Congress is now considering the most sweeping change of nonprofit law in 25 years, with increased fees, mandatory reports and increased regulation that would affect the way your nonprofit functions. Several U.S. Senators concerned about nonprofit and foundation scandals held hearings on June 22nd and July 22nd — meeting under the title “Charity Oversight and

In the annals of unlikely (for me) travels, a month or so ago I went to the Parliament of World Religions in Barcelona. I was co-presenting a workshop on Future Search (a way to help large systems find a common way forward) with two of my best friends. That's how I ended up in my

Other staff around the Nonprofit Quarterly are always shoving stuff in front of me with a "can you just sign these before you leave?" as I am running out the door. And from what I hear from others, it is probably a pretty universal experience that we do not always read carefully what we sign.

As we get ready to go to the polls, many national issues may be on our minds — health care and the cost of prescriptions, the quality of public schools and cost of secondary schools, the rising deficit, the loss of jobs, the potential loss of social security, rising levels of poverty and increasing gaps

Over this past week, I have been interviewing people who are reported by their peers to be really good board chairs; this is for an upcoming article in the Winter issue. The people I have talked to are all over the country. We wanted to get a sense of what characteristics excellent board chairs bring

 The commuter boat that I rode across the bay this morning had a very wind-beaten Christmas tree lashed to the open deck. The crew had obviously been committed to the endeavor and had used at least ten heavy ropes tied from various portions of the tree to various parts of the rail to secure it.

A few weeks ago the world was knocked off its axis and the same ocean that had acted as a life-source violently swept over its shores destroying the land, people and economies it had once fed. This brings home again the idea that things can have both great positive and negative potential all at once.

Perhaps you saw my hometown on the national news. It was the one covered in saltwater, seaweed-embedded ice. This was the second biggest snow storm I can remember. The last one didn’t just coat the shoreline in ice, it destroyed a whole bunch of houses. The difference this time–what mitigated the damage–had to do with

I was talking with a newly installed executive director the other day who was bemoaning the fact that the board of his decades old organization had failed to acknowledge some core trends in the organization’s own work that led to a narrowing of its focus. This eventually ended up in this influential group serving primarily

It has been hard, for some reason, to write a cover letter for the attached two articles because, well, they make me mad. I did write one letter but my colleagues here advised against actually sending it to you. It's for my own good, I suppose. Anyway without further ado, I send to you one

I seem to be writing to you every two weeks now instead of every month, but there is a lot happening right now that I feel we should share sooner rather than later. This time I wanted to let you know about what is happening at the federal level regarding the regulatory environment for nonprofits.

There is a sign above my desk right now that says in big letters "Go Home, Ruth." It was a not-so-subtle directive from one of my colleagues here at the Nonprofit Quarterly who may have been concerned last week that I had entered an over-stimulated state that promised only diminishing returns. Too true — I