Charity Ratings Are Fickle - How To Improve Rating
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.
As the public can be easily influenced by the charity ratings that the agents of mass media give, it is very easy for a completely new charity to grow very fast and be able to attract a wave of charitable donations to their side. For the same reason, when they become less popular with the media, their charity ratings also go down.
Directory lists of charity rating
With scepticism running quite high with charity watchdogs pinpointing charity problems such as misconduct, having exceptionally high amounts of funds spent on admin or the misappropriation of funds, charity rating directory lists are flourishing. It's so funny that philanthropic organizations that set out to give to others are now under the eye of charity watchdogs. Philanthropy is becoming a little complicated!
Givespot.com, Guidestar.org etc. are institutions that give a detailed list of charity ratings. The list of Givespot.com is known as GiveSpot 100 list, which gives a list of charities that are rated as the top 100. Then there are other institutions like charitynavigator.org which has a charity check systems and also gives a list of the Top Ten charities so that searching for a charity becomes easy. The biggest US charity directory is Guidestar.org and it offers a wide range of charity information some of which is available for free while some of the data require payment. In USA Better Business Bureau is also a charity directory that provides a list of non-profit institutions as well as commercial enterprises.
The fact is that there are enough guides that provide information about 100 top ranking charities but these ratings does not, in reality, convey the correct picture. The ratings of a charity has actually nothing much to do with what actually makes it superior to the rest. There are unique features that place a charity or non-charity institution above the rest.
Charity Ratings and belief in the public
According to a YouGov poll of 2005, even well known charities like Save the Children and Oxfam did not enjoy a high amount of faith by the majority of the British population amounting to 56%. The public seemed to have faith only in about 15% of the charities even among those that had good charity ratings.
Charity Watchdog Scares are more common
Trust in charities has dropped a lot in recent times. Yet who can blame the public. Charity watchdogs tell unsettling stories of very highmanagement salaries, charities taking as much as 60% of donations for overheads with their being little left for the actually charitable 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 revealed
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 see a thing and might prefer to buy it, or would consider putting money in it, or creating a bond with it, we are likely to make the decision based on how enticing the whole idea is. If it is a very attractive proposition, we might instantly choose to opt for it while if it is not very enticing, we may not do it immediately.
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.
* They had a simple, single and clear message and mission - sell water give water - Buy One Give One
* Their focus was on how to solve the problem and not the problem itself. It is important for charities to properly define their focus if they want people to rate them highly. No one has interest in getting their attention turned to the unpleasant things in life. People want a positive focus. So when they are told that they can make a positive change in the lives of others by buying a bottle of water they feel happy.
How to let Charity Ratings plummet in a second
The quickest and easiest way to lose attraction or attractiveness and thus your ratings is by focusing on the problem. No one wants to listen to anyone complaining how bad things are. Yet everyone will listen to someone who has high energy, enthusiasm, drive and determination to create something better.
All we have to do is see ourselves with our own kids and understand how we easily answer in the affirmative when they request for things in an eager and happy and excited way. But when they prefer to make their demands in a peevish or weepy way, we may tend to refuse.
The ratings of a charity depend substantially on the image it projects in front of the public. With a motivating and inspiring image people will be swayed to its ideas. They will then be ready to contribute well to the cause of the charity.
Social Enterprise increases Charity Ratings and helps solve Fundraising Problems
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.
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.
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.
Other choices in Charity Ratings
Newer and varied ways of gifting things to others are rated and featured in the table given below. These are Charity Comparison Data.
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
ROUTE TO GIVING: DIRECT GIVING
One of the Top 100 charities in the world - The Salvation Army is a charity that individuals and businesses often donate to directly.
CANDOUR - B - Insufficient candour - Lots of money is donated - but result is not completely quantifiable.
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS - C - Contribution to Salvation Army gets mention in the press even if it is a one time contribution.
FUNDRAISING COSTS - B - Spends millions of dollars annually to raise funds.
DONOR'S CHOICE OF CHARITY - B - There are many charities and the contributors can decide to which one they would like to give directly.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE -C - Nothing specific in the activities that is likely to bring about a change.
PRODUCT (RED)
ROUTE 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.
CANDOUR - B - Insufficient candour - Lots of money is donated - but result is not completely quantifiable.
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.
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.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE - B - All partners of Products (RED) are huge ventures and the entire profit is spent on helping people of Africa.
THE BODY SHOP
ROUTE 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.
OPENNESS - B - Not sufficiently open - Plenty of money is being collected - but the results are not always completely clear.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS - A-tve - Clients are by and large happy to become part of the community trade and are encouraged to buy more - the enterprise could afford to be more visible.
FUNDRAISING COSTS - A - Lower costs - Successful business model that makes donations and boosts community trade.
DONORS' CHOICE POTENTIALS - A - Ventures that donate has the option to decide in what way their donations are to be used.
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.
OPENNESS - F - Intelligent Giving had reported that the takings from the concert tickets sales were not accounted satisfactorily.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS - B - The sponsors of the business benefitted by the good press coverage, though by being a single occurrence results were not properly assessable.
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.
CONTRIBUTORS'CHOICE OF CHARITY - C - Only three charities received funds.
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 )
ROUTE 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.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS - A+tve - Outstanding marketing value due to:
* Quantifiable giving * Press coverage * Valuable stories * Individual to individual * Continuing customers
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS - A+tve - No cost at all - B1G1 can look after a charity's fundraising requirements which will include a good percentage of management also. All the funds that have accrued go to the cause.
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 No Big Deal!"
Giving away money appears simple on the face of it - it just involves pulling out notes or writing a cheque or punching in a credit card. But reality is a bit different. George Sores, who has donated billions to charity, insists that effective giving is a very complicated business. Underdeveloped nations receive a lot of money in aid year after year but the changes effected do not seem to be proportionate.
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.
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.
Other methods for improving 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.
As of now if one is not connected with good international networks via the internet, the chances of losing out are substantial even with good charity rating, tomorrow things are bound to change - totally.
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 comparatively new Social Enterprise established in'97 by a Japanese lady named Masami Sato. Today any business globally can be a member of Buy1GIVE1. The membership fee for smaller enterprises is as low as $1 for a day. Contributions can also be as low as one cent on a sale made. Buy1GIVE1 is spearheading the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving global movement. For any enterprise or charity requirement, working jointly with Buy1GIVE1 is very simple. It is perfectly structured and accommodating enough to adjust to the requirements of its partners. An organisation can connect its products or services with any charity endeavour (Buy1GIVE1's or their own) and each time a sale is made, the sale has to be recorded and the input paid at the end of a specific period. The amount can be sent through Buy1GIVE1 or directly to the concerned charity.
You could be losing out a lot if you are not interested in forming an association with Buy1GIVE1and not persuading your business patrons to do so. Buy1GIVE1 is a unique and brilliant organisation whose impetus as well as global impact is huge.
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.
As the public can be easily influenced by the charity ratings that the agents of mass media give, it is very easy for a completely new charity to grow very fast and be able to attract a wave of charitable donations to their side. For the same reason, when they become less popular with the media, their charity ratings also go down.
Directory lists of charity rating
With scepticism running quite high with charity watchdogs pinpointing charity problems such as misconduct, having exceptionally high amounts of funds spent on admin or the misappropriation of funds, charity rating directory lists are flourishing. It's so funny that philanthropic organizations that set out to give to others are now under the eye of charity watchdogs. Philanthropy is becoming a little complicated!
Givespot.com, Guidestar.org etc. are institutions that give a detailed list of charity ratings. The list of Givespot.com is known as GiveSpot 100 list, which gives a list of charities that are rated as the top 100. Then there are other institutions like charitynavigator.org which has a charity check systems and also gives a list of the Top Ten charities so that searching for a charity becomes easy. The biggest US charity directory is Guidestar.org and it offers a wide range of charity information some of which is available for free while some of the data require payment. In USA Better Business Bureau is also a charity directory that provides a list of non-profit institutions as well as commercial enterprises.
The fact is that there are enough guides that provide information about 100 top ranking charities but these ratings does not, in reality, convey the correct picture. The ratings of a charity has actually nothing much to do with what actually makes it superior to the rest. There are unique features that place a charity or non-charity institution above the rest.
Charity Ratings and belief in the public
According to a YouGov poll of 2005, even well known charities like Save the Children and Oxfam did not enjoy a high amount of faith by the majority of the British population amounting to 56%. The public seemed to have faith only in about 15% of the charities even among those that had good charity ratings.
Charity Watchdog Scares are more common
Trust in charities has dropped a lot in recent times. Yet who can blame the public. Charity watchdogs tell unsettling stories of very highmanagement salaries, charities taking as much as 60% of donations for overheads with their being little left for the actually charitable 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 revealed
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 see a thing and might prefer to buy it, or would consider putting money in it, or creating a bond with it, we are likely to make the decision based on how enticing the whole idea is. If it is a very attractive proposition, we might instantly choose to opt for it while if it is not very enticing, we may not do it immediately.
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.
* They had a simple, single and clear message and mission - sell water give water - Buy One Give One
* Their focus was on how to solve the problem and not the problem itself. It is important for charities to properly define their focus if they want people to rate them highly. No one has interest in getting their attention turned to the unpleasant things in life. People want a positive focus. So when they are told that they can make a positive change in the lives of others by buying a bottle of water they feel happy.
How to let Charity Ratings plummet in a second
The quickest and easiest way to lose attraction or attractiveness and thus your ratings is by focusing on the problem. No one wants to listen to anyone complaining how bad things are. Yet everyone will listen to someone who has high energy, enthusiasm, drive and determination to create something better.
All we have to do is see ourselves with our own kids and understand how we easily answer in the affirmative when they request for things in an eager and happy and excited way. But when they prefer to make their demands in a peevish or weepy way, we may tend to refuse.
The ratings of a charity depend substantially on the image it projects in front of the public. With a motivating and inspiring image people will be swayed to its ideas. They will then be ready to contribute well to the cause of the charity.
Social Enterprise increases Charity Ratings and helps solve Fundraising Problems
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.
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.
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.
Other choices in Charity Ratings
Newer and varied ways of gifting things to others are rated and featured in the table given below. These are Charity Comparison Data.
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
ROUTE TO GIVING: DIRECT GIVING
One of the Top 100 charities in the world - The Salvation Army is a charity that individuals and businesses often donate to directly.
CANDOUR - B - Insufficient candour - Lots of money is donated - but result is not completely quantifiable.
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS - C - Contribution to Salvation Army gets mention in the press even if it is a one time contribution.
FUNDRAISING COSTS - B - Spends millions of dollars annually to raise funds.
DONOR'S CHOICE OF CHARITY - B - There are many charities and the contributors can decide to which one they would like to give directly.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE -C - Nothing specific in the activities that is likely to bring about a change.
PRODUCT (RED)
ROUTE 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.
CANDOUR - B - Insufficient candour - Lots of money is donated - but result is not completely quantifiable.
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.
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.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE - B - All partners of Products (RED) are huge ventures and the entire profit is spent on helping people of Africa.
THE BODY SHOP
ROUTE 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.
OPENNESS - B - Not sufficiently open - Plenty of money is being collected - but the results are not always completely clear.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS - A-tve - Clients are by and large happy to become part of the community trade and are encouraged to buy more - the enterprise could afford to be more visible.
FUNDRAISING COSTS - A - Lower costs - Successful business model that makes donations and boosts community trade.
DONORS' CHOICE POTENTIALS - A - Ventures that donate has the option to decide in what way their donations are to be used.
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.
OPENNESS - F - Intelligent Giving had reported that the takings from the concert tickets sales were not accounted satisfactorily.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS - B - The sponsors of the business benefitted by the good press coverage, though by being a single occurrence results were not properly assessable.
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.
CONTRIBUTORS'CHOICE OF CHARITY - C - Only three charities received funds.
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 )
ROUTE 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.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS - A+tve - Outstanding marketing value due to:
* Quantifiable giving * Press coverage * Valuable stories * Individual to individual * Continuing customers
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS - A+tve - No cost at all - B1G1 can look after a charity's fundraising requirements which will include a good percentage of management also. All the funds that have accrued go to the cause.
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 No Big Deal!"
Giving away money appears simple on the face of it - it just involves pulling out notes or writing a cheque or punching in a credit card. But reality is a bit different. George Sores, who has donated billions to charity, insists that effective giving is a very complicated business. Underdeveloped nations receive a lot of money in aid year after year but the changes effected do not seem to be proportionate.
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.
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.
Other methods for improving 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.
As of now if one is not connected with good international networks via the internet, the chances of losing out are substantial even with good charity rating, tomorrow things are bound to change - totally.
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 comparatively new Social Enterprise established in'97 by a Japanese lady named Masami Sato. Today any business globally can be a member of Buy1GIVE1. The membership fee for smaller enterprises is as low as $1 for a day. Contributions can also be as low as one cent on a sale made. Buy1GIVE1 is spearheading the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving global movement. For any enterprise or charity requirement, working jointly with Buy1GIVE1 is very simple. It is perfectly structured and accommodating enough to adjust to the requirements of its partners. An organisation can connect its products or services with any charity endeavour (Buy1GIVE1's or their own) and each time a sale is made, the sale has to be recorded and the input paid at the end of a specific period. The amount can be sent through Buy1GIVE1 or directly to the concerned charity.
You could be losing out a lot if you are not interested in forming an association with Buy1GIVE1and not persuading your business patrons to do so. Buy1GIVE1 is a unique and brilliant organisation whose impetus as well as global impact is huge.
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.
About the Author:
Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
By Dimas Prast
,
0 Response to "Charity Ratings Are Fickle - How To Improve Rating"
Post a Comment