Make Charity Loans Illegal in All States

To the Editor:

Congratulations on the bravery of your editorial staff in the special report, “Borrowing the Future,” (February 5).

Now that I have retired, I find myself working as a volunteer writing grants for a nonprofit in New York, and it is disgusting to think that charitable organizations feel they have to woo executive officers the same way that universities woo football coaches or oil companies interview chief executive officers in the corporate world.

Pocketing profit at the expense of any nonprofit should be an offense in all 50 of our states. We live in a time of intense criticism and cynicism already. First mutual funds, now charities?

For those who must contain their anger and constantly struggle to raise funds through grant proposals and contact with foundations, this set of articles really causes one’s teeth to grind. Government regulators should not have to constantly monitor charities searching out illegal financial “deals.”

Lindsay J. Stone

Volunteer
Project 2015 Coordinator for Madison County
Canastota, N.Y.