Financially Troubled Charity Attracted Donors by Blogging About Shortfall

Forge, an Oakland, Calif., charity that supplies libraries, starts schools, and provides small loans to serve people in Zambian refugee camps, is facing a $90,000 budget shortfall because of the economy and some management missteps, and its founder has taken the unusual step of blogging about the foundation’s troubles on the Skoll Foundation’s Social Edge Web site, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

The group has managed to attract numerous offers of support from companies and other donors attracted by the organization’s candid disclosure of its problems, the newspaper notes.