Accountability

On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, CBS News aired a two-part investigation into the spending habits of Wounded Warrior Project. Citing tax documents and interviews with more than 40 former employees, the investigation found that the nonprofit spent $26 million on conferences, conventions and meetings in 2014, and described the charity's spending as "out of control." It's a bad look for Wounded Warrior Project, but there are a handful of issues with the report...

Goodwill Industries of San Joaquin Valley is taking a stand against competitors with a billboard that reads, "Say yes to Goodwill and say no to the box." The billboard is posted at the intersection of Thornton Road and Hammer Lane in Stockton, Calif., and will rotate to a new location every two months through June.…

What began as a fun way for Atlas Brew Works and DC Brau Brewing Company, two Washington, D.C.-based breweries, to engage the community and raise funds for an important cause, left them with a bad taste in their mouths and a five-month headache. So, what happened? Why did this attempt to do good go so wrong? The reasons are manyfold...

Just days after Microsoft announced it would donate $1 billion in cloud-computing resources to 70,000 nonprofits worldwide, founder Bill Gates is in the crosshairs for his philanthropy. In a 54-page report released last week, a social advocacy group slammed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for using its enormous giving-power to influence global health policies in the foundation's own interests, and for prioritizing corporations over the poor...

Big strides recently have been made in the acknowledgment that overhead ratios are poor indicators of an organization’s impact or financial efficiency. Although the movement toward outcomes-based measurement offers a promising alternative to understanding impact, very little has been done to truly shift the sector’s understanding of what it takes—or even means—for nonprofits to be…

You’ve probably known someone in your life with the special gift of making you feel like you matter. Like you’re his or her “favorite.” That’s what donor-centered fundraising is all about. Your donors know that you couldn’t do it without them, that their support matters. Because you speak to them in that way that reminds them, each and every time, that they count...

Pop quiz: Who should receive a "thank you"? A recurring donor who gives $15 a month A major donor who gives a $10,000 gift A first-time donor who gives a $50 gift A regular donor who gives a gift to a special campaign like #GivingTuesday A new donor acquired through a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign All…

Advances in technology and the emergence of social media tools make it more possible than ever for social movements and causes to quickly spread far and wide (to go "viral" in the parlance of the moment). But how do you take a cause and transform it from an idea into something with universal appeal? In…

All of us have to start the process of establishing a relationship with someone at ground zero. And yet, the essence of fundraising and development is engagement. Meeting people and prospects is truly an art. With prospects, you must take excellent notes after each personal visit. Create a strategy for each session, and show you remember the prospect and the meetings at a deeper level...

An NFL team is a massive philanthropic boost to its surrounding communities, providing grants, fundraising partnerships and support for critical community outreach programs. But what happens when an NFL team leaves town? With the Rams set to relocate to Los Angeles, charities in and around St. Louis will soon find out...