Day 66 ❦ Give because it is the right thing to do.

Day 66 ❦ Give because it is the right thing to do.

The Gift: Stamps to the Diabetes Association

I don’t usually respond to unsolicited phone calls for funds. It is not because I am insensitive, quite the opposite, I am concerned about the cycle of dependency it creates for non-profits and I am usually appalled at the functional expense ratio. I have worked in the non-profit world for many, many years and that is why I ask about the functional expense ration - in layman’s terms, what I am asking is how much of every dollar is actually going to go toward the mission of the non-profit.

Typically, a responsible non-profit spends less than 15% on “non-functional expenses” which is a misnomer, because the administrative costs are usually included in this percentage as is the cost of an audit, or Directors and Officer insurance. While these expenses typically don’t add to direct service, the organization could not function in conducting its mission without those expenses. But the real number to look at is the percentage of expenses that a non-profit includes in its non-functional expenses for fund-raising. A really good ratio would be 10%-15% of the fund-raiser supporting the expenses of the fund-raiser, and of that percentage, the fund-raiser should only marginally impact the non-functional expenses of an organization.

So, when a professional fund-raiser calls me and asks me to support an organization, I always ask what percentage of the funds goes toward the actual organization. Usually when I ask the question I get transferred to a supervisor and then get accidently hung up on, or they come back with a pat response with which they ensure me that 15% of all funds collected will go to the charity. The Police Officers Association is my favorite, because usually when I ask the question, they cuss at me...nice...

This is a long response to why I don’t usually give to those who call me on the phone, unsolicited, but it is important to be informed - just check it out the next time you get a call from a solicitor fund-raising for a charity. And know, that they are required by law to give you the answer to that question. It’s just good to know where your money is going and who is the real beneficiary.

So you can imagine my surprise to my own response to a phone call I received for the Diabetes Association asking me to contribute the stamps for a fund-raising drive in my neighborhood. I said yes. They send a packet of envelopes which I distribute to the neighborhood with the stamps that I have donated on them so that my neighbors can just send in their contributions. I can’t tell you why I liked this better than the alternatives; saying no, or giving cash. But when asked, they reported that their functional expense ratio was with tolerable limits (for me) in part, because much of their overhead was donated in the form of people paying for the stamp and partially distributing the envelopes. So I bit. Ten stamps later, the envelopes are all in my neighbors doors and it was kind of fun.

❦ Day 66 Give because it is the right thing to do.