Be Part of the Overhead Solution

Last year, GuideStar, Charity Navigator, and BBB Wise Giving Alliance published an open letter to the donors of America denouncing the use of the “overhead ratio” as a primary indicator of nonprofit performance.  Instead of focusing on the percentage of charity’s expenses that go to administrative and fundraising cost commonly referred to as “overhead”—we need to focus on what really matters: impact. The letter, signed by all three organizations’ CEOs, marked the beginning of a campaign to correct the common misconception about the importance of a low overhead ratio.

A new open letter (view letter to nonprofits and view letter to donors), published today on www.overheadmyth.com, educates and encourages nonprofits to work toward an Overhead Solution. Specifically, the letter asks nonprofits to do three things, “(1) demonstrate good governance and ethical practice, (2) manage towards results and understand your true costs and (3) help educate funders on the real costs of results.” The letter goes on to provide resources to help nonprofits in this critical endeavor to measure and report on what matters most.

Join me in spreading the word about this important topic. Nonprofits and their supporters are encouraged to learn from and share the Overhead Solution letter—the letter is under a Creative Commons license and may be used however they wish. You can also use sample social media posts to help get the word out by clicking here.

Let’s come together on an Overhead Solution TODAY! www.overheadmyth.com