One Nonprofit Sues Another Nonprofit For Not Honoring Donor's Wishes - Great Lesson for Us Nonprofits!

As I've said many times in this blog, today, nonprofits can not simply take donations without considering the donor a partner, anymore. Donors research which nonprofit they give to, they are knowledgeable about the cause, and they are giving to be a part of the solution - they no longer give blindly with their fingers crossed. Donors, today, expect results; streamlined, ethical, fiscally sound, modern nonprofit operations and management; transparency; and to be a part of the organization's community (the nonprofit, today, is a whole community made of many partners - donors (investors), volunteers, staff, clientele, other nonprofits, municipalities, etc.).

The following story is another example of this fact.

Jonathan Saltzman wrote "Charity sues R.I. hospital over donation in 1912" for the February 23, 2008 issue of The Boston Globe, in which he describes how Children's Friend & Service of Providence, Rhode Island discovered a bequest agreement between Louisa G. Lippett's estate and Rhode Island Hospital, dated 1912. In the bequest, Lippett gifted $4,000 to be certain that a"Permanent Free Bed in Rhode Island Hospital." would always be available. It is believed that the hospital never set a free bed aside, nor set the money aside as allegedly, no bed was set aside. According to the article, if the donation had been invested conservatively, it would be worth approximately $1.5 million, today. Though the two sides attempted to come to an agreement regarding the request, they could not. Children's Friend & Service is suing Rhode Island Hospital in state court to get the donor's request honored.

To quote the article, ""There's a huge need," said David Caprio, executive director of Children's Friend. "I'm sure that we would have a waiting list of people that would be ready to use it.""

The quicker that nonprofits understand that to raise money and to insure future donations from their donors, they must provide success, results, and operate well; the quicker that the nonprofit will increase its donations, strengthen its relationships with its current donors, and increase its ability to raise more and larger donations. Really.