J Street Nonprofitiable Unprofessional

Thanks to this piece, I was directed to this in the important Nonprofit Quarterly:

Self-dealing on J Street?

The question of whether and how to do business with firms associated with board members is one of those recurring topics among nonprofits. Some say the practice should be avoided at all costs but most agree that formal procedures should be sparked at the point that any question arises – and that these procedures should include disclosure, recusal, and bidding.

These procedures are as much to protect the group from accusations as they are to protect donors from self dealing trustees. This recent story from the Washington Times is a case in point. NPQ has no idea if there was any wrong doing in this situation but the Times recently published information purporting to show that J Street, the lobby group, paid more than $56,000 to a public relations consulting firm, Ben-Or Consulting, founded and partially owned by J Street's founder and president, Jeremy Ben-Ami.

...Without seeing the documents that the Times possesses, all we can say is that, whether for a lot of money or an inconsequential sum, the appearance and the reality of self-dealing are best avoided by nonprofits. —Rick Cohen

J Street, any reaction?

^