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Nonprofit watchdogs: Do they serve the average donor?
Author(s) -
Cnaan Ram A.,
Jones Kathleen,
Dickin Allison,
Salomon Michele
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
nonprofit management and leadership
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.844
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1542-7854
pISSN - 1048-6682
DOI - 10.1002/nml.20032
Subject(s) - transparency (behavior) , intermediary , accountability , business , nonprofit sector , nonprofit organization , public relations , public administration , accounting , political science , marketing , law
Nonprofit watchdog organizations—organizations devoted to rating the accountability and transparency of nonprofits—claim to serve donors who are selecting which nonprofits to support. However, using three waves of the Harris Interactive Donor Pulse, we found that the overwhelming majority of donors (77.6 percent) do not consult these online intermediaries when making donations. Those who do are likely to fall into one of two groups: donors who give large sums of money or donors who are engaged in advocacy. We conclude with conceptual and practical implications.