Have the leaders of nonprofits been overly incentivized to “follow the money,” resulting in a troubling shift in the composition of boards? The answer is yes according to a recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The trend may be “distort[ing] organization priorities” and may “dilute charitable values.” According to the author, Garry W. …
Posts Categorized: Board
Will the Real Directors Please Stand Up
There is a lot of confusion among nonprofits with regard to ex officio directors. Who are they and how are they different from other directors? The term ex officio comes from Latin and means “from the office.” Thus, an ex officio director is a member of the board because he or she holds a specific …
Former Executive Director Embezzles $900K from Charity
The former Executive Director of We Stay-Nos Quedamos, a South Bronx housing and social services nonprofit, recently pleaded guilty to diverting nearly $900,000 from the organization. How did she do it? According to the New York Attorney General’s office, Yolanda Gonzalez paid her personal expenses, such as payments on her new car and trips to …
Is Preventing Poverty Charitable?
According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the answer is No. CRA recently told Oxfam Canada that its mission to prevent poverty was too broad in that it could benefit people who are not already poor. The review was part of a standard filing to renew Oxfam Canada’s nonprofit status as required under a Canadian …
Off-the-Court Conflicts for the U.S.T.A.
As the U.S. Open got started this week, The New York Times was more interested in conflicts off the court than on it. An examination of the United States Tennis Association (U.S.T.A.), the 501(c)(6) national governing body for the sport of tennis, revealed that several of the organization’s current and recent board members have benefitted …
To Take Or Not to Take … (A Scandalous Donation)
America’s historically black colleges and universities are facing a hard choice: continue struggling for much needed funds or accept a donation from David and Charles Koch. From one perspective, this is a win-win scenario. The colleges get funding in the face of decreases in government funding and aid and the Koch brothers will perhaps attract …