Balancing the Need for Flexible Support With Donors’ Desire to Measure Results

Donors increasingly want to see the results of their giving. That desire has contributed to the success of Kiva, the Web site that matches lenders in the United States with small business owners in poor countries.

And it has posed challenges for groups like Doctors Without Borders, the international medical charity, which typically does not raise money for specific programs or emergencies.

Doctors Without Borders emphasizes the importance of unrestricted support because the group doesn’t want to end up with more than it needs for one disaster and not enough for another, says Jennifer Tierney, director of development.

This year, the charity developed some fund-raising approaches meant to appeal to results-focused donors while also helping to maintain the organization’s independence and emphasis on flexible support.

They include:

• Giving donors the chance to support broad causes, like nutrition or HIV/AIDS. Doctors Without Borders determined that it could accept gifts for such purposes without hampering its ability to respond effectively. The response so far has been good: Morgan Stanley recently approved a $250,000 grant for Doctors Without Borders’ nutrition programs.

• Sending e-mail messages to supporters about its work helping victims of a disaster. After the recent disasters in the Asia Pacific, Doctors Without Borders contacted its supporters, not to ask for restricted gifts, but to inform them of the work its doctors were doing in those places. The solicitations resulted in about $70,000.

• Creating an online tool that allows donors to better understand how Doctors Without Borders responds to disasters, and why it needs flexible support. The Be There 1st campaign raised $25,000 in its two weeks. (For more, see this Chronicle article).

What are your thoughts on the tension between unrestricted money and showing results? What potential solutions has your organization identified?