Evaluating a company can never be black and white; it can never be a numbers game. Like a basketball game, some may believe the team with better statistics will win, but this isn’t always the team you root for. Practically this doesn’t make sense, yet you can find it in any everyday life occurrence. The reason why we humans tend to gravitate towards certain companies, teams, and people, is because of their purpose. The New York Yankees are a team to solely represent New York and win the world series for them; this is what makes them appealing to those who live there. The purpose of a company, in this case a non-profit organization, is to seek financial assistance from the public in order to fund a more efficient way of supporting those in need. But what separates and isolates each charity is their ideals, their morals, their outlook and decisions they make towards helping those who need it. If you don’t personally agree with what that company is doing, there is no reason to ever donate money to them right? What I’ve learned  to do when investing in a company is never settling for almost. In these circumstance, investing is either perfect or a complete bust; there is no difference in supporting a company that does not correlate to your ideals than supporting one that is somewhat similar to your ideals. It’s not easy to find the perfect company, but that’s why researching is so important in the process. Mediocrity is just not something you can strive for and feel completely satisfied with when finished.

Now I’m not saying that numbers are irrelevant, as if they don’t play into decision making. Numbers are the support behind a company’s ideals. If the company you gravitate to, for reasons previously stated, happens to utilize only 2% of their funding for actually helping others, then you’ve run into a granite wall. This company may share your ideals, but they are not efficient. Non-profit organizations are still businesses at heart, they still need money to run their electricity and programs and operations. But with this fact comes the truth, that not all businesses are run well. If your favorite type of hot dogs are sold by a certain brand, but every time you bought them the packaging tore open in your grocery bag spilling hot dog juice on your new box of cereal, you wouldn’t buy them again. The company’s pitch is important but if they can not accomplish what they want or propose, then they are not worth investing in. The numbers don’t say it all about a company but they definitely provide a peace of mind.

Giving away money is something to take lots of consideration into the process, but you didn’t need me to tell you that. What makes my experience elevating and fulfilling compared to the common sense we are born with is how we take our personal charities into perspective. How is this money that we are willingly handing over for no monetary reimbursement or dividends going to make any difference in our society or even in our own lives. Donating money with purpose is what makes it meaningful and truly helpful. You don’t need to start your own charity or sacrifice time you don’t have in order to help. I’ve learned that with donating money comes not only self fulfillment of aiding something you want to see change in, but opens a new broad moral scope on the world. MSP has opened the sun roof of my car, something that has always been there but I had never used before. I had tend to only open my four door windows, creating opportunities for myself but still blind to the massive potential my car (my life) had so easily accessible. MSP has helped me realize what donating money really means, what it really does, and how I can make sure it doesn’t go to waste.

By using the tools MSP had bestowed upon me, I was able to choose two organizations that I felt corresponded perfectly with ideals I hold close to myself. Both organizations are of the hospital and medical branches; health is something I feel is dire in our society to keep us functioning. The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a non-profit organization that uses its donations in near perfect efficiency in order to tackle the big name and obscure medical conditions. They study in such wide range of biological studies with out the killer trade off of accuracy and depth in research. This efficiency matches with my own ideals because of how broad their studies are without sacrificing proper analysis of each department. Another organization was St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Though being a very different type of charity, it was not any less perfectly aligning to my own beliefs than the Salk Institute. In the growing prices of hospital and health expenses, many families are left in the dust with no one to help them pay for necessities of health. Those who are unfortunate enough to have children or family that suffer from illness but not the income to pay for treatment are aided by this children’s research hospital. These organizations have helped me focus my efforts on new and old outlooks.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies was the final organization that my group had chosen to donate our fundraiser money to. Though a few charities all matched up in unison with our mission, Salk had the stability to back up their research. With the financial efficiency they had developed, they would be able to sustain themselves for years without a cent more in donations. Not only was this organization one that really made a difference in the world, but it was able to continue its aid for those who need it regardless of how others influenced them.

The money we have donated to the institute may not be enough on its own to spark a new study or pay for a new lab, but it is progress in funding that will eventually lead to things like this. The institute was more than grateful for our donation because not only do the small numbers add up to benefit those in need, but it shows those at Salk that there are young students like us that care for their work and efforts, support that can not be translated into monetary value. Our own efforts by themselves could not impact the world, but when combined with those who share the same mission, any effort despite its size will impact our society without doubt. Institutes like Salk even offer those of our generation opportunities in studying the fields in which the push for progress in on a global scale. MSP and Salk have allowed my group and myself to learn of the impact a truly thought out donation.