Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, has been getting into hot water lately over allegations that he took liberties with the facts in the book and with money donated to his multi-million dollar charity, the Central Asia Institute (CAI). 60 Minutes ran a piece in mid-April that got the controversy rolling, with author Jon Krakauer, a past contributor to Mortenson’s charity, leading the charge. An interview with Mortenson appeared in Outside magazine a few days later.
NPR ran a story last Friday on the Mortenson controversy and raised the question, “Can You Know Where Your Charity Dollars Go?” Their answer: “Not Easily,” stands as a caution to any who donate to charitable causes. This past October, Gayle Sulik’s book Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women's Health explored a similar question in the context of cancer charities. There’s an interesting article on Slate.com about Sulik’s book. If you’re interested in another take on the state of cancer research, Devra Davis’s The Secret History of the War on Cancer is available, along with Sulik’s Pink Ribbon Blues, in the Imperatore library. Check out our online catalog for availability.
The issue of how charity dollars are used is extremely complicated, because so much is unknown about what constitutes appropriate compensation. How much should the CEO of a non-profit make? (NPR itself got sucked into a similar controversy recently when its federal funding came under scrutiny). A guy I knew from college started a website, www.givewell.org, which evaluates charities in terms of their effectiveness in delivering social good. In addition to providing good advice for would-be donors, their reports and write-ups are very interesting! --Mr. K
ReplyDeleteBut let's say that a non-profit is in trouble financially or has to operate in a part of the world where there is a myriad of political and economic complexity. Couldn't it be argued that the best use of that non-profit's resources is to hire a seasoned leader who understands the particular challenges that it faces? In many cases, a highly compensated CEO might be in perfect alignment with the mission of an organization.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget, just like donors to non-profits, shareholders of publicly traded for-profit companies also get very angry about out of control CEO salaries.