MFC: A Good Investment

Recently, we received a letter from a long-time supporter of the Minnesota Family Council that gave an opportunity to share something about which we at MFC can be justifiably proud – not of our own accomplishments, but of what the Lord has enabled us to do in the last year.

Noting a common indicator of nonprofit organizations’ effectiveness, the letter writer asked about MFC’s percent of charitable commitment compared to overhead.  These figures are an important measure of a nonprofit’s efficiency in channeling donor investments into the mission of the organization. 

The benchmark that we measure ourselves against, suggested by Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) and similar groups, is that at least 75% of total expenses should be for mission-related program services.  No more than 25% of expenses should be for support services (administration and fundraising).

We are very pleased to report that in our fiscal year ending on September 30, 2006, 82% of our expenses were for program services.  As the accompanying chart details, these services include Issue Education (39%), Church Outreach (20%), and Media and Advocacy (23%).  Only 18% was allocated to support services, including Administration (7%) and Fundraising (11%).

We were able to achieve this result because we have a lean organization and very modest facilities, and are committed to getting as much value out of donor funds as we possibly can for our mission to defend and strengthen the family. 

MFC a Good Investment

These statistics underscore one simple fact:  MFC continues to be a good investment for people who want to do something about the erosion of our state’s foundation in Judeo-Christian principles.  They can support the work of MFC with confidence that their investment will be channeled efficiently into efforts that will have a direct impact on our culture.