My organization funds a charity to carry out programs that serve both our missions. We have been giving core support plus project funding, some of it multi-year, for about ten years now. Our priorities have changed and their programs are...
Our grant application reflected our best estimates for results and expenses. Take-up was well below our expectations and, therefore, our costs were a lot lower too. But we developed a related program that achieved similar outcomes, sort of, and used...
I read that a nonprofit employee recently committed suicide after being confronted with evidence that she had defrauded a nonprofit. Was the nonprofit ethically responsible for leading her into temptation? The responsibility for wrongdoing always rests primarily with the wrongdoer....
The company I approached for a grant this week asked for information to confirm that my charity operated in accordance with corporate socially responsibility. We exist for public benefit and are not a corporation in that sense, though we are...
Is it ethical to shut down a charity when there is a group of people that would like to form a new board, drawing on new contacts and strategies, to help the organization carry on its work? When should a charity...
Is it ethical to hire our executive director on a fee-for-service basis rather than on salary? Does this arrangement help us avoid liabilities such as an unjust dismissal suit if we terminate the individual? Many organizations do use this method,...
I have some volunteers that are more trouble than they are worth, but they are good-hearted people who mean well. Another team leader suggested I fire them. Can a nonprofit ethically get rid of people who want to help? Not...
My charity has just been offered a large donation from a tobacco manufacturer. Is it ethical to take money obtained from a product that kills when used as directed? Many people are surprised to find there are two sides to...
I am very concerned that the board of a charity to which I belong is not following its bylaws. I read the minutes and also hear about problems from staff and volunteers, and there are numerous ongoing violations. They appear...
I supervise a number of employees, and always try to help them develop skills relevant to their current work and their career. One employee requested training on project management, and we agreed on a course. She asked to take it...
