Non Profit Hustle - Shriners’ Shame: The Dark Side of ‘The World’s Greatest Philanthropy,’ by Sandy Frost

This is not just another non profit hustle; this is the Shriners. In Shriners' Shame, Sandy Frost tears down the façade surrounding one of the country’s most revered organizations.

Annually, the Shriners purportedly send millions of dollars raised from their Shrine Circus ticket sales to the nation’s children’s hospitals and burn centers.

Or do they?

Shriners’ Shame investigates allegations of crime and corruption associated with the red-Fezzed fraternity best known for their $8 billion network of 22 non profit hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children.

In Shriners’ Shame, Frost rips into this secret society’s non profit hustle and reports about tax fraud; hospitals hit by warning letters from the FDA and Office for Human Research Protection; how over $100,000 was raised illegally by a Shrine club that was never accounted for on tax returns; and about the Shriners’ “dirtiest little secret,” their clandestine sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters.

Read an excerpt of Shriners' Shame

“Sandy Frost.

“Now there's a name that's dangerous, especially if you are a public entity misbehaving yourself.

“The conflicting images that come with it should be a clue that you don't want to mess around with this woman: She's both relaxing beachfront, comfortable in her ways, and a sheet of ice coming at you, ready to tear you apart in a second.

“Sandy Frost.

“Some people utter that name in anger. Others are glad to hear it, especially when she's on their side.

“She's nice and she's not when investigating the improper and the illicit.

“Sandy Frost.

“We've known each other as journalists for nearly 40 years, going back to high school, to the days of long-haired and loud-mouthed objections over the Vietnam war, Richard Nixon and women's rights, with her going to cyberspace and me heading off to mainstream print. She helped get me into this business. She was my first editor. She'll always be a teammate.

“Sandy Frost.

“When I hear that name, it makes me smile, which can't be the case for everyone.

“Of course, I have nothing to hide.”