September 10, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
What does it mean when your charity gets mentioned in the popular comic strip Doonesbury?
It means you’re either yesterday’s news or it’s your turn for an up-close examination, according to some bloggers.
Gary Trudeau’s famous strip on Sunday depicted 25-year-old computer user raising money for the charity DonorsChoose through the online game Second Life.
Second Life — the popular game — has become a trendy way for nonprofit groups to generate money and exposure online. The charitable potential of the game, in fact, is the subject of a blog Nonprofits in Second Life.
Meanwhile, DonorsChoose — a charity that produces an online catalog of projects at schools nationwide that need money for supplies and other projects — has been praised in many corners for its egalitarian approach to raising money.
Now that they have been immortalized in Doonesbury, Lucy Bernholz, the author of Philanthropy 2173 says they are primed to lose their flavor-of-the-month status.
“I suppose you know something has gone totally mainstream when its portrayed in Doonesbury,” Ms. Bernholz writes. “I guess its time to look for the next new thing.”
Dan Prives, a nonprofit finance expert, uses the Doonesbury comic as an excuse to take a closer look at DonorsChoose’s financial picture.
Mr. Prives notes that the organization lists $7.8-million in contributions on its 2006 informational tax form — but that it distributed only $2.6-million for student resources.
“I’m wondering whether this could be an indication of a bottleneck in the operation in converting the cash donations into purchases for the teachers,” Mr. Prives writes on Where Most Needed. “The purchasing process, it seems to me, will be a major challenge with the organization’s business model and with its ultimate accountability. I see serious risks here.”
