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

But according to Alyssa Herman, director of development for the U.S. section of MSF, the overarching goal was to respect donors’ intent, not to discourage giving.

“We had to convey a very nuanced message, and in some cases it was reported incorrectly in the news,” Herman admits. “On Monday [Dec. 27, 2004], I was saying to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re going to raise $10 [million], $15 [million], even $20 million without really doing any fundraising.’ I saw this generosity and this tremendous emotional outpouring through the Web, and I wanted to make sure that we honored our donors’ wishes.”