NPQ’s Week in Review

 

Good Morning! We hope you enjoyed the weekend. At NPQ, what moves you is what moves us. The Week in Review highlights what our readers nominate as their favorite content and what they share with us and the community in the form of tweets, comments, contributed articles, and newswires.

But first, take a look at what you might have missed last week in some of the major news stories covered in NPQ.

BIG STORY OF THE WEEK – OCCUPY WALL STREET< BOSTON< PORTLAND< CHICAGO…A MOVEMENT SPREADS ORGANICALLY:  Last week saw the growth of the “Occupy” movement which emerged in city after city – still loosely organized but a powerful presence. Its message is about structured inequity in all of its forms. This story is probably not just the story of the week but may be one of the stories if not the story of the year. As we write this, the helicopters are circling the financial district in Boston incessantly.

BILLIONAIRE LOOKS TO PUBLIC FOR SUGGESTIONS ON HIS PHILANTHROPY: A billionaire distinguished the launch of his philanthropy – where he plans to give away most of his wealth – with a call to the public to help him with ideas about how the money might be best spent. He wants to create sustainable jobs for people who are poor or who have been unemployed for a while.

FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC’S PHILANTHROPY MAY VANISH: It’s no surprise that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been on the outs for years now – but what is more concerning to the nonprofit sector is their philanthropic contributions will most likely be coming to an end very soon.

STARBUCK’S NEW SOCIAL CHANGE PHILANTHROPY INITIATIVES: Starbucks is teaming up with social change nonprofits to establish two new philanthropy initiatives. They have announced plans to partner with community organizations such as Abyssinian Development Corporation and the Los Angeles Urban League, and are also setting up donations with “Create Jobs for USA.” NPQ was very impressed with their innovative corporate philanthropic efforts. Although Starbucks gets a bad reputation for wiping out local businesses, they seem to be dedicating themselves to “doing good” in all the right philanthropic ways.

 Readers’ Pick: THE Hottest article OF THE WEEK

The Dubious Philanthropy of Boxer Floyd Mayweather‘s Foundation

This week’s article on Floyd Mayweather’s massive earnings on boxing prizefights and questions on how much actually ends up going to and through the Floyd Mayweather Jr. Foundation hit big on NPQ. There have been speculations about over half of his foundation’s funds going to undisclosed professional fees and such in 2008. With Mayweather’s $145 million earnings in his last five boxing matches alone, it would be nice to see these impressive profits carrying over to the FMJF Foundation.

 Conversation of the week

altFlash Mob or Tipping Point? What Do You Think of the Expansion of the Occupy Wall Street Ranks?

The latest movement sweeping the nation is the Occupy Wall Street protests. An article asking for your input on what you think of the protests and if their demands are clear really got our readers talking. The opinions ran the gamut from strong support to seeing no clear articulation of the protest goals. While some individuals ridiculed the protest groups and view the whole movement as a joke, others are comparing this to similar revolutions in Israel and Libya and anticipate what will come next. Some noteworthy points were brought up, one reader (Judith Patrick) looked back at past protests and how essential it was to feel unified as a nation and to have great leaders to motivate the people. Occupy Wall Street has some tough strides in its path to reach the respect and impact needed to create a national revolution.

 Trending Tweets of the week

alt

Thanks to all you tweeters out there. You help us spread the NPQ word and we’re grateful for your engagement. This week the Occupy Wall Street protests and HHS data reveals faster job growth in the nonprofit sector but smaller nonprofits are still struggling got the tweeters tweeting this week. Thanks to our community for surfacing and circulating what interests you! And if you don’t already, follow us on Twitter at @npquarterly.

DECORNWALLMSWOct 08, 7:07pm via UberSocial for BlackBerry

 

RT @npquarterly: HHS data reveals faster job growth in nonprofit sector, but small nonprofits are still hit hard by … tmi.me/gWi5D

FCNewYorkOct 06, 4:30pm via Hootsuite

 

RT @npquarterly: What is your take on the national trend of Occupy Wall Street encampments? owl.li/6OcKL

FCAtlantaOct 05, 1:05pm via Hootsuite

 

Bad Budget News in State Capitols Means More Bad News for Cities & Nonprofits via @npquarterly http://ow.ly/6OoQt

 

  NPQ’s READER Contributor of the week

Aaron Lester

Formerly NPQ’s online editor and now an editor at the Christian Science Monitor, Aaron Lester continues to grace us with his presence with this comment to the “Flash Mob or Tipping Point” newswire. His response was to a reader who said “I think they are fools, frankly. I work next to the park where they demonstrate — it looks like a homeless encampment. It is totally unclear what they want, what they are for, what they are against — everything is vague.”

alt# Aaron Lester 2011-10-05 15:14

Media like to see the specific demands; the soundbites, so that their stories are easier to write. This probably kept the protests in a “brown out” early on. Now, as demos spread, and groups like labor join, Occupy can’t be ignored. The movement should take a cue from the 08 Obama campaign and remain somewhat of a blank slate. Let the disaffected among us, the other 99% as they say, cast their hope on the movement. Don’t narrow the focus, don’t alienate. Don’t let the tea party be the only activists to tap into economic insecurity.

 

 NOW IT’S YOUR TURN! GIVE IT TO US.

Got a Tip for Us? We Need Your Voice Here

Did we miss something this week? What do you want to see us cover next week? Be our eyes and ears on the ground. Don’t hold back. Let us have it. And we’ll put it right here. Just let us know if you want it to be confidential.