Frugality ≠ Morality: It’s Time to Rethink How We Judge Nonprofits

Just over 12 years ago, Dan Pallotta gave a now-famous TED Talk called “The way we think about charity is dead wrong.” His message was bold: stop equating frugality with morality when evaluating a nonprofit. With over 4.7 million views, it clearly struck a nerve.

And yet... here we are. Despite Pallotta’s passionate argument—and widespread agreement in the sector—the same questions keep surfacing. Most often: “But how much do they spend on overhead?”

Donors are still fixated on overhead, whether i...