Social commentator Seth Godin published the following blog post today (below https://seths.blog/2018/10/non-profit-overhead/) that is worth reading. This topic that is a perennial source of disagreement in the philanthropic industry, with people feeling passionate about their positions on both sides of the debate.
Non-profit overhead
Skeptical non-donors often point to the amount a charity spends on non-direct spending as a reason to hesitate in contributing. It’s easy to imagine that a cause that spends 90% of what it raises on direct action (not HQ, not salaries, not fundraising) is better than one that spends 80%.
We say we care about overhead, but what we really care about is impact, or status, or momentum. What we measure isn’t a simple percentage, it’s a lot deeper than that.
Waste isn’t a good thing. Of course not. But leaving aside the football teams and the jets at some colleges, those high salaries at some non-profits might just be buying insights and effort that you can’t get any other way. And those leaders might be bringing strategic insights and efficiencies to their cause that a well-meaning bootstrapper just can’t deliver.
Everywhere else in our lives, we happily invest in the best solution to our problem. Whether it’s surgery, vegetables or a designer, we seek to invest in expertise and resources that not only fit our budget but get the job done.
If a problem is worth solving, it’s worth engaging with the right people to solve it with urgency, isn’t it?