A Former Fund Raiser Urges Charities and Donors to Focus on Small Gifts

Wendy Smith is a cheerleader for the small donor. Charities may focus on the big donations, but in Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World, Ms. Smith reminds Americans that giving by individuals adds up to a huge sum — $229-billion in 2007.

She says most of that total comes from households that earn less than $100,000 per year and fund raisers ignore such modest donors at their own peril. “Collectively, it is everyday citizens who are the extraordinary philanthropists of our time,” writes Ms Smith, who is herself a former fund raiser, most recently at BuildOn, a charity that runs after-school programs.

When individuals realize that they are contributing to a pool that dwarfs the annual spending of giants like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (which made grants worth about $2-billion in 2007), they will be inspired to give even more, says Ms. Smith.

She devotes most of Give a Little to profiling small charities that she believes would be worthy recipients of any additional donations that Americans can afford. Nearly all the groups she highlights work to alleviate poverty. Among them: Bridges to Prosperity, which builds footbridges in Asia, Africa, and South America, and Potters for Peace, which teaches people in developing countries how to use ceramic water-purification filters.

Ms. Smith recently talked to The Chronicle about her new book.

What inspired you to write Give a Little?

There were a whole bunch of single incidents. The very first thing was a grant-writing workshop I attended early in my fund-raising career. The presenter put up that “Giving USA” pie chart that shows that 75 percent of giving comes from individuals. I remember being stunned, and thinking, “Why are we all sitting in this workshop competing for the small pot of money from foundations, when there’s this huge pot sitting over here of folks giving willingly and to multiple organizations, year after year?” The perception is that the overwhelming majority of giving comes from foundations and corporations, or those single large donations from a Warren Buffett or an Oprah Winfrey, when really the truth is that it is coming from everyday households. The giving by individuals just doesn’t get any press.

Then I started hearing about these social entrepreneurs who were doing remarkable things with small amounts of money in developing countries. Bridges to Prosperity has no paid staff. Potters for Peace has three. These groups are operating with very, very little overhead, and are generating huge returns for donors’ dollars. I wanted to get the word out to the general public.

If small gifts are so important, why do charities spend most of their time and budgets cultivating major donors?

We’re working as fund raisers going after the golden egg, when there’s this rich field that is going uncultivated. The problem is that most charities don’t have a budget for big direct-mail campaigns, which is how you reach the small donors. I have some ideas for nonprofits about reaching the small donor. A lot of it can be done electronically. Most charities could do a better job with their Web sites using social media and e-mail to attract everyday donors.

You write that AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis could be controlled worldwide if the billion people living in the world’s wealthy nations each gave $4.50 per year. What will it take to get a greater number of individuals to give to improve global health?

It takes a “Give a Little” movement — that’s exactly my aim. It takes a widespread realization among everyday citizens not only across the United States, but across the world, that small giving does matter. The world has gotten much, much smaller in the last 10 years. Younger people, beginning in elementary and high school, are doing service projects and connecting via the Internet with groups in developing countries. I think a new wave of giving will be going to international causes. The Internet has the power to disseminate information about the ramifications of poverty in Kenya for the United States. We can see it in real time.

What do the charities profiled in your book have in common?

They’re entrepreneurial. They’re applying a businesslike sensibility to their operations. They understand that outcomes may only be generated after a certain period of time, that it takes an investment to realize a return. They’re closely connected to the individuals who are living in the areas they serve — they get input from those people and develop services and technologies that those folks tell them they need. They’re doing work that is sustainable so that it can continue when they leave.

You mention a lot of charities in the book which one is your favorite?

The very first one I heard about was Bridges to Prosperity. I heard Ken Frantz, the founder, being interviewed on NPR about the power of a footbridge. I thought, of course, a footbridge! The opportunities available by being able to safely cross a river to access markets, health care, education, and other civil services are absolutely transformative.

Ken founded the group after seeing a picture. He was waiting for his truck to be serviced when he came across a picture in National Geographic of men crossing a broken bridge. These are the kinds of opportunities that are coming to us — we have access to so much more information and images that inspire people. We’re not all going to be Ken Frantz, but I am incredibly inspired by Ken, and I sure do want to support his work.

How much do you personally give?

I am an average donor. I’m a single parent. I have my particular causes that inspire me that I feel will make a long-term impact on the world. I might have made one $500 donation in my lifetime. Overwhelmingly, my donations are under $100.

What advice would you give to a donor who can free up an extra $100 to give away to another charity or two? How should that donor get started?

The first thing they should do is think about what inspires them, find their passion. When people read the newspaper, or are watching the news on TV, there are going to be stories that move them. I read a story yesterday about families living in storage units, for lack of income and housing. I immediately thought about giving to the local food bank. You don’t have to think, “How am I going to solve homelessness?” Think about it in much smaller chunks: “How can I help that family meet their basic needs now?”

CHOOSING A CHARITY

In her book Give a Little, Wendy Smith, a former fund raiser, urges potential donors to consider whether a charity they want to support:

• Creates substantial change in the lives of people it assists.
• Can demonstrate measurable long-term results. Kickstart International, a charity featured in the book that sells reduced-cost water pumps to help small farmers irrigate cropland, can show donors how a $60 donation helps lift an individual out of poverty.
• Generates high returns. A $25 gift that helps a family become self-sufficient will grow exponentially in value, over the months and years that a family no longer requires government or community support.
• Passes the common-sense test. Does its approach seem likely to produce the desired results? Look at annual reports, observe the charity in action, and talk to staff members, board members, and donors.