Donors around the country are asking themselves that since The Washington Post published a series of articles reporting that more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations have reported a “significant diversion” of assets since 2008. A significant diversion is one that is more than the lesser of $250,000 or 5% of an organization’s gross receipts or total …
Posts Categorized: Accountability
Choose Grant Recipients Wisely
How carefully does your nonprofit’s board choose grant recipients? If you don’t know, here is a wake-up call. One Fund Boston, the 501(c)(3) established to assist victims and families affected by the Boston Marathon bombings, recently approved payment of $480,000 to an individual who is now charged with defrauding the fund. There’s good news for …
Another View on Nonprofit Effectiveness
Has all the recent news about how to measure nonprofit effectiveness left your charity confused? The Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation, a national association of charities and their direct marketers, thinks it has the answer – a set of fundraising principles. The Federation based these principles on how it believes “legitimate” charities conduct fundraising. It …
Modifying a Nonprofit's Original Mission
How does a nonprofit stay within its original mission but remain relevant? Petersen Automotive Museum is trying to do just that. It is liquidating nearly 1/3 of its 400 classic cars in order to finance a major reconfiguration of the organization, including a greater emphasis on motorcycles and French art deco vehicles. According to a …
Government Funding to Require Quantifiable Results?
Here’s a novel idea: When you pay for something, expect something in return. Harriet McDonald, Executive Vice President of the Doe Fund in New York, is challenging governments to do just that. In her Chronicle of Philanthropy article, McDonald argues that governments currently pay nonprofits and other companies to provide social services without ensuring that …
Save Your Co-Mingling for Happy Hour
Thanks to Big Brothers Big Sisters, we have a great example of how not to spend government money. A government audit recently concluded that the organization can’t properly account for any of the $19.4 million of Justice Department funding it received. These tax dollars were provided to the organization as restricted funds, in other words, …