HOW TO FIND YOUR VOICE AND MAKE AN IMPACT
Giving is what women do, of course. We nurture kids and relatives. We drop everything for friends in need. We form neighborhood associations, join walkathons, sit on school boards and give to clothing drives. Often as not, we also write charitable checks. So what’s this all about? Something of a revolution, really. Increasingly, women are […]
REWARDS: FLEXING THE POWER OF ONE
Stories about women working toward a bigger purpose, building something that will outlive them, are surfacing frequently. These are altogether contemporary legacies, on a scale without precedent or model. The stories are ongoing and evolving, so the full impact is still largely under the radar. Here are snapshots of four women who put their commitments […]
CAN NONPROFITS AND DONORS REALLY GET ALONG?
Increasingly, as donors accompany financial backing with hands-on involvement, they are joining forces with organizations to help leverage contributions and advance the mission. But getting to an honest, effective donor-charity alliance built on trust and understanding takes time and compromise. Such partnerships often throw up tensions and the strain typically stems from misunderstanding the other […]
WHY FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES WILL DO THE RIGHT THING
Several years ago, Socially Responsible Investing maven Peter D. Kinder, then president at KLD Research & Analytics (KLD) in Boston, and currently Strategic Advisor to ESG Analytics, wrote a white paper called “Values and Money.” His stated goal was to trace the history of SRI and to provide some real definitions, context and metrics about […]
THE ELEPHANT IN THE NONPROFIT CONFERENCE ROOM
Amid all the current third sector challenges, including how to fundraise in this climate, how to sustain programs, how to maintain the endowment, staff shortages, how to measure and demonstrate impact, how to advance diversity, how to grow the mission, and so on—amid all these concerns and more—I foresee a much bigger crisis coming down […]
WHAT NONPROFITS NEED TO LEARN FROM FOR-PROFITS
At last, volunteering is getting some of the respect it deserves. In its just-released seventh annual Volunteer Impact Survey, Deloitte reports a significant shift in corporate attitudes toward workplace volunteerism. Seen in the past by companies as little more than an employee perk, volunteerism lately is being dressed as a serious tool for social change. […]
LET’S TRY REAL CAPITALISM INSTEAD OF THE SOCIAL KIND
“We need to stop separating investment decisions from philanthropic giving,” writes Alexander Friedman, in an opinion piece in the “Financial Times.” Huzzah! At last! Someone has actually named the bridge that should have been built long ago. Friedman, who recently stepped down as CFO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and who also was […]
THE UNMENTIONABLE AMONG NONPROFITS
No, it’s not the names of their biggest donors or how much they rely on outside consultants. It’s what most of the world calls “marketing,” but what the third sector, in its mission-centric way, prefers to dub “advocacy.” I attended a luncheon in midtown Manhattan this week, at which my colleague Margaret May Damen, author […]
TALKING ABOUT MY AND YOUR GENERATION
There’s been scarcely any research into how giving changes based on which cohort you’re born into — which is a pity, because we could sure use some. Even so, one representative nationwide study a few years back by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute in Indianapolis offers some suggestions about how such differences play out in terms […]
YES, IT’S SIMPLER TO WRITE A CHECK, BUT IS IT SMARTER?
If philanthropy does not require gobs of cash, it is nonetheless both wiser and more effective to craft a customized financial plan before you begin. A plan can help maximize the impact of your gift, both right away and in years to come. It also pays to define exactly what income and categories of assets […]