NGOs Have Many Missions, But a Single Need

We read about them all the time…Volunteer doctors who travel to developing nations and global hotspots to dispense free medical care… 

Attorneys who forego high-paying Wall Street salaries to fight for people convicted of crimes they did not commit…Researchers and scientists who dedicate their lives to protecting endangered species and ecosystems.

Non-Governmental Organizations:

Whether it’s Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, or even your local Kiwanis Club, these groups all qualify as NGOs—Non-Governmental Organizations. And while their sizes and missions can vary wildly, they all share a similar need: Money.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are voluntary groups operating independently from the government and dedicated to various humanitarian, social, and environmental causes. Functioning everywhere in the world, NGOs are often at the forefront of human rights, consumer protection, and environmental causes, yet can also serve as lobbying groups for corporate or political interests, be they liberal, conservative, or anywhere in between. The American Cancer Society and the Ronald McDonald House Charities are NGOs. But so are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the World Economic Forum.

 Because they are, by definition, not affiliated with any government, NGOs must usually finance their operations via a combination of member dues, licensed merchandise sales and, most important of all, private donations. Fundraising is therefore central to any NGO’s operations, regardless of its size or mission. 

This is where sophisticated, cutting-edge tools like DonorSearch become invaluable.

DonorSearch uses artificial intelligence (AI) to examine an organization’s donor list and evaluate each candidate along a variety of axes. In particular, it identifies not only how much donors have given in the past, and at what frequency, but why they chose to give, so that fundraisers can appeal to them in compelling language they understand.

HonestReporting

HonestReporting is an NGO that was founded in the year 2000 as a media watchdog group dedicated specifically to flagging stories it believes are biased against the State of Israel or contain other antisemitic content. The organization is a United States 501(c)3 registered charity headquartered in New York City, with its editorial staff based in Jerusalem. It also possesses affiliates in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Brazil, and Australia/New Zealand.

On its website, HonestReporting offers the following mission statement: “We embrace the principle that a healthy democracy requires a well-informed citizenry. Accordingly, the mission of HonestReporting is to ensure truth, integrity, and fairness, and to combat ideological prejudice in journalism and the media, as it impacts Israel. We engage the next generation and educate the public to understand and value the above aspirations.”

In addition to its media watchdog activities, HonestReporting also organizes trips to Israel so that writers and reporters can have “the opportunity to observe the real facts on the ground.” According to its website, “You will discover the beauty and complexity of Israel and receive insights that go beyond the headlines during exclusive closed-door briefings with top officials and academics.”

How DonorSearch Helped:

As a charity, HonestReporting has a score of 95.47 and a 4-Star rating from CharityNavigator.org, itself an NGO. Its annual budget is about $2 million a year, most of which is raised through private donations. Jerry Glazer, HonestReporting’s Director of Finance and Administration, explained how DonorSearch became an indispensable tool in its outreach activities. 

“Our chief fundraiser requested that we improve our donor search capabilities and figure out a way of getting reports that could provide us with better donor search information,” Glazer said. “In doing this, I was tasked with meeting with the DonorSearch staff—which was actually a very pleasant experience—and making sure we had better donor search tools, which we have done successfully. This has certainly improved our operations. 

“We have actually brought in a new fundraiser who is familiar with the DonorSearch engine, and he has used it to elevate the level of giving from the prospects that we had before,” he continued. “The DonorSearch engine simply gives him the tools he can use to target the right people to help support our cause. We’ve certainly seen for individual fund-raisers that their fundraising has increased year to year, and we know that this is in particular due to DonorSearch identifying new opportunities and the fundraisers following up to improve the level of giving from the various donors. I definitely recommend to others to use DonorSearch; there is no question that it’ll change the bottom line as well as help the teams work in a more efficient way,” Glazer concluded.

Glazer’s positive experience is no outlier for NGOs similarly seeking fundraising breakthroughs assisted by AI. Specifically, DonorSearch can help your organization:

• Identify donors who have a capacity to give and possess an affinity for your cause.
• Expand your prospect list with our philanthropy-focused search database.
• Predict a prospect’s giving capacity with accurate, secure giving intelligence data.

To see how DonorSearch can increase the efficiency and efficacy of your NGO’s fundraising, please contact www.DonorSearch.net to arrange for your free demonstration.