Accountability

More and more, it looks like many national chapter-based organizations across the country are breaking up or reorganizing. They may be called chapters, affiliates or federated organizations, but more and more, these small groups are growing up and demanding more respect, independence and control over the dollars they are raising...

As your organization works to secure support and strengthen your impact, your efforts often come down to one key element: transparency. A twofold ingredient, transparency is expected externally by donors who seek proof of your results, and internally by your staff to best understand how to drive total impact forward. Forward-thinking organizations take steps to…

Donald Trump claimed it took only an hour to raise $6 million for veterans. “We set up the website. I called some friends,” he said. And, just like that, 20 veterans’ groups were told to expect “a lot of money.” Indeed, if all you’d read about veterans groups in the past few weeks was coverage of…

The CEO of an animal welfare nonprofit stepped down last month after being criticized for allegedly purchasing a puppy from a breeder instead of a shelter. Former employees and volunteers have described the decision as the final straw in a series of issues with the top executive....

The most recent “Health and Well-Being Survey” conducted by Gallup provides alarming insight about the effectiveness of nonprofit donor-recognition efforts. Among those surveyed, 81 percent said they have donated money to a charity within the past year. In addition, 52 percent of survey respondents said they have volunteered their time during that same period. Given the high-level…

It's been a little more than a month since CBS News and The New York Times released independent investigations slamming Wounded Warrior Project for allegedly wasting donation money on lavish conferences and events. And while the reports had several noteworthy flaws, the damage is already adding up for the veterans charity. Late last week, CBS News reported that several of Wounded Warrior Project's major donors have ended or plan to end their support...

"I'm very sorry. I made a mistake, and I intend to pay it back," Reggie Rucker told a Fox 8 Cleveland reporter after pleading guilty to wire fraud and making false statements to law enforcement last week...

As an activist in the San Francisco Bay Area for nearly two decades, I worked on the front lines advocating for ideas that were considered "radical" at the time. I led organizations that organized and trained young people to fight for criminal-justice reform and gender justice, and I helped organize rallies and protests calling for…

After Todd King Sr.’s 13-year-old son Tyree was killed by a drunk driver last summer, friends, neighbors and strangers rallied to the family’s side, donating several thousand dollars for funeral expenses through a crowdfunding website. Then King, who lives in Springfield, Ohio, discovered that a neighbor had kept more than $1,000 of the $2,700 she…

For orchestras to play well, practice and experience is critical to maintaining a quality performance. How do orchestras relate to resource-development programs? As a nonprofit pro, you are the orchestra leader. In many cases, it is up to you to create, maintain and sustain a quality team that works in a holistic way...