It’s Kinda Like the Nonprofit Version of Showing Up at a Party Wearing the Same Dress as the Hostess
Oh, boy, is this awkward: When Florida Attorneys Saving Homes, known as FLASH, was mentioned on Larry King Live last week, it was a boon for the group, a collection of nearly 10,000 Sunshine State lawyers doing pro bono work for homeowners faced with foreclosure.
Well, a boon except for one tiny detail: The organization’s number didn’t appear on screen, so the next day, when folks searched for it, they instead found the number of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, known as — uh-oh — FLASH.
While the Alliance commends the attorneys for their efforts at homeowner assistance, “Unfortunately, the attorney-led initiative failed to determine whether they could legally use the name,” the Alliance said in a press release Thursday declaring their right to use FLASH when referring to their program, which started in 1998. The Alliance uses it as FLASH® Inc. with the registered symbol.
Can somebody please tell me how a bunch of lawyers forgot to do due diligence on their name, of all things?
Anyway, the lesson is that good intentions are no substitute for doing one’s homework. As noble as a nonprofit’s goals are, mistakes like that detailed above make an organization look inept, hardly the perception its officials want circulating among the public, especially if the group is a fledgling one. And given the ease with which information can be looked up and things confirmed, this very basic of tasks should have been completed at the beginning. | 501(c)
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Legal issues
0 opinions for It’s Kinda Like the Nonprofit Version of Showing Up at a Party Wearing the Same Dress as the Hostess
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: