Many nonprofits used to be able to operate in dark corners like the small purviews of a particular city or region. That is, they would not necessarily be judged against peer programs in other cities nor, necessarily, against a generalized assumption about what constituted good practice. Local observation, reputation, and all important relationships were first
Harnessing the Power of Technology for Evaluation
Technology offers nonprofit organizations the opportunity to design and implement more effective evaluations for improving program performance while doing so at lower cost.
Welcome to Winter 2005
Welcome to the Nonprofit Quarterly’s first “Best of the Quarterly” issue. This marks NPQ’s sixth anniversary and such a retrospective is well past due. Thanks to our contributors, the NPQ has published some classics that stand the test of time in terms of their usefulness, and which provide a unique new perspective on issues that
Evaluating Foundations (To Whom, for What, and Who Says?)
If foundations have no market forces and few legal constraints to hold them accountable, is it any wonder that their evaluative efforts have fallen short? Can the value of “expressive philanthropy” be measured?
Is Accountability the Same as Regulation? Not Exactly.
Even the smallest nonprofits can’t and shouldn’t sidestep the runaway steamroller of the accountability conversation. Its motor is on and it’s got plenty of gas. Furthermore it is a legitimate issue for us all. Much better we leap aboard and try to help steer the conversation.
Nonprofit Conspiracy of Silence
Regardless of whether it is driven by politesse or short sighted self interest, nonprofit leaders are demonstrating a lack of probity at a time when it is most needed.
Nonprofit Truth or Consequences: The Organizational Importance of Honesty
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Organizational untruths are pervasive and corrosive, explains Belton. Truth telling is an essential practice that helps people thrive in their organizations while leading to increased individual and collective energy.
Building Adaptive Communities through Network Weaving
This is an article that focuses on the basic phases of building effective networks, using one grounded example to bring the theory to life. We recommend that readers look back also at Carl Sussman’s article (see Winter 2003, “Making Change: How to Build Adaptive Capacity”) and think about how the two approaches relate to one another in the achievement of real change.
Free Media? An Interview With Robert McChesney
Editors’ Note: In getting grounded in the media landscape we talked with Robert McChesney, an activist scholar in the area of media policy and founder of Free Press (www.freepress.net). McChesney’s description of the active approach toward publications and the press throughout U.S. history can inform and inspire us to shift ourmedia environment to one which is more relevant for an informed democracy.
Musical Auditors and Creative License in Grant Proposals: The Nonprofit Ethicist Is In
FROM THE ARCHIVES
This is the first installment of NPQ‘s longest running column, the Nonprofit Ethicist. What is your dilemma? Advice in this column includes the Ethicist’s take on an MSO’s board issues, and what to do with a bad case of founder syndrome.
Welcome to Fall 2005
Welcome to the fall 2005 issue of the Nonprofit Quarterly entitled “Amplifying Democracy: Nonprofits and Communications.” Inside, we have included articles on everything from branding and social marketing to how communications fits in social change and organizing strategies. We have looked at how communities can be helped to reframe issues and what it takes to
Making Our Communications Strategic
To move an issue from being a concern of the already convinced to being a concern of a broader community, we need to cultivate that broader community.