The ‘Cautionary Tale’ of Wyclef Jean’s Charity, Plus More: Thursday’s Roundup
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
January 21, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
- Scrutiny of the musician Wyclef Jean’s Haiti charity should be a “cautionary tale” for the nonprofit world and a reminder to get annual audits, follow proper accounting procedures, and avoid conflicts of interest on boards, writes Alice Korngold, a nonprofit consultant, on her Fast Company blog.
- Alison Fine, a Chronicle contributor who writes about social change in the digital age, says it’s time for a “Nonprofit National Disaster Game Plan,” namely a list of the best charities to contribute to when a disaster strikes.
- The response to the Haiti earthquake suggests that the proliferation of charities isn’t necessarily a bad thing, writes Mike Burns, an expert on nonprofit boards, on his blog. Many new nonprofit groups have been developing innovative solutions to aid and development challenges that are assisting relief efforts in Haiti, he says.
- Can corporate giving actually hurt a company and alienate its shareholders, asks Daniel Indiviglio, a business blog writer for The Atlantic, in his examination of the decision by a prominent drug company to donate intellectual property to fight malaria – information that required millions of dollars in research to obtain.
- In an online video chat, Phil Buchanan, president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, a foundation research group, and Susan Herr, of the Communications Network, discuss whether philanthropy is “under attack” and why so few Americans know about what it does. The discussion is sponsored by the Communications Network, an association of foundation communications officials.
