Charity Efficiency

Many of us give money and time to charitable organizations, such as churches, relief groups, disease-fighting groups, and more. When I give money, I don’t generally investigate the effectiveness of the organization in terms of how it uses its donations. I assume that it uses my money wisely to pursue its stated mission. It’s easy to forget that every organization must use some of its funding for overhead (utilities, salaries, supplies, travel, etc.) and fundraising. To me, a good charitable organization keeps these other expenses as low as possible so it can devote as much as possible to its cause.

A recent article on the most inefficient charities in America caught my attention. It’s a bit misleading and unfair because 1) some of these groups are extremely small, and 2) the impact of a charity cannot be measured solely in financial terms. However, it did make me wonder about some of my own favorite charities. So I looked them up:

• WorldVision - A large Christian organization that helps children and their communities with food, education, health care, and other needs. Efficiency: 89 percent
• ALARM - A small Christian organization that teaches reconciliation, trains pastors, and empowers women in sub-Saharan Africa. Efficiency: 83.7 percent
• Mission Arlington – A small Christian organization in Arlington that assists people in need of food, spiritual support, furniture, clothing, and health care. Efficiency: 93.9 percent

I think it’s worth a look when you’re deciding where to give, but again, don’t put too much faith in this metric. It’s most helpful for evaluating a charity that has a specific mission and raises money to fund specific programs.

The majority of our contributions go to our church, which has an “efficiency” of only 13.6 percent. Most of its expenses go to staff salaries and the building itself, and its impact cannot be measured simply in the financial cost of its programs. A church is, or should be, largely about spiritual impact and relationships, which are much more difficult to measure.

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