Lately, I have given a lot of thought about how one can personally determine philanthropic efforts. As Jack Welch said in his autobiography, I "noodled" the concept after reading about Warren Buffet and Bill Gates effort to get billionaires to donate a substantial portion of their wealth to charity before they die.
As I thought about this, I think philanthropic efforts consist of two parts: donation of time and donation of money. I developed this six factor formula to help people decide how to allocate time and money. Score each one on a scale from 1 to 5. Five is the highest score.
1. Do I have any investment in the community? By this I mean do you own any property in the area.
2. Do I have any personal ties to the community? By this I mean is it your hometown or do you have a strong emotional tie to the area.
3. Is it an activity you feel strongly about? Examples include education, art, music, etc.
4. Do I have the time to give? Double weight this score. ___ (score) x 2 = ___ actual score.
5. Can I make a difference? Double weight this score. ___ (score) x 2 = ___ actual score.
6. Will I be allowed to make a difference? Triple weight this score. ___ (score) x 3 = ___ actual score
Note the difference between questions 5 and 6. Question 5 is a reflection on the skills, knowledge, and experience you bring to an organization. Question 6 reflects on the organization's board and staff on accepting new ideas and methods. I have been on a few boards and the attitude is "do not rock the boat" and "we have tried that." You know what I mean.
Granted this is very simplistic. You can do this for every opportunity, and then you may have an idea on what makes the most sense. Your time and funds is a valuable commodity. So, consider how you decide your choices. If you have any comments, I look forwarding to hearing them. Please feel free to comment on my blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment