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The Evergreen State Society |
| Observing Nonprofits |
November 7, 2001 |
by Putnam Barber, President, The Evergreen State Society
(This is one of a series of brief observations about the work of nonprofits. They are sent occasionally to members, supporters and friends of The Evergreen State Society.)
I get quite a lot of email as the Editor of the Internet Nonprofit Center or because of The Evergreen State Society's website. Often the mail asks quite basic questions, which I can answer by pointing the writer to the Nonprofit FAQ (http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq) or to some other resource.
Occasionally, though, someone asks a question that can't be handled that way. This morning's correspondence is a good example.
I've been surprised by how frequently questions of this sort come to me. I'll be interested in your reactions, and to know if you have suggestions about how supporters of nonprofits might reduce the chances of damaging internal divisions within small organizations.
Here, slightly edited, is the mail I received:
Hello, Coincidentally I am in Washington State and got on the internet this morning hoping to find some information on non profit organizations to help me with an argument. I belong to a cooperative pre school and besides tuition, fund raising is how we stay afloat. I'm new to this pre school so was surprised to be told that if we parents don't manage to sell the 25 raffle tickets we are given to sell we are to pay the difference out of pocket, or in lieu of selling raffle tickets we can just pay the school $25.00. This to me is not fund raising. I feel this is unethical especially since this ensures our teacher receive a yearly bonus. I also feel this is a conflict of interest since our teacher is a board member for the preschool. I have expressed my opinion to the board president but got nowhere about it. If I'm wrong that will be fine but would appreciate input from a knowledgably person. Thank you so much for your time. |
And here is the reply I sent:
It all sounds sort of tacky to me, but I don't have the job of making ends meet for a pre-school.
I think it would be perfectly ethical for a coop to set contributions goals for members and then to offer the choice of meeting one of those goals by making a personal contribution or, if preferred, by selling raffle tickets for an equivalent amount. (In fact, I just took the personal-contribution route with an organization where I'm a member; selling raffle tickets seemed much harder to me than just writing a small check.) It seems to me that your coop expressed these options the other way round, but that's hardly a major issue.
Do you believe your teacher should not get a bonus? If so, I guess it's your duty to say so in the appropriate setting (some sort of personnel review process, but of course the details of how that works would be very much a matter of the school's traditions and culture). I can see how that would be a delicate thing to do, but I think bringing it up candidly in the appropriate setting is better than quibbling over your $25 share in it. If you do think your teacher deserves a bonus, then helping find the money to pay it seems like the right thing to do.
As for the teacher's membership on the board, that pattern is widely observed. Many commentators on nonprofit work say firmly that no paid staff should sit on the board of the organization where they work. I personally believe that to be good practice. But I have no idea how it ended up different at your pre-school. I strongly counsel careful attention to the practical and historical realities of the existing organization, using precepts like this one to guide thinking but not to drive action.
And I'd generalize that last point. Organizations like coop pre-schools depend on the good will of the participants to be successful. Clear rules, clearly agreed to, can really help ensure continuing good will. But arguments over the rules almost never do. If you are finding yourself at odds with other people involved with the pre-school, it may be that you should look for another one rather than attempting to induce change at this one.
I wasn't asked a more general question about raffles in this exchange, so it did not seem appropriate to add to the complexity of the situation by opening the issue of whether this pre-school's raffle meets the rather complicated Washington State Gambling Commission rules about the kinds of organizations that may conduct raffles and how they must be run. For the curious, the Gambling Commission's website offers a good deal of information on those topics. See http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/training/ask.asp. The Gambling Commission also has a 70-page online slide show about nonprofit raffles, accessible through http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/webtraining.htm. The rules are complicated enough that any organization thinking about doing a raffle for the first time will want to look at them carefully and even experienced raffle operators may find a review worthwhile.
Ted Lord, Director of the Northwest Giving Project at Philanthropy NW will be the guest for our "Civil Society in Everyday Life" meeting on November 20 from 8 to 9:30 am on the Seattle University Campus. We will celebrate National Philanthropy Day by talking with an experienced leader about his ideas for articulating the key values of the nonprofit sector and encouraging personal engagement in philanthropy. All are welcome. There is no charge. For details, see The Evergreen State Society webpage at http://www.tess.org.
If you do not wish to receive these occasional emails, please let us know by writing observing@tess.org. Thank you.
Putnam Barber, President
The Evergreen State Society
PO Box 20682
Seattle, WA 98102-0682
206 329-5640 :: pbarber@tess.org
©2001, The Evergreen State Society