Do nonprofits manipulate investment returns?

- We find a discontinuity around zero in the distribution of the rates of return on investments for tax-exempt organizations.
- Rates of return are significantly more likely to be slightly positive than slightly negative.
- This pattern is found for a wide range of nonprofit missions.
- This suggests that some tax-exempt organizations manipulate investment returns to avoid reporting negative returns.

We provide evidence that nonprofit organizations manipulate reported investment returns to avoid investment losses. We find a sharp discontinuity around zero in cross-sectional distribution of the rates of return on investments for tax-exempt organizations: rates of return are significantly more likely to be slightly positive than slightly negative. This pattern is found for a wide range of nonprofit missions, including religious related charities and community improvement organizations.