I’m Ticked Off!

Trust me, my headline is not something to just get you to read this week's post. I'm really ticked off. Recently (May 5, to be specific), an article was published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy (subscription required to view the whole article) by an associate professor of accounting at Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. Just the thought of having someone in "finance" weigh in on fundraising strategy makes me nervous, but after reading the article I was steaming.

The title of said article is "Transparency and Lower Donor Tax Breaks Can Keep Telemarketers in Check." But before I go into why I'm so upset, let me go ahead and say the following:

1. My issue has nothing to do with channel — I don't care if the article referenced telemarketing, e-marketing or direct mail — I would still be irritated. And, to be honest with you, the article could have easily referenced any channel in the same way.
2. I am not blind to the fact that there are some bad apples in the bunch. Yes, there are nonprofits that are truly not doing the best possible job with donation stewardship. Yes, there are nonprofits that feel a lot more like a scam than a charity trying to fight for a cause. But this author has called out some of the most reputable and greatest stewards of donor dollars in this country.
3. I am all about people having an opinion and sharing it. However, I do believe that before people cast bad mojo on some of our country's top nonprofit brands, they should at least understand some of the details. (Granted, I'm assuming this author does not understand the details because if he did the article would not be worthy of being an article.)

Now, with those disclaimers out of the way, let me give you some details about why I'm bothered. In a nutshell, the article called out the Alzheimer's Association, the American Diabetes Association, ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the American Lung Association, Easter Seals and Smile Train, and implied they were not good stewards of donor dollars. Why? To quote the article, they "... are just a few of the organizations the Michigan report listed as using solicitors to raise at least $1 million from donors but receiving less than 35 percent of the total collected."