If you’ve ever questioned why anyone would be able to surrender guaranteed income for life and just sell his structured settlements, then understand that some people have strong grounds for doing so. They may be dealing with some form of unexpected financial dilemma. Or in some cases, people find an excellent investment opportunity requiring immediate cash to get started with.

On the other hand, people are searching for ways to make a fresh start with s wind fall of great cash. When they finally decided to use some cash infusion to begin their business venture, the concept of selling the structured settlement is one good choice. As a general rule, you’re always at a better position holding that structured settlement, but there is always exception to such rule.

Selling structured settlement is an apparent means to offer funds for an investment opportunity. Of course, education is a superior investment anytime. People may wish to pay the education expenses keep their business afloat.

Investment opportunities include initial capital. If you plan on beginning a business by dealing structure settlement for the initial cash capital, then calculate exactly how much money you demand. You may require selling only a part of your succeeding payments rather than the whole series of payments.

It’s not easy to sell structured settlements if you are going to think about it. Some states require right now an application process to make sure people dealing structured settlement are protected from fraud or ignorant decisions. Before the sale transaction can continue, it should be approved by a state government authority.

The seller as well should consult with a professional financial adviser to discourse all the consequences that trading structured settlement will create. Of course, this is a high time to verify that needs are real and logical. If you give an impending demand that could be met only by selling structured settlement, be for sure to try the advice of different experts before taking that final decision.

Structured Insurance Settlements is a site dedicated to learning how to purchase structured settlements safely and get the best offer possible plus make sure you are dealing with financially stable company.

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Charity ratings are something so inconsistent that highly rated charities might easily find themselves outdone in rating by unknown ones that materialize out of nowhere. Charity Water is a representative though new sample of this. The power of the online medium and ingenuity are helping brand new charities to drive their ratings sky high. A charity that may not have any rating one day might be considered as one of the top of the chart charities by the New York Times the next day and their rating would then go through the roof in no time.

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.

Charity rating directory listings

With steadily rising distrust and morality guardians of charity being ever suspicious of charity problems like transgression, having pretty large amounts of money spent on the running of charities or mishandling of funds, listings of charity ratings are booming. It is real quaint that humanitarian institutions that are meant for giving others are under the watchful eye of charity watchdogs. The whole idea of benevolence is getting a bit problematical!

Givespot.com, Guidestar.org etc. are institutions that give a detailed list of charity ratings. The list of Givespot.com is known as GiveSpot 100 list, which gives a list of charities that are rated as the top 100. Then there are other institutions like charitynavigator.org which has a charity check systems and also gives a list of the Top Ten charities so that searching for a charity becomes easy. The biggest US charity directory is Guidestar.org and it offers a wide range of charity information some of which is available for free while some of the data require payment. In USA Better Business Bureau is also a charity directory that provides a list of non-profit institutions as well as commercial enterprises.

The fact is that there are enough guides that provide information about 100 top ranking charities but these ratings does not, in reality, convey the correct picture. The ratings of a charity has actually nothing much to do with what actually makes it superior to the rest. There are unique features that place a charity or non-charity institution above the rest.

Charity Ratings and faith in the public

According to a YouGov poll of 2005, even well known charities like Save the Children and Oxfam did not enjoy a high amount of faith by the majority of the British population amounting to 56%. The public seemed to have faith only in about 15% of the charities even among those that had good charity ratings.

Charity Watchdog Scares are more common

Belief in charities is at an all time low these days. Public can hardly be blamed for this. Charity watchdogs are ringing warning bells of charity institutions spending even up to 60% of the amount collected on overheads that include big salaries for managers so that very little remains for real charity giving.

It has been shown in recent studies that the expenses for raising funds in places like UK and Australia amount to about18% in the case of the former and 22% in the case of the latter. The corresponding amount in USA is about 30% according to the Association of Fundraising Professionals. These are without administrative expenses, which might be higher. This is a big issue with donors especially in situations like what happened in Singapore a few years ago when the issue fell under the media scanner. This sort of negative attraction leads to a reduction in charity giving which is definitely not a good sign.

Charity ratings secret exposed

There is not much difference in the way in which charity organizations and commercial organizations try to get money. How they eventually use that money may be different, but their modus operandi for attracting that money is essentially the same.

In order to get the funds necessary for functioning, as well as to improve the charity ratings, there is only one assured way – make it tempting.

When we look at something and consider buying it, investing in it or connecting with it, we make an instant decision based on how attractive it is to us. If the level of attraction is high, we are highly interested and take action quickly and of course if low, we take our time or decide no.

Charity Water made it to the top of the chart in charity rating and got media support because of its unique and attractive image. The way they sold a bottle of charity water for the best price and projected the idea of using the profit for making clean water accessible to those who required it was very enticing.

The factors that combine to make Charity Water so enticing, making it popular, are easily decipherable.

* 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.

* They had a simple, single and clear message and mission – sell water 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 fastest way for a charity to lose its rating is by making itself less appealing by concentrating on the problem. People are hardly inclined to listen about all that negativity going on in the world. On the other hand, most people are ready to listen to sagas of vigour, eagerness, drive and dedication to fashion a better world.

To prove this, all we have to do is look at ourselves in the company of our kids and know how our response is positive when children make a request in an exuberant, polite and eager manner. The same request, if made in an irritating or maudlin way, might elicit a negative response.

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 paradigm that arose some time ago. This endeavour combines in it a commercial enterprise and charity. This has been initiated by those who are enthusiastic of solving social problems but are not satisfied with the pattern of charity organizations.

Many social entrepreneurs would never survive in traditional business because their ethical and moral values would always be in conflict with many of the business decisions made. Social Enterprise is a perfect arena for these very inspiring and valuable individuals who choose to use the business vehicle to effect social and global change. One of the most famous Social Entrepreneurs of course is Muhammad Yunus who was the first businessperson ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 2006.

A comparatively new global social venture, Buy1GIVE1, also known as B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1), combines commercial activities with noble causes and charity organisations across the globe. Buy1GIVE1 has reduced the costs of administration and fundraising so completely that it is able to give away the whole of the funds it gets. It functions in a way quite similar to online enterprises like Kiva.org, which has been given support by Bill Clinton; Buy1GIVE1 is a substitute for the conventional style of direct giving to charities. Lots of people find them a more practical way for making donations while receiving valuable things in return.

Business leaders who are looking for opportunities to give back in effective ways and give to worthy charitable causes, see the great value and well-defined key marketing advantages businesses like Buy1GIVE1 offer. Each sales transaction makes a difference – and not just in an altruistic sense. With powerful ‘impact-matching’, businesses are gifted with an eye-opening, attention-grabbing marketing story. Compare the business that gives away a million dollars to charity with the one that lets their customers experience the joy of giving with Buy1Give1 transaction-based giving.

Enterprises like Buy1GIVE1 provide details of charity requirements, especially those which are really needy causes, and these always manage to attract lots of donations. Entrepreneurs understand very well the fundamentals of these equations and so are more likely to help such causes rather than worry about the charity rating. They know very well that people have an inherent tendency to respond to a more touching requirement, than simply to media 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

In a matter of a few years, changes are bound to happen in the background of the top 100 charities as more inventive and effectual ways of giving originate. The current scenario offers very few choices on how to give for a charitable purpose. All the available ones are not good enough to make a dent in the existing problems.

Alternative Charity Ratings

Newer and varied ways of gifting things to others are rated and featured in the table given below. These are Charity Comparison Data.

Some better known and not so well-known charities as well as Social Enterprises are evaluated and rated below so as to be of help to those who contribute to these.

THE SALVATION ARMY

ROUTE TO GIVING: DIRECT GIVING

The Salvation Army is one among the most well-known 100 charities of the world – Both individuals and enterprises make contributions directly to it.

TRANSPARENCY – B – Lack of transparency – Sum of money is contributed – but result is not fully measurable.

ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – C – Even a single donation to Salvation Army by a business might find mention in the press.

COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – B – Huge amounts are spent every year for raising funds.

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

PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE -C- No potential noticed for bringing about a market change.

PRODUCT (RED)

WAY 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.

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

ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – A – People and enterprises by and large prefer to support it as it is promoted by popular idols like Bono and Oprah. End result of marketing is not correctly available.

FUNDRAISING COSTS – C – Spends hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising – could have just given that money to Africa.

CONTRIBUTORS’CHOICE OF CHARITY – C – Partner businesses do not have much choice in the charities that receive their contributions – all are in Africa.

POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – B – Products (RED) only partner huge companies and all their profits go to Africa.

THE BODY SHOP

WAY TO GIVING: BUSINESS TRADE & GIVING

The Body Shop has a purchasing program known as community trade to help Third World countries; and from the income they generate, substantial contributions are made to charities.

OPENNESS – B – Not sufficiently open – Plenty of money is being collected – but the results are not always completely clear.

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.

FUNDRAISING COSTS – A – Lower costs – Successful business model that makes donations and boosts community trade.

DONOR’S CHOICE OF CHARITY – A – Enterprises are at liberty to choose where their contributions should go.

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

WAY 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.

TRANSPARENCY – F – According to Intelligent Giving, there were big questions about accountability as to where the proceeds of ticket sales went.

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.

FUNDRAISING COSTS – C – Spent millions of dollars on advertising on what some say was an unsuccessful event, which had no real goals.

DONOR’S CHOICE OF CHARITY – C – Only three charities could manage to get funds.

POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – C – These events are usually held one-off or annually. Money is often given to larger, more established charities.

Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1 )

ROUTE TO GIVING: SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

B1G1 is a brand licensed to any business – partnering them with any charity anywhere in the world. A truly global concept.

CANDOUR – A – By giving for particular causes, makes sure that funds go exactly for that which it is intended. Customers get information on how exactly their money has made a change – i.e. the children whom it helped, or the environmental cause it protected.

MARKETING VALUE TO BUSINESS – A+tve – Great marketing value because of:

* Calculable giving * Media interest * Effective stories * Person to person * Returning 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.

DONOR’S CHOICE OF CHARITY – A – Any donor can contribute to a specific charity, or they can insist on giving to specific causes such as food, environment, or instruction.

PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE – A – Unlimited. If more and more businesses can collaborate with charities internationally, the prospects for real change is colossal.

You Would Think Giving away Money Would Be Easy!”

You would think that giving money is easy – pull out a wad of cash, write a cheque or punch in your credit card details. Yet, billionaires philanthropists like George Sores , have gone on the record as saying that effective giving is one of the hardest things to do. Developing nations receive billions of dollars every year and yet it often seems like nothing changes much.

People asking smarter questions will bring about the needed change. Social Entrepreneurs like Mohamed Yunis, Nobel Prize winner, creating innovative solutions to poverty and environmental issues with Micro Finance are carving the way to a new future where business initiatives, social enterprise and conscious consumerism transform our world. Initiatives like The Body Shop’s ‘Trade – Not Aid’ need to be replicated. New ideas like Buy1GIVE1 need to be embraced. The value of social enterprise needs to be recognised.

When queried as to how someone can effect a change in the world, Bill Gates pointed towards organisations like Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com) and Kiva.org which reward the giver richly. Kiva.org ensures that those who sponsor a business get regular updates via email from those businesses. Buy1GIVE1 also ensures this. With such communication, customers get a clear picture and come to know the stories behind the charities. For example, when they buy a laptop, someone who badly needs a computer might be getting it at some other corner of the world.

Next steps to increasing your Charity Ratings

Ensure that you have an inquisitive mind, and remain connected to a computer, and spare some time to find out about the new types of charities and how they function. These programs are mainly based on networking and work through the internet.

As of now if one is not connected with good international networks via the internet, the chances of losing out are substantial even with good charity rating, tomorrow things are bound to change – totally.

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 comparatively new Social Enterprise established in 1997 by a Japanese lady named Masami Sato. Today any business globally can be a member of Buy1GIVE1. The membership fee for smaller enterprises is as low as $1 for a day. Contributions can also be as low as one cent on a sale made. Buy1GIVE1 is spearheading the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving global movement. For any enterprise or charity requirement, working jointly with Buy1GIVE1 is very simple. It is perfectly structured and accommodating enough to adjust to the requirements of its partners. An organisation can connect its products or services with any charity endeavour (Buy1GIVE1’s or their own) and each time a sale is made, the sale has to be recorded and the input paid at the end of a specific period. The amount can be sent through Buy1GIVE1 or directly to the concerned charity.

If you are not forging an alliance with Buy1GIVE1 and encouraging your business sponsors to become Buy1GIVE1 members you will be missing our more and more as this amazing enterprise makes a huge impact in the world of giving.

A new epoch in charity giving

Companies that had no presence a few months ago are ravaging cyberspace with the echo of user acceptance. Services life Twitter , Facebook , MySpace , YouTube, NING and TipJoy are places you must have a presence in. Organisations like Change The Present, Kiva and companies like Buy1GIVE1 you should be building relationships with. These are all the new future and will all help maintain and build charity ratings. Today is a new opportunity to build a new future.

Charity ratings are something so inconsistent that highly rated charities might easily find themselves outdone in rating by unknown ones that materialize out of nowhere. Charity Water is a representative though new sample of this. The power of the online medium and ingenuity are helping brand new charities to drive their ratings sky high. A charity that may not have any rating one day might be considered as one of the top of the chart charities by the New York Times the next day and their rating would then go through the roof in no time.

Because the general public are swayed so much by the charity ratings the press and media give, a brand new charity can flourish very quickly with a flood of charitable giving being thrown its way. And of course when the media lose interest, then the charity rating can drop out of the sky overnight.

Charity rating directory listings

With cynicism a bit on the higher side and eagle eyed guardians of charity practices ever on the lookout for malpractices, with huge amounts of money spent on managing or misuse of funds, directory listings of charity ratings are having a field day. It is rather strange that altruistic organizations, the purpose of which is to give others, themselves come under the scrutiny of guardians of ethics. Altruism is becoming a knotty issue!

Organisations like Givespot.com and Guidestar.org list detailed charity ratings. Givespot.com has a detailed list called the GiveSpot 100 list, which shows its top 100 rated charities. Other organisations like charitynavigator.org have charity check systems as well as a charity Top Ten list so that look up a charity is easy. Guidestar.org is probably the biggest US charity directory offering an amazing array of charity information some free some at a cost. The Better Business Bureau in the USA, despite its name is also charity directory that lists both business and non-profit organisations.

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 2005 YouGov poll published that the majority of the British population – 56% – had only a ‘fair amount’ of trust in the global charities like Save the Children and Oxfam . Only 15% of the charities surveyed had ‘a great deal’ of trust – even in the ones that do well in charity ratings.

Charity Watchdog Scares are more common

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 analyses reveal that just the cost of raising funds could amount to about 18% in UK and 20% in Australia. The studies of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in USA put the amount to be about 30%. Administrative expenses are in addition to this and could be higher. Many charity givers find that this is the main problem, more so when charity giving grabs media attention as was the case in Singapore a couple of years ago. Such unwelcome focus becomes conducive to a decrease in charity giving which is quite unpleasant.

Charity ratings mystery revealed

There is not much difference in the way in which charity organizations and commercial organizations try to get money. How they eventually use that money may be different, but their modus operandi for attracting that money is essentially the same.

In order to get the funds necessary for functioning, as well as to improve the charity ratings, there is only one assured way – make it tempting.

When we see a thing and might prefer to buy it, or would consider putting money in it, or creating a bond with it, we are likely to make the decision based on how enticing the whole idea is. If it is a very attractive proposition, we might instantly choose to opt for it while if it is not very enticing, we may not do it immediately.

Charity Water is highly attractive and hence why it’s charity-rating sky rocked so quickly and the media got behind the idea. The simple idea of selling a bottle of charity water for a premium price with the extra profit been giving as a donation to the needy to access clean water was highly attractive.

The factors that combine to make Charity Water so enticing, making it popular, are easily decipherable.

* They have the perfect name – Charity Water that makes people easily respond to the obvious passion of the founder to the idea, and his eagerness to share it with others.

* They had a simple, single and clear message and mission – sell water give water – Buy One Give One

* They gave importance to the solution and not to the problem. This is an assured way for any charity to get a good charity rating in the public’s eye. People by and large have no interest in being reminded of the miseries of life. They prefer to feel elated. So in this case when they know that their act, that of buying a bottle of water, can affect the lives of others positively, they are glad.

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 ratings of a charity depend substantially on the image it projects in front of the public. With a motivating and inspiring image people will be swayed to its ideas. They will then be ready to contribute well to the cause of the charity.

Social Enterprises improve Charity Ratings and solve the problems in Getting Funds

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.

Many socially conscious businessmen may find the ambience of a full fledged commercial venture and its decision making mechanism unpalatable. For such people a social enterprise is an apt field where they can use their business acumen and inspiration effectively to solve social problems and usher in changes. One of the best known among such socially aware entrepreneurs is Muhammad Yunus who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. He was the first business man to be given such recognition.

A comparatively new global social venture, Buy1GIVE1, also known as B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1), combines commercial activities with noble causes and charity organisations across the globe. Buy1GIVE1 has reduced the costs of administration and fundraising so completely that it is able to give away the whole of the funds it gets. It functions in a way quite similar to online enterprises like Kiva.org, which has been given support by Bill Clinton; Buy1GIVE1 is a substitute for the conventional style of direct giving to charities. Lots of people find them a more practical way for making donations while receiving valuable things in return.

Successful businessmen, who are searching for a chance to give back richly to the society and to provide for deserving charities, fully understand the importance and properly structured working credos of institutions like Buy1GIVE1. Every single sale is able to affect a change somewhere – not only altruistically. It has also the ability to forcefully influence things in such a way that each act becomes a unique marketing story. There is a world of difference in the way in which Buy1Give1 works and those charities which give away thousands and thousands of dollars work, because Buy1Give1 lets their customers know what the joy o f giving is. Buy1Give1 transaction-based giving is a perfectly beautiful way of giving.

Businesses like Buy1GIVE1 profile charities and it tends to be the charities or worthy causes as they call them, that are the most attractive that receive the most contributions. Intrinsically business owners understand the power of attraction and they tend to go with non-profit causes that have the best story rather than look at their direct rating. They intrinsically know that their customers will connect with a better story and not ever think about a charities rating.

The Australian company Maple Muesli collaborates with an Indian charity called Midday Meals in the city of Mumbai. Whenever someone buys a bag of muesli, the contribution from it feeds a needy child there. A meal for a child costs only the equivalent of 30 US cents and the charity in this way feeds 125,000 kids in Mumbai every day. This makes the children desist from begging, keeps them away from streets, and makes them remain in school.

Maple Muesli has familiarised the whole of Australia with the noble cause of the Midday Meals. The company has made all its customers aware of the stupendous service the charity is doing and how their money is helping it. This has made Midday Meals tremendously popular even though all they are doing is providing meals for the kids. The era of Effective Giving has dawned – that of Plain Charity Donations is disappearing at the horizon.

In a matter of a few years, changes are bound to happen in the background of the top 100 charities as more inventive and effectual ways of giving originate. The current scenario offers very few choices on how to give for a charitable purpose. All the available ones are not good enough to make a dent in the existing problems.

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

Some better known and not so well-known charities as well as Social Enterprises are evaluated and rated below so as to be of help to those who contribute to these.

THE SALVATION ARMY

WAY TO GIVING: DIRECT GIVING

The Salvation Army comes among the top 100 charities globally – contributions are made directly by both businesses as well as individuals.

TRANSPARENCY – B – Lack of transparency – Sum of money is contributed – but result is not fully measurable.

ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – C – Even a single donation to Salvation Army by a business might find mention in the press.

COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – B – Huge amounts are spent every year for raising funds.

DONOR’S CHOICE OF CHARITY – B – There are many charities and the contributors can decide to which one they would like to give directly.

PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE -C- No potential noticed for bringing about a market change.

PRODUCT (RED)

PATH TO GIVING : MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Product (RED) is a brand licensed to collaborate with companies, and collect money for their Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in Africa

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

ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – A – People and enterprises by and large prefer to support it as it is promoted by popular idols like Bono and Oprah. End result of marketing is not correctly available.

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 has a purchasing program known as community trade to help Third World countries; and from the income they generate, substantial contributions are made to charities.

OPENNESS – B – Not sufficiently open – Plenty of money is being collected – but the results are not always completely clear.

BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – A-tve – Customers are interested in community trade and it increases their interest to do business with the venture. Visibility is not entirely sufficient.

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.

PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE – B – The potential for giving back to the community is substantial – but not everyone have the impetus and the extra energy to impel the change.

LIVE EARTH

WAY 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.

BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – B – It was beneficial to business sponsors as they got good media coverage, but as it was a single event results are not easily measurable.

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.

PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE – C – Such events can be held just once or at the most once a year. The amount collected generally goes to better known charities.

Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1 )

PATH 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.

TRANSPARENCY – A – One for one giving ensures funds given are used for what they were intended. Customers know their giving translates into real change (e.g. numbers of trees planted, numbers of children fed).

ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – A+tve – Outstanding marketing value due to:

* Calculable giving * Media interest * Effective stories * Person to person * Returning customers

COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – A+tve – Absolutely no cost – B1G1 can oversee a charity’s needs for raising funds and also manage much of the administration as well. So the funds go entirely 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.

ABILITY FOR AFFECTING A CHANGE – A – Infinite. If increasing number of businesses can team up with charities worldwide, the possibility for real change is boundless.

You Would Think Giving away Money Would Be No Big Deal!”

Giving away money appears simple on the face of it – it just involves pulling out notes or writing a cheque or punching in a credit card. But reality is a bit different. George Sores, who has donated billions to charity, insists that effective giving is a very complicated business. Underdeveloped nations receive a lot of money in aid year after year but the changes effected do not seem to be proportionate.

People make changes by asking probing questions about the problems they find in front of them. The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Mohammed Yunus, by his introduction of the new category of banking known as Microfinance has made groundbreaking achievements in solving social problems and is leading the way in showing how social enterprise and consumption of goods can positively change the world. Other such ideas worth emulating are that of Buy1GIVE1 or ‘Trade – Not Aid’ of The Body Shop. The overwhelming importance of social enterprise has to be fully appreciated.

When queried as to how someone can effect a change in the world, Bill Gates pointed towards organisations like Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com) and Kiva.org which reward the giver richly. Kiva.org ensures that those who sponsor a business get regular updates via email from those businesses. Buy1GIVE1 also ensures this. With such communication, customers get a clear picture and come to know the stories behind the charities. For example, when they buy a laptop, someone who badly needs a computer might be getting it at some other corner of the world.

Other methods for improving your Charity Ratings

Adopt a questioning mind, hop onto a wired laptop, and with a few hours to spare look at some of the new and amazing giving systems that are being created. Most of these new systems are network based and driven from the Internet.

The present situation is that if a venture is not allied online with global networks of good standing, it stands to lose quite a lot whatever its charity rating is, by tomorrow things are likely to change — completely.

Lots of companies nowadays make their appearance out of nowhere and are sold a few years later for billions of dollars. This was a scenario that would have been considered impossible a decade ago. But today this is a normal phenomenon. What every one of these internet companies primarily do is to tap into global networks or even perhaps create one themselves.

Buy1GIVE1 (Buy One Give One)

Buy1GIVE1 is a comparatively new Social Enterprise established in 1997 by a Japanese lady named Masami Sato. Today any business globally can be a member of Buy1GIVE1. The membership fee for smaller enterprises is as low as $1 for a day. Contributions can also be as low as one cent on a sale made. Buy1GIVE1 is spearheading the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving global movement. For any enterprise or charity requirement, working jointly with Buy1GIVE1 is very simple. It is perfectly structured and accommodating enough to adjust to the requirements of its partners. An organisation can connect its products or services with any charity endeavour (Buy1GIVE1’s or their own) and each time a sale is made, the sale has to be recorded and the input paid at the end of a specific period. The amount can be sent through Buy1GIVE1 or directly to the concerned charity.

If you are not forging an alliance with Buy1GIVE1 and encouraging your business sponsors to become Buy1GIVE1 members you will be missing our more and more as this amazing enterprise makes a huge impact in the world of giving.

The dawn of a new age in charity giving

Companies that had no presence a few months ago are ravaging cyberspace with the echo of user acceptance. Services life Twitter , Facebook , MySpace , YouTube, NING and TipJoy are places you must have a presence in. Organisations like Change The Present, Kiva and companies like Buy1GIVE1 you should be building relationships with. These are all the new future and will all help maintain and build charity ratings. Today is a new opportunity to build a new future.

Because there are so many students in a typical elementary or middle school, the potential for huge sales and profit is great. On the other hand, because there are so many students at a school, it can be hard to motivate, organize and control the results of such a large school fundraiser. There are three key elements to a school fundraiser that if followed while planning for it, will almost guarantee that your fundraiser will be a huge success.

Communication!

Long before your school fundraiser gets started, things should be in place and ready to go for the big fundraiser kick off day. One of the best things that a PTA or PTO can do before their fundraiser ever get started is make sure that all the parents of your school children know what is about to happen BEFORE it happens. At least once and it is even better to do this twice, send a letter home with the students that tells the parents a little about the upcoming school fundraiser and why the school needs the funds. In any communications you do in this manner never forget to ask explicitly for their help and participation.

Build Excitement!

Have an assembly or rally to kick the fundraiser off. The fundraising chairperson can create excitement about the fundraiser. It is also great to discuss with the students what money is being raised for – where will the money they earn go? What are the positive results of their efforts?

Of course you really don’t have to cover all that in great detail with the students as doing that in any great detail would put them to sleep. We want them excited about the sale, not bored to tears about it. So unless you have a production equivalent to High School Musical 2 or the real Sponge Bob and Patrick to cover those details in song or antics, I would say, “Just mention it.” The bottom line is that the kids generally don’t have the interest or the memory tell their parents and potential customers about what the money is going to be used for. That is what the parent letter is there to do for them.

Motivation!

The part that gets the student’s attention and raises their excitement is not the product being sold or the purpose of the fundraiser, It’s The Prizes! In fact, if your prizes are really good, you could actually forget about the communication stuff mentioned above. If your students are excited about the fundraiser and the prizes, you don’t have to worry about their parents not knowing about your fundraiser, believe me, the will know all about it. If the only thing you do for the kickoff is show the prizes and hold up the fundraiser brochure that the prize program “goes with,” you will have a successful fundraising kickoff. It is really that simple as long as the prizes are really good.

It doesn’t matter what fundraising product you choose, if you organize, build excitement and reward the students like they have never been rewarded before, your school fundraiser will be the best one you’ve ever had. Now, in this article, I have over simplified the whole 3 step process: but not by much. There are some specific points about each of these 3 elements of a school fundraiser that will require particular attention to some important details, but by and large, this is pretty simple. It is a good idea to seek the advice of an experienced fundraising consultant who understands the whole prize concept and accept their advice.

A Word to the Wise!

Most fundraising companies are more interested these days in “getting your business” than in actually coaching you in how to run a school fundraiser to get maximum results. Most will sell you on their product or their service or their profit percentage as the key point in a successful fundraiser. This is far from the truth, and if you spend a few minutes thinking about it, you know this is true. Prizes are what drive school fundraisers. If you do the average, everyday, run of the mill prizes, you will end up with average run of the mill results. This is why schools that make a change in the way they do their prizes double or more their previous sale. It is not the product, service or profit percentage that makes the difference it’s the prizes.

When you come up with unique fundraising ideas you need to think about a few things. You need to know what your resources are, skills of people who can help, and what will attract a crowd.

You need to know what your resources are when you hold a fundraising idea. Resources include property or places you can hold an event, items you might have an abundance of that you can sell, and more. If you don’t have any resources it doesn’t mean you cannot hold an event. It just means you are thinking hard enough. Many fundraising events don’t require resources if they are low or no budget fundraisers.

You should also consider the skills of the people who are willing to donate their time for the fundraising event. It the fundraiser affects them at all then they should be willing to donate their time. If people in your group have skills like baking really well then you might consider a bake sale. If you have an art teacher in your group then maybe you can hold an arts and crafts event. This often works well when parents bring their children in to creatively make artwork and sell it to the public. When you know your group well then you can come up with some really good ideas for holding a fundraiser.

Another thing you need to think about when you are holding a fund raising event is that you need to know your community. When you know your community then you know what they are likely to respond to. You should also be sure that the cause you are trying to raise money for is something people will care about. This means that you need to know people believe in the cause.

The part of town in which you hold your event also matters – a fundraiser in the poorest part of town will probably not raise nearly as much money as one held in an affluent neighborhood.

When you hold fundraising events there are many places that will be willing to support your cause. It usually depends on what the cause is. If you are trying to raise money for your local book or library club then you should talk to local book stores or a location that holds relevance.

Grocery stores are also a good place to inquire; they normally carry some books and will often allow groups to set out a table for a bake sale. You should look for public places too hold your fundraiser where you will have a lot of passers by. This will make a successful fundraiser much more likely.

To come up with unique fundraising ideas, think about all of these things. Knowing the skills of your group, the resources available and the nature of your community will help you to come up with an event which will work well for your group.