EDITORIAL: ‘It’s a great cause, but ...’

Summer is the time to frolic in the sun. In Minnesota, it’s also the time for nonprofit charitable organizations to generate much-needed money through high-profile, outdoor fundraising events.

Already this summer, McLeod County residents have enjoyed an annual pork chop dinner fundraiser hosted by the the McLeod County Historical Society and the Gathering in the Garden sponsored by the McLeod Alliance for Victims of Domestic Violence. Both events attracted good crowds and were important to the success of those two nonprofits.

In the coming weeks, we’ll see more events, including the Habitat 500 Bike Ride, the Scramble for Life Golf Tournament, the BASICS Concert Benefiting the MS Society, the Relay for Life and others.
Which events or causes deserve your hard-earned dollars? That’s a decision only you can make.

The decision really comes down to two things:
1) How you value the services that the nonprofit provides, and

2) How you value the fundraising event you attend. If it’s a benefit concert or golf tournament, you might view your donation as more of an entertainment cost than a charitable donation. It depends on your point of view.

Help from an independent source
The Charities Review Council of Minnesota wants you to make informed and thoughtful decisions. We agree with this approach. We think well-run charities should be efficient with your dollars, and give as much back to the community as possible.

This desire for efficiency is one reason Bill Gates departed Microsoft last week to spend all of his time on philanthropy. Mr. Gates is credited with creating a novel kind of philanthropy: transparent, globally oriented yet locally active, engaged in both gifting and empowerment. The truly novel aspect about his foundation is that it is not self-sustaining. In fact, it is designed to spend all of its endowment within 50 years of the demise of its founders. That might work well for Mr.