Instructor’s Manual Abstracts
Vol. 2, Issue 2 IM Abstract: We Charity: Selling Virtue Can Be Complicated
Colleen M. Sharen
Case Overview
This case presents a public scandal involving government funding and WE Charity, a large international development organization with operations in Canada, the U.S., and the UK, and in the global south. The charity, which had financial relationships with the families of the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, had received a contract to deliver a $534 million student grant program without a public tender process. As media coverage continued, the scandal had evolved from concerns about politicians’ conflict of interest and cronyism to concerns about the financial accountability and governance of WE Charity.
The case is an example of the complexity of modern nonprofit organizations, with multiple entities and sometimes opaque organizational structures and governance, which can lead to public concern about financial accountability. The case provides learners with the opportunity to explore governance, accountability, and the role of corporate structure in the public’s understanding and support of charitable organizations. It can be used as a capstone case in corporate governance or nonprofit strategy courses.
Learning Objectives
By working through this case, students should be able to
- Describe the role of corporate bylaws in enhancing or constraining board oversight for a charitable organization.
- Analyze the impact of multiple corporate structures on public perceptions of accountability for a charitable organization.
- Apply agency theory to evaluate the effectiveness of a charitable organization’s governance processes.
- Apply the four dimensions of the accountability framework to evaluate a charitable organization’s accountability processes.
- Recommend improvements to a charitable organization’s corporate structure and governance system to build public trust in the organization and include a high-level plan to implement the recommended improvements.
Course Suitability
This case is designed for graduate courses on corporate governance or nonprofit management. It is best considered after the concepts of governance, forms of organization, and agency theory have been introduced.
Recommended Reading
Ebrahim, A. (2016). The many faces of nonprofit accountability. In The Jossey‐Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management (pp. 102–123). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Agency theory: An assessment and review. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 57–74.
Renz, D. O. & Andersson, F. O. (2014). Nonprofit governance. In C. Cornforth & W. A. Brown (Eds.), Nonprofit governance: Innovative perspectives and approaches. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203767115.
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