Cynics that we are, we expect people in business to look out only for themselves, and we are not surprised at revelations of misconduct by government officials.
Nonprofits appear well on their way to joining that dubious list. And they have only themselves to blame, according to troubling results contained in the just-released National Nonprofits Ethics Survey, from the Ethics Resource Center.
Rates of observed misconduct at nonprofit organizations are at the highest level since the Ethics Resource Center began measuring in 2000. In 2007, more than half — 55 percent — of nonprofit employees observed one or more acts of misconduct in the previous year.
Twenty-four percent of nonprofit employees observed their co-workers putting their own interests above those of the organization. Twenty-one percent observed managers or executives lying to employees. Nearly one in five employees — 19 percent — reported that they had seen abusive behavior or that they had seen co-workers misreporting the number of hours they had worked.
The frequency of these behaviors mirrors the frequency reported in the for-profit and government arenas, the study found.
It’s one thing for the sector to complain that it’s being held to an unfairly high standard. It’s quite another for incidents of misconduct to match rates found in other sectors. Higher standard or not, that’s not acceptable, and it could lead to some very unpleasant consequences: Think lowered trust and decreased giving.
The message to nonprofits is clear, at least to me: Clean up or shut up. | 501(c)