ESPN Outside the Lines: Top athletes' charities often don't measure up

This is one of the reasons I think OTL is the top show that ESPN produces. They have become the 60 Minutes of sports. And I mean they have become what 60 Minutes once stood for when they were great as opposed to the garbage dump they have become today.


from ESPN:
Top athletes' charities often don't measure up to what charity experts would say is an efficient, effective use of money - ESPN:

An "Outside the Lines" investigation of 115 charities founded by high-profile, top-earning male and female athletes has found that most of their charities don't measure up to what charity experts would say is an efficient, effective use of money.

Using guidelines set by nonprofit watchdogs Charity Navigator, the Better Business Bureau and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, "Outside the Lines" found that 74 percent of the nonprofits fell short of one or more acceptable nonprofit operating standards. The standards cover all sorts of aspects, such as how much money a nonprofit actually spends on charitable work as opposed to administrative expenses and whether there are enough board members overseeing the organization.

Among the "Outside the Lines" findings:

• Many athlete charities fail the effectiveness test for a variety of reasons, ranging from the deceptive and unethical -- if not illegal -- to the simply neglectful and ignorant. Some athletes set up foundations as tax-planning vehicles. Others dispute the nonprofit standards overall, saying as long as they spend at least some money on actual charity they should not be criticized.

• In many cases, OTL had a hard time measuring a charity's actual effectiveness because it was behind on filing its IRS tax returns or the returns were filled with errors and omissions. Problems can go unnoticed for years as the main agencies that oversee charities -- the Internal Revenue Service and states' attorney general offices -- don't audit every return.

'via Blog this'



I would add this is not limited to athletes but extends to Hollywood celebrities as well. Many of these foundations linked to celebrities spring up after one crisis or disaster or another, some would say with the best of intentions. But we all know what the road to hell is paved with.


The money shot for the article is found in the sidebar titled:

SOME ATHLETES OUTSOURCE THE WORK

President and founder Marc Pollick said his group is trying to change the thinking among athletes that "You should have a foundation because it's good for your brand" to "You should have a foundation because you care deeply about a certain cause."

"They have a lot of fun at these events. They have a wonderful golf tour. At the end of the day, they sometimes spend months putting these things together to raise $10,000. That's insane," he said. "Just write a check for $10,000 and take the next six months off. That's not philanthropy."

The bottom line seems to be that the caution "caveat emptor" - "Let the buyer beware" needs to be extended to donors.

The problem is more pernicious here because donors are giving for the right reasons - to help a cause.

Athletes and celebrities that use their position to polish their brand and take advantage of peoples emotions needlessly should be viewed in a very harsh light if they are found to be abused this area of trust to say nothing of taking advantage of the eventual recipients of the donations. It is tantamount to stealing and stealing with the purpose of elevating themselves at the expense of those who are on the bottom rungs of society to benefit those who are already well taken care of.

Hopefully, OTL and others continue to take a close look at this situation. Over a century ago, Justice Louis Brandies wrote that "Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. If the broad light of day could be let in upon men's actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects." That wisdom is still true today.