From the Desk of James J. Pepe – Director of Development and Marketing
22 September 26
One of the things we pride ourselves on at Cancer Support Community – Greater Lehigh Valley is the connection we have with our local community. We enjoy serving people in our counties of coverage (Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton in PA and Warren County, NJ). We can say that when we receive a gift from a donor, it is going to programs and services for the people in our community. We take care to publish the number of community members we serve, are working to get the success stories recorded, and are always willing to share our goals for the future of our organization.
Recently, a minor uproar occurred in our community when someone wrote an opinion piece in the paper recommending donors ask how their dollars are being used and what the local impact is. Essentially, are your dollars staying local and are they actually helping the community as the non-profit claims?
Too often, we see non-profits that will weave a story to make people think they are making a difference in their community, when the reality is the dollars being donated are sent around the country for services. I have also seen some claim to raise funds for specific programs or services, even highlighting the local aspects, yet those local dollars are sent to fund other things altogether.
We live in interesting times when so many non-profits are competing for the same dollars. From my perspective as a Director of Development and a donor to non-profits myself, it is the duty of the donor to ask these questions. You are putting your hard-earned money into what should be of great use, and it is wise to make sure the organizations that benefit from your generosity and passion to help are doing what they say. As a donor, you are the checks and balances.
To help ensure dollars are going to the places you want them to, consider:
- If the non-profit is promoting funds going to a specific program or service, ask how they restrict the dollars to ensure it doesn’t go to a general fund.
- If that program/service is local, ask if those dollars are truly staying local or do they go into a pot for an overall goal around the country (a service in our area will not require the same funds as one in let’s say, Los Angeles, so your dollars could be going to help LA rather than the LV because the local has already reached its targeted goal).
- Ask how general funds are allocated.
- Ask the organization if they reached their goals and if not, why? Yes, non-profits have tough years too!
- Ask about future plans of the program/service/organization to ensure their forward thinking matches your goals for donating.
- Research the annual report to review numbers of people served. Be careful of soft language and look for targeted numbers (100 people served is different than 100 patients, as a support person could be included in “people”).
It is important to remember that non-profits, no matter what some staff members say, are a business. The goal is to bring in enough to cover costs, and if there is left over, it goes towards implementing new ideas. It is also crucial to understand that there is overhead, be it salaries for staff or facilitators, heating and electricity, internet, and even costs to run websites like the one you are reading this on. This is why making a general donation is so important. Dollars that can be spread around to programs and to ensure the business operates day-to-day are crucial. After all, if everything is restricted, the organization can’t function.
If the non-profit you are donating to can show results in the community, plans for growth and their vision for the future matches yours, your support will be benefitting many while achieving your philanthropic goals.