‘Tis the Season of Giving. You Gotta a Problem Wit Dat?
Ever helpful when not being painfully hip, the folks at New York magazine last week chatted up Laurie Styron, an analyst at the American Institute of Philanthropy, for some tips to help New Yorkers find charities that get the most bang for their buck. Her advice: See the Institute’s list of top-rated charities and avoid “[g]roups for veteran, lost children, or firefighters and police,” which are favored fronts for scammers because they’re difficult to say no to.
A depressing side note from Styron’s remarks is her observation of a sad similarity between charities and corporations:
Charity financial reporting can be very inconsistent, and charities have wide latitude in reporting things. There are a lot of ways to use creative accounting to skew things in their favor.
It’s a hard but necessary thing to hear this time of year. | 501(c)
As a business we have to sit down and investigate before we donate anything, it almost has turned into a full time position.
It’s a shame it has to be that way, Kevin, but nonprofits are human endeavors, subject to the potential of all of the human flaws and shortcomings. Thanks for reading.