Last Friday, Amanda and I visited Mom's House to follow up with the donation they received last year from this program. After speaking to Executive Director Laura Bowen, we learned that the contribution was largely used for rebranding. The money allowed them to replace their old, dull sign with a logo bright enough to bring a smile to each visitor and staff member that drives up to their door. Laura expressed how their current budget and base donations are used to fund the services they supply day to day, leaving very little money for supplementary needs such as a new sign or a brochure.
From this experience, I have learned to trust the organizations that we choose with the freedom to utilize the money as they see fit. While legally we have the authority to determine the allocation of our donation, what makes us qualified to determine the greatest needs of an organization?
I have attached an image of their revamped sign, as well as the old one for comparison.
This is great. I'm glad to see what the organization put their money towards. I agree that it's important to give the organizations the autonomy they need. I visited CEO with Kyle and something I really realized is what our grants are actually meant for. The grants we give are rarely it seems large enough to fully fund a major project or serve as anything other than desperately needed supplemental funds. The money we gave CEO last year bought boots. It still hasn't been entirely used because it's a reserve fund for if and when they need more boots. If not for our grant, they would need to scrounge their budget later for money to buy boots. Mom's house seemingly would have had the same issue. I just feel like these visits have given me a new perspective on the purpose of our grants.
ReplyDeleteLindsey, I love the observations you talked about in class and I love the pictures you posted! I think that, while in class we talk a lot about what the community needs directly from our giving, one thing we tend to overlook is what the organizations need to continue functioning in society.
ReplyDeleteOne concept we talked about in class was whether it is better to give to individuals or to large organizations. One argument was that individual people have the agency to decide what they need more than an organization knows about them as an individual. I think Mom's House would support that argument, as proven by their use of their grant money. I think that while we debate services and hard evidence, they focused on moral. And honestly, for their organization, that was the best thing they could do with the gift they got.
Lindsey, nice job in following-up with Mom's house. Personally, I really like their organization and the services that they provide the community. In fact, Mom's House is a finalist of the group that I am a part of. One of the things that our group liked so much about Mom's House is how all of the programs seem to be geared toward self-sufficiency. They really seem to fill a great need in the community by assisting children and single-parents through education and child care services.
ReplyDeleteSometimes an organization needs a re-branding which often times translates into new energy and excitement increasing awareness, reach of services and fundraising opportunities. A group like Mom's House that has its programming down as demonstrated by the time they have been in service as well as the number of people they help each year is probably a wonderful candidate for this type of "make-over".
Nice job on the blog, I especially liked the photos!
Hi Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI think you make an interesting point about needing a certain amount of trust in an organization's ability to use their money effectively. One thing that shocked me as I went through the grant application questioner was the amount of organizations who planned to put the money towards "cosmetics" or other things that I might have thought as directly related to their mission statements. I must admit I was at first a little disappointed and unsatisfied but the productiveness of our $10,000. Admittedly, I was probably a bit naive to think that this grant could make all the difference for an organization and help them fight to end hunger, poverty, abuse etc...
However this whole process has helped me notice that having every dollar of a donation go directly towards fighting that mission statement is not always what is most effective or beneficial to an organization. The reality of life is that organizations have costs to cover and logistical things to take care of that help them to better solve the issue they are working towards. The Moms House signs are a great example of that. Do those new signs provide any direct benefit to a single parent--probably not. But it will provide awareness to the organization and perhaps draw in new donors or the attention of a new parent in need. I think this is important to keep in mind as we start our next process.