Learning from Your Mistakes

We have a family foundation, and it is our privilege to give money each year to worthy organizations. We have a mission as a family, and as I said, most of our money goes towards women’s issues, education, health care, and helping under-resourced families. That mission began years ago and was embraced both by my parents and by Alberto Culver. Alberto sold most of its products to women, so we wanted to ensure our mission reflected issues that we and our customers both held dear.

Our personal giving has very much followed our mission but, of course, we give to a few other causes as well. I was so moved by all the commercials for Wounded Warriors that we wanted to contribute to help many of our veterans. We made a sizable donation and later learned this charity was rated poorly by independent watch groups as most of their collected monies went to administrative costs. That is crazy and awful. (Since then it has made improvements.)

At Alberto, we had used a couple of charity rating services, but in the transition to the family office, we had somehow stepped away from that. We officially now check all donations to established groups, no matter how small, with Charity Navigator, Guidestar.org, or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. These are free services and give you the opportunity to see how organizations use your money. They are Internet-based and simple to use. There is one exception we make to that “rule.” We believe in small groups that have an idea and a passion, but that are just starting out and are not big enough to be on the radar of these rating groups. In those instances, you need to meet the people, feel their commitment, and then go with your gut. It’s amazing how far a passionate, entrepreneurial advocate can stretch a relatively small gift.

You worked hard for the money that puts you in a position to help others. It’s worth the extra step to make sure charities are doing the right thing.