Where Most Needed

Fearful Symmetry in San Francisco

Christmas Day tiger escape is a grim reminder of the risks of nonprofit mismanagement and the flaccid oversight that comes with self-regulation.  No one is keeping an eye on the tiger, or its keeper. 

Independent Sector Releases Watered Down Principles for Nonprofits

The IS-sponsored Panel on the Nonprofit Sector announces principles that aren't that different from ones that other nonprofit groups adopted decades ago.  And they still don't address over-indulgent executive compensation—much less fundraising phone calls and junk mail. 

School Tase Challenge to Student Government & Campus Police

The University of Florida taser incident should lead to a broader review of protocols for speakers forum, both for the student group that sponsors them and for the campus police, which prides itself on its adherence to professional standards.  But all universities—public and private—should be on notice.

Honolulu Newspaper Presses Case for Charity Registration

Although the vast majority of Hawai'i's 5,000 public charities follow the rules and have financial safeguards in place, the Honolulu Advertiser thinks they should have to pay for the misdeeds of a few.  There is no evidence offered to demonstrate that registration reduces fraud in other states. 

Sidebar: Cambridge College and the Risks of Governance

A successful school for working adults provides an example of why legal compliance doesn't eliminate risks in charity governance.

College Accrediting Bodies Want to Cut the Corporate Claptrap

At least one group of watchdog organizations are looking past the arbitrary divisions between for-profit, nonprofit, faith-based, and governmental  organizations. 

The Roger Williams University Debacle Signals Failure of the Accreditation Process

Belated action by an accrediting body triggered the oafish outburst by the board chair that attracted media attention, but major governance flaws sat in plain sight for much longer.

Roger Williams Law School in Uproar over Board Chair's Use of the N-word

The board member for forty years, chair of eighteen years (and major donor to the school) has resigned, claiming it was because of his age (80), but others on and off campus are agitating for a complete board shake up and removal of his name from the law school.