Public Goods

Click on the area that interests you to view our program-specific “do-it-yourself” charity evaluation questions.

Public schools not specifically targeting the achievement gap

Explanatory note:We expect the donor to get most of their information from their own experiences with the school, and ask themselves whether they support the services provided and values promoted. The following questions are supplementary.
Questions:

How much of your revenue comes from donations as opposed to government funding? What does donation revenue allow you to do that you could not do otherwise?
For what are you seeking funds? How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
What are your total expenses per student? How do these compare to those of other schools?
Do you have data on student performance on standardized test scores, graduation rates, and college admissions, and how these compare to those of students at schools with similar per-student costs?

Private schools (K-12)

How much of your revenue comes from donations as opposed to tuition?
For what are you seeking funds? How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
What are your total expenses per student? How do these compare to those of other schools?
Do you have data on student performance on standardized test scores, graduation rates, and college admissions, and how these compare to those of students at schools with similar per-student costs?
Do you have data on your school's "desirability to students" over time? Good proxies may include:
- Admissions rate (lower indicates higher desirability)
- Percentage of accepted students who enroll (higher is indicates higher desirability)
For the activities that you intend to spend additional funds on, what does your spending on these activities - both outright and as a percentage of your overall budget - look like over the last few years? What specific changes has this spending resulted in? (For example, if you say that more funds would be applied to financial aid, what does the trend in your financial aid given look like over the last few years and has it resulted in higher matriculation rates (percentage of accepted students who enroll) among the appropriate income groups?)

Universities

For what are you seeking funds? How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
Do you have data on giving over time from recent alumni? (This data may provide a proxy for people's satisfaction with their experience.)
Do you have data on your school's "desirability to students" over time? Good proxies may include:
- Admissions rate (lower indicates higher desirability)
- Percentage of accepted students who enroll (higher is indicates higher desirability)
- Averages of student qualifications such as GPA/SAT/whatever other criteria you weight heavily in admissions (higher indicates higher desirability)
For the activities that you intend to spend additional funds on, what does your spending on these activities - both outright and as a percentage of your overall budget - look like over the last few years? What specific changes has this spending resulted in? (For example, if you say that more funds would be applied to financial aid, what does the trend in your financial aid given look like over the last few years and has it resulted in higher matriculation rates (percentage of accepted students who enroll) among the appropriate income groups?)

Libraries

Explanatory note:We expect the donor to get most of their information from their own experiences with the library, and ask themselves whether they support the services provided and values promoted. The following questions are supplementary.
Questions:

How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
Do you have data on your audience - how many people visit, what their interests are, whether they're regular or occasional visitors, how happy they are with the experience you provide and what they'd like to see changed/added?

Parks

Explanatory note:We expect the donor to get most of their information from their own experiences at the park, and ask themselves whether they support the services provided and values promoted. The following questions are supplementary.
Questions:

How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
Do you have data on your audience - how many people visit, what their interests are, whether they're local or tourists, how happy they are with the experience you provide and what they'd like to see changed/added?

Recreation/fitness/community centers

Explanatory note:We expect the donor to get most of their information from their own experiences with the center, and ask themselves whether they support the services provided and values promoted. The following questions are supplementary.
Related information:

Example organization: YMCA

Questions:

Are users charged fees for the use of the center? What proportion of costs are covered by user fees?
How many people use the center? What services do they access? How has the number of daily users changed over time?
Do you regularly survey users to determine their satisfaction levels with the quality and availability of services offered by the center and suggestions for improvement?
How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into greater availability of services or more centers, and up to what point?

Websites

Explanatory note:We expect the donor to get most of their information from their own experiences with the website, and ask themselves whether they support the services provided and values promoted. The following questions are supplementary.
Questions:

How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
Can you share data on your audience, such as:
- Monthly unique visitors?
- Average time on site?
- Number of active users?
- How people primarily use your website?
Do you gauge people's satisfaction with the experience you provide and what they'd like to see changed/added? Can your reports on this be shared?

Arts: museums, orchestras, opera, ballet

Explanatory note:We expect the donor to get most of their information from their own experience as an audience member, and ask themselves whether they support the services provided and values promoted. The following questions are supplementary.
Questions:

How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
How much of your revenue comes from fees paid (e.g., ticket prices, admission) vs. donations?
Do you have data on your audience - how many people visit, what their interests are, whether they're local or tourists, how happy they are with the experience you provide and what they'd like to see changed/added?
What is your "audience per dollar of expenses" and how does it compare to that of other organizations? If it is lower, why do you think this is? (Note: we think there can be many good reasons to support an organization with a low "audience per dollar," but we think this is a metric for donors to check and be aware of. They should know whether they're supporting an organization that is unusually "niche" or perhaps just unpopular.)

Radio and television stations

Explanatory note:We expect the donor to get most of their information from their own experiences as a listener/viewer, and ask themselves whether they support the services provided and values promoted. The following questions are supplementary.
Related information:

Example organizations: NPR, PBS

Questions:

How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
Do you have data on your audience - how many people tune in, what their interests are, how happy they are with the experience you provide and what they'd like to see changed/added?
What is your "audience per dollar of expenses" and how does it compare to that of other organizations? If it is lower, why do you think this is? (Note: we think there can be many good reasons to support a station with a low "audience per dollar," but we think this is a metric for donors to check and be aware of. They should know whether they're supporting a station that is unusually "niche" or perhaps just unpopular.)

Places of worship (churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.)

Explanatory note:We expect the donor to get most of their information from their own experiences as a member, and ask themselves whether they support the services provided and values promoted. The following questions are supplementary.
Questions:

How much of your revenue comes from fees paid (e.g., membership) vs. donations?
How would your budget likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less?
Do you have data on attendees - how many people attend, whether they're regular or occasional visitors, how happy they are with the experience you provide and what they'd like to see changed/added?