Evaluating Fundraising Opportunities

Pinktober is coming! This is the somewhat sarcastic, definite tongue-in-cheek, and trigger worthy term that many of us use for the fundraising efforts in October for breast cancer. Yes, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) and it’s become quite the event in the U.S. I could write all day and then some about how companies take advantage of the pink ribbon to enrich themselves versus actually helping anyone with breast cancer, let alone those of us with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (and have!), but that’s not this post. I wanted to take a moment and list out the things that I evaluate when looking at a fundraiser whether I’m sharing the opportunity or giving money myself.

First, I look at the company’s history of utilizing funds raised. Are there articles available? I also ask others around me who have been living with breast cancer longer whether an organization raising funds utilizes those funds in a productive way. Based on my own experiences, I have some biases toward and against companies I’ve watched and had experiences with in the past. There are some differences, usually, based on the type of company raising money (i.e.., for profit and non-profits), but the biggest thing I look at is their track record.

Second, I look up the organization on Charity Navigator if they are a non-profit. There are good reasons for an organization not being listed on Charity Navigator, which I won’t get into here, but suffice it to say, it’s important that an independent third party is evaluating whether the non-profit is doing a good job with the funds they raise. Charity Navigator has a wealth of information gleaned from the information submitted by each organization themselves and from tax documents to provide guidance to donors.

Third, I look at what amount of funds raised will be applied to administrative costs and what will actually directly benefit patients. Many well known non-profits utilize the vast majority of the funds they raise to further their own programming, which is something good to know in advance. Doesn’t mean that the organization isn’t worth supporting, it’s just good to know what you are supporting.

Fourth, I always ask whether it is possible to earmark funds to benefit those of us living with MBC. Personally, I want my efforts to be allocated towards those who are similarly situated and I don’t typically ask my network of people to support anything other than those efforts supporting people with MBC. We all have those things that are important to us and I think it’s always good to know if we can direct our funds to those things if an organization supports different people groups.

Fifth, follow up with the organization as to how the fundraising helped their efforts. I haven’t always done this in the past and am incorporating this more into my efforts after finding out that several initiatives I’ve participated with weren’t fully funded. In those situations, the funds I’d raised that were supposed to be for something specific were reallocated to the general fund without notice. I wasn’t able to do anything about those circumstances specifically, but have changed how I give based on that information.

Here’s the bottom line for me — if I’m contributing funds or asking others to do so, I want to make sure that the ask is something I believe in and I know what is going to happen with the funds. There are many many worthy causes that need support and I think transparency and flexibility is really important.

Now it’s your turn — what did I miss? What else do you look for when donating?