The immediate and the unknown take precedence over more common, if more dangerous, situations. While our resources should probably be directed toward the control of handguns and the reduction of highway carnage, we inevitably misapply them on the appearance of a dramatic headline. In the past, risks facing nonprofit organizations in the US were relatively minor. Today that has changed. The public has grown skeptical of the operations of nonprofits, particularly when many appear to be primarily enrichment vehicles for their executives.
Private donors are more selective in their giving.
Immunity from legal liability has almost disappeared. Recent publicity hasn't helped. The Aramony-United Way scandal, the embezzlement of church funds by financial officers of the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church in New England, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, and the sexual misconduct of leaders from the Catholic Church, Boy Scouts and other youth organizations diminish once untarnished reputations. At Adelphi University in New York, the president is under attack for autocratic behavior and excessive remuneration and the Board is accused of conflicts of interest. This raises a new set of loss exposures that must be addressed by nonprofit risk managers.