Update:
I recognize that Komen has now pledged to continue to fund Planned Parenthood.  They stood by their original assertion that the change in policies was to protect donor dollars from going to organizations who were under investigation.  They’ve clarified how they plan to continue distributing the grants, and it looks like Planned Parenthood will continue to receive money.

Last week, I contributed a post to Millennial Chat called a Millennial’s Guide to Giving.  It was meant for those who are just starting out in the world of charitable giving.  However, I think that information is relevant to a new situation that’s quickly become a philanthropic and political hot button issue.  If you haven’t heard by now, Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced that the way they distribute community health grants is changing, potentially affecting the dollars they have given to Planned Parenthood to provide breast health screenings at their centers.

As a two-time Race for the Cure participant who’s looking forward to the Indy race in the spring and someone who has accessed healthcare services at Planned Parenthood, as well as a previous donor to both organizations, I was immediately interested in educating myself about the situation.  As a donor, I think it’s really important to always be educated about what nonprofits are doing with your money.  In this post, I won’t tell you what to do with your money or which organization I think is right.  (I think they’ve both done positive and negative things in this situation.)  Before you destroy that pink blender you bought last week, here’s what you should know about the situation as a donor:

Always know what impact you would like your dollars to have.
As a donor, this is the number one thing you must do.  If you do not decide on a goal for your money, you can’t complain when an organization doesn’t do what you want it to do with your donation.  Before you give to an organization, decide what broad impact you would like your money to have.  State it in goal form for yourself.  In this situation, some potential goals you might have are: “I want my dollars to fund breast health screenings for any woman who needs it.”  I want my dollars to fund reproductive healthcare for low-income women.” “I want my dollars to fund breast cancer research.” “I want my dollars to promote political action.”

It is your responsibility as a donor to do your research.  It’s an organization’s responsibility to be transparent with you about what will happen to your money. 

You need to know what an organization will (and won’t) do with your money.  Komen and Planned Parenthood are 501c3 organizations, which means that your contributions are tax-deductible, but Komen and Planned Parenthood both also run 501c4s meant for political action and advocacy.  Those contributions are NOT tax-deductible.  This is why it’s imperative that you know what you’re trying to accomplish.  (Organizations aren’t trying to trick you either- there are federal regulations in place that require some of their lobbying efforts to be separate from their charitable purposes.  501c4s are going to pay lobbyists, not healthcare professionals of any sort.)  If you’re not sure what will happen to your money, contact the development staff at the organization.  They should be able to give you a plain language answer to your questions.  Don’t give until you’re satisfied that the organization you’re choosing will help your money achieve your goal.  If you want your money to do something very specific, most organizations will allow you to do what’s called “donor designation.”  This means that you earmark your money for a specific purpose.  Ask the development staff about ways to designate at their organization.  You can always choose another organization if you can’t give the way you want.

Respect that organizations you give to are experts in their fields.
Sometimes, it’s best to let an organization decide where your money is most needed.  Komen funds Planned Parenthood in certain areas of the country right now through a series of community health grants because Komen felt that Planned Parenthood was the best provider in those areas.  (In total, Komen funds 19 current Planned Parenthood programs in the country.)  Komen also funds hospitals, clinics, and other nonprofits who provide the same kind of preventative breast health screenings that Planned Parenthood does.  Any time an organization decides to grant another organization money, there are criteria that the organization providing services must meet in order to receive the money.  This is so that the money is used for the services it’s intended for, for the population it’s intended to serve, and ultimately, so the dollars have the desired impact.  Most people I know wouldn’t have the skills or knowledge to evaluate public health service providers in such a way to determine who could offer the best care.  They trust the granting organization to determine this.  The crux of the issue for Komen is that the public is questioning the way they decided upon their new granting criteria.  Some people are accusing Komen of creating their new criteria based on political or personal motivations.  As a donor, you must decide if you will continue to trust an organization to make decisions about how to use your money.

Don’t believe everything you click on.
I’ve been seeing a lot of inaccurate cartoons, petitions, and various other messages all over social media since this happened.  Some of these messages were developed by the two organizations involved, while others were created by individuals not associated with either cause.  Here’s the truth about organizations: they want you to support them.  Just like advertisers who want you to be loyal to their brand of cars, clothes, shoes, or restaurant, fundraisers hope you’ll choose their brand, too.  In this case, both brands claim to do really good things for women’s health.  But how do you know if this is true?  Some fundraisers might not like this comparison, but donating is a lot like shopping.  Are you going to buy a car just because you like the commercials?  And if your friend told you she received terrible service last week at your favorite restaurant, would you quit going there?  Would you quit using your mascara just because someone on Facebook posted a photo of someone who got a rash from it?  I hope you wouldn’t.  Treat your charitable giving with the same kind of caution.  For example, I researched and found out that my local Komen affiliate has never funded Planned Parenthood in Indiana anyway.  They fund lots of other great organizations here, but this decision won’t affect where the money from my local race goes.  (Planned Parenthood’s latest email to me made it sound like women would no longer receive breast health screenings at all if I didn’t open my wallet today.)  Fundraisers will try to make things sound urgent to you so that you’ll give right away.  (It’s based on the very same reason you’ll run down to your local department store for a one day sale.)  Understand that nonprofit organizations are doing good work, but as a donor, you have the time to “comparison shop” and give responsibly.  So before you decide where to give, take the time to look at both organizations’ websites, read their press releases, read articles from reputable news sources, independent bloggers, and everything in between.  Be an educated donor.

For more on Komen, visit http://www.komen.org or visit their 501c4 at http://www.komenadvocacy.org

For more on Planned Parenthood visit http://www.plannedparenthood.org or visit their 501c4 at http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org