Southeastern Council of Foundations

Author Dan Pallotta spoke during the opening session of the SECF Annual Conference in Memphis this afternoon. Pallotta is author of the book "Uncharitable". He challenged the audience to think differently about the non profit sector. He argued that non profits are being judged by an antiquated system that does not measure the results of an organization's efforts to make impact but more about their spending ratio of program expenses to overhead. He suggests this is a flawed approach and I agree. It is also difficult for talented smart young people to consider the non profit field because of the stigma around the amount of money a non profit professional should be paid.  Also, virtually no money is budgeted or even tolerated for non profits to invest in marketing and public relations. Most must rely on the obligatory public service announcement which often airs during the early hours of the morning. Although risk taking could reap significant rewards, non profits are often expected to limit risks often at the expense of potential success. I thought Dan Pallotta was thought provoking and passionate, I felt as though not all of those in the audience agreed with his views. I do agree that a few self appointed watch dog groups judging non profits is questionable. However, we can't get lost in a spending free for all without any attention given to expenses. What the number or percentage needs to be, I cannot say but I do see his point. We are never going to solve major social issues without some kind of system change and non profits need to have the tools necessary to affect that change. Otherwise, according to Dan P, nothing gets done and that is a real waste of time and money.