COLLEGE GRADS LEARN THAT WALL STREET IS ANYTHING BUT CHARITABLE EVEN THOUGH IT USES THE COVER OF CHARITY TO SOFTEN THE BLOW

DATELINE: April 4, 2008, Chicago

"Let's see, I am a top-of-the class Harvard, Yale, University of Chicago, NYU, Stanford, or Northwestern University MBA. Should I go to Goldman, Lehman Brothers, J.P. Morgan, or Bear Stearns?" Such hard choices students faced last year, particularly with those lucrative $40,000 and $50,000 signing bonuses.

Some chose Door No. 3, Bear Stearns. As Monty Hall used to say when the lovely...

The Desktop Guide is Quickly Becoming the Must Have Guide for Nonprofit Executives Jack Siegel's new book, A Desktop Guide for Nonprofit Directors, Officers, and Advisors: Avoiding Trouble While Doing Good, has quickly become the go-to guide for nonprofit executives and advisors. So what are people saying about the Guide?  In the October 2007 edition of the The Federal Lawyer, New York lawyer George W. Gowen and nonprofit authority, wrote: Jack Siegel knows his way around this backwater...Best of all, he doesn't write like an accountant (in deference to my brothers and sisters a the bar, I avoid adding lawyers to the assessment).  His guide is to the point, practical, and readable....Even though the subtitle of this worthy book is Avoiding Trouble Whild Doing Good, doing good well is the book's operative theme. Some of our readers have followed the link to the Amazon.com Web site, but apparently have not bought the Guide.  If they were turned off by the price, they should reconsider.  One prominent attorney in the exempt organization field grabbed a review copy of the Guide and couldn't put it down.  She has instructed a number of her clients to buy it, pointing out to them that for less than 1/2 hour of her billable time, they receive a lesson (and resource) that tells it like she would like it told.  If you are starting a new charity, the Guide could save you thousands of dollars in legal fees by teaching you how to better utilize your legal counsel and framing the issues so you don't spin your wheels at $400 an hour. Buy your copy today at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or John Wiley (the publisher).

Carol Merrill opened Door No. 3, "You've been zonked." Well that appears to be the case for aspiring investment bankers who picked Bear Stearns. Eric Dash is reporting on the New York Times DealBook Web site that J.P. Morgan has rescinded/modified dozens of Bear Stearns job offers made to soon-to-be graduates and wannabe summer interns. J.P. Morgan Said to Withdraw Bear Job Offers, Apr. 3, 2008. Well in the cut-throat world of Wall Street, the vast majority of these people would have felt the sharp edge of the ax sometime in their careers so maybe they can include this as experience on their resumes.

When the ax does fall, Wall Street softens the blow with some parting gifts so that we have only nearly-headless investment bankers (as in Harry Potter's Nearly Headless Nick, the resident ghost of Gryffindor House). People will be able to keep signing bonuses and relocation payments. Out-placement services will be available.

In the case of the summer interns, J.P. Morgan has decided to make them charity cases. In what strikes us as an innovative idea, it will provide them with the opportunity to earn ten-weeks of intern pay, but only if they take positions with nonprofit groups that J.P. Morgan is said to be lining up. We suspect that those titans-to-be won't be thrilled when they get back to school next fall and begin swapping stories, learning about the exciting deals their classmates worked on during the summer, not to mention the sky box seats, Hamptons weekends, and other perks that come with life of an aspiring investment banker.

Of course, this is the sector's big opportunity. Will the nonprofit executives who get their hands on these masters of the universe bore them with scut work or use them and their training in entrepreneurship, business plans, and finance to invigorate the nonprofits who receive this gift from J.P. Morgan? Will these students be so inspired that they return to school in the fall asking for transfers to schools of public administration? We shall see.

And what about the ethics of J.P. Morgan? Whoever thought this gambit up certainly deserves a lot of credit for a public relations coup. But should J.P. Morgan be able to cleanse its image by dumping what might be viewed as a problem on charities? We will ask the question, but not offer an answer. Undoubtedly, some will see this as a benevolent move on part of the J.P. Morgan and others will see it as cruelty under cover of charity. It certainly has some similarities to lawsuit settlements where the corporate defendant makes a big contribution to charity.

Internal Revenue Service - Circular 230 Disclosure: As provided for in Treasury regulations, any advice (but none is intended) relating to federal taxes that is contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any plan or arrangement addressed herein.

THE FOREGOING IS NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS LEGAL ADVICE. IF LEGAL ADVICE IS REQUIRED, THE NONPROFIT OR OTHER PARTY IN QUESTION SHOULD SEEK THE ADVICE OF QUALIFIED LEGAL COUNSEL. If you liked this post, please visit http://www.charitygovernance.com for a description of our training and consulting services.  You will also want to acquire a copy of Jack Siegel's book, A Desktop Guide for Nonprofit Directors, Officers, and Advisors: Avoiding Trouble While Doing Good." Copyright 2008, Charity Governance Consulting LLC. All Rights Reserved. You may not copy any portion of this post to a computer "clipboard" for re-posting anywhere or e-mailing, or otherwise reproduce this post. If you want others to review this post, you may provide them with a link to this web blog. Any use of the material or ideas in this post by reporters or other publishers shall make reference to Jack Siegel, author of "A Guide for Non-Profit Directors, Officers and Advisors: Avoiding Trouble While Doing Good" and this web blog.  For additional information call 773-325-2124