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The Report Card drives rigorous giving and deepening of trust in nonprofits.
Disclosure, donor control and accountability matter now more than ever.
It guides donors to rate and rank nonprofit causes against the donor's
own personal giving criteria and to request missing information from
nonprofits. In the end, all nonprofits have is their good name based on the integrity of their operations and the reputation of the services they provide . . . and this Report Card helps enhance that good name with accountability" says Dr. Maclean. The Need Now As the economy becomes even more volatile, donors are getting more and more requests to give. Requests begin to look, feel and smell alike. Donors report feeling overwhelmed as they attempt to wade through the growing clutter of requests . . . and in too many cases close their minds, hearts and checkbooks. The Bottom Line Of The Report Card It promises to:
How Donors Can Use It
Dr. Paul Schervish, Director of Boston College's Social Welfare Research Institute says, "The Donor's Report Card is helpful to donors not only as a checklist, but as the basis for deeper discussion within the family and with their advisors." How Nonprofits Can Use It "Savvy nonprofits will also use the Report Card to conduct a self-audit, make improvements and publish the results for their donors without being asked. Those nonprofits will become respected for their proactivity in addressing donor concerns" says Maclean. Then they will be able to demonstrate integrity and accountability to all of their stakeholders. Dr. Schervish goes on to say, "In the end, the Report Card may prove just as useful as a check list for nonprofit fundraisers who desire to better serve their donors and, hence, their clients too." How Financial Advisors Can Use It "Socially responsible and leading edge financial services firms will license, brand and then give the tool to their advisors who become true neutral donor advocates and coaches for the passions of their clients. Some licensed users will even post the Report Card to their website and invite major client/donors to download it." What The Report Card Delivers The Report Card empowers donors to rigorously evaluate nonprofits and their causes in these six areas that are followed by a sample rating criteria (37 in total):
How To Get The Report Card This rating tool can be ordered in print and on-line interactive versions from www.philanthropynow.com for $10 (print version). What Donor Interviewees Told Us Both modest means and affluent donors told us, "Give us a practical tool to evaluate donation requests so that we can say "Yes" or "No" and feel good about our decisions". "They also want to give more productively by making their giving faster, more fun, effective and accountable in ways that resemble how they run their businesses." Loudly and clearly they said, "Fundraiser ask me what I care about before you tell me what you care about." On both a spiritual and humorous note they said, "It is through giving that we discover who we are...and what matters to us" and "There are no luggage racks on a hearse." How It Was Developed Maclean listened, then developed and validated the Report Card for Rating Giving Opportunities after four years of research and pilot testing in the US and Canada to help donors manage the growing avalanche of requests. A Trend Worth Noting Among Dr. Maclean's "10 Outside The Box Predictions For Giving & Asking" is that there will be a shift from "emotion driven charity check writing to due diligence driven social investing". The Report Card helps make the journey smoother and more satisfying for both donor and nonprofit and both mature in the process. About Charles Maclean Charles Maclean founded PhilanthropyNow in 1998. The mission of PhilanthropyNow is "To ignite passion for conscious community give-back". He is coauthor with Jana Green of "PhilanthropyNow: Seeding The New Generation Of Entrepreneurial Givers" and pioneered research on lost and best donor debriefings and giver mission coaching. He is the author of a series on "Good Giving As Good Business" for the Portland Business Journal and has been a consultant/trainer for United Way of America, the National Clergy Committee, Utah Society of Fundraisers, Indiana University Center for Philanthropy and others. He holds a PhD in Administration of Higher Education and an MA in guidance and counseling from Michigan State University. He has worked in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. For a Biosketch of Charles Maclean Go to http://www.philanthropynow.com/pn/bio.htm For Endorsements of the Report Card Go to http://www.philanthropynow.com/pn/reportcard/endorsements.htm For the article "10 Outside The Box Predictions For The Future of Giving & Asking"™ Go to http://www.philanthropynow.com/pn/10_predictions.htm
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The
Donor Report Card was developed by Charles Maclean, PhD, a thought leader
on new generation donor relations and philanthropy. He is Founder &
Chief Committed Listener for PhilanthropyNow Consulting, in Portland,
Oregon.