- Imagine a ranking of countries based on their efforts to encourage social innovation. That’s the idea behind the “Social Competitiveness Index,” and Matthew Bishop of The Economist magazine is asking readers of his blog, Philanthrocapitalism, to help shape the idea.
- Chevron and ExxonMobil are keeping low profiles on public television, Michael Getler writes in his ombudsman column on the PBS Web site. The two oil companies, which are not involved in the drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, have chosen to replace the spoken messages that used to acknowledge their sponsorship of popular PBS programs with logos.
- Mission creep leads to message creep, David Lawson, head of screening and analytics at DonorTrends, writes on Fundraising Action. Charities, he writes, often don’t realize the vast array of sometimes contradictory messages they are communicating on their Web sites, in annual reports and press releases, and elsewhere.
- Laura Freschi, who writes the Aid Watch blog along with the New York University professor William Easterly, discusses the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s recent announcement that it would not be giving anyone its award this year for an outstanding African head of state because there were no worthy candidates.
- Grizzard’s blog offers a post from Jake McKee, a former global community-relations specialist for Lego, who discusses how the toy company has developed an effective marketing campaign to engage people via the Web. Mr. McKee notes that nonprofit organizations can use similar tactics to build awareness and dedication and drive donations.
