Working Paper 20: Abstract

Wrongdoing by Officers and Directors of Charities: A Survey of Press Reports 1995-2002

This paper presents the results of a survey of newspaper reports published between 1995 and 2002 of incidents involving allegations of criminal and civil wrongdoing by officers and directors of charitable organizations. Of the one hundred and fifty-two incidents found, one hundred and four entailed criminal activity, fifty-four involved breaches of the duties of loyalty and prudenceself-dealing, failing to carry out the mission of the charity, and negligent management of assetswhile six fell into both categories. The authors set forth the limitations of a study of this nature and point to problems of governance that emerged from their findings.