You have a limited amount of funds to donate out of the company coffers. But with the economy placing greater hardship on community services and charities, you wish you could say “yes” to every request and avoid the heart-wrenching decision to say “no.” So how do you decide which charities to select? Here are some steps you can take to help ensure your donations give you peace of mind while you make a difference in the community:

  • Determine your goals for giving. Establish charitable, social and/or environmental  goals that are most important to you personally and are in alignment with your corporate mission, products and services. Consider youth and education issues, humanitarian aid, health awareness, the arts, community development, environmental concerns, etc.
  • Decide if you want employees and/or customers to participate in selecting charitable goals. If so, you may want to distribute a questionnaire asking them to rate their preferences
  • Draft a social mission statement that formalizes your company’s goals for giving. This statement should be posted on your Web site and available in hard copy for soliciting organizations to review.
  • Research organizations compatible with your social mission. A number of rating systems are available online, but vary according to criteria. The Charities Review Council™(smartgivers.org) reviews Minnesota organizations based on public disclosure, governance, financial activity and fundraising. Charity Navigator is a national rating system that provides easy-to-read financials, charts and comparisons to similar charities. GuideStar is the most inclusive of the systems and serves as a clearinghouse of information on 1.8 million nonprofits.
  • Look beyond the financials. Many rating sites now include crowdsourcing, allowing visitors to post comments about the charities.
  • Consider how you can make the greatest impact with your donated dollars. Charity Navigator is hoping to roll out such measures as accountability and effectiveness within the next year or so. In the meantime, philanthropic investment advisors are using research to determine giving opportunities that potentially have the greatest effect in solving the most critical social issues facing our world.  Arabella Advisors, for example, has determined these top high-impact giving strategies for 2010:

Taking action through advocacy to propel climate change policy

Supporting strategic restructuring among human services organizations

Partnering with governments to improve education

Leveraging additional assets for community development

  • Stay flexible. In spite of all your research and strategizing, emergency situations arise, such as the earthquake in Haiti or a more local need, which may supersede your giving plan. In those cases, let your heart decide.

- LuAnne Speeter