Jacob Harold

GuideStar, a source of nonprofit information, announced that Jacob Harold has been selected as its new president and CEO. Harold, a widely respected grantmaker, social change strategist and author, has led grantmaking for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Philanthropy Program since 2006. He has served on the board of GuideStar since January 2010 and will continue as a board member in his new position.

Burlingame, CA, August 31, 2009 — Tactical Philanthropy Advisors, an advisory firm working with wealthy individuals and families, launched today. It is headed by Sean Stannard-Stockton, co-founder of a wealth advisory firm focused on philanthropists, a columnist for the Chronicle of Philanthropy and author of the industry leading blog Tactical Philanthropy.

Back in December, I wrote that the one thing I wanted to know before donating to a nonprofit was whether it was achieving its goals. Since it's hard to find that information, I was happy to see that Charity Navigator is exploring how to integrate data on outcomes — progress in achieving goals — into its notoriously distorted rating system for nonprofits. This has the potential to increase the total social good produced by the sector: Rating nonprofits based on outcomes will direct more donor dollars to the nonprofits with the greatest positive impact and will encourage all nonprofits to improve their outcomes.

Participants in the philanthropic world — from foundations and wealthy donors to the non-profit organizations that seek their support — must create a robust marketplace of information about charitable activity if they hope to increase their social impact, a newly released study has concluded.