Donor beware: Pause before you give to any cause
The public’s trust in nonprofits declined from 59% in 2020 to 56% in 2022, according to Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs that tracks trends in philanthropy.
One likely explanation for this erosion of confidence in organizations that are supposed to do good works: news of nonprofit leaders and fundraisers who improperly pocket funds.
On Sept. 8, 2022, for example, New York state authorities charged former Trump administration aide Steve Bannon and others involved in a group called We Build the Wall with allegedly committing money laundering, fraud and conspiracy for deceiving donors and misusing their funds.