3 Lessons From One Nonprofit's Dramatic Fall

It’s not often that a nonprofit organization provides an object lesson in leadership, financial management, culture and governance all at once. But the grim, at times horrifying, tale of Healing Arts Initiative (HAI) is a special case.

HAI is—or, it appears, was—a New York nonprofit that supported the area needy and elderly through arts performances. When a new executive director, D. Alexandra Dyer, joined the organization last year, she quickly recognized it had problems. Money had been embezzled from the organization for years—more than $750,000, according to a legal filing.