Charities advertising on tv- should it be free for them to advertise?

Question

It can’t just be me that gets bothered when I see some really upsetting ad on tv about starving children or something asking me to donate, but they could have spent the money they used for making this elaborate tv ad towards their actual cause.  
Should they get to advertise for free?
Bonus question- do you feel like “non profit charities” do in fact profit?

Accepted Answer

To answer your last question first, in order to maintain a nonprofit license, organization have to prove the did not make a profit...if they have surplus at the end of the year it is budgeted for use or becomes a financial gift. The government doesn’t just take their word for it..
As far as the comments of ‘well they could just save the commercial money and give it to the cause’... that is a similar train of thought to any business. Charity organizations have to be thoughtful on how they get the word out in their cause. I have attended galas and benefits for things and heard people say similar things.. it’s important to understand that a good charity is ‘investing’ in these promotions because they have decided their ROI (return on investment) is worth it.

Answer

I never get bothered by those ads, at least it’s an important issue and not trying to get me to buy a car or some type of beer. Charities/organizations can advocate in many ways, including public advocacy (ads, info campaigns) but also government and legal action too. Having multiple strategies works well for many of these organizations. As for how they spend their money, I think the best way to look into charities or if you want to donate is looking at their partners, latest and current actions and such. Some can be for profit, some can do a lot of good work. It just depends

Answer

Look up Dan Pallotta - he has a great Ted talk on why we should stop expecting nonprofits to never spend money on advertising, fundraising, salaries, etc. Like honestly this is exactly what we SHOULD be spending money on if they can really solve some of the world’s greatest problems.
In your specific example sure they could maybe save $10,000 making the ad (just chose a random number), but if showing the ad brings in $1M towards the cause isn’t that completely worth it?
Similarly you could attract a mediocre CEO with a low salary and “keep overhead low” but what if you paid a great salary, attracted a top CEO to the nonprofit, and he or she guided the company in such a direction that it actually solves the problem its mission was meant to solve? Worth it!

Answer

Charities can actually keep a huge percentage of donations for themselves. A lot of charities do this. A lot of popular charities with a lot of merchandise and ads do this. So even if their ad was discounted, they would still pocket a huge chunk.

Answer

I think it’s always a good idea to research where your money goes when you donate. You would be surprised the salaries most big organizations make. I don’t think advertising should be free. There are so many small charities that are local to you, whose profits go where they should.

Answer

You wanna see their salaries 👀👀👀

Answer

Of all the things on earth to get bothered about....

Answer

I mean look at the salaries of CEOs of some of the biggest charities. They’re clearly profiting.

Answer

Nonprofits really are a business just like for profit institutions. Despite this, some do great work, others are basically scams. I don’t particularly mind dollars going toward advertising campaigns, that brings in more money for direct service work than it costs. If stations want to give them free or reduced ad space, great. It shouldn’t be a requirement.

Answer

No.

Charities advertising on tv- should it be free for them to advertise?

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