How do you vet an organization? How do you approach a possible partnership?
Annotated bibliography on 3 more current articles on issue:
1) Copps, J. & Vernon, B. (2010). The little blue book: NPC’s guide to analysing charities, for charities and funders. New Philanthropy Capital.
Created and produced by New Philanthropy Capital, this guide emphasizes the importance of analysis, particularly in evaluating the success of charities in accomplishing their goals. The NPC provides framework for analysis that is tailored to the specific context of charity organizations and outlines 6 categories that for research: "activities, results, leadership, people and resources, finances, and ambition." Furthermore, the guide instructs analysts on the ways to grade charities on their legitimacy and effectiveness. Though intended for charities and financial funders. the guide provides useful tools for "funders" looking to give their time and energy to charities: a.k.a. volunteers!
2) Charity Navigator. (2011). Guide to Volunteering. Retrieved from: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=201
This article encourages volunteers to research an organization before getting involved with them. It details the various roles that volunteers can play in nonprofit organizations and highlights the importance/ impact that American volunteering has on the nonprofit sector. According to their research, 63.4 million Americans volunteered in 2009, giving an average of 52 hours of free time to their volunteer involvements per year. Charity Navigator stresses the value of being a well-informed and educated volunteer, and gives the following advice to people thinking about donating their time and efforts to nonprofit organizations: "Identify charities that match your charitable interests, Examine their financial health, Evaluate their programs, Quantify and qualify what you can offer, and Make a commitment."
3) Guidestar. (2011). Questions to ask a nonprofit before investing in it. Retrieved from: http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/give-to-charity/questions-to-ask-a-nonprofit-before-investing-in-it.aspx
"1. How are you collaborating with similar organizations on a local, regional, or national level?
2. What are the main obstacles that inhibit the fulfillment of your mission? How are you planning to overcome them?
3. What are your annual goals, needs, and results? How do they compare to similar organizations in your community?
4. How much turnover have you experienced of employees and board members in the last two years?
5. To what degree have you attracted new people and new ideas to your organization and board?
6. How well have you utilized your funding? Describe how efficiently you have fulfilled your goals of recent years in relationship to the amount of funds you have raised.
7. Most for-profit organizations have recently restructured themselves in recent years to become more efficient and productive. How, if at all, are you considering (or have you implemented) some version of this approach?
8. How efficiently is your organization run? To what degree have you assigned day-to-day management responsibilities to a tightly run executive committee instead of relying upon your full board?
9. Who are your main competitors and how do your results in recent years compare to theirs?"
Other thoughts so far?
