To Give or Not to Give: Sponsoring Friends in Fund-Raising Events

This week, in Slate’s new advice column on philanthropic dilemmas, the mother and daughter team Patty and Sandy Stonesifer tackle the question weigh the merits of supporting friends involved in an endless stream of bike/walk/read-for-a-cause events that seek to raise money for charity.

Before agreeing to make a donation to sponsor a friend’s participation in such an “eventathon,” Patty Stonesifer, former president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (and current chair of the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents) and her daughter suggest that would-be donors ask themselves four questions:

• Would the beneficiary charity figure on your “top 20” list of causes?

• Has the organization made demonstrable progress toward achieving its goals?

• Are the individual’s or organization’s efforts ones you want to support and encourage?

• Does the charity’s profile on Web sites maintained by the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, and other watchdog groups suggest that it uses its fund-raising revenue efficiently? (An established charity, says Ms. Stonesifer, should spend from 5 to 15 percent of its resources on fund raising.)

If the answers to any of these questions give you qualms, Ms. Stonesifer recommends declining gracefully with a diplomatic “hug-and-release” attitude.