Ever find yourself lost in the maze of non-profits that exists in our world today?
With at least 5,332 charities listed on Charity Navigator and many, many more on the scene, the non-profit scene can be cluttered.
Not sure which organization to support and how to choose where to donate or volunteer? Try asking yourself and your potential non-profit these seven questions and the picture will begin to clear up:
The following paragraph and questions are by rafefurst from the Complex Adaptive Systems Blog
“Here are some questions you can ask yourself if you are considering giving money or your time to an existing charitable cause (whether it’s a formal legal charitable organization or a grass-roots initiative):
- Do I believe in the stated Mission and its importance or relevance?
- What kind of PHC (*potential human capital) exists for this effort?
- How are they currently leveraging their cash to convert PHC to human capital?
- What opportunities exist for me to help contribute meaningfully in ways other than my cash?
- What are the opportunities for attracting Amplifiers (those who leverage their personal capital but more importantly they leverage their even more valuable social networks, i.e. Bono and Oprah) to the cause?
- In the case of formal organizations, what do the various watchdogs say about them?” Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Also of interest from Charity Navigator: 6 questions to ask Charities Before Donating
We want to hear from you in the blog comment area: Where you will be donating and or volunteering next?
*Potential Human Capital is all of the non monetary activity that goes into a project
Yoav