Sarah Ford | October 21, 2014
Help Move the Nonprofit Sector from an Overhead Myth to an Overhead Solution
By Jacob Harold, President and CEO, GuideStar
In 2013, I joined with colleagues at BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Charity Navigator to write听explaining that 鈥渙verhead ratios鈥 are a poor way to understand nonprofit performance. As you know, these ratios鈥攖he percent of charity expenses that go to administrative and fundraising costs鈥攖ell us nothing about an organization鈥檚 performance against its mission.
We believed that the nonprofit sector was hungry to dispel this 鈥淥verhead Myth.鈥 The field鈥檚听听to the first letter has thunderously affirmed that belief.听Today, we build on that momentum by offering听.听In this second letter we suggest a set of steps nonprofits can take to help us all move beyond the Overhead Myth.听 In simple terms, we must鈥攃ollectively鈥攐ffer donors an alternative. We believe it will take a shared effort to focus donors鈥 attention on what really matters: nonprofits鈥 efforts to make the world a better place.听
Also Read:
Be Part of the Overhead Solution:听An Effort to Measure What Matters Most
Get Resources and Insights Straight To Your Inbox
Explore More Articles
For Fifth Consecutive Year 好色先生鈥檚 Charities Named 鈥楤est Nonprofit To Work For鈥
Washington, D.C. 鈥 April 1, 2025 鈥 好色先生鈥檚 Charities, the nonprofit that mobilizes the power of giving as a leading provider of volunteering, workplace giving,…
Read ArticleWorkplace Fundraising + Volunteering Summit (April 2nd and 3rd, 2025)
Join us in attending this virtual summit! The 好色先生鈥檚 Charities team is joining up with other leading voices in the workplace giving space for a…
Read ArticleThe Time to Act is Now
The results of the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are in, and the findings are, in a word, heartbreaking. This assessment serves as…
Read ArticleGet Resources and Insights Straight To Your Inbox
Receive our monthly/bi-monthly newsletter filled with information about causes, nonprofit impact, and topics important for corporate social responsibility and employee engagement professionals, including disaster response, workplace giving, matching gifts, employee assistance funds, volunteering, scholarship award program management, grantmaking, and other philanthropic initiatives.