Can the new film ‘Uncharitable’ change people’s minds about “overhead” at nonprofits?

By THALIA BEATY
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — 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. 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. 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. For almost twenty years, researchers and nonprofits have warned about the negative consequences of starving nonprofits of general operating expenses, also known as overhead.