Public Sets High Standards for Nonprofits - 27 Oct 2005

Public Sets High Standards for Nonprofits - 27 Oct 2005: "Public Sets High Standards for Nonprofits


AccountingWEB.com - October 27, 2005 - Two recent surveys of perceptions of nonprofits, conducted before Hurricane Katrina, suggest some skepticism among donors and the public at large about large national charitable organizations. One survey, The Charitable Impulse, conducted by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan research organization, surveyed two distinct groups. of Americans They conducted six focus groups of �civically engaged� donors who had given at least $300 to charities and had volunteered at least once in the past year, and separately interviewed 15 charity leaders around the country.
Donors in the focus groups were generally �enthusiastic and positive�, especially when it came to smaller local charities, according to the Public Agenda report, but had �a long memory for scandal and waste.� Focus group participants expressed concern about marketing costs and big business approaches to sales. Givers had a �long memory for scandal and waste� and took past misdeeds �quite personally, and the breach is nearly impossible to repair,� the report says."