I don’t know how old you are, but I’m old enough to vividly remember how 7up launched a huge campaign in the 90s with the slogan “It’s cool to be clear”. This Fido Dido wisdom still holds today, and is actually a great guideline for charity organisations.Let me explain this. Working for a research company, Ruigrok | NetPanel, we were asked by 1%CLUB to find out what Dutch people think of and know about the subject of development cooperation (‘ontwikkelingsssamenwerking’ as we call it) between our country and other countries.
About 40% of the Dutch public thinks that helping the developing countries actually improves their situation (while 12% thinks it worsens it). We found out that in the last 12 months, 45% of the Dutch people has donated money to this cause, and 7% helped out by doing something themselves. I won’t go into too much detail, but if you’re interested Niels Jansen can tell you much more about the results.
Now here comes the interesting part. Our research also shows that, when donating money to organisations which help developing countries, the most important consideration is the TRANSPARENCY about what is done with the money. People who donate money want to know about what it is used for, and shy away from supporting organisations that do not reveal where the money goes. A big fear is that the donated money is used to pay the people working for these organisations rather than the people they are trying to help.
This particular research finding clearly shows that the 1% CLUB concept is … well, a good one. Through the 1%CLUB website, you can choose practical projects which improve life for those who aren’t as privileged as we are. You don’t support a general cause but a tangible effort. What you see/support is what you get.
This also shows that it’s important for 1%CLUB project leaders (people who set up projects in other countries, for example the Breakdance Project in Guatemala) to be open and upfront about where the money is spent on. Usually, the project plan on the 1%CLUB website describes this in detail. (The Breakdance Project used its donations for buying the sound system used during the lessons. It doesn’t get much more concrete than that.) Being transparent also means giving supporters an occasional update about the money spent.
In conclusion, the 1%CLUB projects are definitely clear. And I thinks that’s pretty cool.
Author is Arjan van Geel, senior project leader at Ruigrok | Netpanel: a full service market research company. Ruigrok | Netpanel specializes in quantitative and qualitative online research.
