Accountability

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has closed down the Veterans Support Organization (VSO) as a settlement from legal action. According to a news release from Paxton's office, VSO collected more than $2.5 million in Texas between 2010 and 2012. But an investigation found 70 percent of the money went to VSO's Florida headquarters and to…

In my opinion, Thanksgiving is a time when we should get away from technology and, in a quiet moment, truly give thanks for what we have in life. As career professionals in the nonprofit arena, we know that material things are not important. We also know we are dependent on so many elements inside and outside our control for complete success and happiness. Our career success is built on long processes and years of trial and error in our jobs. We thrive for relationships whether they happen once or last more than 30 years...

When you get a call asking for money in the name of a charity, Georgia law requires them to tell you whether they're getting paid with some of your donation. But there's a loophole to that law, one the FOX 5 I-Team discovered a local police charity knows all too well. The DeKalb Fraternal Order…

California regulators and consumer groups say insurance giant Blue Shield of California is reneging on a $140 million charitable pledge it made to win approval for a big acquisition. State officials said last month that the San Francisco insurer had agreed to give $14 million annually for 10 years to Blue Shield’s foundation or another…

After making their fortunes from new software or social networks, some Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have vowed to apply their skills to "hacking" philanthropy and "disrupting" old models for funding charity. Not so for Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who isn't afraid to take a more conventional approach to giving. Local officials will gather in…

Flint, Mich., faces a $12 million cost to replace its lead-contaminated water system, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will pay a third of the price. “When we saw blood levels in children exceeded safety standards, we just said we have to come to the table,” said Ridgway White, president of the foundation, which has…

For the most part, nonprofit organizations have been hit hard by our nation’s economic woes. They’re facing challenges in terms of donations, staffing, government and foundation funding, and organizational structure. How can you quickly make a difference while at the same time setting those important standards for your organization’s future sustainability?...

In a perfect world, a gift is an expression of a deeper relationship. It is a tangible way of telling the other person you value them, you care about them, you love them and that they really do matter in the larger scheme of things. But in many relationships, gifts have become an obligatory transaction devoid of any real meaning. And that is why I worry about it...

Relay for Life sprang from nothing in 1985 to more than $400 million per year at its height. In spite of that gargantuan success, no other nonprofit has been able to put the volunteer-driven model to work in the same way. Why is that? Why have no other organizations been able to get volunteers to handle events in the same way or fundraise at the same levels?...

Ellis Wamsley IV told a North Texas company that its $2 million investment would be used for economic development projects throughout the U.S. Wamsley’s nonprofit FAIM Economic Development Corp. in Dallas had promised on its website to “economically emancipate, educate and empower the community” with financial literacy education. Instead, Wamsley and his chief operating officer,…