My grandmother was addicted to reading those true detective magazines with the really lurid pictures. They scared me, but I shared a bedroom with her so I read them too — carefully averting my eyes from the sprawling corpses. I guess I can blame my sainted grandmother, then, for my attraction to the sensational, now
Making Money While Making Sense (Oct 06)
‘Tis the season…although of course, isn’t it always the season for fundraising? But for many of us, a lot of development activity gets bunched up around this time of year so I wish you well. Remember, as the esteemed Kim Klein says, “every ‘no’ brings us closer to a ‘yes’” (although I do admit each
It’s for the Kids? (Oct 06)
Sometimes, as NPQ’s editor in chief, I am deluged with stories of the outrageous, nonprofit style. I try to keep my perspective. Most nonprofits I know do not make the grand mistakes that land them on the front pages. Most of us, frankly, do not have the aptitude to think some of this stuff up;
Early, but please, not often (Nov 06)
I have one message for our readers this week: regardless of party affiliation, do everything in your power to ensure a high level of participation and vigilance in the elections this Tuesday. We are entering this mid-term election with stark choices about the direction of our country and our communities. And there is a strong
Mobile Justice (Nov 06)
I spent last Saturday morning in New Hampshire with people who are actively organizing in mobile home communities (the Manufactured Home Owners Association of America). Their vivid stories were about their hard won successes in such things as tenant’s rights, zoning and financing in situations where their communities have been too often treated as second
The Nonprofit Ethicist wants your sad quandaries (Dec 06)
In this morning’s New York Times there was an interesting article about dreaming. Apparently, we all may be dreaming in fast rewind i.e. with the outcome first as a way of processing memory. I would love to relive portions of my life — aspects of it — with such a learning aid in place .
Governance from the Ground Up (Jan 07)
This morning I was reading a report about a community organization I have gotten to know fairly well over the past few years. When I was first introduced to the organization, it was in pretty tough shape. Dedicated staff who had committed themselves to the organization over three decades had aged and although they were
Starr Crossed Foundation Dollars (Apr 07)
Not long ago, I was shocked to hear that, in a public meeting, a former community development colleague of mine had launched into a tirade against the dangers of increased regulation of the nonprofit sector. Like warning teenage sleepers about Freddy Krueger, she cited the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as an example of the hazards of regulation
Starr Crossed Foundation Dollars (Apr 07)
Not long ago, I was shocked to hear that, in a public meeting, a former community development colleague of mine had launched into a tirade against the dangers of increased regulation of the nonprofit sector. Like warning teenage sleepers about Freddy Krueger, she cited the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as an example of the hazards of regulation
Moral Court for Charity
In June of 2004, the Senate Finance Committee prepared a table for a long panel of witnesses to testify on charitable accountability, a diverse group including national trade associations, national nonprofit ratings entities, and specific issue and interest representatives of the nonprofit sector. At the end of the table sat Derek Bok, the former president
Taking Philanthropy to the Max
Roughly a year ago, Montana’s senior senator, Max Baucus, stunned the annual meeting of the Council on Foundations. At that time — still the ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee — Baucus made a few off-hand comments about Congressional attention to charitable reform legislation and then read a prepared speech about the need
Taking Philanthropy to the Max (Jun 07)
Roughly a year ago, Montana’s senior senator, Max Baucus, stunned the annual meeting of the Council on Foundations. At that time — still the ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee — Baucus made a few off-hand comments about Congressional attention to charitable reform legislation and then read a prepared speech about the need