Number of Charities and Foundations Passes 1.2 Million

http://philanthropy.com/blogPost/Number-of-Charities-and/21832/?sid=&utm_source=&utm_medium=en

When I read this, my questions are:

Are charities created to support needs that aren’t already being well met or met at all?

If so, does this mean there are approximately 1.2 million (realizing foundations could support many different causes) causes/needs that aren’t being addressed by other means (or not addressed effectively)?

If we can’t adequately fund many (most) of the charities around today, won’t having more of them make that more difficult?

(I realize this is an oversimplification and funny math, but stick with me for a second. I want to know your thoughts on this.)

My hypothesis is that many of these charities (and foundations) are duplicates, meaning they support areas already being supported by other charities and foundations, sometimes even in the same city. There are certainly situations where this makes sense, but I contend there are many times when it would behoove these entities to collaborate if not merge. Not only might they have a better chance at garnering support (and more of it), but the impact they could have might be doubled, if not tripled or quadrupled.

We may have gained 61,662 tax-exempt 501 c organizations between 2008-09, but I have to wonder how many we lost because of little or no funding support. According to this article, even some of this very number are already defunct concerns. (The IRS acknowledges that an unknown number of the groups classified under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code are still on the agency's books, even though they have shut down.)

We have a GREAT need for these wonderful organizations. I hate to see them wither and die because someone didn’t counsel the founders into investigating the synergistic relationship opportunities already available locally or regionally. I also know of situations where an agency will find its synergistic partner only to have that agency’s leadership (president, CEO, and/or governing board) refuse to partner for personal, philosophical, political, scholarly, or other reasons. Pride, paranoia, envy, and/or greed can kill a lot of potential good.

Sustainability may never be promised, but you can come close through good planning and strategy. Part of that strategy may be a partnership rather than going it alone. It’s not about you, after all. It’s about those you want to help. Is it worth it for them? If you don’t think so, I would question why you want to create a charity in the first place.

Posted via email from Karl Miller's Posterous