Well, this is a hairy situation. Not-for-profit organization Locks of Love (LoL) is under fire as Nonprofit Investor (NPI) reports that the charity has over $6 million worth of donations that are presently unaccounted for, based on information reported by Locks of Love staffers.
Locks of Love collects hair from donors, then turns the hair into wigs for children with alopecia. But, according to NPI, the numbers don't add up. NPI is calling for the charity to publicly disclose the amount of donations it receives each year, along with information on exactly how each donation is used. To give people an idea of its findings, NPI has created a 10-page report (and, for a bite-size tastes, an infographic) that illustrates the numbers behind LoL's current operations.
We'll see how this situation develops, especially if NPI's Reddit chat takes off. In the meantime, we can all take a lesson from NPI's advice to the public: Investigate the operations of any charity before donating, to ensure that our valuable resources — money, time, or yes, hair — are truly going toward making a difference for those in need. (Nonprofit Investor)
Photographed by Kurt Manley