Charity Governance

WAY TO GO, SAM: WHEN AMATEURS GET INVOLVED IN CHARITY WITHOUT FOCUSING ON ALL THE IMPLICATIONS

DATELINE:  February 9, 2010, Chicago  

As Eddie Haskell of Leave It To Beaver fame used to say whenever Wally did something dumb, “Way to go, Sam.”

We’ve previously written about the ten missionaries who are sitting in a Haitian jail due to their alleged efforts to remove orphans from the country.  As we have noted countless times before, many who work for charities rely on the halo that they believe comes with doing good.  “We can classify some of our employees as independent contractors.”  “We don’t need to file a registration for operating a bingo game because we are small potatoes.”  “No need to follow corporate legal formalities because nobody has ever gotten into trouble about that before.”

Well, there are...

ARROGANCE, NOT A MISUNDERSTANDING—NO HALO IN HAITI

Dateline: February 4, 2010, Chicago

We have been watching the story about the imprisoned Baptist missionaries who were detained for allegedly trying to remove 33 Haitian children from Haiti.  The ten missionaries were charged today by Haitian authorities with abduction and criminal association.  Mark Lacey, Abduction Charges for Americans in Haiti, N.Y. Times (February 4, 2010).  While we suspect these missionaries will be returned to the United States shortly, we have no sympathy for their plight. 

These folks apparently assumed that their efforts to do good would not only shield them from legal liability, but serve as justification for ignoring the laws of another country and the rights of Haitian parents who might still be alive.  In their view, the opportunity to live in the United States apparently justifies any action needed to achieve that result.

The lesson in this story should be obvious and applies to matters that extend far beyond disaster relief, children, and adoption:...

MAJOR FOSTER CARE PROGRAM CLOSES FOR LACK OF INSURANCE COVERAGE

Dateline, April 20, 2007, Chicago

Charitable organizations that work with children should take note of recent events at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. It is closing its foster care program, which currently serves some 900 children in the Chicago area. The closure stems allegations that three children who...