Learning Series | Intro & Nonprofit Vetting

Summary: Our first video that discusses how companies can best work with the best nonprofits that deliver the mot impact to the people and places that need it.

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Transcript:

Andy - WeHero: Ben excited to have you here good Tuesday evening for you.

Ben - WeHero: Great. Tuesday evening. Excited to be here and do this with you.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah, well, just as a little background for everybody, Ben and I are the two co-founders that we hero. And so we spend just a lot of time thinking about how to help companies and individuals give back. And so, as we thought about challenges that companies we help are facing, we just thought it'd be helpful to start, you know, one talking to them about those problems, but also talking about the problems ourselves and how we think about solving them for companies. So yeah, we're gonna launch a series of, of videos and, and kind of having casual conversations about problems that everyone's facing and you know, how we tackle that and how other others in the industry tackle that as well. So excited to excited to get rolling here.

Ben - WeHero: Yeah, no, I think hopefully the things that we're thinking about are things that other people are thinking about. And we work with a lot of companies and a lot of individuals, and we talk about this every day and so hopefully we can help some people.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah. So I wanted to center today's discussion around what you and I think is probably the, our most important job. And this is really around vetting nonprofits. And so obviously vetting nonprofits is very important for the business that we do, whether it's giving or volunteering, you know, I'd love to hear from you just how you think about it and what your philosophy is around betting nonprofits.

Ben - WeHero: Yeah, I think so just to go into the background around why we vet nonprofits is, you know, we see the data that consumers you know, their donations, it goes down 1% over year while corporate giving goes up 5% year over year. But if you look behind that day down regard, like why consumer giving goes down one every year, it's lack of trust. I think a lot of people, for lack of a better word, been burned that have felt like their money or their time that they volunteered didn't make an impact. And so it's why the vetting process becomes all of a sudden, so, so important. And I think, you know, frankly, there are a lot of nonprofits out there, unfortunately that aren't making impact. They have a great brand they're putting out a lot of media and they're just, they're not doing what they're saying, they're doing.

Ben - WeHero: And that's the unfortunate piece of it. Well, we vet nonprofits, I think we're looking for a couple different things. One we're looking at the financials. We wanna really understand like how much money is going towards overhead, how much money is going into actual programs? What, what are the programs that're investing in and what are the results of those programs? I think it's really easy to go and investing money into these programs and these projects. What's the actual result of that. We really look for that in every organization we work with. And so first and foremost, it's, it's just a financial look. We also wanna look at the background in history. We use tools to do this guide is one of 'em charity navigators, another one of them. But also we speak in depth with every nonprofit organization we work with. We speak with the founders, we speak with the executive team. That's really important to us to understand what the goals of the organization are. And just the people that are actually behind us at the end of the day. They're just people. And so we wanna really understand the people and the goals that those people have and what their mindset is. And so we spend a lot of time having conversations and discussing the work that they're doing. So curious if you have anything to add, add to that just to,

Andy - WeHero: No, I think it's similar. I mean, obviously this is our philosophy starting. This is that, you know, we wanna drive support to the right nonprofits. And I think what you mentioned about impact, you know, just runs so true in, in what we believe, you know, we wanna measure impact per dollar and, you know, charity navigator and GuideStar. I mean, those are great organizations that have started to measure this. And so we're excited to, you know, see those databases continue. You know, just to challenge you a little bit, I think we sit in a really privileged position where we can get a nonprofit on the phone and we have a ton of experience doing this. You know, if you were sitting in, let's say you're an HR manager at a company who's been tasked to, you know, find somewhere to donate $10,000 and plan a volunteer events. How would you in 30 minutes find, you know, a nonprofit that you think is worthwhile and kind of meets the, the necessary level to, to invest in.

Ben - WeHero: Yeah. For great question. First and foremost, I'm guessing you have thematic area that you're looking at. And what I mean by that is that you're looking at, you know, potentially education potentially like, excuse me, sustainability health, for example. So figure out first and foremost, like what's that area or that industry, that space that you wanna actually place that donation, then it's like, okay, I know I wanna make a donation towards sustainability, for example, as a theme then it comes to what's the right nonprofit organization. I'm just gonna plug GuideStar here. Now, you know, that company's been acquired, but GuideStar still is an organization that you can use. It's just amazing. You get the wealth of data and understand just like what's happening at that organization. Thankfully nonprofits have to be transparent, their financials in their operations. And so guide starts a great way to do that.

Ben - WeHero: The company that acquired them is now candid. And so you can look up candid if you'd like that's C a N I D take a look at that organization. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to these organizations, organizations, jump on the phone with them, have a conversation like you would be surprised how many organizations are willing to have a conversation with you, especially if you're willing to make a substantial donation. I think having that piece of mind in regards to like, what's the actual impact my money would make it's worth taking the time to have that conversation. I don't know if you have anything you wanna add to that, Andy.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah, I totally agree. I think some of the challenges we've heard in the past is cause we always recommend GuideStar our charity navigator. Some people ask, you know, what, if we're trying to support a smaller nonprofit that isn't fully vetted on there. You know, I always tell people go to the, go to the nonprofits website if they don't list their financials or their, you know, I IRS filings or anything like that, you should probably be concerned. You know, transparency is a good thing. And so the more transparent a nonprofit is the, the better they're probably doing. And at the end of the day, it's, you know, in those small nonprofits really trusting your gut and having a good sense of where your dollars and time are going to.

Ben - WeHero: Yeah. I mean, when you're making a donation, your branch reputation's at risk. And so, and your reputation as an individual placing the gray, answer the donations at risk, and so doing your homework and yes, we love to support small activist groups for example, but to Andy's point, like you wanna make sure there's at least a year to two years of financials in the books that we can look at. Cause the last thing you want is that you put a lot of trust in the someone, and unfortunately the impact you hope that money would make isn't being made. And that's a challenge for the brand and yourself and the organization. And so do the homework, look for organizations that have a really good track record.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah. You know, would you ever work with an organization for a volunteer program if their financials aren't up to our standards? You know, that's say it's a one off volunteer program that you wanna wanna do in a thematic area. That's important to you. What do you work with them if their financials weren't up to stuff, but you were just doing a volunteer event with them

Ben - WeHero: To be totally honest. No. unless the company that we're working with for that volunteer event really pushed for it. And they felt that that nonprofit had a road for that was more positive. I think, and that's our job frankly, is unfortunately have that hard, no conversation sometimes and go like, look, our, our clients and the people that work with us and that volunteer. They, they, they come to us knowing that they're working with a top tier organization. And if we go back on that for one moment, we lose that credibility. And so I'm, I'm gonna be, you know, pressed to say, no, we don't wanna do that. And we understand that I think it's us to have empathy and go, you know, there's financial situations for nonprofits that are really tough, frankly. I mean, you know, we just look at 2020, for example, it's been really hard.

Ben - WeHero: See the number of nonprofits that have unfortunately have had to dissipate because of the situation. And so I think one thing's like there's financial situation, but I think back to the point that Andy and I always make is like comes down to the impact. We wanna see numbers that drive impact. And if that there's a nonprofit that can't get us to that number of like actually showing us the, the money's gonna make impact, then we have to unfortunately hit the eject button. And we have, we do that. I think every month we probably look at a nonprofit and unfortunately have to go, no, like this looks great, but we have to pull out because it's just not gonna make the impact that the clients deserve, that the volunteers that are dedicated their time deserve and that people that have are making a financial contribution, like they deserve that impact. And we have to eject to that point.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I mean, I think I can think back in, you know, our years of doing this, there's probably one or two situations where I think, you know, we underwrote the nonprofit and we weren't comfortable with it. Yeah. And through conversations with companies, you know, ultimately they had been working with that nonprofit and working to improve the issues that we had flagged. And they had a direct relationship with the people that were making the change. And oftentimes you see this with nonprofits bringing new management teams to professionalize. And so, so there are situations where, you know, we can learn more and obviously it, you know, relies on the companies. But I, I agree. I think, you know, there's, there's so many qualified nonprofits and every theme out there you don't need to lower standards ever. No matter the, the issue or the cost. So I think I agree with, with you there.

Ben - WeHero: Yeah.

Andy - WeHero: You know, this is a little bit of a, a, a challenging one. You know, if you are a company, once again, let's say you're sitting in the CEO seat, you had decided you wanted to donate $25,000 this year and you were gonna pick one nonprofit. Would you give that money, the nonprofit in requesting them to, to donate to a specific program within their nonprofit? Or would you make it a general gift so they can allocate it where it's needed most,

Ben - WeHero: I would always push to have it allocated where it's needed most. If we think about you as a CEO or an executive in a company, you know, what your business needs the most, cuz you're in the day to day, it's the same for these nonprofit employees. You look at a director level suite of people that are working at this nonprofit. They're gonna know where that money's need the most. And I think it's just up making sure you have that conversation and understanding where that money's gonna go and the actual impact that it's gonna make, because that's gonna be the most important part. I think you go and like, I wanna go to a specific program that's tough. I mean, these nonprofits, they have needs and they identify problems. And if they can use that money to solve a problem, think that's really powerful.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah, no, I, I couldn't agree more about that. I mean, allocating capital is their main job. And you know, if you have a conversation with someone who's running a nonprofit, you ask them, where's the highest need for funds right now you immediately note that, you know, the best ones are talking about why the funds are needed in the impact. And they face challenges when companies, individuals say, Hey, I only want program a, but the real need is program B. And you're delaying impact in that, in that way rather than kind of making the impact immediately.

Ben - WeHero: Yeah. And that's, you know, a good example is that there's organizations that have very popular programs and not so popular programs. And all of a sudden the popular programs get heavily funded in the not so popular programs that, you know, for lack of, again, a better term aren't as sexy. Like they don't get funded, but they make a huge amount of impact. And unfortunately, sometimes those get pushed to the side and that means people, sometimes that means environmental causes, whatever it is, unfortunately get pushed to the side and that's not what we want. The nonprofit knows what's needed at that time.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah. No, absolutely. All right. Some, some fun ones for you. Let's say your great-grandmother just died and gave you a million dollars to donate to one nonprofit, which nonprofit would you choose and why this is you personally,

Ben - WeHero: One nonprofit?

Andy - WeHero: One nonprofit.

Ben - WeHero: So a little bit of background in regards to why I'm gonna make the decision that I'm going to make. I think in the past few years we've been faced with a lot of major challenge. We've been faced with the pandemic. We've been faced with a lot of struggles within the economy we've been faced with, you know, a water crisis, for example, that continues to be ongoing. We have a health crisis that continues to be ongoing. We also

Andy - WeHero: Lot problem spend it's it's, you're, you're depressing us right now. You're not

Ben - WeHero: Trying to depress you, but in, in any case, like in the, these problems are gonna go, but I think one of the biggest challenges that we are all currently facing and will continue to face is climate. I think it's a problem that we hear more about every single day. I think it's a problem that more of us are becoming accustomed to unfortunately. I think climate's one of the greatest challenges of our generation and of our time. And so if I was given that money in wanting to make an impact, I would make a contribution towards an environmental organization. One that's either focused on a waste reduction, B carbon reduction or C making sure we are getting more of our most efficient carbon sequestering organisms in the ground, and those are trees. And so I would be focusing my resources there just given that we're, I personally believe we're some of our greatest challenges by the day around climate environment. Everybody, you know, need say like, you know, has their priorities and what they see as a high priority challenge or problem in our world today. And for me personally, Andy's putting the question to me personally, to me, that's, that's one of our greatest challenges that our entire population has to face right now. Actually, Andy curious, your take on that would like to push the question your way and go if your grandmother did the same thing to you, where would you put those funds?

Andy - WeHero: Yeah. I totally hear your point around the environmental. I actually steer in a different direction. You know, I think if I had a million dollars, I would try to think about what's the highest impact I could have immediately in that, from that million dollars. And so, you know, I always go to feeding people in the developing world. I, I, I, I used to have the stats off the top of my head about how many people die on a daily basis. I believe it's between 20 and 30,000 people die on a daily basis in Africa, from hunger and the amount of money that's needed to save. Those individuals is so small. And so I would probably send all of the money to those nonprofits. There's some incredible ones in Africa, so that we've worked with in the past. And I guess not that I'm trying to convince you, but I would say, you know, if we can save all of those lives, you know, what's the potential that they could create amazing things to solve our environmental crises and giving people the opportunity to, to build a life, to change others' lives.

Andy - WeHero: So that would probably be my, my choice

Ben - WeHero: To Andy's point. One of the amazing things about Andy's answer is he's right. The people that we save, you know, one things we look at with like the water crisis for example, is when we save those lives with the actual economic impact in those local communities, it's substantial. The same goes for education. When we work for organization like pencils or promise, for example, like the economic impacts substantial, actually curious question for you and cuz, and for those just little bash when Andy and I first started working together, one of the first books, Andy had me read this book called thirst, which was the story about the founding of charity water, which is a wonderful organization. And the water crisis along with, you know, the challenges millions are facing with food insecurity that both substantial challenges curious your take on why focus on food insecurity, for example, over water. Just curious your take personally. Again, this is a personal answer. We're not saying this is the way everybody has to

Andy - WeHero: Go. Yeah. I think the challenge is water is not as easy to fix as food. I think there's you know, there's plenty of food in the world to give these individuals whereas water is more of a systemic issue related to clean water sources as well as sanitation. And so I think I'd probably do both because you need long term change in water source and sanitation to really change these people's lives. Otherwise they're gonna, you know, face different diseases next week. And so I'd probably divide it, but I think food is such an easier thing to solve for than water, which is a very complex issue. You can't just build toilets in the developing world. They don't have electricity. And so the likelihood of sewage to seep in any water sources is so high. And so there's a lot of chow to that problem. One that smart people are, are fixing right now, which is awesome. But yeah, I, I think water, I would still give to water, but not as much

Ben - WeHero: If anybody wants Andy and I to have a dedicated conversation about food and water comment on this video, cuz we'll have a, a follow up dedicated conversation about our thoughts around food and water.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah. All right. Last question for you, Ben. You're once again, you're in that CEO's seat you know, he was donating $25,000 a year. His, his company just, you know, blew up and now he's donating a hundred million a year and he's wondering if he can still, and if he should still donate to the same nonprofits or if giving too much to a nonprofit, isn't always a good thing. Like does scale matter at these nonprofits when you're thinking about donating and how much do you want your donate to be of a total nonprofits revenue?

Ben - WeHero: If you think about your personal financial situation, you know, one of the things you you may think about is how you diversify your own personal portfolio, the same should go for when you're making substantial donations to a nonprofit or a series of nonprofits is again, we're looking for impact and we're looking for the best success rates of impact that we can get across a series of nonprofit organizations. Think one thing you think about is nonprofits increase impact as they scale their organizations and their ability to create impact. So for example, if you 10 X, the amount that you're donating to a nonprofit organization, that's wonderful, both the organiz itself doesn't have the resources to deploy that 10 X and investments and donations to the organization that impacts not gonna come for a very long time. And there's risks at that. There's organizational risks as people, as these organizations bring on more people expand locations.

Ben - WeHero: And so like you would with your personal portfolio, I would say I, I would advocate for diversity, spread it across a series of nonprofit organizations that are well vetted. Take the opportunity when you have funds like that to go across a couple different thematic areas. So if you're doing sustainability, for example, maybe branch out to what Andy was talking about around food insecurity and water. If we look get the 17 SDGs that the United nations has, like a lot of these are related. When we look at education foods, sustainability, clean energy, like these all relate, they all tie together. So think about that and tie these organizations in your donations together and spread that out. Cause at the end of the day, when you do that, and you have organiz that are working together and sustainable development goals that are working together, you can really maximize impact. And we have a long conversation about that, but I would, I would advocate for that and, and diversify those donations. And for anybody that's invested that position, that's a wonderful, wonderful position to be in.

Andy - WeHero: Yeah, no, I echo that. I think spreading the spreading the impact around is probably best and understanding that just like any business, you know, takes time to scale just like you said. So a hundred percent agree. I think the other thing I would plug here even more are those sustainable development goals that the UN came out of. If you're sitting at a company or in a, in a seat to decide which thematic areas you wanna focus on, this should be your guide. And, you know, just go ahead and Google UN sustainable development goals or call Ben. And I, we could, we could talk for probably two hours about the importance of these goals, but it really should be the center of where you're aligning your strategies to. And it's the things that need to be improved so that, you know, our globe and our world and the individuals here can live a better life in a hundred years from now. So that's the final question I have for you Ben, any last thoughts on our first inaugural video here?

Ben - WeHero: The sustainable development goals. If you go to we hero's website, we have a blog that talks about how to navigate those additionally or volunteer programs, all align with those sustainable development goals. And so reach out to us and to Andy's point, he's made it numerous times, like, you know, we have these conversations because making these decisions they're really hard and they're really challenging and doing the right thing and putting resources, whether it's time, whether it's money, whether it's corporate resources, the company has like, those are big decisions. And so we're here to help and make sure we guide those decisions in the right way. Cause at the end of the day, we're all looking to make impact. I mean our jobs and our lives with our families and with the community new that we live in and the world that we live in. And so we're here to do that. So Andy, any final thoughts you wanna add?

Andy - WeHero: No, I think this was a great conversation and look forward to having, you know, many more to come as well as bringing on some special guests and thanks everyone for listening and yeah, appreciate it.

Ben - WeHero: Thanks everybody.