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Misconceptions about charity appraisal.
In order to rate a charity properly, it is paramount to define the terms used; what is a charity, a gift, a grant, fund raising costs, overhead, project costs, christian, poor, etc.? Even a word like 'we' needs to be defined when it is claimed that 'we' help so many millions of people. Often the use of these terms are understood differently by the charities themselves and potential doners. For that reason, and for clarity, it is necessary to dispel with some common myths about charities, their work, and their values. In so doing, we define the terms that we use in accordance with common usage.
Glossary (of ARK AID usage; not necessarily the same as the usage by charities)
Gift=input: what the donor gives to realize a project; (not the same as what charities receive from the donors and organizations, often indirectly by way of call centers, grants, money transfer agencies, etc.)
Grant: monies (not from the individual donor) transfered to and from charities.
Charity=non-profit: broadly defined as any organization that in any way contributes to the realization of the nonprofits goal to achieve beneficial results and produce impact for the good.
Charity-proper=output charity: the organization (often called a partner) that realizes the project on location (not the organizations that first solicit, receive, or transfer a donation)
Charity-chain: all the charities and organizations that are involved with a grant-transit.
Input charity: the organization that you send your gift to.
Support charity: the organization that facilitates the reception and transfer of donations to the Charity-proper, and sometimes chooses, advises and audits the Charity-proper; (not the organization that realizes the project on location).
Fund raising charity: a charity with the prime purpose of raising funds; not of the realization of the project on location.
Task=output=result=project=Outcome: the charitable cause for which the gift is given; (not what is needed to facilitate the gift acquisition or transfer)
Throughput: the transfer of funds in the charity chain
Project Overhead: total costs of all support-charities in the charity-chain and the charity-proper to realize the project. Individual support-charities each have their own overhead: (Input-Output=Project Overhead).
Gift-Transit-total: that which is left over of the gift received by the Charity or Support-Charity after deduction of costs; (is always less than the gift).
In order to rate a charity properly, it is paramount to define the terms used; what is a charity, a gift, a grant, fund raising costs, overhead, project costs, christian, poor, etc.? Even a word like 'we' needs to be defined when it is claimed that 'we' help so many millions of people. Often the use of these terms are understood differently by the charities themselves and potential doners. For that reason, and for clarity, it is necessary to dispel with some common myths about charities, their work, and their values. In so doing, we define the terms that we use in accordance with common usage.
Glossary (of ARK AID usage; not necessarily the same as the usage by charities)
Gift=input: what the donor gives to realize a project; (not the same as what charities receive from the donors and organizations, often indirectly by way of call centers, grants, money transfer agencies, etc.)
Grant: monies (not from the individual donor) transfered to and from charities.
Charity=non-profit: broadly defined as any organization that in any way contributes to the realization of the nonprofits goal to achieve beneficial results and produce impact for the good.
Charity-proper=output charity: the organization (often called a partner) that realizes the project on location (not the organizations that first solicit, receive, or transfer a donation)
Charity-chain: all the charities and organizations that are involved with a grant-transit.
Input charity: the organization that you send your gift to.
Support charity: the organization that facilitates the reception and transfer of donations to the Charity-proper, and sometimes chooses, advises and audits the Charity-proper; (not the organization that realizes the project on location).
Fund raising charity: a charity with the prime purpose of raising funds; not of the realization of the project on location.
Task=output=result=project=Outcome: the charitable cause for which the gift is given; (not what is needed to facilitate the gift acquisition or transfer)
Throughput: the transfer of funds in the charity chain
Project Overhead: total costs of all support-charities in the charity-chain and the charity-proper to realize the project. Individual support-charities each have their own overhead: (Input-Output=Project Overhead).
Gift-Transit-total: that which is left over of the gift received by the Charity or Support-Charity after deduction of costs; (is always less than the gift).