Accountability

The “Wheels for Wishes” advertisements seemed clear about who would get the money raised from donated vehicles, stating “Donate Your Car. Benefiting Make-A-Wish Minnesota.’’ But the wishes of kids with cancer weren’t driving the arrangement, says Minnesota’s attorney general. Instead, Make-A-Wish charities in Minnesota and nationally received about 20 percent of the revenue from donated cars,…

Every National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, countless companies put a coat of pink on their products and donate a portion of their proceeds to breast-cancer charities. But when companies fundraise with goods that are potentially linked to cancer itself, organizations like Breast Cancer Action take notice and dub the practice “pinkwashing”—a term that has been…

According to the The Arizona Republic, the Arizona Foundation for Charitable Support failed to distribute funds to the families of 19 firefighters killed in 2013's Yarnell Hill Wildfire. The funds were raised from a pair of charity golf tournaments that used the firefighting team's name and logo, at least once without permission...

As philanthropy enters a second golden age, real social change is getting lost in the hype of market-based giving. In one of his short stories, “Counterfeit Money,” Charles Baudelaire describes a fictional encounter between two friends who come across a beggar in the street. In this short piece, the narrator and friend offer the beggar…

Leaders are familiar with the initial steps necessary to turn around a faltering organization. Develop a vision, communicate the vision to promote buy-in and execute the vision. In the world of nonprofits, where much of the work is provided by volunteers, donors and staff seeking aspirational satisfaction as opposed to financial, there are additional tactics…

Nonprofits face a dilemma in working with celebrity endorsers. As high-profile public figures, celebrities are under constant scrutiny. Small mishaps end up on TMZ, amplified and endlessly analyzed by the media. Other celebrities self-destruct without warning, and if the celebrity has ties to a charity or cause, it can lead to a negative, if not always fair, association, even if the organization acts quickly to control the damage. But there are major benefits, too...

Another year, another three to eight conferences. And every year you learn something new, meet tons of people and walk away thinking, “That was the best conference ever!” But what really happens when you get back to your office? How will you measure the success of your conference experiences this year?

Jose Angel Vargas, 29, lives in Anaheim, Calif., and works 60-hour work weeks at a nonprofit that seeks to break the cycle of child abuse. When he’s not at work, he’s fielding emails and phone calls about work, or going to community events or fundraisers on evenings and on weekends. He has no time for…

As a nonprofit pro, have you ever experienced a tough week? This variable can be measured in a variety of ways. When I experience these negative factors, I immediately think about my beloved late father, who had a Ph.D. in common sense, and the impactful letter he sent me while I was in college. In my professional career I try to live up to his letter and its meaning...

Almost two-thirds of Americans have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in charities, according to a new Chronicle of Philanthropy poll—the first to measure public views on that question since 2008. More than 80 percent said charities do a very good or somewhat good job helping people. But a significant number expressed…