Eddy Bayardelle, Merrill Lynch Foundation & Managing Director of Global Philanthropy, speaks to the cameras about working with Give To Colombia:
“When we make a gift, we want to make it with an organization that has great leadership. Why? Because we know that our investment will be sustained. The other reason is that we want organizations that seek collaboration as an important aspect of their work. So that the can underground bring in other partners and also the issue of accountability is extremely important to us and with Give To Colombia we are assured that we will definitely get the kind of accountability that we are looking for, that will get the reports that will tell us about the progress of the projects, and that will guide future relationships with the projects as well as with Give To Colombia.
So often, non-profit organizations will hire consultants to talk about the projects that they want to do. For us, it was more important to hear directly from the leadership of that organization. This is where the passion and commitment will come out of and that also assures us that the person has a vision and we share that vision as well as opposed to that of a consultant.”