I had an interesting ‘ah hah” a few weeks ago while listening to the radio. The talk show hosts were speaking about all the fraudulent charities that spring up after terrible events like the San Diego wildfires. Besides making me sad, I felt lucky that I generally was closely connected to the charities that I donate money to. Not only did I know they were legitimate organizations, but I also know where they specifically need money directed. Of course, SDSVP is a perfect example of the type of charity that I associate with.
Why is SDSVP so perfect for me?
I love giving to charities when I know the money is leveraged. I tend to give more money when there is a matching program. I also tend to give more money when the donation is a directed donation going to a specific item. I also tend to give money for overhead because I feel this is a leveraged give. Better to teach an organization to fish, than to give them a fish. SDSVP is the organization that teaches other organizations how to fish. SDSVP is a double, triple, quadruple leverage.
SDSVP has four choices for leveraging dollars.
1) Unrestricted donations to SDSVP – Giving donations to the organization that teaches other organizations how to fish is the ultimate in leverage.
2) Restricted donations to Lead Partners – Who better than a Lead Partner to know where donations can best me applied in a charity. The beauty with a donation directed to a Lead Partner is that we have a variety of sectors we are serving so we have more opportunities to align with your heart.
3) Environment Accelerator Fund (EAF) – Here is a fund being run by some of the smartest folks I have ever come across. Giving money to the EAF is a no brainier especially if the environment is your passion. Their current project, code named the Policy Center, is very exciting.
4) SDSVP Endowment – With our Core Value of Sustainability, what better place to give money. If you are believer in endowments, why not give to the most leveraged charity in existence (ok, that may be a bit overboard, but you get the point).
Back to my “ah hah”. I have a few extra dollars that I save for giving away during the holiday season and I am going to give them to SDSVP.
As always, your thoughts and comments are appreciated.