A disturbing story on the front page of MSNBC tonight about the lack of confidence average Americans have in the nonprofit system:
Americans’ charitable spirit peaks during the holiday season, but this year the urge to give is battling a strong contrarian tide – a crisis of trust born from public disenchantment with a philanthropic system that many consider disorganized, under-regulated and tainted by scandal.
A poll by Harris Interactive released this summer found only one in 10 Americans strongly believes charities are "honest and ethical" in their use of donated funds. And nearly one in three believes nonprofits have "pretty seriously gotten off in the wrong direction," it found.
This is serious on a lot of levels, not the least of which is the fact that the contributions of "average donors" to nonprofits total some $260 billion. Obviously if they're questioning what's happening to their money, we have a serious problem on our hands, particularly as we head into the holiday season when people are more likely to give.
Compounding the problem is the explosion in the number of smaller nonprofits, which further fragments donor attention. People are still aware of the large nonprofits--the United Ways, the Easter Seals--but smaller charities are left to compete among themselves for increasingly scarce resources. Not that this is news to anyone in the nonprofit sector.
This story is part of a larger series that MSNBC is producing on nonprofits called Give and Take. Through the series they intend to explore "the good and the ugly in the world of charity." The message board is particularly interesting, with the vast majority of comments coming from disgruntled donors. Among the complaints:
- Sending a thank-you asking for another donation in the same envelope.
- A belief that nonprofits are basically "hounding" donors. "Harassing me for money makes me think my gift wasn't appreciated," reports one person.
- A perception that money is being "wasted" on frequent mailings, especially mailings that include small gifts.
- That too much money is going to administrative fees, rather than to helping people.
Nonprofits already have a tough battle with marketing and fundraising. Stories like this aren't going to help.
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