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“Our generation does not want its epitaph to read, ‘We kept charity overhead low.’ We want it to read that we changed the world.” Dan Pallotta (see Ted Talk)

I was lucky enough to hear Dan Pallotta speak in person several months ago (Thank you Virginia G. Piper Charitble Trust). I listened to his thesis incorporating his 5 big ideas that should happen in nonprofits today. They are paraphrased as follows: Increase Compensation; Encourage Calculated Risk; Encourage Long Term Vision; Paid Advertising; Re-Think Investment Return Strategies.

There is much talk right now about how to best decide in which charities an individual or other entity should invest their charitable or grant dollars. Much talk about “overhead”. Mission and overhead go hand in hand. From my grass roots perspective, the real thermometer is not a percentage number; it’s the one commodity most of us are not so willing to invest–TIME. Get to know the organization you wish to support. Exept in emergency response conditions, you have the time.

Do the homework. The best case is to VISIT the actual mission delivery sites and get to know the organizational management. As with all things, the TIME and RESOURCES invested over time are best tempered with good first-hand knowledge.

Please think in years and it’s even better to think in decades. How will your chosen charitable interst impact your community over time?

Get to know us at A Stepping Stone! Our plan is to impact individuals and groups over the long haul. That’s why we have always invested in two generations of learners. Change the generations, change the planet.