The non-profit sector receives much advice from those in business, and not all of it is sound. Too often, business school professors and corporate luminaries deride the non-profit sector and its role in our society, arguing that the answer to improving the effectiveness of non-profits lies simply in having them become more like businesses.

“Billions are wasted on ineffective philanthropy,” said Michael Porter of Harvard Business School in a 2006 Economist article. “Philanthropy is decades behind business in applying rigorous thinking to the use of money.”