Shekalim, Financial Controls, and Mosdos HaTorah
Financial controls and audits are important. In fact, the Torah seems to require them.
When there was a mikdash, shekalim were collected annually from all Jewish communities to fund public offerings. Two boxes (תיבות) would be set up wherever Jews lived: one for this year’s shekalim and the second for any shekalim still owed from the previous year.
Once a year, the contents of the boxes from distant communities would be converted to lighter-weight gold, and all funds from all collection locations would be transported to the Mikdash. There, the money was transferred to a locked and sealed room in the Mikdash where as many coins as would fit were kept in three barrels (קופות). Money in the barrels was known as תרומת הלשכה, while anything that didn’t fit was called שירי הלשכה (Rambam Shekalim 2:4).
Three times a year an individual would enter the room in order to take funds from the barrels. To avoid public suspicion that he’s acting on his own initiative, officials standing outside the room would clearly and verbally instruct the individual to take coins from the barrels (Yachin to Mishna Shekalim 3:3).
That individual - who could not be poor (Rambam Shekalim 2:10) or long-haired (Raavad) - would enter the room barefoot without his tefilin and wearing clothing without pockets. All of that was to ensure no one would even suspect he was sneaking coins out for his private use.
The point of the precautions was to protect public trust in the collection and use of public funds.
Sadly, today we have no mikdash and no shekalim. But there are countless millions of dollars being donated to and spent by thousands of public institutions. And more often than not, there’s really no way for an outsider to know where it’s all going.
It doesn’t have to be complicated or even all that expensive. Just publicizing the names and contact information of your directors can go a long way to earn more trust. But the big wins come through financial transparency.
In the US, the IRS doesn’t require all non-profits to file Form 990, but it’s something organizations can do. And the numbers you enter into a 990 are helpful not only to reassure potential donors, but also to act as an internal check on your own operations.
As I wrote a couple of years ago:
As an example, just 81 out of the 318 US-based non profits with “kollel” in their names file 990s, and only one out of the 84 non profits with “mikva” in their name filed. So not even the simplest program expense ratio data is easily available.
Everyone knows that not every tzedaka organization is worth supporting. It’s in your interest to clearly identify yours as one that is.