Some Nonprofits Misuse Contracts to Hide Activities, Say Experts

A claim by the American Red Cross that it was contractually prohibited from releasing information about some of its activities in Haiti drew fire from some nonprofit leaders, who say such contracts are a handy way to block disclosure without good cause. And the practice, which involves including nondisclosure language in contracts for services between nonprofits, isn’t unique to the Red Cross, they say.

“Hiding basic information about international grants and distributions has unfortunately become part of the culture of the nonprofit field,” said Daniel Borochoff, president of the watchdog group CharityWatch.