Best way to donate?
February 5, 2017 1:47 PM   Subscribe

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of my financial contributions to anti-fascist organizations, I'd like to ask what's the best way for my family to make a donation.

Let's say I want to give $20 a month to the ACLU: is it better to make one donation of $20 under my name, or should we split it into $10/month from me and my wife? Does having two supporters in our democracy outweigh the hassle and credit card charges for the ACLU?
posted by Mag Plug to Law & Government (2 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Credit card fees can really eat into your donation (usually around 2.7% goes to fees). I would consolidate the donation, unless one of you donates to the tax-deductible arm of the ACLU and the other donates to the non-deductible arm. The non-deductible portion is better for the ACLU, but if you can increase the tax deductible donation by having it matched by an employer, that would be a good reason to split it.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 1:55 PM on February 5, 2017 [1 favorite]


From the org's perspective, having two donors instead of one in their sustainer program would increase their number of sustainers but decrease their average donation per sustainer. Both are which are useful metrics.

Getting you and your spouse to increase your donation by 7$/month to 17$ sometimes is a lot easier than getting one of you to increase your dual monthly from 20$->34$.

If you and your spouse ever split, your donation history should follow each of you separately. This might have implications on membership levels at the org, or tax implications for you. You might qualify for better schwag depending on how they measure donation levels.

From the orgs perspective a monthly donor is more engaged and valuable than a one time donor giving the same amount over the same timeframe. You have to work harder to get the one time donor to give again next year.

You could also just cut them a check for 240$ and mail it tomorrow and dodge all the fees and worry.
posted by enfa at 2:40 PM on February 5, 2017 [1 favorite]


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