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Mar-a-Lago Red Cross Gala Raises Questions
(The gates of luxury: outside of Mar-a-Lago) Does it matter where you host your charity gala? The days following Trump’s January 27 executive order were chaos. Customs and Border Protection agents were abruptly tasked with barring Syrian refugees’ entry to the United States indefinitely, blocking…
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Was Trump Foundation’s Political Donation Intentional?
The IRS clearly states that charity organizations are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign.” A brewing controversy involves one of today’s most recognizable names potentially breaking this cardinal rule. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)…
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Scrutiny for Wounded Warrior Project
One nonprofit is in hot water following the dismissal of its top leadership. The Wounded Warrior Project – a charity whose mission is to provide care for injured veterans – is facing scrutiny following reports that personnel grossly mismanaged organizational funding and directed few resources…
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Anti-Choice Laws Spur Backchannel Abortions
(Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson) A haunting trend has emerged in Google search behavior among U.S. citizens, indicating the effects of anti-choice legislation sweeping across the country in recent years. In an op-ed for The New York Times, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz discusses an alarming uptick in…
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Nonprofit Suffers from Land’s End Controversy
(Pictured above: Gloria Steinem) Land’s End – the Wisconsin-based clothing retailer – provoked controversy recently when it published an interview with renowned feminist writer and icon Gloria Steinem in its spring catalog. As part of the company’s “Legend Series,” Land’s End intended to underscore the…
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Nonprofits Play Role in Patent Troll Debate
(Photo: Two Vermont nonprofits were threatened with a lawsuit if they did not pay licensing fees stemming from an obscure part of their office scanners) It’s hard enough for business and nonprofit leaders to keep their organizations afloat without completely erroneous charges of patent infringement showing…
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FIFA Fumbles Its Nonprofit Mission
On May 27, nine FIFA representatives – along with a handful of sports media executives – were arrested on corruption charges in Geneva, Switzerland. The United States-led case against soccer’s most powerful nonprofit institution is less surprising in the content of its allegations (bribery, racketeering,…
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Vetting Veterans Charities: How to Make a Difference this Memorial Day
What is perhaps the most important take away from the recent breakup of the Reynolds family scam nonprofit ring? Vetting organizations before donating. The Tennessee-based ring of cancer nonprofits swindled donors of $187 million, spending as little as 3 percent on the cancer patients purportedly…
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Lawsuit: Network of Cancer Nonprofits Swindled Donors
On May 19, the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of all U.S. states announced a lawsuit against four nonprofits. The lawsuit alleges that the organizations scammed donors of $187 million while ostensibly raising money for cancer patients. The groups include The Children’s Cancer…
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NFL Punts Its Nonprofit Status
Over the past year, Key Elements Group has provided ongoing coverage of the controversies facing one of the most profitable nonprofits in the United States – the National Football League. In the wake of domestic violence scandals and soaring profits and salaries for its executive staff,…
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