Bail funds are a great example of non-profits with bad incentive structures. In Portland, when bail money is returned it goes directly to the person arrested,

Bail funds are a great example of non-profits with bad incentive structures. In Portland, when bail money is returned it goes directly to the person arrested, not the bail fund that paid it out. If that bail was paid by a fund like Defense Fund PDX which raised over $100k this summer, the arrestee tends to just pocket the money [0][1]. When a permissive DA such as the one in Portland drops most charges against protestors and rioters [2], they are effectively paid (financially incentivized) to protest, riot, and get arrested with zero negative long-term consequences. One Portland bail fund raised over a million dollars this summer [3]. One night of setting fires and attacking the police can net an arrestee hundreds or thousands of dollars [4] in bail repayments. If their bail is paid in a timely manner, the arrestee can "earn" even more money the next night. This has the effect of prolonging the violent sort of protests we have seen in the Portland area since June. The effect is not obvious to well-intentioned bail fund donors, who in the best case simply wish to support peaceful protest. When these bail funds are run by the arrestees and their friends, or by people who understand the violent feedback loop and seek to sustain it, the ethical problems inherent to this system become even more pronounced. [0] https://twitter.com/eigenrobot/status/1333353403825545216 https://twitter.com/eigenrobot/status/1333353403825545216 [1] https://twitter.com/DefenseFundPdx/status/1332785565276774401 https://twitter.com/DefenseFundPdx/status/133278556527677440... [2] https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/08/hundreds-of-portland-protesters-will-see-their-criminal-cases-dropped-as-da-announces-plan-to-recognize-the-right-to-speak.html https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/08/hundreds-of-portlan... [3] https://www.gofundme.com/f/pdx-protest-bail-fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/pdx-protest-bail-fund [4] https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/06/whos-behind-the-portland-protest-bail-fund-thats-raised-more-than-500000.html https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/06/whos-behind-the-port...