in well known global charities like Oxfam and Save the Children. Even among the charities that had a good charity rating, only about 15 percent enjoyed the public's belief in them.
Charity Warning Bells are more common
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.
Recent analyses reveal that just the cost of raising funds could amount to about'% in UK and 20% in Australia. The studies of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in USA put the amount to be about 30%. Administrative expenses are in addition to this and could be higher. Many charity givers find that this is the main problem, more so when charity giving grabs media attention as was the case in Singapore a couple of years ago. Such unwelcome focus becomes conducive to a decrease in charity giving which is quite unpleasant.
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 increase the charity rating as well as attract better flow of funds the secret can be found in a single word - attraction.
When we look at something and consider buying it, investing in it or connecting with it, we make an instant decision based on how attractive it is to us. If the level of attraction is high, we are highly interested and take action quickly and of course if low, we take our time or decide no.
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 make Charity Water quite fascinating and promote its rating are the following.
* 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.
* The message and objective are clear, straightforward and singular - 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 reduce you Charity Ratings in a heart beat
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.
To prove this, all we have to do is look at ourselves in the company of our kids and know how our response is positive when children make a request in an exuberant, polite and eager manner. The same request, if made in an irritating or maudlin way, might elicit a negative response.
The picture a charity projects would strongly affect its ratings. By projecting an arousing and motivating picture of itself it will be able to influence people well. Then people will be ready to give more in response.
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.
The medium of a conventional business enterprise may not be suitable for many businessmen whose ideas of ethics and integrity would be contrary to the way decisions are made in a commercial world. Such people use a social enterprise to use their acumen and ability to create a profit and effect great changes in the social arena. A typical example of such a social entrepreneur is Muhammad Yunus who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his rich contributions to improving social conditions.
A comparatively new global social venture, Buy1GIVE1, also known as B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1), combines commercial activities with noble causes and charity organisations across the globe. Buy1GIVE1 has reduced the costs of administration and fundraising so completely that it is able to give away the whole of the funds it gets. It functions in a way quite similar to online enterprises like Kiva.org, which has been given support by Bill Clinton; Buy1GIVE1 is a substitute for the conventional style of direct giving to charities. Lots of people find them a more practical way for making donations while receiving valuable things in return.
Entrepreneurs, who are forever on the lookout for avenues to give in return to the society in effectual ways and to donate to beneficial charitable causes, realise the exemplary worth and strong marketing principles of organisations like Buy1GIVE1. Each and every sale that is made makes a change - not merely philanthropically. It makes a change with its strong impact as well, for every sale that is made becomes a poignant story that is an eye-opener. Buy1Give1 is a far cry from the commercial enterprises that might donate a million dollars to charity, for it lets the customers fully relish the joy of giving. The transaction-based giving of Buy1Give1 is a lesson in perfection.
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 of Australia has allied itself with a charity called Midday Meals in India, in the city of Mumbai. As a result when a packet of muesli is bought, a needy kid is given food in Mumbai. Since a simple meal is available there at the cost of 30 US cents, Midday Meals daily manages to feed about 125,000 kids. The charity feeds these children in schools and it helps substantially in protecting children from begging and other harsh realities and abuse of street life.
Maple Muesli has helped to put Midday Meals on the map as a worthy and well-rated cause in Australia. Maple Muesli share their giving story with all their customers increasing the natural rating of this amazing organisation in Mumbai without Midday Meals doing anything other than feed children. Effective Giving - The Era for Plain Charity Donations is ending
A change is impending in the setting of the top 100 charities and would become visible in a few years as more novel and productive ways of charitable giving take shape. Nowadays only limited choices exist for making donations for charitable purposes. All the existing ones are not good enough to create enough difference.
Other methods of 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.
Some better known and not so well-known charities as well as Social Enterprises are evaluated and rated below so as to be of help to those who contribute to these.
THE SALVATION ARMY
ROUTE TO GIVING: DIRECT GIVING
The Salvation Army is one among the most well-known 100 charities of the world - Both individuals and enterprises make contributions directly to it.
OPENNESS - B - Not sufficiently open - Plenty of money is being collected - but the results are not always completely clear.
MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS - C - Businesses' one-off contributions to Salvation Army may be mentioned 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.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE -C - Nothing specific in the activities that is likely to bring about a change.
PRODUCT (RED)
PATH TO GIVING : MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Product (RED) is a brand licensed to partner companies, to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.
TRANSPARENCY - B - Lack of transparency - sum of money is contributed for every purchase - but result is not fully measurable.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS - A - People and enterprises by and large prefer to support it as it is promoted by popular idols like Bono and Oprah. End result of marketing is not correctly available.
FUNDRAISING COSTS - C - Spends hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising - could have just given that money to Africa.
CONTRIBUTORS'CHOICE OF CHARITY - C - Partner businesses do not have much choice in the charities that receive their contributions - all are in Africa.
POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE - B - Products (RED) only partner huge companies and all their profits go to Africa.
THE BODY SHOP
WAY TO GIVING: BUSINESS TRADE & GIVING
The Body Shop has a purchasing program known as community trade to help Third World countries; and from the income they generate, substantial contributions are made to charities.
TRANSPARENCY - B - Lack of transparency - sum of money is contributed for every purchase - but result is not fully measurable.
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.
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS - A - Costs are kept low - Business design is good enough to attract large contributions and further community trade.
DONOR'S CHOICE OF CHARITY - A - Enterprises are at liberty to choose where their contributions should go.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE - B - The ability of the business to give back to the society is good - still few make the required additional effort to press on for change.
LIVE EARTH
WAY TO GIVING: EVENT FUNDRAISING
Live Earth consisted of a string of global musical programmes which set in motion a three-year campaign to battle climate change and was held on July 7, 2007.
TRANSPARENCY - F - According to Intelligent Giving, there were big questions about accountability as to where the proceeds of ticket sales went.
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.
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS - C - Substantial sums were spent on promotion of an event which was considered a fiasco by many as it did not have any proper objectives.
DONOR'S CHOICE OF CHARITY - C - Only three charities could manage to get funds.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE - C - Such events can be held just once or at the most once a year. The amount collected generally goes to better known charities.
Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1)
ROUTE TO GIVING: SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
B1G1 is a brand licensed to collaborate with any enterprise - uniting them with any cause across the globe. A fully comprehensive model.
TRANSPARENCY - A - One for one giving ensures funds given are used for what they were intended. Customers know their giving translates into real change (e.g. numbers of trees planted, numbers of children fed).
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS - A+tve - Superb marketing value as a result of:
* Quantifiable giving * Press coverage * Valuable stories * Individual to individual * Continuing customers
COSTS OF FUNDRAISING - A+tve - Absolutely no cost - B1G1 can oversee a charity's needs for raising funds and also manage much of the administration as well. So the funds go entirely 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!"
Donating money may not seem to be a difficult job - it is just a question of handing over some money as cheque, cash or via the credit card. Still, someone like George Sores, who is as generous a donor as could be, agrees that effectual giving is no cakewalk. Underprivileged communities and countries receive millions of dollars in aid and still the situation remains much the same year after year.
People asking smarter questions will bring about the needed change. Social Entrepreneurs like Mohamed Yunis, Nobel Prize winner, creating innovative solutions to poverty and environmental issues with Micro Finance are carving the way to a new future where business initiatives, social enterprise and conscious consumerism transform our world. Initiatives like The Body Shop's 'Trade - Not Aid' need to be replicated. New ideas like Buy1GIVE1 need to be embraced. The value of social enterprise needs to be recognised.
Bill Gates, when asked how one can make a difference in the world, pointed to the Internet. Kiva.org and Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com) are organisations that add value to the giver. With Kiva.org, people can receive email journal updates from the business they have sponsored. This happens with Buy1GIVE1 as well. Businesses also get the added benefit of marketing stories to tell their customers: buy a laptop with us, and we give one computer to someone who cannot afford it.
Next steps to increasing your Charity Ratings
Adopt a questioning mind, hop onto a wired laptop, and with a few hours to spare look at some of the new and amazing giving systems that are being created. Most of these new systems are network based and driven from 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 rather new entrant to the world of Social Enterprises and was launched in'97 by a Japanese lady called Masami Sato. Any business can avail a membership in Buy1GIVE1, and membership charges for smaller ventures will only be one dollar a day and donations can be as little as one cent on a sale. Buy1GIVE1 is in the forefront of the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving world movement. Joining hands with Buy1GIVE1 is totally uncomplicated for businesses as well as charity needs. The working pattern of Buy1GIVE1 is perfectly controlled and practical. It connects the products or services of any given business to a needy cause (Buy1GIVE1's or their own) and after that whenever a sale is closed, it has to be recorded and the contribution percentage sent to the charity at the end of the month or end of quarter year directly 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.
A new epoch in charity giving
Organizations that have been non-entities just a couple of months ago have now invaded internet with resounding user acceptance. Having an online presence on sites like MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, NING or TipJoy are becoming survival requirements. Likewise companies like The Present, Buy1GIVE1 and Kiva are organisations that one should build a relationship with. These are the avant garde institutions that help to create and sustain charity ratings. Now is the time to give new life to a perfect future.
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