Eritrean Organization: Haben

One of my closest sorority sisters is from Eritrea, Africa. I know that there is a need in the area for civil society to step in a teach the people to be self-reliant. Haben is an NGO that does just that by working alongside the Eritrean government to tackle the underlying causes of poverty, the effects of wars and drought. They do this by promoting sustainable development. The objectives of Haben are as follows:
To actively participate in the development of local skills and resources so as to improve the livelihoods of the most disadvantaged members of the community (i.e. older people, women and children).

To train health care providers to enable them to respond and address gender-based violence in their service provision.

This seems like a great organization.

Research Question

I’ve been interning at the ABA for a little over a month now and from what I have observed the division that I work in is dedicated to ensuring justice and equality. However, when I researched the organization, I found that there has been controversy sorrounding their accreditation requirements for law schools. There were articles and even a case where the ABA was accused of unfairly requiring law schools to adopt affirmative action. So, for my research question I would like to answer: Do the ABA law school accreditation requirements uphold the values of justice and equality?

Hopefully, with this question, I have not bitten off more than I can chew.  If anyone has any suggestions as to how I could make this an easier research paper, let me know.

Ready To Lead Surprises

The study was very interesting. I found a few statistics pretty cool. The first is that there was a link between socioeconomic status and the desire to be the executive director of a non-profit. There was also a higher percentage of person of color who wish to be EDs in the future than white people. One survey asked what was keeping people from becoming non-profit leaders. 46% of those surveyed asnwers that they need to develop connections. This proves that it’s all about who you know! Also 28% of people answered that they need more confidence. I found that surprising.

ABC’s of Tax Exempt Status

The talk that was assigned for this week was very informative but VERY boring. Most of what he was saying seemed very basic. The five points were not very complicated, but they must be mistakes that are made very frequently. The most interesting point to me was the political campaigning/ lobbying portion. Joe explained that lobbying activity and political activity are different. As long as the organization is lobbying on a related issue, not endorsing a candidate, and not lobbying too much. The only problem is there is no specific figure that constitutes too much lobbying. It varies with each organization. I was already aware that non-profit are prohibited from endorsing a candidate because my sorority would not endorse Barack Obama due to that rule, despite the pressure from its members.  However, I was not aware that the IRS is so efficient with addressing these types of violations. They have staff who clip articles and monitor non-profits to be sure they do not engage in political activity.

Charity Reports

I compared the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Marijuana Policy Project Foundation. I had never heard of the MSAA before I did the search for this assignment. I have supported the MS Society for years because my mother was diagnosed with MS when I was a child. However, that organization is not on the list. The charity report was positive.  It showed that the purpose of the MSA is ” to enrich the quality of life for everyone affected by multiple sclerosis.”  The organization meets all 20 standards of accountability. Its program expenses are $7,741,918 out of its total $11,559,126 income.  The organization spends 65% of its income on programs, 23% on fundraising and 12% on administrative costs. The CEO makes $211,756 per year.  Similarly, the charity reports for Susan G. Komen for the Cure was positive. My aunt has had a ongoing battle with breast cancer for several years, so this organization was interesting to me.  Its purpose is ” to eradicate breast cancer as a life threatening as a life-threatening disease by advancing research, education, screening and treatment.” It met all 20 standards for charity accountability.  It’s total program expenses are $171,779,017. That’s 78% of its total income of  $242,618,232. The organization also spends 12% of its income one fundraising and 10% on administrative costs.  The CEO makes $ 293,405, which, in my opinion, is small in comparison with its income. The last organization, the Marijuana Policy Project Foundation did not have such a good report. I chose this organization because I used research from this organization in a presentation about legalizing marijuana.  The MPPF did not has a stated purpose. It did not meet 9 of the 20 standards for charity accountability. It uses $1,143,390 on programs, which is 75% of its income. The CEO earns $62,419, which is significantly lower than the other organizations. However, in comparison with the total income of the organization,$1,716,068, its reasonable.