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Charity ratings are highly unpredictable with highly appraised top ranking charities being overtaken by new charities that suddenly make their appearance in the horizon. Charity Water is a rather new but typical example of this. Innovativeness and the all-powerful Internet are causing charity ratings of brand new charities to skyrocket. A charity that could be relatively unknown today might get rated as the best the next day by the New York Times. And then the rating of that charity might shoot up from nowhere to the top of the chart within the matter of a single day.

Because of the power the mass communication media have over the people, when a charity is in the good books of the media, it expands very quickly and manages to get a lot of charitable giving. By that same yardstick, when media do not have much interest in propping up a given charity, its rating also plummets in the same proportion.

Directory listings of charity rating

With scepticism running quite high with charity watchdogs pinpointing charity problems such as misconduct, having exceptionally high amounts of funds spent on admin or the misappropriation of funds, charity rating directory lists are flourishing. It’s so funny that philanthropic organizations that set out to give to others are now under the eye of charity watchdogs. Philanthropy is becoming a little complicated!

Institutions like Givespot.com, Guidestar.org etc. provide comprehensive listings of charity ratings. GiveSpot 100 list is the list of the 100 highest ranking charities that is provided by Givespot.com. Another one that provides similar data is charitynavigator.com which has a list of the top ten charities as well a charity check system. Finding out charities is made easy by this. The biggest charity director of US is Guidestar.org with lots of free data on charity as well as information that can be availed for payment. Though its name gives a different impression, Better Business Bureau is a charity directory that gives a list of both commercial and non-profit ventures of USA.

So if you want to find the 100 top charities then there are so many charity rating guides out there and yet maybe charity ratings are actually about something else. What makes a charity stand above the rest often has nothing to do with its ratings at all. There are special ingredients that make any charity or non-charity organisation successful.

Charity Ratings and faith in the public

A YouGov poll of 2005 stated that about 56 percent of the British population did not have a considerable amount of belief even in well known global charities like Oxfam and Save the Children. Even among the charities that had a good charity rating, only about 15 percent enjoyed the public’s belief in them.

Charity Critics’ Warnings are profuse

People do not have faith in charities any more. They cannot be blamed for this state of affairs. Eagle eyed critics of charities complain about mismanagement in the field with high salaries for the staff and about 60% donations being spent on overheads for running the venture, leaving little for actual charity giving.

Recent studies show that the average costs of raising funds in the UK and Australia are’% or 22% respectively. In the USA, the Association of Fundraising Professionals found the statistic to be around 30%. These figures do not even include admin expenses, which are often much higher. Some charity givers see this as a key issue especially with charitable giving often in the media spotlight like it was in Singapore a fewyears ago. The additional negative focus tends to reduce charitable giving which is not good.

Charity ratings mystery revealed

There is little difference between businesses and charities when it comes to attracting money. Their end use of the money is of course different, but their special secrets to attracting it in the first place are much the same.

To promote the charity rating and also to ensure better cash flow, there is a one and only formula – enticement.

When we see an object and would like to buy it, or make an investment in it, or want to connect with it, we tend to take a decision on the basis of how tempting it is to us. If it is very appealing, we might instantly buy it or plan to get it but if it is not all that tempting, we would definitely postpone the idea.

Charity Water was exceptionally successful in getting media backing and good charity rating because of their appealing idea. The scheme of charging a good price for a bottle of charity water, and using the profits thereof for getting clean water to areas where it was not available, was a fascinating idea that appealed to all.

The factors that make Charity Water quite fascinating and promote its rating are the following.

* First of all it has an ideal name, Charity Water, which strikes a chord in people’s heart. The person behind the idea was obviously passionate about the image and about taking it to the people.

* The message and objective are clear, straightforward and singular – sell water and give water – Buy One Give One

* They focused on the solution and not the problem. This is the number one mistake that loses charities rating points lowering their charity rating in people’s minds. No one wants to feel guilty and sad. They want to feel uplifted and happy. In this case happy to know they could make a difference in the lives of others by buying a simple bottle of water.

How to let Charity Ratings plummet in a second

The quickest and easiest way to lose attraction or attractiveness and thus your ratings is by focusing on the problem. No one wants to listen to anyone complaining how bad things are. Yet everyone will listen to someone who has high energy, enthusiasm, drive and determination to create something better.

All we have to do is see ourselves with our own kids and understand how we easily answer in the affirmative when they request for things in an eager and happy and excited way. But when they prefer to make their demands in a peevish or weepy way, we may tend to refuse.

The picture a charity projects would strongly affect its ratings. By projecting an arousing and motivating picture of itself it will be able to influence people well. Then people will be ready to give more in response.

Social Enterprise increases Charity Ratings and helps solve Fundraising Problems

Social Enterprise is a new business pattern that evolved a few years ago. This combines trading with a social purpose. This pattern is a result of the interest of some businessmen who have social objectives but does not find the type of functioning of charitable enterprises satisfactory enough.

The medium of a conventional business enterprise may not be suitable for many businessmen whose ideas of ethics and integrity would be contrary to the way decisions are made in a commercial world. Such people use a social enterprise to use their acumen and ability to create a profit and effect great changes in the social arena. A typical example of such a social entrepreneur is Muhammad Yunus who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his rich contributions to improving social conditions.

Buy1GIVE1 commonly known as B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1), is a global organisation that is a recent entrant into the world of charitable giving. It is a perfect blend of business and valuable causes functioning at the global level. Buy1GIVE1 has so minimised its expenses of fundraising and management that it is able to give for charity all the funds collected. The institution is similar in its attributes to the online organization Kiva.org, which has been promoted by Bill Clinton; unlike conventional charities, Buy1GIVE1 involves direct giving to charities. Many people are convinced that it is a better way for contributing things and receiving richly in return.

Entrepreneurs, who are forever on the lookout for avenues to give in return to the society in effectual ways and to donate to beneficial charitable causes, realise the exemplary worth and strong marketing principles of organisations like Buy1GIVE1. Each and every sale that is made makes a change – not merely philanthropically. It makes a change with its strong impact as well, for every sale that is made becomes a poignant story that is an eye-opener. Buy1Give1 is a far cry from the commercial enterprises that might donate a million dollars to charity, for it lets the customers fully relish the joy of giving. The transaction-based giving of Buy1Give1 is a lesson in perfection.

All ventures like Buy1GIVE1 particularize charities and these are mostly charities where help is considered to be fully necessary, with enough potential to attract contributions. Businessmen obviously understand how poignant situations attract customer interest and as such they tend to support such causes rather than give importance to the organisation’s rating. They are only too conscious of the customers’ proclivity to bond better with a stronger story than worry about charity rating.

Maple Muesli in Australia has partnered with Midday Meals in Mumbai, India. With every bag of muesli bought, a hungry child in India is fed. Midday Meals is a charity that feeds 125,000 Mumbai children every day for just US 30 cents per meal. The meals are provided in schools to keep kids off the streets and encourage learning while reducing begging and child abuse.

Maple Muesli has helped to put Midday Meals on the map as a worthy and well-rated cause in Australia. Maple Muesli share their giving story with all their customers increasing the natural rating of this amazing organisation in Mumbai without Midday Meals doing anything other than feed children. Effective Giving – The Era for Plain Charity Donations is ending

A change is impending in the setting of the top 100 charities and would become visible in a few years as more novel and productive ways of charitable giving take shape. Nowadays only limited choices exist for making donations for charitable purposes. All the existing ones are not good enough to create enough difference.

Other methods of Charity Ratings

Some of the new and different ways to give are highlighted and rated in the table below. Charity Comparison Points

Rating and comparison has been done on some better known and lesser known charities and Social Enterprises on issues that concern those who donate to these.

THE SALVATION ARMY

PATH TO GIVING : DIRECT GIVING

One of the Top 100 charities in the world – The Salvation Army is a charity that individuals and businesses often donate to directly.

CANDOUR – B – Insufficient candour – Lots of money is donated – but result is not completely quantifiable.

MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS – C – Businesses’ one-off contributions to Salvation Army may be mentioned in the press.

FUNDRAISING COSTS – B – Spends millions of dollars annually to raise funds.

DONORS’ CHOICE POTENTIALS -B- For those who want to give directly, there are plenty of charities to choose from.

POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – C- Nothing new to offer in terms of market change.

PRODUCT (RED)

ROUTE TO GIVING: MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Product (RED) is a brand licensed to partner companies, to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.

CANDOUR – B – Insufficient candour – Lots of money is donated – but result is not completely quantifiable.

MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS – A – People and businesses love to support (RED) as it is backed by adored personalities like Oprah & Bono. Marketing results a little hard to track though.

COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – C -Simply splurges money on advertising – it would be far better if that money is sent directly to Africa.

DONOR’S CHOICE OF CHARITY – C – Limited choice for collaborators on deciding to which charity they should donate – all their charity work is in Africa.

PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE – B – All partners of Products (RED) are huge ventures and the entire profit is spent on helping people of Africa.

THE BODY SHOP

PATH TO GIVING : BUSINESS TRADE & GIVING

The Body Shop engages in community trade helping Third World countries; and makes huge donations to charities from their profits.

TRANSPARENCY – B – Lack of transparency – sum of money is contributed for every purchase – but result is not fully measurable.

ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – A-tve – Clients are by and large happy to become part of the community trade and are encouraged to buy more – the enterprise could afford to be more visible.

COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – A -Comparatively low – It is a good business pattern that makes a lot of donations to charities and enhances community trade.

DONORS’ CHOICE POTENTIALS – A – Ventures that donate has the option to decide in what way their donations are to be used.

POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – B – Businesses’ giving back is great – but very few take the added effort to push for change like Body Shop.

LIVE EARTH

ROUTE TO GIVING: EVENT FUNDRAISING

Live Earth was a series of worldwide concerts held on 7 July 2007 that initiated a three-year campaign to combat climate change.

CANDOUR – F – As per the reports of the site Intelligent Giving, satisfactory accounts were not produced on the proceeds from the sales of tickets.

MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS – B – Business sponsors got good coverage – but it was only a one time event and it is not easy to test and measure results.

EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS – C – Substantial sums were spent on promotion of an event which was considered a fiasco by many as it did not have any proper objectives.

CONTRIBUTORS’CHOICE OF CHARITY – C – Only three charities received funds.

ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE – C – Occasions like this can be managed only yearly or may be still rarely. The earnings are mostly donated to charities that are already established.

Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1)

ROUTE TO GIVING: SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

B1G1 is a brand licensed to collaborate with any enterprise – uniting them with any cause across the globe. A fully comprehensive model.

OPENNESS – A – The one for one style of giving sees to it that the donors’ money reaches the specific cause that it is meant to help. Donors are provided information on how exactly their money is being utilised – how many kids were fed or how many trees were planted.

BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – A+tve – Superb marketing value as a result of:

* Quantifiable giving * Press coverage * Valuable stories * Individual to individual * Continuing customers

FUNDRAISING COSTS – A+tve – Zero costs – B1G1 can take care of a charity’s fundraising needs including a large percentage of admin as well. 100% of funds received go to the charity.

DONORS’ CHOICE POTENTIALS – A – Businesses have the option of choosing a particular project to donate to, or give to a worthy cause of their choice like feeding, knowledge training etc.

POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – A – Exponential. If more businesses partner charities globally, the potential for real change is massive.

You Would Think Giving away Money Would Be Easy!”

Donating money may not seem to be a difficult job – it is just a question of handing over some money as cheque, cash or via the credit card. Still, someone like George Sores, who is as generous a donor as could be, agrees that effectual giving is no cakewalk. Underprivileged communities and countries receive millions of dollars in aid and still the situation remains much the same year after year.

Asking the right questions is necessary for bringing about the required changes. Social entrepreneur Mohammed Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, has done pioneering work in the field of Microfinance and is revolutionizing the ways in which indigence and environmental problems can be tackled. People like him are showing the way as to how consumerism and social enterprise can change the face of the world. Another such example is the ‘Trade – Not Aid’ of The Body Shop. The ideals of Buy1GIVE1 are equally potent and are a model for charities. Social enterprise needs total recognition.

Bill Gates, when asked how one can make a difference in the world, pointed to the Internet. Kiva.org and Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com) are organisations that add value to the giver. With Kiva.org, people can receive email journal updates from the business they have sponsored. This happens with Buy1GIVE1 as well. Businesses also get the added benefit of marketing stories to tell their customers: buy a laptop with us, and we give one computer to someone who cannot afford it.

Other ways to improve your Charity Ratings

Make sure that you have an open attitude, use the laptop effectively, and keep apart a little time to observe the novel and wonderful systems of charity that are being born. These function through the internet and are mostly network based.

Today if you are not linked in with powerful global networks through the Internet you are missing out and no matter what your charity rating is today, tomorrow things will change – radically.

There are more and more examples these days of companies rising up from nothing and being sold three years later for over a billion dollars. This was unheard of ten years ago. Today this is becoming a regular occurrence. All these new Internet companies are doing one thing – tapping into global networks or creating global networks.

Buy1GIVE1 (Buy One Give One)

Buy1GIVE1 is a relatively new Social Enterprise founded by a Japanese lady called Masami Sato in’97. Today any business anywhere in the world can be a Buy1GIVE1 member, with membership for small businesses only costing $1 per day and contributions starting from just 1c per sale. Buy1GIVE1 is leading the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving global movement. Working with Buy1GIVE1 is easy for a charity worthy cause or a business. Their model is unique, flexible and inspiring. A business simply marries any or all of its products or services with a charity project (Buy1GIVE1’s or their own) and then every time they sell something record the sale and pay their contribution each month or quarter direct to their cause or through Buy1GIVE1.

You could be losing out a lot if you are not interested in forming an association with Buy1GIVE1and not persuading your business patrons to do so. Buy1GIVE1 is a unique and brilliant organisation whose impetus as well as global impact is huge.

The dawn of a new age in charity giving

Institutions that no one had heard about even a few months ago, are today bombarding the cyber world with booming user acceptance. People strongly prefer have a place on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, NING or TipJoy. One should also create strong bonds with companies like Buy1GIVE1, Kiva or The Present. These are the realities of the future which are imperative for sustaining and building charity ratings. Now is the chance to fashion an ideal new future.

Discover more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing.