My Word: Work together, don’t multiply
Orlando Sentinel
My Word: Work together, don’t multiply
By James A. Donovan
December 22, 2009
Local nonprofit organizations have had extensive news coverage this year — the termination of a homeless drop-incenter initiative by downtown churches, the closing of the Destiny Foundation, the hefty salary for the chief executive officer of Florida’s Blood Centers, record demand at Second Harvest Food Bank and a local couple starting Bags of Hope for the homeless in the woods.
Nationally, The New York Times recently reported that in a decade there has been a 60 percent increase in the number of nonprofit organizations in the U.S. to 1.1 million. California Democrat Congressman Xavier Becerra found this trend to be troubling. He questioned whether American “taxpayers are getting a big enough benefit in return” to justify the $50 billion loss to the U.S. budget due to $300 billion given to charity last year in the form of tax-deductible contributions.
The article points out that the Internal Revenue Service makes it easy for anyone who wants to start a charity. Who wouldn’t apply when the approval rate for such applications was 99 percent last year — or more than one every 10 to 15 minutes — according to a recent study by students at Stanford University. As a consultant in philanthropy who has worked with more than 400 nonprofits from the arts to zoos, we don’t need more nonprofits. We need more nonprofits to work together for charitable, educational, scientific and public benefit to society. At least that is what donors tell us in the feasibility studies we conduct for clients.
Congress should establish a commission to review the inequities among nonprofit organizations. For example, donors who give to the University of Florida get a tax-deduction just as they would if they gave to Bags of Hope. The university adds thousands of potential life-long donors at each graduation, unlike Bags of Hope alumni who are poor. Nonprofits serving the poor should be able to provide a higher tax deduction to their donors, because such organizations do not have a built-in constituency like a university.
Furthermore, there is a lack of available leadership for existing nonprofits, let alone new ones. With the downsizing of corporate America, many CEOs don’t have the time to serve on nonprofit boards to exercise their clout, work their connections and provide cash support. The $300 billion in giving last year represented less than 3percent of the Gross Domestic Product, according to the Giving USA Report. There are millions of uninvited contributions out there for the asking. Congress should focus its efforts on providing incentives to nonprofits to collaborate, merge and share resources, not increasing the number of them.
What a holiday gift that would be for the least among us come December 2010.
James A. Donovan is President of Donovan Management, Inc., which assists organizations engaged in philanthropy.
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Comments
I just happened upon our post and have learned something here. You raise an interesting point. And I think its a good idea. And on top of that I would like to add that I’ve noticed that many smaller charities operate at better efficiencies. For example “Prestige Miracles Foundation” here in Denver, Colorado donates 100% of all its donations to those in need (no overhead). Now THATS the type of charity I like to donate to!!
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