Friday, October 10, 2008

Should Charities Accept Off Loaded Petters Donations?

Guest Blogger: Helen Ng, Marketing & Communications

Politicians are scrambling to unload political contributions by Tom Petters, a Twin Cities businessman accused of high-level fraud, by donating the money to charities. Should charities accept the money?

The money has to go somewhere, and Petters will in no way benefit from a charity accepting it. On the other hand, could accepting this money bring a negative backlash in terms of the public’s perception of how charities are run?

Are there unwanted implications attached to accepting donations from a political campaign? Is this money tainted because of its origin, or is it OK to put it to good use, improving our communities?

This economic crisis has many nonprofits hunkering down for a tough road ahead. What would you want your favorite charity to do in this situation?

1 comment:

RC said...

I would definitely want my favorite charity to accept the money, and frankly think that is the ideal way for political campaigns to offload the contributions rather than send it back to Petters himself. Better that a charity benefit from those dollars, than they be returned to a corrupt businessman.