GuideStar Blog

The jury is out on whether a nonprofit should ask its employees to donate to it. Yesterday’s post argues against it. Today’s post advocates for it.

Dear Vu,

I found your recently penned article titled “Why nonprofit staff should not be asked to donate to the organizations they work for” thought-provoking and see it touched a nerve, engendering a lot of commentary, pro and con. I found the article and the commentary stimulating, hence this open letter.

I respectfully disagree with you, while applauding your taking a stand and beginning this discussion.

The jury is out on whether a nonprofit should ask its employees to donate to it. Today’s post argues against it. Tomorrow’s post will advocate for it.

This week’s topic may be polarizing and possibly rile you up, so please stare at the nearest houseplant for a few minutes (apparently, they are scientifically proven to reduce stress). Once a while our community gets into a discussion about whether nonprofits should ask their staff to donate some amount of money to the organization. There are passionate arguments from both the “absolutely” side and the “hell no!” side. (It is very similar to the Oxford Comma debate, although it really isn’t, because obviously the Oxford Comma is beautiful, practical, and magical, and there is clearly no point debating this because #OxfordCommaForever.)