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bluestrike.org Charity Watchdogs 1
Charity Watchdogs: Managing your Organization’s Profile and Ratings
Join the webinar online. www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/d95f8791/28568858
Enter the meeting number: 285-68-858
To join from a phone: +1-201-479-4595
Participants will be muted during the presentation to maintain good sound quality. If you have a comment or question, please use the chat room.
Thanks and welcome to the webinar!
July 14, 2015
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BLUE STRIKECharity Watchdogs: Managing Your Organization’s Profile and Ratings
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WELCOME
• This is a 45-minute webinar to help organizations manage their profile and ratings with charity watchdogs groups.
• It has been developed for organizations engaged in advocacy, civic engagement, policy work, and public interest law.
• The information and call to action are intended for fundraising staff and executive directors.
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Blue Strike: Inspiring Support for Civic Engagement
Mary Dillon Kerwin
(703) 399-0855
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AGENDA
Today, we will cover:
Section 1: Who are the watchdogs?
Section 2: Why do they matter?
Section 3: Three steps to improve your ratings.
We will wrap up by 2:00 PM.
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Who are they?
The top four:
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance
Charity Navigator
CharityWatch (a.k.a American Institute for Philanthropy)
Guidestar
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Change is afoot
Guidestar has added new levels of transparency and seals. More changes are coming.
Charity Navigator has begun adding impact measures to its profiles.
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SECTION 2Charity Watchdogs: Why are they important?
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Why are they important?
Donors, foundations, corporations, and the media consult these sites for objective information about your organization.
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Donors look up your profile
About one-quarter of people do some kind of research before deciding to give.
Association of Fundraising Professionals
Hope Consulting (2010)
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Donors make giving decisions based on ratings
A higher rating has been shown to translate into higher revenue.
Lower ratings may discourage people from giving to you.
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Research on rating impact
Brown, Meer, Williams (2014) found “evidence that subjects' choice of charity is impacted by third-party evaluations.” Social Distance and Quality Ratings in Charity Choice
Grant (2010) estimates “that one more star increases contributions by 3 to 8%. The Response to Third-party Rating: The Effects on Charitable Giving.
Chhaochhari and Ghosh(2008) found that charities with the highest ratings received 16 percent more charitable donations than those with the lowest ratings.
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They affect your brand
You don’t have time to explain a bad rating to everyone.
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They impact morale
Your staff and volunteers deserve recognition for the good work they do.
Your brand should reflect your commitment to your mission.
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Call to action
#1: Pay attention to how you spend money and how you count the money you spend.
#2: Hire an auditor who understands the ins-and-outs of the charity watchdog game.
#3: Educate your board and staff about the importance of ratings and profiles.
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Action #1: Spending
Pay attention to how you spend money and how you count the money you spend.
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Review spending
Take a hard look at your spending.
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Reduce overhead
Check out Blue Strike tips for reducing overhead.
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Allocate Carefully
Make sure you’re not putting program expenses into administration and fundraising.
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Good Looking Pie Charts
Revenue
Contributions 65%
Foundations 15%
Planned
Gifts 13%
Other 7%
Expenses
Program84%
Fundraising8%
Administration7%
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Action #2: Auditor
Hire an auditor who understands the ins-and-outs of the charity watchdog game.
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Financial statements
Year end financials Audit IRS 990
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IRS 990 Part IX Page 10
The audit’s functional expense statement informs your expense sheet on the 990.
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Review draft of audit
Leave time for back and forth with the auditor.
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Action #3: Board & Staff
Educate your board and staff about the importance of ratings and profiles
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action #3: board & staff
• Put it on board agenda.
• Explain the basics.
• Show comparisons.
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Board Governance and Oversight
•Establish audit committee•Pass needed policies•Pay attention to executive compensation
•Review 990
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Charity Navigator Accountability and Transparency Measures
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Assign staff
Assign a staff person to update profiles and monitor changes to the ratings systems.
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Tame the watchdogs
Deal directly with the staff at the watchdogs. They are sensitive to criticism.
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Materials match your work
Make sure your materials accurately describe your accomplishments and activities.
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Your call to action
#1: Pay attention to how you spend money and how you count the money you spend.
#2: Hire an auditor who understands the ins-and-outs of the charity watchdog game.
#3: Educate your board and staff about the importance of ratings and profiles.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCESResources, Research, and Articles
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Other Resources for Improving your Rating
Internal Revenue Service
http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i990/ar03.html
Venable Law
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTrOm1a4P2Ue00TA3hCl3xQ
Board Source https://www.boardsource.org/eweb/dynamicpage.aspx?webcode=BDSOnlineStoreLanding
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Research
Social Distance and Quality Ratings in Charity Choice, Alexander Brown May 2014
http://econweb.tamu.edu/jmeer/Brown_Meer_Williams_Charity_Choice.pdf
The Response to Third-Party Ratings, Laura Ellyn Grant 2010
http://www2.bren.ucsb.edu/~lgrant/grant_jmp_F2010.pdf
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More about the Watchdogs
Charity Rater Part I: Charting the Bad and the Bad
http://www.blueavocado.org/content/charity-raters-part-i-charting-bad-and-bad
Charity Rater Part II: Managing Your Ratings by Blue Avocado
http://www.blueavocado.org/content/charity-raters-part-ii-managing-your-rating
Stanford Social Innovation Review
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_ratings_game
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Previous Blue Strike Webinars
Donor Advised Funds: What You Need to Know with Ruben Orduna
Sending Your Executive Director on Tour
Introduce Your Board to Fundraising
Simple Tips for Publishing Your Donor List
July 14, 2015
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Upcoming Blue Strike Trainings and Webinars
Get Ready, Here It Comes . . . Year End Fundraising
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
8:30 to 10:00 AM (Washington, DC)
Recapturing Lapsed Donors: Strategies for Getting Them Back
Tuesday, September, 2015
1:15 PM ET (12:15 PM Central/10:15 am Pacific)
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BLUESTRIKE.ORG
Thank you for participating today!
From Mary Dillon Kerwin
President of Blue Strike
Check out our other slide shows at http://www.bluestrike.org/resources
July 14, 2015