May 21, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
NEW BOOKS
Doing Good Well: What Does (and Does Not) Make Sense in the Nonprofit World
by Willie Cheng
Willie Cheng, a retired partner at Accenture, a global management and technology services consulting firm, draws upon his corporate experience to point out how charities can do more harm than good when they act too much like businesses.
Such an example is that wealthier donors are also courted more by charities than those less well off, giving the wealthy more control over nonprofit groups. Mr. Cheng cites a study from the Center on Philanthropy which discovered that less than one-third of all charitable giving by American individuals went toward meeting the needs of low-income people. Additionally, Mr. Cheng writes that charitable tax deductions heavily favor wealthy people yet they donate proportionately less than people with more moderate incomes.
He writes, “Charity is meant to rebalance this uneven status between rich and poor. Yet, it seems that even in the charity world, there are similar forces that favor the better-heeled over those who are less so.”
Another problem with charities adopting businesslike strategies is that of extinction. Mr. Cheng writes “The mantra for businesses is growth, growth and more growth. The opposite should apply to nonprofits. Nonprofits are created to achieve societal change. Ultimate success occurs when the nonprofit’s mission is achieved and its existence is no longer needed.”
The book is organized into five sections. The first section outlines the nonprofit world’s structure and governance. The second section explores fund raising, staff compensation, and other management issues. Donations and volunteerism are covered in the third part. Social enterprise and entrepreneurship are discussed in the fourth section, while the last part of the book provides anecdotes about charities and details a “charity ecosystem,” an explanation of the relationships different entities have in the charity world.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard, Indianapolis, Ind. 46256; (800) 762-2974; http://www.josseybass.com; 276 pages; $29.95; ISBN 9-780470-823897.
