Buzz Builder

A Tip for a Soggy Newspaper

Yesterday began like many. It was a rainy Portland morning and I slogged out to retrieve The Wall Street Journal sitting in the middle of our front lawn. As I pulled apart the plastic wrapper keeping the paper dry, I laughed when I saw that there was a Christmas greeting from the newspaper delivery person wishing me happy holidays and reminding me that tipping is appreciated.

What nerve! Earlier this year, whenever I complained to The Wall Street Journal subscription department about my paper consistently getting thrown everywhere but my front porch, I was reassured that the problem would be fixed. After hearing this perhaps four or five times, I got tired of calling customer service and resigned myself to the notion that retrieving my newspaper would always be part of my daily exercise routine.

Although my wife has so far talked me out of it, I want to leave the newspaper guy a note with a special "tip" - if you want your customers to take care of you, you better take care of them first.

Charity Navigator - A Powerful Way to See Beyond the Buzz and Evaluate Charities Objectively

Is your mailbox is flooded with charities trying to get you to make end-of-year donations? While most seem to represent worthy causes, many are inefficient  since they spend too much money on fundraising and overhead expenses. A few years ago, we discovered Charity Navigator, America's premier independent charity evaluator that works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of the country's largest charities. Now we are able to make charitable contributions knowing that our money will go towards valuable programs rather than high salaries or excessive fund raising or administrative expenses.

Too many charities try to create buzz through marketing. However, with resources like Charity Navigator, a potential donor can see beyond the buzz and know whether a charity is worthy of a contribution. The most valuable long-term buzz that a charity can generate doesn't come through flashy fund raising efforts rather it's based on carrying out its mission as efficiently as possible over years.