This weekend I read some news about Madonna's charity, Raising Malawi, which made me think more about Berger, Penna, and Goldberg's article, "The Battle for the Soul of the Nonprofit Sector." Madonna co-founded the organization in 2006, and was planning on opening a school for girls in Malawi. Now, however, these plans have been scrapped after allegations of financial mismanagement on the board of directors. Here are two articles that detail the situation more. Both include references to Madonna's good intentions, but lack of lack of expertise and knowledge about what it actually takes to make a nonprofit work.
The Calgary Herald article states that "Madonna's attempt at opening a girls' school in Malawi was well-intentioned, but misguided. She made the common mistake of attempting to start a school from scratch rather than partnering with a credible organization that already exists. ...It is a sad, but all-too-common occurrence that threatens to scare off donors from reputable efforts." Yes, Madonna (and Oprah, and Wyclef Jean, and all of the other celebrities with failed charities) do have good intentions when trying to use their connections and money to change the world. They are likely to apply "promising ideas to social problems without the necessary follow-up and confirmation," one of Berger et al's observations about the trends in the public sector. Celebrities who wish to help should use their power and money to make a difference, but the way to do this is not to create programs that will not be followed up on, and are not designed to produce results. This will only waste the opportunity that these high-profile people have to actually create change (and will waste money-- Time Magazine reports that $3.8 million has already been spent on plans for Madonna's school, with nothing to show for it!) They should instead partner with existing organizations that are demonstrating effectiveness and creating real impact.
Hayley: I wonder if Madonna would have been more successful had she followed the approach outlined by Kramer in the Catalytic Philanthropy article. My guess is that she, Oprah and others simply start out with the notion that they want to start a school but focus less on how to do it successfully (as Kramer outlines). Philanthropists with the resources of these donors have the capacity to shape their philanthropy much more than smaller donors...and in that way accomplish goals that are important to them.
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