Tracking the World Vision / NFL Shirt Donation Controversy

Posted on February 12, 2011 at 8:53 pm

There are now over 60 posts on the controversial NFL t-shirt donation to World Vision. This blog will be regularly updated as new posts are written. Recent posts are added to the top of each section.

Posts on the controversy:

#70 World Vision Super Bowl Shirts: The final chapter - Aid Watch - A must read, analyzes World Vision documentation for evidence supporting World Vision’s claims.

#69 Would you hire me if I disagreed with you? What if I did it publicly? – Find What Works – Extends the conversation started in the post #12 Explaining the radio silence over World Vision – and asks the question what are the risks of blogging for aid professionals.

#68 How much are the NFL shirts worth? World Vision isn’t saying – Good Intentions are Not Enough – In response to World Vision’s recent post discussing fair market value.

#67 When is it a bad idea to give the poor free stuff? – Boston University’s Economics Club – Discusses the impact donated goods have on the local economy and production capacities.

#66 World Vision: What are you seeing? – morgan ash – A cross post of PDT’s post # 38

#65 worldvision and the 100kshirts – The Theology of Joe - Compares the cost of producing shirts in bulk locally versus shipping them in.

#64 The World Vision controversy continues – Good Intentions are Not Enough – Questions information shared in World Visions recent responses to the controversy.

#63 A Look at World Vision’s Responses Pt.1 – Wanderings - Questions some of World Vision’s responses in their two most recent posts.

#62 Middle East erupts, foreign aid cuts and World Vision survives Superbowl T-shirt attack – Humanosphere – Good synopsis of the controversy thus far.

#61 The NFL’s T-shirt Donation to World Vision: Charity or Closet Cleaning – Huffington Post – a version of #60 by the same author.

#60 GODSTUFF: Stuff we don’t want, stuff they don’t need? – The Dude Abides – A religion columnist provides an overview of the debate and an interview with World Vision on the topic.

#59 Tainted Gifts in Kind? – UN Dispatch – Talks about why GIK programs are so common and how hard they are to do well.

#58 Hyundai’s ‘One Million Dream Balls’ could be a Nightmare for Africa - Alive and Kicking – Asks why we aren’t focusing on equally bad GIK programs such as the soccer ball donation.

#57 Richard Walden’s comment on post Don’t Choose a Charity Based on Administration Rates – Explains the history of how the admin ratio came to be used – and it has nothing to do with quality or effectiveness of the program.

#56 Mystical Experiences about Ancestors and T-shirts - Hand Relief International (satire)

#55 Women Friendly Condoms that Help Africa – The Kathmandu Diet – Compares World Vision and TOMS shoes approach to gifts-in-kind to that of a product that is often not made locally.

CBC radio interview with Dean Karlan regarding the controversy.

#54 Pop Tarts and T-Shirts To The Rescue – Kara Stewart - Compares the NFL shirt donation to an aid delivery the author was part of in Albania, which included expired Pop Tarts, dented paint cans, and bath items containing placenta.

World Vision responds to blogger questions – posted on Aid Watch

#53 Attacking the Aid Industry Mafia – Tales of Corruption, Deceit, and Lies – One Girl Blog – Discusses the silence around aid industry mistakes and asks how to break through that.

#52 A Gift in Kind – mcollinknight – A summary of the controversy.

#51 Don’t Choose a Charity Based on Administration Rates – Huffington Post – A modified version of #20

#50 why t-shirts are bad aid: the research – Texas in Africa – Provides an overview of the findings of research on donated goods.

#49 “Super” gifts in kind draw criticism to World Vision – Poverty News Blog – A recap of some of the criticisms leveled against World Vision.

#48 Awaiting World Vision’s Reply – Good Intentions are Not Enough – Discusses how this is about more than just t-shirts, but about professional standards and where the aid industry goes from here.

#47 why I am no longer supporting worldvision – The Theology of Joe - Talks about his decision to no longer donate to World Vision due to their gifts-in-kind practices.

#46 The elephant is still in the room – Wait… What?! - Points out how little has changed since she wrote “The elephant in the room” during the 1millionshirts debate.

#45 How to get World Vision to stop sending gifts-in-kind to developing countries – Project Diaspora - Talks about how to better use social media to get more attention drawn to the controversy.

#44 1,250 reasons to love the NFL – whydev - A satirical post that also looks at the recent lack of seats for people with seats to the Super Bowl.

#43 #100kShirts: an open letter to world vision usa – Kylevermeulen – A current donor and former employee asks World Vision to reconsider the gifts-in-kind portfolio.

#42 Changes Needed - Tales from the Hood - Talks about the need to change the AERDO standards for gifts-in-kind, remove the “overhead” ratio from conversation, and improve professionalism in the field.

#41 The Steelers won the Super Bowl? T-shirts sent to Africa say so. – Christian Science Monitor – Same as post #21 but to a larger audience.

#40 What Happens to All Those Super Bowl T-Shirts?: A Guest Post by Dean Karlan - NYT Freakonomics blog

#39 Does it take faith to give a shirt? – Wanderings – Delves into the religious aspect of aid and the shirt donations.

#38 World Vision: What are you seeing? – Peace Dividend Trust – Discusses how donated goods focus more on the needs of the donors than the recipients.

#37 Of t-shirts and men – Short Sentences – Criticizes both the t-shirt donation and other aid interventions. Pushes for changes in farm subsidies, tariffs and other trade restrictions.

#36 Losing our shirts at smartaid – KM on a dollar a day – Asks if the power of social media can actually change the actions of of a major aid organization.

#35 World Vision Not at Fault – Travis Warrington – talks about the difference between aid and development, needs and wants.

#34 a question World Vision needs to answer – Texas in Africa

#33 Stop Sending your Crap to Haiti and Africa – inHerEyePhotography – Talks about the uselessness of donated t-shirts and reposts a post written about shoe donations.

#32 El problema de donar camisetas (playeras): World Vision USA y el Super Bowl - Blog del curso “Antropología Social y Cultural”, carrera de Trabajo Social, Universidad Nacional de San Juan (San Juan, Argentina) – Presentación de la discusión e introducción al debate en Español.

#31 I’d Give You the Shirt Off of my Back – Wanderings - Looks at all aspects of the debate as well as the religious aspects.

#30 Big fish in big barrels – Aid Thoughts – In a pirate’s voice questions whether going after World Vision in the public arena is best idea or whether there is another approach.

#29 Stupid T-Shirts for Poor Widdle Romania - I’m More Romanian Than You! - Someone in Romania not happy about the project. Also links to the video of T-shirt Travels.

#28 Steelers and World Vision Beat Zambia in Super Bowl – The Blog of Diminishing Returns – A quick rundown of the controversy.

#27 Where’s the Baby - Tales from the Hood - Explains 1 MORE TIME the pressures behind and problems with gifts-in-kind.

#26 In Zambia, Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl: Why is World Vision perpetuating discredited T-shirt aid? – Aid Watch – Summary of the controversy and asks if the people-power will be able to impact World Vision’s policies.

#25 The other problem with t-shirts: high-profile, cheap GIK perpetuate stereotypes – empty sky – talks about the stereotypes activities like this promote and connects these stereotypes to Oprah’s school in South Africa.

#24 Breaking the Radio Silence – In Event of Moon Disaster – asks why aid bloggers don’t talk about many other topics as well, in particular religious charities.

#23 Aid is more than t-shirts – Stimulation – written by a World Vision staff member

#22 Are World Vision really the bad guys? – Tales from the warm heart of Africa – Asks how you alleviate poverty by handing out free stuff.

#21 On World Vision – Texas in Africa – Great summary of the issues and a challenge to do better.

#20 An example of why percentage spent on administration is meaningless - Good Intentions are Not Enough – Shows how easy it is to manipulate the percentage spent on administration costs.

#19 The big fuss about World Vision GIK – Social Enterprise - A post in favor of the program

#18 WV USA, TShirts and the role of NGOS – Ethnic Supplies

#17 Do Gooders Who Don’t – Development Disasters – One bloggers experience with donated goods.

#16 Barbarian Economics and World Vision’s NFL Shirt Donation - Guest post by Bill Westerly – humorously lays out how to find the exact value of the shirts.

#15 Not with the shirts again, stop it already! Project Diaspora – Compares World Vision to 1 million shirts

#14 Prove me wrong: why World Vision should change, but won’t – Brett Keller - Looks at whether this program is the best use of World Vision’s time and money.

#13 World Vision Politik – A View from the Cave – Discusses how World Vision’s response to the controversy does not answer key questions or satisfy critics.

#12 Explaining the radio silence over World Vision - Good Intentions are Not Enough – discusses industry pressure and fear of being fired that is keeping people silent on this issue.

#11 What Communities Want - Water Wellness - Talking to a Malawi World Vision staff on what’s really needed – and it’s not t-shirts

#10 Anti Accountability: World Vision Pressures Agencies Not To Criticize Their Irresponsible Giving- GlassFrog - A call for greater transparency from World Vision

#9 Oh, You People and Your Damn T-Shirt Donations - Shotgun Shack – Discusses how this program is just one more example of the massive gap between fundraisers and field staff.

#8 Watch Out World (Vision) - Stratosphere – Talks about the criteria she teaches students to use when thinking about development program and asking if World Vision could answer those same questions.

#7 World Vision USA and those 100,000 Tshirt – Birds on the Birds Blog – A frustrated rant about the project and the ethics of the aid world.

#6 Super Bowl Sadness - Fermanian Business & Economic Institute blog – urges World Vision to consider other ways to handle the NFL shirt program.

#5 T-shirts and doing good – Away & Home – thoughts on the message this and similar project sends to donors and the importance of donor education.

#4 Dear Jas – er – I mean – World Vision – Wanderlust – an open letter to World Vision

#3 100K Discussions about World Vision - A View from the Cave – poses a series of questions about the shirt donation program and welcomes debate.

#2 World Vision under fire for NFL “loser” clothing donations – Humanosphere – introduces the controversy to their readers.

#1 World Vision, the next 100,000 shirts - Good Intentions are Not Enough – Discusses the financial motivations behind gifts-in-kind donations.

Posts from World Vision:

GIK financial standards

GIK and development programming

The financial costs and benefits of sending a shirt overseas

Basic overview of World Vision’s strategy and structure and our U.S. GIK operations

World Vision responds to blogger questions – posted on Aid Watch

Response to GIK discussion

100,000 reasons to love the Super Bowl

Posts related to the donation program in general:

Steelers vs. Packers: Whose Super Bowl XLV merch is going abroad? – Supply Chain – talks about the cost of shipping the shirts.

Kids in Haiti Who Think the Steelers Won the Super Bowl: An Economic Perspective - Minyanville - a sports fan tries to buy last year’s shirt.

NFL lies to Africa, Latin America - Place it on Lucky Dan

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Guides by Good Intentions are Not Enough

Lies, White Lies, and Accounting Practices; Why nonprofit overheads don’t mean what you think they mean.

Good Intentions’ Guide to Holiday Charitable Giving

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