Why are so many non profit organizations failing the public?

hmmmm. what a mess.

 

It doesn't seem like they understand there are consequences to being a badly run organization.

 

So what are you saying Deckel? Lol.

 

It is a lot easier to get grant funds for a handicap ramp and sidewalk renovation than it is for electric bills or a secretary's pay.

 

Do you think it shouldn't be?

 

No, but I also think those handicap ramps are a hell of a lot more expensive than people realize when they are being retrofitted onto an existing building, and they probably shouldn't be either. In the grand scheme of things it was easier for us to get a grant for things like that than it was for the only battered women's shelter in our city. It isn't necessarily a federal issue, but I would like to see more actual local/state government action in the voids some of these non-profits legitimately try to fill, especially things like shelters. One of the reasons I strongly oppose eliminating a lot of these welfare programs the right gets peeved about is because there are so few safety nets for people once they are gone. Relying on charity is foolhardy at best.

 

Not necessarily. Some groups don't have to have good consequences to do what they want to do.

 

Yeah I heard about some program that Obama had that ended up doing something like that. It worked but yeah I can imagine that being a huge problem. I'm glad I worked the cash register at the gift shop most of the time.

 

In answer to the title of the thread question--------------------------because they are run by greedy B'crats that have HUGE salaries.

 

A lot depends on whose trough you are trying to eat from. Some departments like the Department of Transportation are a lot more flush with cash to spread around than others if you can get it within their scope.

 

I think mine was historical, so I don't know which one there. I think it was more private funding though.

 

It's messed up from the get go?

 

Whenever anyone just comes out and asks a question along the lines of “Why does X happen so much?” I immediately wonder “Does X really happen a lot?”.

The article if about one guy who started a non-profit that didn’t achieve as much as he’d like, though it doesn’t give enough information to determine whether it really “failed” or not. The article (and the OP) doesn’t really define the criteria for success or failure (and non-profit is such a generic concept that I wouldn’t expect that definition to be the same across the board) and certainly doesn’t try to assess the proportion of non-profits that succeed or fail. It doesn’t seem like a bad article in itself, it’s just not really talking about what is being presented here.

 

Why not? So long as they haven't lied about their education to their donors, is it not the donor's role to determine the suitability of their fund?

Doesn't this make you sad? That you can't even open up a non profit fundraiser to pay for Jimmy's college without bureaucrats making you jump through hoops? Whatever happened to free enterprise and personal responsibility?

 

We had a big book of privates with info on the types of causes they supported we could refer people to if they were so inclined to pursue it on their own. Our biggest problem was the former staff assistant who created this mess gave people very unrealistic expectations and then cut and ran leaving us the mess in her wake. We were able to shoe-horn a few non-profits connected to historical places in some unexpected departments because of the history of the location itself having been somehow tied to those areas of operations but they were probably stretching it because our Member had some sway over them because they fell within his committee assignments LOL. It is a tough, tough world though.

More back to the direct topic, one of the places we ended up helping getting a couple different grants for was a non-profit connected to restoring and re-opening a former movie theater to be used as a non-profit community arts center. There was huge community support for that effort, and it happened, but after a couple years once it was completed the place all but closed down and ultimately ended up on the auction block. It just wasn't financially viable the way in which it was being run and the Board deferred too much to the former Hollywood director (of no career importance really) who didn't know what he was doing who was managing it. The biggest problem it never overcame was that it was located in a now sketchy part of town people just wouldn't go into after dark. Even when we were involved, I joked that this place was destined to become a porn theater.

 

Because there is so much money to be made with "not for profit" businesses. All it requires is government connections.

 

All these posts make it seem like folks start non profits just to make easy $$. Maybe I am naive and this has always been going on.

 

Now that's funny right here. We just had the floorboards replaced at the place I work, so I haven't been there in so long. And now it's cold (I bike) so I won't be heading out as much.