Can the new film ‘Uncharitable’ change people's minds about "overhead" at nonprofits?
A new documentary “Uncharitable,” from “Paris Trout” and “Losing Isaiah” director Stephen Gyllenhaal, puts the long-running debate in the nonprofit sector over the role of overhead back in the spotlight
NEW YORK — All Hands and Hearts makes a promise in big letters on the front page of its website: “95 cents of every dollar is spent on our programs.”
The Massachusetts-based disaster relief nonprofit, like so many charitable organizations have for decades, feels the pressure to operate as leanly as possible. Izzy Smith, chief information officer for All Hands and Hearts, which mobilizes volunteers to respond to natural disasters, called it an “enduring challenge for nonprofits” to explain to donors and the public about the need to invest in operations and shared services.
«Financial instability as a nonprofit actually reduces our effectiveness and efficiency,” Smith said.
A new documentary “Uncharitable,” from “Paris Trout” and “Losing Isaiah” director Stephen Gyllenhaal, wants to change that. It tells the story of longtime advocate Dan Pallotta, who pioneered the idea of fundraising through bike rides and road races initially to raise money for AIDS and cancer research and treatment. Pallotta has long argued that nonprofits are unfairly pressured to cut salaries, lower operating costs and delay long term investments, which all degrade organizations' abilities to accomplish their missions.
Pallotta agrees that some philanthropic leaders, including Darren Walker, CEO of the Ford Foundation, who speaks in the film, have increased the funding they allocate for general operations, but he hopes the film will reach a broader audience of smaller donors or those who are not yet convinced.
“I hope that it becomes the equivalent
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