Posts by Maria Di Mento
March 22, 2010, 11:50 AM ET
Thoughts About Starting an International Charity; Plus More: Monday's Roundup
- John Casey, associate professor at the Baruch College School of Public Affairs, talks on the Future Leaders in Philanthropy blog about what to know before starting an international charity. His advice, in short: Don't do it.
- Debbie Schlussel, a lawyer and conservative blogger, says a charity started by Sean Hannity, the Fox News talk-show host, misuses its money and gives little to its intended mission of supporting the education of children of U.S. troops. The charity, Freedom Alliance, denies the accusations on its Web site.
- Holden Karnofsky, a co-founder of the nonprofit-evaluation group GiveWell, discusses some of the downsides of "cost-effectiveness estimates" of nonprofit programs, meaning efforts to measure "how much good is accomplished per dollar donated."
- "There is a troubling trend among social enterprises to romanticize the poor as...
March 19, 2010, 11:27 AM ET
A Look at the Council on Foundations' Legislative Agenda; Plus More: Friday's Roundup
- What is the 2010 legislative agenda of the Council on Foundations? Based on e-mail correspondence with the council, Mitch Nauffts, of the Foundation Center's Philanthropy News Digest, says it includes efforts to expand and extend the IRA charitable rollover, maintain current law on the charitable deduction, and reinstate the estate tax. The coalition is also hoping to get federal legislation that would encourage grant makers to make program-related investments.
- Writing on the eJewish Philanthropy blog, Stephen G. Donshik, a lecturer at Hebrew University, gives advice on how charities can handle personality conflicts among employees.
- Does the marketing of philanthropy advisers as "generosity coaches" have legs? Robert Frank, who writes The Wall Street Journal's Wealth Report, explores that question.
- Over the past year, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund has...
March 19, 2010, 11:17 AM ET
The Best Philanthropy Speakers, and More: Thursday's Roundup
- Who are the best, most thought-provoking speakers on the topic of philanthropy? Sean Stannard-Stockton, a donor adviser and a Chronicle contributor, asks readers to weigh in on his blog.
- Matthew Van Poortvliet, of New Philanthropy Capital, a British charity-evaluation group, writes that working in partnerships with other charities is often more difficult than it appears.
- A new report issued by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has found that from 2004 to 2008, 15 Los Angeles County nonprofit organizations generated $6.8-billion in benefits for local citizens.
- Lucy Bernholz, an adviser to grant makers, has a "modest manifesto of open philanthropy" on her blog Philanthropy 2173. Among her ideas: a "Freedom of Foundation and Nonprofit Information Act."
- Writing on the Huffington Post, Jose Antonio Vargas discusses Jumo, a new...
March 17, 2010, 11:00 AM ET
Aggressive Local Efforts to Limit Charity Tax Breaks, Plus More: Wednesday's Roundup
- In the publication Blue Avocado, Rick Cohen, national correspondent with the Nonprofit Quarterly, discusses attacks on charities' tax-exempt status from money-starved state and local governments.
- Nathaniel Whittemore, founder of the organization Assetmap, writes on the Change.org blog about Vittana, a new online platform that applies the peer-to-peer lending model of Kiva to education loans.
- Matthew Bishop, an editor at The Economist magazine
and author of a book on philanthropy, discusses New Philanthropy
Capital's "Manifesto for Social Impact," which
argues that the U.K. government needs to help charities strengthen
their ability to measure results. New Philanthropy Capital is a
charity-evaluation group in the United Kingdom.
March 15, 2010, 11:56 AM ET
A Predicted Spike in Number of Uninsured Americans; Plus More: Monday's Roundup
- Without changes to the health-care system, the number of uninsured Americans could increase by 10 million in five years, writes Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. On the Huffington Post, she outlines a new report from the foundation about the future of health care in America.
- President Obama earns an A for using his Nobel Prize money to support charities that will help America in the future, but he gets an F for "social innovation," writes Nathaniel Whittemore, the founder of Assetmap. On Change.org, Mr. Whittemore grades the president on the 10 groups Mr. Obama chose to support with the $1.4-million prize.
- In Africa, "simple advances in basic sanitation and personal hygiene" are making a huge difference in people's health care, while cellphones are changing financial services, says Bill Gates. On his new blog, the...
March 12, 2010, 11:52 AM ET
A Case for Revising the Census; and More: Friday's Roundup
- Liberals and conservatives should support the U.S. Census Bureau's efforts to revise how it measures poverty, say Doug Nelson, outgoing chief executive of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Ron Haskins, a former adviser to President George W. Bush. In an opinion article in Politico, they say the revised method, while not official, will provide a more accurate picture of which populations need assistance and which antipoverty programs are working.
- People interviewed in the new documentary about the Barnes Foundation and its controversial decision to move make some questionable claims, says Christopher Knight, an art critic for the Los Angeles Times. His views appear in the newspaper's arts blog.
- The nonprofit world "needs a major reset on the approach to outcomes -- from how we think about them to how we assess them," says Mario Morino, chairman of Venture Philanthropy...
March 11, 2010, 12:00 PM ET
A Call for Grant Maker Transparency; Plus More: Thursday's Roundup
- Padraic Brick of the British nonprofit-evaluation group New Philanthropy Capital discusses the Foundation Center's new Web site, Glasspockets, and why it is important that grant makers be open about what they support and why.
- Holden Karnofsky, co-founder of the nonprofit-evaluation group GiveWell, writes about his recent visit to two charities' programs in Africa.
March 10, 2010, 11:39 AM ET
The Nonprofit World's Obsession With All Things Micro; And More: Wednesday's Roundup
- David Henderson, chief executive of a company that provides technology to social-service groups, says the nonprofit world's current obsession with "micro" -- "micro-volunteering," "micro-philanthropy," "micro-donations." and "micro-actions" -- is distracting it from tackling big and real challenges. "[O]ur fascination with all things micro stems from a hope that simple, small, and intuitive-sounding actions can solve tremendously complicated problems," not from an "understanding of the effectiveness of micro approaches," he says.
- Charity Navigator's decision to measure the effectiveness of charities instead of solely examining their finances may hurt nonprofit groups in the long run, writes Steven Lawry, senior research fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations. On the center's blog, he says the move could "reduce their appetite or ambition for working on the really ...
March 9, 2010, 10:00 AM ET
Editorial Argues for Madoff Victims' Repayment; Plus More: Tuesday's Roundup
- Victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme should receive as much financial restitution as possible, even if it means that nonprofit groups in the Boston area have to suffer, says an editorial in The Boston Globe. For example, the editorial says the foundation of Carl Shapiro, who reportedly earned $1-billion investing with Mr. Madoff, needs to return some of its founder's money even if it cannot fulfill its charitable pledges.
- How does a donor or volunteer "break up" with a charity comfortably? Wendy Helgeson, a management consultant, says it's not easy and looks at her own experience separating from a nonprofit group. Her views appear on a blog about grass-roots leadership in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
- A year after Google revamped its approach to philanthropy, it is developing several new projects to spur economic development, clean energy, and access to technology, Megan...
March 8, 2010, 12:33 PM ET
An Argument for Nonprofit Bonds and Loans, Plus More: Monday's Roundup
- Foundations and philanthropists should be encouraged to make loans to charities, back nonprofit bonds, and use other financial tools outside of traditional philanthropy, writes Alexander Friedman, who recently stepped down as chief financial officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In an opinion article in The Financial Times, he says governments should provide tax incentives to get more people and institutions involved in so-called social investing.
- The idea proposed by some British politicians that government support for the arts could be supplanted by American-style philanthropy is wrong headed, writes Charlotte Higgins, chief arts writer for The Guardian. "I can think of no one in the arts who thinks fundraising from private sources is a bad idea," she writes. "But the U.S. has a philanthropic tradition, embedded in its culture. We do not; nor can it be created in the...