Though misunderstood at first, Doctors Without Borders’ bold decision to stop accepting tsunami-relief donation could help revive public trust in nonprofits.

By Paul Barbagallo

One constant in international-relief efforts: the more media coverage a crisis attracts, the more donor dollars stream in.

“Now, because of the tsunami, we think we might be able to identify major donors who we didn’t know about and who didn’t know too much about us,” Sexton says. “We thought, even pre-tsunami, that we would hit our $30 million goal sooner than expected. Now it’s making us look at our goals a little differently.”