- The two main ways I have learned to evaluate companies is through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Qualitative analysis is the evaluation of the leadership, appearance and the mission of the company. Through talking on the phone with a member of the organizations and by looking through their websites, I was able to conclude that the two charities I researched were very strong in terms of quality. Quantitative analysis is the evaluation of a company’s financials- tax returns, financial statements, balance sheets, assets/liabilities and such. In terms of quantitative analysis, my two charities were not as viable as I hoped. In terms of evaluating nonprofit organizations, I see both types of analysis equally important in order to determine whether an organization would be a good investment.
- It is very important to look at a company’s numbers before investing, especially with a charity. Evaluation of an organization’s numbers can reveal how much of an impact your donation would have and it can reveal how much of your donation would actually end up going towards the beneficiary of the charity. Both of my charities have very low management ratios, which means that most of the donations they receive go directly towards the benefit of the cause instead of towards management and employee salary. However, my charities were not financially viable in terms of sustainability. They would only survive for about one year if they suddenly stopped receiving donations, which was a contributing factor as to why we did not donate to either of them.
- MSP has broadened my view of nonprofit organizations and opened my eyes to the satisfaction attained when donating to charity. I realized that we truly need these organizations to survive as they significantly contribute to the benefit of society. Becuase most of them rely only on private donations, people often do not comprehend the benefits that come with donating to them nor the importance of donating to them in the first place so that they can survive.
- The two charities I researched were San Diego Zoo Global and Helen Woodward Animal Center. While the Zoo focused primarily on preserving animals in the wild and Helen Woodward emphasized the proliferation of domestic animals, both of the charities were perfectly aligned with our own mission, to ensure the safety and health of animals in general and to educate the public on how to properly care for animals in society.
- Our group decided to donate to the Rancho Coastal Humane Society. This organization was our top choice because it had the most ideal combination of quantity and quality. Its mission statement was almost identical to ours, the individuals leading the organization appeared to have a genuine passion, and the Humane Society’s financial statements were on point in terms of management and program ratios.
- I hope that our entire donation goes directly towards Rancho Coastal Humane Society’s rescue animal adoption program and its lessons in educating individuals who adopt their animals and emphasizing proper care of these animals. I hope to continue to serve this organization either through donations or simply volunteering, or both. I love animals and I love to see a group of people like those involved with Rancho Coastal who have a passion for treating domestic animals with love and care, so will definitely be providing my continued philanthropy to Rancho Coastal in any way I can.
Animal Philanthropy
May 23, 2018 by Leave a Comment