Accountability
December 1, 2015 at 9:40 am
“How do we double our program’s revenue?” is a question we hear a lot, and not just from the peer-to-peer fundraising directors, but also from the very senior level people in an organization. Personally, regardless of who is asking, I love this question because it supports a “go big or go home” mentality, and yet,…
November 30, 2015 at 11:38 am
Can philanthropy be taught in a classroom? And would philanthropic donors armed with MBAs in impact and effectiveness actually be a good thing for the voluntary sector? Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett thinks so. He’s spent the last three years setting up the London School of Economics' (LSE) new Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship. Having…
November 30, 2015 at 11:08 am
Donors ultimately give to successful and winning organizations. The question is: Who rates nonprofits, and how do they rate them? A number of organizations exist to rate charities. These organizations need to be transparent, honest and ethical. In addition to an organization’s sample-rating criteria, I would like to see background information and results on the following areas to provide more insight when rating the fundraising organization...
November 25, 2015 at 10:05 am
Whenever we present a plan or report, it is based on research. More often than not, our recommendations are embraced with enthusiasm. The leaders understand the process and the outcomes. In a few instances, though, there are leaders who immediately question a process that they have been a part of and the resulting recommendations. They rationalize...
November 25, 2015 at 9:36 am
A nonprofit founded to combat obesity says the $1.5 million it received from Coke has no influence on its work. But emails obtained by The Associated Press show the world’s largest beverage maker was instrumental in shaping the Global Energy Balance Network, which is led by a professor at the University of Colorado School of…
November 25, 2015 at 9:16 am
A four-year study by archaeologists has comprehensively demolished cherished myths about one of the most romantic religious sites in England, Glastonbury Abbey. Those feet, immortalized in William Blake’s poem "Jerusalem," never walked on the green and pleasant land of Glastonbury; the oldest church in England was not built there by Christ’s disciples; Joseph of Arimathea’s…
November 24, 2015 at 10:22 am
The fact that members of Congress feel the need to raise enormous amounts of money isn’t new. Sometimes, the question that matters is how lawmakers solicit contributions. Fundraising in the wake of a terrorist attack, for example, can raise awkward questions about basic propriety. NPR recently reported on one vulnerable Senate incumbent who’s arguably approaching…
November 24, 2015 at 9:39 am
Just like the classic disagreements that occur across Thanksgiving dinner tables with families, this argument in the nonprofit world is never-ending…
November 23, 2015 at 9:35 am
A proposal to create a new center at Western Carolina University using $2 million from the Charles Koch Foundation is generating concern among some faculty at Western Carolina University. The proposed Center for the Study of Free Enterprise would be funded, in part, with money from the foundation created by Charles Koch, CEO of Koch…
November 23, 2015 at 9:23 am
There are big plans for a plot of land just off Route 5 in the Montgomery County, New York town of Fonda. It is the future home of the Tribes Hill Heritage Center. A board of directors has been working to make the Native American Center a reality for more than a year now and…
