Eisner Foundation Advice on Holiday Charity Giving

By Trent Stamp, Executive Director

This holiday season, even with rising unemployment rates, a dismal dollar and an exploding federal deficit, Americans will do what they've always done: They'll give money to the less fortunate. In fact, 50 percent of all charitable donations by individuals this year will be made between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Eve.

The reasons for this are pretty simple: This is the time of the year when many of us are reminded how fortunate we still are; this is the time of the year when holiday bonuses are issued, freeing up a few extra dollars in the family budget; and of course, this is the time of year when taxpayers realize they need to make a few charitable gifts to ease their tax burden next April.

No matter the motivation, now is when Americans reach for their checkbooks and do what they can to help those who are struggling. And with dollars being stretched tighter than ever, it is imperative that charitable donors make sure their gifts go not just to any charity, but to an exceptional charity.

After being in this business for most of my adult life, I can tell you that not all charities are created equal. While most are well-meaning, not all are high-performing. If you want to make sure your charitable contribution brings you the most bang for your buck, no matter how much you have to give, here are some helpful hints to guide your giving:

1. Make sure your charity is efficient.

Charities have an obligation to their donors, the taxpaying public, and the people they serve to operate as fiscally efficiently as possible. Look for charities that are able to allocate at least 75 percent of their operating expenses directly to their charitable programs, whatever they may be. One quarter can go to overhead and fundraising costs, but at least three-fourths of every dollar they spend should go to the direct implementation of whatever they do, whether it is cleaning up the beaches, protecting abused women, or running an after-school program.

How do you find out this number? Ask them. Good charities love to tell prospective donors about how efficient they are.

2. Find a charity that is effective.

It sounds obvious, but look for groups that walk the walk, and don't just talk the talk. Seek out organizations with demonstrated records of success, with quantifiable and measurable patterns of achievement that can be used as a benchmark to assure future accomplishments. Organizations unable to point to proven past results aren't worthy of your investment.

3. Ask about expected outcomes.

What specifically will happen as a result of your gift? Focus on identifying organizations that you can reasonably expect to produce likely and reproducible results. You should try to evaluate organizations on the basis of their ability to actively understand the conditions in which they work and to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty what impact their work, enabled by your funding, will bear. Find charities that can produce specific, objective, and measurable outcomes that can be assessed and documented externally.

4. Look for exceptional leaders.

At the Eisner Foundation, we've found that in the nonprofit world, great organizations are often the byproduct of great leadership. In a crowded marketplace with many redundant charities, those that succeed are usually led by visionary and extraordinary management. The difference between good nonprofits and great nonprofits is often one great leader. You'll know who this person is when you see him or her. When you find them, invest in their charity.

5. Give locally if you can.

If your goal is to combat global warming, or to alleviate hunger in Africa, you of course need to find a charity that works internationally. But otherwise, look for local groups in your community. They're easier to research, you can literally see the impact of your support, and their success leads to the direct betterment of your community. Local charities that we've vetted at The Eisner Foundation and can recommend highly include LA Scores, MEND, Richstone Family Center, Grandparents as Parents, and 826LA.

This holiday season, it is expected that charitable giving will again be down, as it was in 2008 for the first time in 40 years. This is of course horrible news for the most vulnerable people of our community, as more and more of our citizens are at-risk than at any time in recent memory.

I urge you to do what you can to protect your fellow citizens this holiday season, and to utilize these five tips to ensure that your charitable gift goes as far as it can.

This article ran in the L.A. Daily News on November 30, 2009