by David Tandet
What do you believe?
What do you do?
How do you do it?
Are there three questions you’d rather have answered by a charitable organization you’re considering donating to?
I didn’t think so.
Yet not every charitable organization or relief fund takes the direct, no tiptoe approach followed by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles on its website. Maybe that’s because not every such organization is ready to be so upfront. Simple, isn’t it? “What we believe. What we do. How we do it.” Unitedwayla.org presents itself through that triumvirate.
Think about it. The basic public relations tenet “do good then tell the world” requires a major element that many would just as soon see left out of the equation these days: the “doing” part.
That can make it much more difficult to present a clear statement of purpose and where one’s at on the way to ones goals.
But being willing — no, eager — to say what one believes, what one does, and how one gets there is the approach of an organization that has a true sense of self. It wants you to come along because you share its core values and trust its ability to make the best use of the faith you’re placing in it through donations and volunteer efforts.
In a way, aren’t these three questions you’d want to have answered by any individual you might see as a future friend or associate?
Honest communication works when there’s no reason to be dishonest. The United Way of Greater Los Angeles presents its beliefs, reasons and methodology in as clear and direct a manner as possible. It’s a living example of “do good then tell the world.”