Friends of Philanthropedia,
I am sure that you all know the dangers of making bad donation decisions. This holiday season, several leading organizations – Guidestar (www.Guidestar.org), Hewlett Foundation (www.Hewlett.org), GiveWell (www.GiveWell.net), Great Nonprofits (www.GreatNonprofits.org), Charity Navigator (www.CharityNavigator.org), and Philanthropedia (www.MyPhilanthropedia.org) — have gathered to help educate donors about how not to give.
For example, picking a charity based on overhead ratio alone is like super-sizing your combo — you’re choosing the cheapest way to get more food while ignoring that the extra-large French fries are doing more harm than good to your health. One of the most common fallacies is that uneducated donors too often mistake this ratio for a measure of impact. The reality is that managing to a low overhead ratio discourages charities from investing in tools that would make them more effective. Also, since accounting experts estimate that 75% of charities calculate their overhead ratio incorrectly, the ratio for any given charity may hold little meaning even to an educated donor who understands the severe limitations of this metric.
Don’t fall victim to some of the perverse incentives that have been shared for years. Learn what not to do and which websites can help you make better decisions at http://bit.ly/6kjV9d
Please share this post so that your friends and family do not make the mistake that so many people do.
If you want to tweet about it, feel free to use, “The Worst Way to Pick a Charity… Don’t be fooled this holiday season! http://bit.ly/6kjV9d” with #Philanthropedia
I hope you have the most information possible when you make your donations this giving season. Happy holidays,
Howard
Howard Bornstein
Chairman, Philanthropedia