Question description

 

MEMO 1: NONPROFIT TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY Due:  Nonprofit news ‐ both good and bad ‐ often strikes the headlines and claims the attention of the public. For example, the ALS Association received an unprecedented amount of fundsin 2014 through the Ice Bucket Challenge. What was not made clear to donors is what ALS has done with the $115 million it raised (and whether it has even spent all of it). Similarly, The Red Cross received an enormous number of donations in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti but hasrecently been under fire for potentially misappropriating these funds and not delivering what was promised. You are a noted expert in the nonprofit field and have increasingly been contacted by friends and colleagues trying to understand the nonprofit landscape and varying degrees of transparency and accountability that are seemingly practiced by different organizations. You believe that organizations that receive fundsfrom the general public have a duty to the public to deliver on their missions. After all they are public charities – and must act in the public interest…. Not to mention the fact that many of the donations these groupsreceive are restricted by donors. In response, you draft a Memo explaining your take on nonprofit transparency and accountability. You hope your insight will help the general public to better understand the opportunities and challenges faced by nonprofit organizations and set a new norm for what constitutes nonprofit transparency and accountability in practice. Specifically, you should address why organizations must be transparent and accountable with donations. Draw on lessons learned and best practices from the ALS Association, the Red Cross, and other non‐profits (see readings for Week 3 or choose your own).