logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

“No More Politicians on Staff,” Vows Nonprofit—Albeit a Little Late

Ruth McCambridge
July 10, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
National Archives at College Park [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

July 9, 2018; Delaware News Journal

We are never sure what nonprofits don’t get about conflicts of interest. Some appear to believe that so long as those with conflicts simply recuse themselves during conversations in which they have an interest, that suffices to address any potential conflicting interests they may have. Once again, true safety is found in overcorrection.

This was brought home the hard way to Wilmington, Delaware’s Connections Community Support Services, a large behavioral health nonprofit, after it was revealed that Darius J. Brown, one of three local politicians they employed, had state and federal tax liens placed against him for not paying taxes on revenue realized from the nonprofit. At the time, the organization explained, he was under contract, so it was no business of theirs, and they were already in the process of reviewing the conflict of interest policy. In the end, though, it just looked bad—especially since, by this account, all three officials had been in the press previously for their involvement in making government decisions favorable to the nonprofit:

Each voted to approve thousands in grant money to Connections. Michael Brown, who joined the nonprofit as a residential manager three years into his term, suggested legislation that would shield the nonprofit from nuisance violations, archives show.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Shabazz was a business and workforce development manager, according to her LinkedIn page. She started working at Connections in 2010 when she was a District 4 council member. Darius Brown was most recently the vice president of constituent services and also started working for Connections in 2010, according to the nonprofit.

Darius Brown represented council District 3 at the same time he was a registered lobbyist for Connections.

One might wonder how much integrity is involved in the swearing off of running an employment program for local elected officials, since these last issues all occurred long before the current issue with Brown’s taxes. The organization is certainly big enough to know better, with a $114 million annual budget and 1600 employees.

All three had signed filed notarized documents with the city declaring no conflicts of interest.—Ruth McCambridge

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ruth McCambridge

Ruth is Editor Emerita of the Nonprofit Quarterly. Her background includes forty-five years of experience in nonprofits, primarily in organizations that mix grassroots community work with policy change. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Ruth spent a decade at the Boston Foundation, developing and implementing capacity building programs and advocating for grantmaking attention to constituent involvement.

More about: conflicts of interestManagement and LeadershipNonprofit News

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Winter_2022Subscribe Today
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights Movements
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb Plutocracy
Alan Davis
Healing-Centered Leadership: A Path to Transformation
Shawn A. Ginwright
Into the Fire: Lessons from Movement Conflicts
Ingrid Benedict, Weyam Ghadbian and Jovida Ross
How Nonprofits Can Truly Advance Change
Hildy Gottlieb

Upcoming Webinars

Remaking the Economy

Black Food Sovereignty, Community Stories

Register Now
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights...
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb...
Alan Davis

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.