Virtually everything our society teaches about charity is backwards. The donating public is told to measure the effectiveness and moral character of charities by how little they spend on overhead, never being taught that overhead is really investment without which the nonprofit sector can never hope to solve massive social problems. The media and government unwittingly perpetuate these views, condemning charities that invest in behind-the-scenes infrastructure or attempt to lure talent away from the for-profit sector. Counterarguments--for instance, that visionary leaders are worth competitive compensation precisely because their expertise generates exponential value for worthy causes--get no air time. In the face of this dysfunctional indoctrination, the nonprofit sector has been silent, sometimes complicit, without a strategy for organizing and defending itself.

Dan Pallotta's groundbreaking first book, Uncharitable, exposed the unjust and discriminatory rules society imposes on charities. Now, in Charity Case, Pallotta presents a visionary blueprint for a leadership movement that will fight back against these double standards. The goals of this movement are historic: to transform the way the public thinks about giving and solving problems, to educate the public about how charities really work, to rehabilitate public perception of the nonprofit sector, Read More chevron_right

Virtually everything our society teaches about charity is backwards. The donating public is told to measure the effectiveness and moral character of charities by how little they spend on overhead, never being taught that overhead is really investment without which the nonprofit sector can never hope to solve massive social problems. The media and government unwittingly perpetuate these views, condemning charities that invest in behind-the-scenes infrastructure or attempt to lure talent away from the for-profit sector. Counterarguments--for instance, that visionary leaders are worth competitive compensation precisely because their expertise generates exponential value for worthy causes--get no air time. In the face of this dysfunctional indoctrination, the nonprofit sector has been silent, sometimes complicit, without a strategy for organizing and defending itself.

Dan Pallotta's groundbreaking first book, Uncharitable, exposed the unjust and discriminatory rules society imposes on charities. Now, in Charity Case, Pallotta presents a visionary blueprint for a leadership movement that will fight back against these double standards. The goals of this movement are historic: to transform the way the public thinks about giving and solving problems, to educate the public about how charities really work, to rehabilitate public perception of the nonprofit sector, and to help us overcome our obsession with overhead so that we can truly change the world. Pallotta calls for the launch of a Charity Defense Council, which would build an anti-defamation league and legal defense fund for the sector, enact a national civil rights act for charity and social enterprise, and launch a bold and ongoing national ad campaign to upgrade public literacy about giving.

Grounded in Pallotta's unorthodox vision and deep humanitarian sector experience, Charity Case is a passionate wake-up call for all of us--whether we work in the philanthropic sector, contribute time or money to critical causes, or believe in the need for quantum progress on social challenges--to transcend the culture that undermines our charities' ability to make change happen. chevron_left Read Less