Sparo believes in democratized philanthropy. We want to allow consumers to donate when they make purchases, thus strengthening charity organizations and empowering individuals to create effective giving choices.
Sparo Charity Partners participate in mutual promotions to increase donations to the charity. When a consumer shops at a Sparo-enabled merchant using the Merchant Plugin service, the shopper has the chance to donate to the Charity Partner.
The Sparo Plugin gives charitable organizations the chance to fundraise by encouraging the selection of their charity when their supporters shop and choose them.
Sparo also has gamified charitable giving by making it fun. We have created a dynamic game for those who play and win to have their favorite charities receive the game winnings.
All the US organizations that are Sparo Charity Partners are nonprofits or 501(c)3 organizations. The IRS requires the 501©3 classification to ensure that the organization has a social mission and thus it does not have to pay taxes, hence the name “nonprofit.”
There are more than 1.5 million nonprofits in the US. Nonprofits employ more than 10% of the US workforce and represent at least 5.4% of our GDP.
Evaluating US Nonprofits
Sparo relies on the evaluations provided by two industry organizations, Charity Navigator and GuideStar, to evaluate the nonprofits it selects as Charity Partners. Both these organizations gather information to assess a nonprofit’s success.
GuideStar provides a wealth of data about thousands of nonprofits but does not rank organizational effectiveness.
Charity Navigator is an independent nonprofit evaluator. It has a similar set of data points to GuideStar and two ranking mechanisms. Its traditional star ranking mechanism provides a vetted method to rank approximately 10,000 nonprofits and apply a star rating to each.
Sparo has selected those with the highest rating of 3-4 stars in Charity Navigator to be available in the Sparo Charity Partner application. A 3-4- star rating guarantees that the nonprofits we are choosing passed the industry’s evaluation and are highly regarded in the field.
Charities Outside the US
Charities outside the US are called non-governmental organizations or NGOs to specify that they are not controlled by the government. International NGOs, like Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), provide support and service, in this case, medical help in distressed areas.
Most countries have some mechanism to register the organization as an NGO. If you are interested in supporting an international NGO, you can search for it online and see if its country of origin has provided it with an evaluation.
International Registered Charities
Many countries, like the UK, have a system where NGOs may then become a “registered charity.” This registration evaluates the organization’s mission and effectiveness to measure its alignment with the country’s beliefs and needs. The registration process is in-depth vetting and provides a governmental stamp of approval.
Some nations provide their registered charities with base funding and other opportunities for governmental support. Save the Children is an example of a UK- registered charity that also receives government support. This NGO works in the UK and worldwide world on children’s health, welfare, and education.
Sparo Vetting of International Charities
Sparo is working with groups around the globe to define vetting criteria and methodologies for NGOs.
Sparo looks forward to a time when it can broaden the scope of its Charity Partners to include a more extensive set of international NGOs that are trusted, respected, and effective.
We know that many consumers would like to support international NGOs as well as US nonprofits. We are eager to enable this giving.