“Accountability and Ethics Can Make or Break Your Organization”

Demands for increased transparency and public disclosure has caused nonprofit organizations to report details on what they do and how they do it along with disclosure of financials including executive compensation. These reports raise questions about public perceptions of performance along with ethical conduct in solicitation practices, uses of funds raised, and fundraising costs. One consequence is that the public lacks confidence in what organizations say that is eroded further with ethical breeches, real or perceived, from media attention to fraud, scams and scandals. The giving public no longer holds a “blind trust” in nonprofits or their appeal messages. Add to this increased scrutiny the voices of “charity watchdogs” and their multiple “ratings”, “scores” and independent reports with the result of more confusion than clarity on correct nonprofit performance and ethical conduct.