How to evaluate an organization before giving
A gift to a nonprofit is an investment in its services. When you give, it’s natural to want your donation to impact people, animals or the community. We will never tell you where to give, but we can equip you with tools to make wise, prayerful assessments that strengthen your giving plan. When you’re considering making a grant request for an organization out of your donor-advised fund, here are ways you can assess before processing the request.
Conduct a self-assessment.
Before you start researching nonprofit organizations, begin by conducting a self-assessment. Go to the Lord in prayer and ask for ministries to be laid on your heart or for opportunities to be presented. But even as you pray, you could encounter dozens of organizations. Praying over specific questions can help you create a strong consideration set:
- What causes or service types speak most to me and my family?
- Do I want to give to an organization in a specific community? If so, what community? Note that your donor-advised fund grants can only go to US-based organizations.
- Do I want to give to organizations with a Christian mission, or do I want to consider organizations with a common-grace focus?
- Do I want to support organizations with longevity or do I want to help a newer organization establish a legacy?
- Regarding mission, do I want to support an organization with a singular, focused program or an organization with broader, wrap-around services?
- Do I want to support an organization with a smaller operation and targeted impact or a larger organization with a broader reach?
Review their core materials.
With your self-assessment complete, you can start looking into organizations that fit your predetermined criteria. We encourage you to review all of their core materials within that research. In the digital era, many organizations will have a variety of resources on their website. Start with their mission and vision statements and review recent annual reports. Program descriptions and client testimonials can add color to your analysis if they’re available. You can also review financial documents and statements for any nonprofit organization to see how they use their donations. This information should be published on their website, but you can also find it on third-party nonprofit assessment websites.
If you want additional perspective, search for local news stories about organizations. Good stories of successes, program launches and other happy topics can point to thriving organizations and making a difference. In contrast, negative coverage could indicate a time of turmoil or programmatic adjustments.
Get hands-on to learn more.
Don’t trust written content? You can learn a lot about an organization when you visit them. Depending on the organization, its clients and mission, you may be able to schedule a tour or plan a time to volunteer. When you spend time with a nonprofit, you can get a feel for the mood at the facility, how they interact with people and the difference their programming makes. Sometimes, seeing is believing!
Review available opportunities.
You don’t have to send an unrestricted grant to a nonprofit! When you use your donor-advised fund to process grants, you can specify programs or specific outputs you want to support. As part of your evaluation process, see if any of the organizations are running a timely campaign or initiative – that could help you prioritize your grants if you’re struggling to choose one over the other. One important thing to note is that you cannot receive any direct benefit from your donor-advised fund grant. Recognition items are OK, like naming rights or a commemorative plaque at the facility, but things like event tickets, silent auction items and other perks are not.
Evaluating nonprofits before you give is part of being an informed giver. When you know about the organizations you support, you can specifically pray for them, share their mission with people in your life and better understand how you’re stewarding God’s resources. Our team is always available to listen if you’re in the evaluation process and want to talk through your thoughts. You can give us a call by clicking here.