Faq

Conserve is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization started in 2019 by two recent college graduates with one simple goal: to make giving a part of everyday life. We strive to achieve this in two connected ways. First, we empower you, the donor, to make more informed giving decisions by providing you with the tools and information you need to quickly and easily learn about the causes you are interested in. We also select and recommend the top-performing, most impactful charities in each category through a rigorous evaluation process, taking the heavy lifting of research and analysis out of your hands. Second, we enable you to give directly to your favorite organizations in one centralized location. Using Conserve’s platform, you can give to a portfolio of charities in all the causes you care about.

Conserve aims to be a one-stop-shop for donors, bridging the gap between research and giving and empowering donors with information to drive engagement in the nonprofit sector.

While many charity evaluation services exist, Conserve offers a unique approach to charity research and a more integrated offering that connects giving and research. Unlike many other services, we put impact at the center of our research. While other services may use blanket ratios or overly complex financial analysis as their primary tool in charity assessment, we strive to answer a deeper question – is the charity significantly improving the communities it serves? Ultimately, a charity’s impact on the people and causes it serves is far more important than any individual metric about spending or efficiency. With Conserve, you can rest assured knowing every charity on our platform has been meticulously evaluated and assessed for impact. Further, Conserve enables you to give directly to organizations on our platform, providing a one-stop shop that bridges research and giving.

Conserve was started in 2019 by two recent college graduates with a passion for service and a history of volunteer and leadership experience in the nonprofit sector. Having seen firsthand the impact that our work was able to have on underserved populations across the world, we wanted to make it easier and more convenient for people to get involved in charitable giving. We knew that many people wanted to get involved, but the process could be overwhelming given the sheer amount of information, conflicting opinions, and repeated solicitations for donations. We started Conserve to reduce the hassle and time commitment that came with donating and to make the giving process rewarding and seamless. Since starting in 2019, our team has grown to four board members and several volunteers.

Conserve takes pride in ensuring that every charity listed on our platform is individually assessed by one of our team members. This rigorous process ensures a thorough and fair review of each organization and helps maintain consistently high quality across our platform. The time required for this comprehensive process limits the rate at which new charities can be added to the platform. As we continue to grow, we plan to expand our research coverage across a range of causes.

Conserve chooses nonprofit organizations to recommend by asking a simple question: how well does the charity do what it set out to do? The answer to this question lies in exploring everything from the broad long-term impact of the organization’s work down to the specific outcomes of each of its projects and programs. While defining and evaluating impact is not an easy task, we believe that a combination of strong reporting, results-driven and self-critical organizational culture, and data-driven decision-making are common factors that stand out among successful and effective organizations.

Conserve recommends nonprofits that have exemplary track records of quantitative and qualitative impact tracking and reporting. We seek to identify organizations that meticulously plan and measure their programs’ effect on communities, and that emphasize constant improvement to amplify their impact. Each program should have a clear fit into the nonprofit’s overall mission statement. Goals should be specific and well-defined, and there should be adequate investment into organizational infrastructure and resources to ensure proper execution of projects. Critically, organizations should never be complacent. Projects should be studied, criticized, and improved continually.

Conserve does not make judgments about how efficiently charities are spending their money or whether or not overhead expenses are excessive. Research has shown that the percentage of expenses spent on overhead is not a strong indicator of charitable impact or success. In fact, similar to the for-profit sector, investments in areas such as information technology and human resources are critical to allowing an organization to achieve its goals and adequately assess its impact. Additionally, spending on fundraising can, in many cases, create multiples on initial contribution dollars, magnifying the organization’s potential impact. Conserve is also cause-agnostic. We do not rank or distinguish the worthiness of different causes.

Our focus is on results. In the non-profit sector, results can be defined by a combination of hard numbers and qualitative feedback from the communities served. By identifying the organizations that embody good practice when it comes to impact measurement, transparency, and adaptability, we show you where your dollar will do the most good.

Our approach to analysis is one of many ways to evaluate charities, and it should not be regarded as an absolute measure of a charity’s quality. The fact that a given charity is not recommended does not indicate our disapproval of their work and should not dissuade you from giving to them.

We strictly utilize publicly available information to assess charities – tax forms, financial statements, annual reports, and the organization’s website are our primary sources of information. Our volunteers use our internally-developed charity evaluation framework as a guide to evaluate charities on three broad categories: impact, transparency, and governance. Rather than applying a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach, the model is flexible and adaptable enough to adjust for varying considerations between different organizations and causes. In our analysis, we look for qualitative and quantitative evidence that organizations are fundamentally improving the communities they serve and strengthening people’s capacities to help themselves.

Our analysis process does include an examination of a charity’s financials; however, these considerations only impact our assessment in extreme cases. Research has shown that, similar to for-profit organizations, some level of overhead spending is absolutely necessary for a charity to successfully execute on its programs, track its outcomes, and ultimately grow its impact. Industry experts have increasingly embraced this perspective and worked to dispel the “overhead myth”. For more information, please reference these resources:

Every donor is unique, and we hope this platform serves as a useful tool to access and engage with charities. While we firmly believe in the quality and rigor of our analysis, we absolutely encourage you to explore additional information and resources in your assessment of a charity! Here are several resources we have found helpful in the past: the organization’s form 990, financial statements, and annual report (typically available on their website), Guidestar, Charity Navigator, Impact Matters, GiveWell, ProPublica, BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

We have big plans for growth at Conserve! We plan to integrate features including:

• User profiles enabling you to build a “giving portfolio” of your favorite organizations;
• The ability to round up everyday purchases to support the causes and charities you care about daily;
• The ability to track your giving over time and see the significant impact that your small but consistent contributions will create