Recently, a friend sent me an email listing of “the 50 worst charities in America .” Compiled by the Tampa Bay Times, the list showed the total amount raised by these organizations, then the amount given to the solicitors and administrators, and finally the direct cash aid to the target recipients.
None of the 50 gave more than 10% to the needy in whose name the charity was founded - and several gave NO money at all. Perhaps that unhappy phenomenon is why there is now a small sub industry that assesses charities. In effect, they have made a service of looking these gift horses in the mouth.
One of them, Charity Navigator, evaluates charities by looking at the broad areas of financial health, accountability and transparency. As with the David Letterman gimmick, they even have their own positive and negative lists of Ten – like Ten of the Best Charities Everyone's Heard Of, Ten Charities in Deep Financial Trouble , Ten Highly-Rated Charities with Low Paid CEOs and Ten Highly Paid CEOs at Low-Rated Charities.
My second window on philanthropy was a chat with Stuart Comstock-Gay, executive director of the Vermont Community Foundation. They’re an organization that, like 700 others around the country, pools donations from individuals which are then given to existing non-profits, or they help donors establish their own funds for a specific purpose. In its 25 years of service, the VCF has established more than 600 of these funds. In 2011, The Foundation gave out more than 2200 grants totaling more than $16 million.
Comstock-Gay told me that the Chronicle of Philanthropy finds that Vermont is 48 th out of 50 states in per capita giving or just 2.8% of discretionary income – though if you exclude religious giving, Vermont approaches the national average.
He says there’s no clear data on precisely why Vermont is below the national average. Part of it may be our smaller tax base. And p art may be a small donor base – that is fewer wealthy people, coupled with relatively few national foundations being based here. I asked if there might be some correlation between the relatively more secular nature of Vermont and a lower rate of giving. “An interesting thought,” said Comstock-Gay. And “it’s true that we give less to churches here, but I’ve not seen data that says non-religious folks give less than religious folks.”
After Tropical Storm Irene, the foundation raised $4.4 million to help Vermonters recover. Was that a change in direction, I wondered?
Possibly, he said. “We’re not constantly raising money for emergencies or huge campaigns. But we’re ready to step up and play that kind of role when we’re needed; and lately we’re paying more attention to big needs.”
I was glad to see that none of the fifty worst charities were based in Vermont , but now I’m pretty sure I recognize the sources of some of those heavy-breathing solicitors who call out of the blue, usually during supper time, and it’s a lot easier now to hang up on them.
