When people ask that question, what they most often want to know is, “If I give you $1, how much will you actually spend on community needs?” If that is your question, the answer is actually $2.
Because of the way we leverage funds, seek out grants to benefit Bucks County, and form strategic partnerships to bring in additional resources, for every $1 we receive, at least $2 in programs, goods, and services goes directly to individuals and groups Bucks County.
One challenge in our sector is that people often mistake low overhead for high efficiency. Research tells us that this is dead wrong. We highly recommend viewing Dan Pallotta’s TED talk for more information (http://on.ted.com/Pallotta).
That said, our “overhead” – which primarily covers a staff that works tirelessly to advance our mission – is very low. It’s around 14%. What that 14% does in Bucks County is remarkable.
Each year on January 1st, UW Bucks basically starts with $0. Over the course of the year, we secure over $4 million in donations, grants, and in-kind gifts, to be distributed exclusively in Bucks County. These are resources that would not exist without us. These resources are brought to Bucks County by overhead – our dedicated and professional nonprofit team.
If you ever want to meet some of our “overhead,” you have a standing invitation to visit our offices to learn how hard we work and how much you get when you invest in us. But we hope that you invest in us because of our impact and results, not because of low overhead!