The Art of Giving Wisely

It’s hard to give money.

Not the way people think. Not; hard to dig into your pocket and part with your cash. No, we understand: You WANT to do that!

It’s the deciding WHO to give TO. It’s the filtering through endless streams of seemingly endless grant proposals, searching for a partner who shares your goals. It’s the knowledge that every dollar you give HERE is another dollar you can’t give THERE.

Even after you make that decision, it doesn’t get easier. You’ve got to monitor your investment: Did that partner actually follow through? Was the money spent in the way you intended? And ultimately, did they do a good job; was the community actually served?

Giving cross-culturally to Israel only compounds the problem. Even in North America, a simple term like “memorial plaque” can mean many different things. Add a language barrier and thousands of miles between donor and recipient and misunderstandings can multiply exponentially.

What’s a Philanthropist to Do?

There’s another term with multiple meanings which you hear a lot these days — “due diligence.” Everyone will recommend you do it. Of course, you have to do it. But what does “due diligence” mean?

Obviously not, “just trusting people.” But also, perhaps less obviously, not “demanding so much data from everyone who applies for a donation that both you and they are drowning in paperwork.” That approach does more harm than good, for all parties.

You don’t just need “the facts.” You need the right facts, and only the right facts, presented intelligently and intelligibly. That’s part of where we come in.

Your Eyes and Ears on the Ground

We’ve been working in the Israeli Non-Profit sector for a long time. We know the participants. We know the problems, and we have a pretty good handle on the solutions.

We focus on identifying and meeting needs as a donor – to help you achieve your goals. We can evaluate grant proposals for you. We can vet the directors of a particular project. We can tell you if an organization has suffient resources to carry out their plans. And we can tell you when it doesn’t matter how good a petition looks on paper, because the source is (sadly) untrustworthy. (It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Don’t let it happen to you.)

We can help manage your donation to ensure proper follow-through. We can provide proof of measurable outcomes so that at the end of the day, you can rest assured that you did good in this world.

And We Do It All, Discreetly

Discretion and privacy are hallmarks of On Track Consulting. We’re proud of our track record. We’ll do our best to share with our readers what we can, when we can, but we will not compromise our clients, ever.

Call Us

What more can we say? If you want to give to Israel, and you are anywhere else, you need On Track Consulting.

Our number is +972-50-240-5332.

We’re here to help.