With only a few lawyers dedicated to charity oversight in each state, it is difficult for state regulators to police the hundreds of thousands of registered nonprofits in the United States. That’s why charity enforcers look for outliers. If they spot an organization that seems sloppy in one area of its work – if, for example, its board of directors is having a messy public squabble – regulators are likely to take a closer look at the entire enterprise.
After canvassing her peers throughout the country, Janet Kleinfelter, a deputy attorney general in Tennessee, came up with a list of 10 practices that nonprofit boards should follow if they want to remain on the good side of charity regulators.
Alex Daniels, The Chronicle of Philanthropy