In 2011, Ohio governor John Kasich converted an entire state government department—the state’s economic development agency–to a nonprofit in order to make the state more successful in its search for jobs and companies.  Now, as Kasich runs for reelection, politicians debate whether the nonprofit called JobsOhio helped generate new jobs or created the conditions for corruption.

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses” does not apply in Nevada where the mentally ill are given bus tickets for places elsewhere, a tactic called Greyhound therapy.

In the end, what seems missing in this debate about foundations and strategic philanthropy is the voice of the nonprofit organizations that are doing the work that is supported by the grants. By way of adding that voice to the discussion, we offer two anecdotes.

At a moment when every public penny counts, the Justice Department is still inexplicably overriding states on the enforcement of marijuana laws. But now Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he’s about done with the lack of answers from the feds about why this is so darn important to them.

Many museums are having a tough go of it right now. The perfect storm often involves shrinking endowments, overspending on facilities, and exhibits that do not pay off. In Milwaukee there’s a collective effort against the odds to save a treasured local cultural center.

Fifty years ago yesterday, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom inspired and unified millions. As a nation, we must challenge ourselves to reflect on what it means to be a thriving democracy as well as the important role that foundations have played in advancing the common good.

It’s a journalistic lock: anything involving Bill and Hillary Clinton attracts lots of press attention. A front-page article in the New York Times examined the restructuring of the Clinton Foundation to include Hillary Clinton in its leadership and program direction, along with questions about the foundation’s operating deficits, travel expenses, and intra-personnel disagreements. With Hillary Clinton all but assured to be a presidential candidate in 2016, the Times investigation won’t be the last inquiry into the foundation’s operations.

When Congress reconvenes in September after its summer recess, there won’t be much time to fix the sequester for FY2014, even if it wants to do so. For nonprofits dependent on state government contracts, the impact of a second year of sequestration cuts on top of the cuts already made in fiscal year 2013. Oh, the impending budgetary havoc!

Watch this video and marvel at the power and heart of the speech from this young man.

A nonprofit is using one of the oldest advocacy tools in the toolkit—the billboard—in seeking to fire a local sheriff who has become a national figure due to his recent 30-day suspension.

In the latest experiment from the nonprofit journalism space, Publica, a nonprofit producing investigative reporting has launched a crowdfunding effort to award money to independent reporters to cover projects chosen by the public.

How many milliseconds after the Supreme Court decision overturning Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act did it take a number of Republican-led states to initiate restrictive voter ID laws, limits on early voting, and other laws meant to depress turnout by minorities and young people? A civil rights organization called the Advancement Project is challenging these laws state by state and paving the way for the U.S. Department of Justice to take action.