Right on the heals of the Ontario College of Teachers admission they are not transparent enough with the stakeholders, the Toronto Star broke another story this weekend about Mothers Against Drinking and Driving: MADD's 'exorbitant costs' anger charity's volunteers.
The Oakville-based National Charity is taking it over the head from dedicated volunteers who have to request financial information about the organization. We are not going to spend much time analyzing the arguments presented on both sides, because we think some of the language speaks for itself:
The Oakville-based National Charity is taking it over the head from dedicated volunteers who have to request financial information about the organization. We are not going to spend much time analyzing the arguments presented on both sides, because we think some of the language speaks for itself:
- 'They have a right to know where it really goes'
- 'Won't reveal MADD Finances - salaries and administrative expenses'
- 'One in six charities spent more on fundraising and administration than they did on charitable work'
- 'Fundraisers typically take 70-90 cents of each dollar'
- 'Counts the worts in each fundraising request and appropriates expenses based on that'
- 'Ironically, the person who does not donate get the most public awareness'
- 'Incorrect allocations of expenditures'
- 'Enhance the accountability of our expenses allocations'
We did our own 'sniff test' on how MADD shares information. We quickly found a page Where the Money Goes - Budget and Financial Statements in just a few clicks. However, the page itself was a little underwhelming, PDFs uploaded to the website which can be down loaded. The traditional method of lazily pushing information out to the public.
Although MADD seems to have taken the first step towards transparency there is much more they can be doing to remain accountable to their stakeholders. For example, presenting reports in a more accessible manner so that they can be viewed without being downloaded will likely increase the number of document views. Adding commentary so there is a story behind each document will add context. Creating a space where people can engage online - share comments, opinions, and ask questions will create an engaged community.
We have a friend/colleague who used to be heavily involved at MADD. We are going to ask her about this story, her experience and how our approach to the Sharing Imperative can help. As Framework's goal to help creatively connect people to causes and causes to people, it is important that we understand why traditional Nonprofit Management is so often failing to meet the expectations of the general public.
Do you have a similar experience? What do you think of the Star article? Want to get involved in getting the Sharing Imperative into the water supply? If so, contact us.
Do you have a similar experience? What do you think of the Star article? Want to get involved in getting the Sharing Imperative into the water supply? If so, contact us.
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