It is Better to Give And Receive

I've often thought about which industries or arenas might benefit most by being more experiential. One group on my mind is charitable organizations. The fact is, it's hard to get excited about sending off a check to a charity that one never hears from again, except for another solicitation in the mail. I know, I know. People are supposed to give without any thought of being recognized or thanked for their efforts. But the reality is, one has to be pretty high up on the self-actualization chart to have no curiousity about what happens once the check is written ... no secret longing to know whether you've put a smile on someone's face or helped make someone's life a little better.

When you send someone you care about a letter, you soon get a reply. When you leave someone you care about a message, your phone eventually rings. So why is it that when you give to a cause you care about, there is so often silence at the other end? In many cases of giving, the loop is never closed.

There is one organization that really appeals to me and that I find to be a great example of allowing the giver to have more of a real connection with the receiver. At DonorsChoose, people interested in supporting education can find a great way to get a bit more emotionally involved. As they explain on their website, "Many schoolchildren from low-income communities do not have the books, art supplies, science equipment, or other materials that they need to learn. Public school teachers use DonorsChoose to propose resources for their students. Concerned individuals like you can then select a proposal to fund." Here's the part I really like: "When a proposal is funded, DonorsChoose purchases the materials and has them delivered to the teacher's school. Staff also mails the teacher a disposable camera and stamped envelope in which to enclose photographs of the project taking place, student thank-you notes, and a teacher letter. Upon receiving this feedback, DonorsChoose attaches receipts, and forwards this package to the donor." What a treat to see kids using the materials you helped provide for their education. DonorsChoose has created a closed giving loop where everyone benefits. And I imagine in many cases this leads to even more donations in the future.

For those people with more money than time to support worthy causes, I'd like to see non-profits mirror the DonorsChoose attitude and work to create better connections with their givers. It may be considered politically incorrect, poor etiquette or bad form, but I think it is sometimes better to give and receive.

Comments

[aleah]

I used to be in the fund development for nonprofits biz before running Ricksticks, and really appreciate this. I hope some charities out there stumble across this posting. It is disconcerting to me, too, when a gift is made and months go by before an acknowledgment is given. Donor acknowledgment is a key way of establishing and creating long-lasting relationships.

In addition, it's always nice to get photos and updates of where the money was used and how the gift directly made an impact.

[Scott Lewis]

An interesting side effect of this development is the potential for a shift in the competetive landscape of charity. Some charities are clearly differentialy able to compete in terms of providing experience in the form of evidence of direct impact. Children's charities are a prime example. Conversely, research charities will have a difficult time of this. "Your $50 contributed to .001% of a study. We'll let you know next year sometime if anything came of it."
This leads to the question of what makes something experiencifiable. Personal interaction, certainly, as well as some level of concreteness, but beyond that it gets a little fuzzy.