Like much of modern political syntax, “diversity” is the term of art because it is increasingly devoid of meaning — or because it is more palatable than other, older, more politically charged variations on the theme.
Spare The Ethics, Spoil The Pupil
When any sector of our society defends conflicts of interest as essential for their operations, creativity, and impact, something pernicious is going on and needs to be rooted out of the body politic.
National Harbor, Not Safe Harbor
It is not hard to find daily newspaper examples of nonprofit and foundation abuses sullying the charitable sector and a concomitant reluctance of nonprofit leadership institutions to say anything critical in other than the broadest, least specific terms possible. But a notable exception to this was the pledge by the Council on Foundations a couple
Your Opinion, Please: The United Way’s “Bold” New Strategy
The strength of United Way at local levels — as I have experienced it — has been in its role as gatherer and distributor of resources to strengthen local safety nets: the same role that Brian Gallagher now appears to eschew.
Aftershocks of California’s Philanthropic QuakeGate
Remember Chuck Quackenbush? Barely avoiding a perp walk, Quackenbush had to resign his post as California insurance commissioner in order to avoid impeachment as a philanthropic miscreant.
Nonprofit Earmarking Under Scrutiny as Politicians Play Fast and Loose
Whether it is New York, Hawai’i, Wisconsin, or South Carolina, efforts to bolster nonprofit accountability are undermined when state legislators can make back room grant awards to favored nonprofits based on little or no standards, minimal transparency, and just about nonexistent monitoring.
Truth or Consequences: The Implications of Financial Decisions
FROM THE ARCHIVES
If two sources of funding are good, are three sources better?
So…Nobody’s Perfect! Executive Coaching and My Grudges
We all need our critical observers to be good leaders. Enter the executive coach, an intervention that can be enormously useful in any size organization.
Behind the Screen: The Clinton/China Connection
One doesn’t need to spin conspiracy theories about the Clintons to suggest that they might want to be careful about their financial and philanthropic connections.
Obama’s Laudable Earmark Transparency
Last month, Obama released a list of every — every! — earmark he had requested, successfully or not, in the federal budgets for Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007. In contrast, Hillary Clinton has not released her earmarks list, nor has she disclosed the names of contributors to her family’s and husband’s foundations or released her tax returns.
Nonprofits and the Subprime Meltdown
[April 15, 2008] In the subprime mortgage foreclosure fiasco, nonprofit organizations have stood out as relative successes compared to their counterparts in the for-profit financial sector and among federal government agencies. Every review I’ve seen of the affordable housing inventories of nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs) indicates minimal subprime mortgage foreclosure problems. Unlike the housing
Red Cross Crisis
Any organization that has burned through four CEOs in ten years and has been constantly criticized by legislators, the press, and the public for mishandling funds, misrepresentations in fundraising, and failure to perform its job effectively is an organization with serious problems—problems that cannot be solved by replacing top managers. Nor can an organization in