Is There an Entity to Consolidate My Donations?

November 14, 2016 8:32 AM

I want to contribute to a range of orgs like those below. I'm worried that by fanning out my contribs I'll increase risk of my opt-out request being ignored. Is there some umbrella entity I can contribute to, which supports causes like those below, so I only need to deal with one entity (preferably one with ironclad privacy options and terrific efficiency stats)?

I'm interested in non-extreme-lefty causes like these (recommended by John Oliver on last night's show):

Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Front
Planned Parenthood
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
the Trevor Project
National Resources Defense Council
International Refugee Assistance Project

If there's no such entity (or none with a suitably tight fit), I'll just choose one and write a big check, but I'd rather spread it around.

posted by Quisp Lover to Grab Bag (11 answers total)

Just a word about "efficiency" stats--nonprofits will be hit just as hard as everyone else by insurance turmoil under a GOP administration. "Overhead" often includes life or death healthcare for nonprofit employees--please don't make it the hill you die on.
posted by kelseyq at 8:38 AM on November 14, 2016 [21 favorites]

Whenever I donate, I specifically request that I not be sent any further solicitations and that they not share/sell my information. This is effective about 90 percent of the time. If I ever do get a mailing, I just email the development office and ask to be removed. They are always very eager to make donors happy: That's their job.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:40 AM on November 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

Speaking as a former non-profit fundraiser, there is almost no chance that your opt-out requests will be ignored. They may be inadvertently missed or coded incorrectly in the database due to human error, but non-profits do NOT want to piss off donors by ignoring their stated communication preferences.

The big one is telling them you don't want your information being shared--this is called "exchange" and if you tell them "no exchange" that'll do it.
posted by Automocar at 8:45 AM on November 14, 2016 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: kelseyq: I'm aware of "CharityNavigator Syndrome", where "efficiency" becomes the end-all/be-all stat (forcing orgs to hide their efficiency issues, and some truly good orgs to be spurned). So I'm normally not hung up on that. But in this specific case, I'm concerned with "double taxation" in terms of overhead expense if I make my contrib from upstream.

Mr. Know-it-some: 90% jibes with my experience, as well. Hence my concern re: contributing to many orgs. And my worry is that laggards might share/sell my info before I have a chance to call their dev office. It's not some mortal fear, and I'll give no matter what (my societal fears greatly exceed my junk mail fears), but I'm just trying to be prudent.
posted by Quisp Lover at 9:21 AM on November 14, 2016

Sorry to state the obvious, but I often use an alternate email address or SpamGourmet for such things. Or are you concerned about snail mail?
posted by splitpeasoup at 9:34 AM on November 14, 2016

I use a different middle initial for each donation I make. Then when I get mail from someone else, I'll know who sold them my name.
posted by Marky at 10:22 AM on November 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Quick correction:
MALDEF
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational FUND
posted by calgirl at 11:13 AM on November 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Oh, man, yeah, thanks, calgirl! Yikes!
posted by Quisp Lover at 12:42 PM on November 14, 2016

Best answer: Have you looked into giving via Justgive.org or networkforgood.org? They pass your donations on to your designated non-profit. You can choose to have your name and contact info withheld from the non-profits. There is a fee but I find it is worth it to have just one website and credit card expense to donate to multiple recipients, and to be able to remain anonymous to those that I know are pretty relentless in their follow up solicitations. I did not search to see if your desired charities are in their databases.
posted by evilmomlady at 3:15 PM on November 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, evilmomlady! I'm particularly happy that we pay the fee, so we know 100% of our contrib gets passed on. Smart model.

My only issue is how I get official proof (for taxes) of my donation, but I'm sure they've figured that out.
posted by Quisp Lover at 3:29 PM on November 14, 2016

Network for Good will email you a receipt, and you can also log into their website and get your donation history (sortable and printable). If you set up recurring donations, they'll email you each month reminding you that the donation is scheduled, and then a receipt after it's done.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 3:35 PM on November 14, 2016 [1 favorite]