Uncharitable – How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential

“Philanthropists and charity execs should read [Uncharitable] to ponder, if judiciously, its lessons.” * Boston Globe *
“Pallotta turns on its head the assumption that charity and capitalism should be forever divided. Don't charitable causes deserve the same kind of competitive forces that work to get results in the for-profit sector? Wouldn't social causes be better served if charitable organizations were headed by the kind of bright, aggressive executives that work in the for-profit sector? Pallotta traces the history of nonprofit organizations to Puritan notions of charity and self-denial. He also offers a detailed case study of TeamWorks and other trends in the nonprofit sector that only tweak around the edges of a system that is sorely in need of change if it is to deliver on its mission to improve social inequities or cure diseases. A passionate, thought-provoking look at the nonprofit sector.” * Booklist *
“Pallotta produces quite a lot of both data and logic. If you do not first analyze a fundraiser’s results, how is it possible to judge whether what it spent was justified? He also makes a convincing case for charities to spend far more on advertising, perhaps even selling shares to pay for it. If this makes you queasy, read Mr. Pallotta’s book. As he says, ‘To mount a campaign to convert 6 billion people to love—which is essentially the role of charity—takes a lot of money. . . . . Raise the capital to promote the idea by offering a return on investment, hire the best people to manage the effort, and run the advertising to spread the word. You beat capitalism at its own game.’” * The Economist *
“This tome is big-time out-of-the-box thinking that will cause ripples. Yet if you care about charity, it is a must read. While I don’t want to lose the volunteer passion and compassion in charitable work, it’s high time we confront the fact that, for the most part, this is no longer a bake sale.” * In Los Angeles Magazine *

“Everyone who cares about nonprofit organizations and their potential accomplishments—from journalists to sophisticated donors to foundation officials—should read this book. They’ll surely be convinced that fundraising ratios and program expense ratios are a silly, useless, and even fraudulent way to compare “efficiency” across nonprofit organizations.”

* Stanford Social Innovation Review *
“What scales would our nonprofit organizations have to achieve to eradicate the great social problems that confront us, and how do our traditions and beliefs about charity stand in their way? Pallotta has elevated the questions we need to be asking. His book provocatively challenges traditional views of how charities should operate and provides a thought-provoking alternative.” -- Dr. David Ho, Time magazine’s 1996 Man of the Year and director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center
“Pallotta has written the clearest and most articulate critique I have read of the system of values that our charities and other nonprofit organizations are supposed to follow. He explains in graphic detail how these values undercut what charities are trying to do and prevent them from accomplishing all that they might. Not everyone may agree with his position, but the nonprofit world will surely benefit from a vigorous discussion of his arguments.”  -- Derek Bok, former president of Harvard University