Communities of Coastal Georgia

Among charities, the current economic situation will confirm what Charles Darwin discovered about nature - that natural selection will dwindle the ranks and only the "fittest" will survive.  Paul Light, a professor of public service at New York University, recently predicted that "at a minimum" more than 100,000 nonprofit organizations would be wiped out in the next two years.

According to Darwin, those species better adapted for the immediate and local environment would flourish while their less-adaptive competitors would die out.  His theory of natural selection didn't define the "fittest" in the sense of the biggest or the most aggressive but rather those who were best able to adapt to their surroundings.

Those who support nonprofits, be it at the local, national or international level, are having to make tough choices. Where they may have funded multiple charities in the past, they find they now have to focus and limit their donations.  Personal, foundation, and corporate assets are down and need is up.  Charities whose special events used to be sell-outs have plenty of empty seats while long lines form for their services.  Campaign goals are going unmet.  Donors are reigning in their giving to all but the charities about which they are most passionate, have the strongest connection, or see having a significant impact on a problem that concerns them.

The charity that will survive is the one that is nimble, adaptive, focused, and can point to substantive impact.  If you give to charity, The Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation, established to help local donors create philanthropic funds and assist them in making smart, strategic philanthropic choices among charities, has some pointers:

1)  Get to know the charity, even if you've "always given to it."  Go to their website; request an annual report and financial statement.  Make a site visit, or better yet, volunteer.

2) Make sure they are not just "doing good"...but doing it well.  Check for evidence of solid board commitment and good board governance and oversight.  Is board giving at 100%?  What is the percentage of board meeting attendance?  Are there written policies on ethics and conduct? Look for a multi-year strategic plan or at the very least a written annual plan with measurable objectives.  Find out how much of your charitable dollar will go to program.

3)  Ask a staff member or a board member to point to programs that actually make a measurable difference in the lives of their clients.  Don't be content with anecdotal stories; ask for statistics also.

4)  If they filling an immediate need (food, shelter, etc.), do they also have programs that go to the heart of the underlying problem that caused the need?

5)  Give extra points if they can point to a recent activity where they have collaborated with another charity in some way.  These days, it's all about economies of scale.

We are all belt-tightening and making hard decisions regarding priorities and how we spend our money these days.  This exercise should include our charities of choice.  Ultimately, tough choices will reap benefits for us, the charities we do choose to support, and our community.