As life has moved online, so has fundraising for ministries. But often, online ads don’t give donors the full story on where their money goes.
If you plan to donate online during the busy year-end giving period, be aware of a common trick of the trade: Ministries not honoring your intent as donor.
The most effective online ads target your heart with a specific need or problem the ministry says it can address, as these ads do:
- “You can save a life in seconds! $60 rescues a baby.”
- “Bring healing to a marriage in crisis! $37 saves a marriage.”
- “Give a child in foster care a better future. Your gift shows a hurting child someone cares.”
- “Help couples heading for divorce find healing!”
- “Show her she’s not alone. Your gift doubles to save moms and babies.”
Don’t let your heart run away with your digital wallet before your mind reads all the disclaimers found way down below the spaces where you fill in how many dollars you want to give.
“Don’t let your heart run away with your digital wallet before your mind reads all the disclaimers.”
If you diligently scroll down to the bottom of these five online ads from Focus on the Family, you will find a nearly 250-word disclosure featuring 10 key words that, in a round-about way, let you know your dollars may not go to the babies or foster kids who touched your heart. For emphasis those 10 words are bolded in this citation of a 72-word paragraph from the disclosure:
“Your gift is a sacred trust. We promise to honor your generosity by using your gift in the most effective way to help families thrive. The needs described here reflect Focus on the Family’s ministry efforts at the time of writing and represent a ministry category that addresses particular challenges facing the families we serve. Your gift will be used where it is needed most to provide families with help and hope.”
The “where most needed” technique is common in online ads, even ministries like Focus that are members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
ECFA said these five ads meet its standards on “truthfulness in communications” and “giver expectations and intent.” But some nonprofit industry groups say such online ad strategies can take advantage of ministry donors and their trust.
ECFA’s standards on giver expectations and intent are clear: “Statements made about the use of gifts by an organization in its charitable gift appeals must be honored.”
ECFA says the more specific the solicitation, the more the donor expects the donation will be used for that specific need.
Jake Lapp, ECFA’s vice president of member accountability, told BNG Focus’ disclosure statement gave donors adequate clarity about their gifts: “ECFA does not believe the use of a disclaimer negates a ministry’s responsibility to honor the original intent of the gift but rather provides flexibility in certain situations (for example: over- or under-funding of gift requests) to redirect the funds to similar projects or needs that will also further the overall exempt purpose of the ministry.”
But the Foundation Group suggests raising the ethical bar higher: “A solicitation means your organization asked for donations for a particular cause. Maybe it was by letter, email, website, radio spot … it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that donations given in response to a direct solicitation are to be dedicated to that purpose.”
“Donations given in response to a direct solicitation are to be dedicated to that purpose.”
Focus’ “$60 rescues a baby” ad was very specific about how donors’ dollars would be used in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade: “With the decision whether or not to provide abortions now at the state level, many states are putting radical abortion laws into place. That is why it is more important than ever to provide ultrasounds to mothers considering abortion! When a mother sees the truth about the life growing inside her through an ultrasound, she will often choose life!”
And this detail: “Your gift today will help provide ultrasounds to mothers who might otherwise not have access to them. It takes just $60 to save a child’s life and stop a mother from making a decision that she will always regret. Please give today to provide ultrasounds to mothers considering abortion. Lives depend on it!”
The specifics in the ad are undone by the “where it is needed most” disclosure. Focus’ disclosure allows it to determine where the money is most needed, and there’s nothing keeping the ministry from using it for its political activities.
In 2024, Focus had revenue of $143 million and spent more than 16% of its program services budget on advocacy ($17 million) and citizenship ($3 million).
U.S. law require nonprofits to distinguish between two kinds of donations: restricted and unrestricted. Restricted funds must be spent on the specific programs for which they were intended, while unrestricted funds can be used for anything, including overhead costs, employee salaries and repairing the office air conditioner.
“Only a donor can restrict funds by designating their contribution to a particular use,” according to the Foundation Group.
Some professional marketers intentionally exploit the differences between these two kinds of funds, as one article makes clear. “Smart Strategies to Raise Unrestricted Nonprofit Funding” told marketers to tell mobbing stories: “You may offer seven vital programs. You may serve across multiple regions, ages or needs. But no one falls in love with a program list. They fall in love with a story — a moment they can picture, a person they can care about, a change they can help bring to life.”