Where Most Needed

Serial Charity Embezzler Gets 32 Months

He took over $50,000 from two organizations, taking $19,000 from one even though he only worked there two weeks. 

Bishops Aware of Widespread Embezzlement in US Dioceses

Survey by Villanova business professors reveals that 85% of dioceses have experienced embezzlement in the past five years.

The NY Times Picks Up the Chill on Muslim Charities

Charity giving in the month of Ramadan is way down in Dearborn, one of the most Muslim cities in the US.

Fraud Report: Smallest Orgs Have Biggest Losses

Every other year, fraud examiners summarize data collected from occupational fraud cases.  Small organizations (nonprofit and for-profit) suffer the most. 

Hermitage Museum Responds with Surprising Transparency to Insider Thefts

Musuem publishes list of 221 missing items in the newspapers and on the Internet, which seems to have led to at least two recoveries and arrests that may lead to more.   

Nonprofit Think Tanks Provide Cover for Lobbying by ex-Officials

Well known organizations allow their fellows to have multiple affiliations, which are sometimes disclosed, sometimes not. 

Smithsonian Inspector General Resigns

But a museum internal auditor needs a lower profile and a more focused mission to maintain effectiveness. 

Trio of Stories Call Attention to Charity Data Risks

From Ohio to the UK, and from universities to symphonies, data security issues are not getting the attention they deserve.

Small Charity Wants a Break for Lax System Security

One of the main themes of Where Most Needed is that local news stories often illustrate significant aspects of charity operation that rarely receive attention from the major media.  One of these issues is the extent to which charities expect to be exempted from the consequences of their poor management practices, particularly with respect to ICT.

Here's a case: Marc Bennett, the CEO of HealthInsight, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Utah and Nevada, is complaining to the press about a $25,500 long distance charge from AT&T for unauthorized use of its 800 number by a hacker.  AT&T claims that the organization had inadquate security over the use of its 800 number and was warned three times about the unauthorized use and failed to take action. 

The article contrasts the size of the AT&T CEO's salary with the budget of HealthInsight.  More to the point (for WMN) is the fact that CEO Bennett of HealthInsight takes home $188,000 a year (according to the organization's IRS Form 990) and the organization's VP of operations $130,000 a year, in an organization with contract (not contribution) revenue of $7 million and about 70 employees.  In today's environment, monitoring an 800 number for unauthorized use should be expected of every organization.  And if it isn't done, it hardly seems fitting for a completely fee-based organization to plead charity.  Not to mention that the organization's mission is to keep down the cost of health care through quality control. Physician, heal thyself!

Small Institutions Put Cultural Heritage at Greatest Risk

The recent Heritage Health Index Report on the condition and preservation needs of all US public collection has a particularly discouraging assessment of the ability of small organizations to live up to their stewardship responsibilities. 

The study found that 81% of the items in the care of small organizations were at risk because the organizations lacked emergency plans, compared to 63% of items in medium sized organizations and 43% in large organizations.   In every aspect of the study, small organizations fared the worst: condition of collections, collection environment and storage, emergency planning, security, preservation activities, funding, assessment, and accessibility by the public. 

It is also interesting that the report was first proposed back in 1997 and was published late in 2005.  One of the reasons for the lengthy process was the effort put into locating and securing the participation of the smallest groups.  So not only did small organizations demonstrate less capability, their numbers greatly complicated the completion of the survey itself. 

In the US, the belief in the value of small nonprofit organizations is widespread, and thousands of new organizations start up every month.  This one report is not going to change that.  But it is one piece of quantifiable evidence that small organizations are not only less capable, but actually increase our risk of losing what we most want to keep.  One obvious conclusion is that it may make more sense for foundations and philanthropists to try make large organizations more responsive than it does to make small organizations more capable.