Help them help you

There's an interesting article in this week's New York Times Magazine about Kiva, a microfinance non-profit that matches sponsors with third-world entrepreneurs. The organization has generated so much interest among supporters that it sometimes runs out of loan-seekers to give money to.

Kiva's lenders get regular updates from the businesses they sponsor; 99.84% do well enough to repay their loans. How awesome would it feel to know that you contributed to such a track record?

The Kiva story reminded me of two related experiences I've had in the non-profit world:

1. A local charity acknowledged my contribution to its Feline Fund with a form letter about its rescue of a... Rottweiler. Over the holidays, it sent out a direct mail solicitation featuring fictitious animals that have never come through its shelter.

The organization's management laments that given their limited budget, it's tough to find funding for systems and processes that improve the level of accountability they provide. The question is, can they (and the countless other traditional charities in their shoes) compete against Kiva-like upstarts without modernizing their operations?

2. Last Friday another organization emailed me with the good news that they've managed to increase the value of my two donations by more than 100x. They plan to use the proceeds to help old-school non-profits reach beyond philanthropy-as-they-know-it by providing necessary technology tools.

I found out about Grassroots.org through DomainNameNews back in December. I was psyched to hear about their Domains for Change program. Instead of letting my unused domain names expire, it seemed like a better idea to donate them for a tax deduction.

I had picked up CheapStudios.com and ImportLiquor.com, among other domains, in GoDaddy's aftermarket fire sales for $15 or $20 each. I'd read that "generic" domains are valuable, but it turned out I had no idea how to unlock their value. They sold for $2,500 and $3,500 in this week's DomainFest live auction.

Grassroots.org says other donors have had great success as well, and more Domains for Change auctions are on the way. So if you've got domains you aren't putting to use, talk to Mary. You could end up making a surprising amount of impact on Grassroots.org, the 1,000 non-profits they serve, those organizations' constituents - and your tax return!

Comments

[Kayla]

I have some domains that have been sitting around (and collecting spam, if you see my latest blog post) so this is very interesting. Thanks for posting this!

[adam]

Nice work Isabel on the donations.
I saw the incoming link. Are you back to blogging again? have you found your next big thing?

[Isabel Wang]

Next big thing is gradually taking shape. Will keep you posted :) Trying to blog a little more often than once every 2 months.