The Obama Administration is less than a month old, its most significant nonprofit-specific appointments not yet formally announced, and the policy recommendations floated by nonprofit leadership organizations still have currency. At this point, the question is not what has the Obama Administration done, much less set in stone, regarding nonprofit policy in its first month in office, but what messages and priorities are being conveyed by the nonprofit sector for the Obama appointees' consumption and action.
Stimulus: the Nonprofit Scorecard
The economic stimulus packages moving through Congress are moving targets. A snapshot from the February 7th Senate deliberations suggests that there might be some interesting discussions between the Senate and House when the two chambers’ stimulus bills come to conference. For nonprofits, here are the headlines and implications.
Influential Champions — Got One?
The results of our relationships with champions can be pivotal and yet we rarely discuss the way they work, except sometimes pertaining to fundraising.
Ensuring a Timely Economic Stimulus: The Benchmark of CDBG Expenditures
Why is the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program important in thinking about how quickly economic stimulus outlays might actually reach nonprofits and communities?
Because CDBG is one of the true mainstays of government funding for community-based nonprofits for their core program activities.
When Will the Economic Stimulus Dollars Flow?
With the vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on January 28th by 244 to 188 to pass H.R.1 (titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), the $825 billion economic stimulus bill, our nation has taken one step in a long series of events that will ensue before nonprofits see any of the spending portions of the stimulus reaching their coffers. Predicting the formal and informal processes of the executive and legislative branches is always problematic, but we can guess that the stimulus will have to hurdle the following fences and ditches before dollars reach intended beneficiaries.
Radical Change in Philanthropy, and You?
Even before the financial crisis began to unfold, the Hawaii Community Foundation realized that it had lapsed into philanthropic habits that might be counterproductive. So it opted to try a different way.
What Can Nonprofits Look Forward to in the Economic Stimulus Bill
We found the contents of the draft explanatory report accompanying H.R.1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 useful to see what appropriations and spending made it and what didn't.
The Future of the NAACP at a Pivotal Moment in History: An Interview with NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous
How will changes in the civil rights movement–changes in leadership, strategy, and program–affect the future of the nonprofit sector? News coverage of the turbulent recent history of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People led to a spate of newspaper articles questioning whether the NAACP had a future or whether the civil rights movement itself was a historic anachronism. Coinciding with the presidential campaign and subsequent election of Barack Obama, the NAACP has embarked on a course to challenge reports of its obsolescence with a new, young leader, Benjamin Jealous, at its helm. How will the NAACP under Jealous's leadership transform itself at this pivotal historic intersection of Obama’s presidency and its own 100th anniversary?
Paul Light’s Four Nonprofit Futures
Among nonprofits of all types and sizes we are already hearing about the impact of state and local budget cuts and precipitous asset declines among foundations. Will it be bad news for all nonprofits or will some be hit worse than others?
Lessons for Charities and Foundations from Bernie Madoff
Is there anyone left in the nonprofit sector who hasn't come across a bevy of articles listing the foundations and charities that have been ripped off by Bernie Madoff and his $50 billion pyramid scheme? The press has been tallying the losses to investors, operating charities, and foundations, but there has been precious little analysis of what this means for the needed monitoring and oversight of how some foundations handle their–our–tax exempt dollars.
What can we learn from Madoff's horrific financial shenanigans? What does it all mean for the nonprofit sector? There are some important lessons here for every nonprofit in the U.S., whether victimized by losing the bulk of their resources or simply outraged by the cozy relationships of investors and foundations–playing fast and loose with tax exempt moneys.
New Lows in Public Corruption: Gov. Blagojevich Tries His Hand at Philanthropy
Are there lessons for foundations and nonprofits from the corruption cesspool seeping out of the Illinois governor’s office? When political corruption puts its arm around charity and philanthropy, teachable moments emerge and we should all pay attention.
Prospective replacements for Barack Obama’s Illinois senate seat are running as fast and as far as they can from the recently arrested governor of the state, Rod Blagojevich. Nonprofits, foundations, and labor unions might be well advised to join the Illinois pols in creating yardage between them and the pay-to-play state executive.
In a Successful Campaign: Lessons for Nonprofits
In such challenging times, nonprofits need to identify the most cutting edge organizational tools, technologies, and behaviors that engage constituents and achieve results. To that end, I would draw our attention to the campaign organization built by President-elect Barack Obama.