After a fundraising and public relations disaster in 1993, the award-winning Marine Toys for Tots Foundation regrouped and came back stronger than ever.

By Melissa Busch

“[Lt.] Gen. Cooper also got on TV and let the American public know that we had problems within the foundation and that we were going to resolve it,” Osman says. “It does take years to regain the public’s confidence, but persistence can prove to be fruitful. The key to an organization getting past something like this is transparency. Let your donors know that mistakes were made but that they’re being fixed.