Initiatives are certainly blunt political instruments. But even so, a legislature rarely helps matters when it invalidates the results of a statewide popular vote.
State Legislators Block Citizen-Led Ballot Initiatives
The Road Ahead: Will Philanthropic Critique Change Philanthropic Practice?
A spate of critiques of philanthropy in our nation’s Second Gilded Age have gained broad attention. But what will it take for that attention to affect mainstream philanthropic practice?
Rebecca Rimel Declares She Will (Kind Of) Leave Pew Charitable Trusts
Rimel’s retirement from Pew Trusts follows 36 years at the institution and 25 years as its president and CEO. Does that suggest real changes to come in the near future?
Massachusetts Seeks to Avert Business Shutdowns by Boosting Employee Ownership
In Massachusetts, a government office to promote employee ownership has been relaunched after an 11-year hiatus. The office aims to avert a pending business succession crisis by helping firms—many otherwise expected to close—to stay open through employee ownership.
Interim President Named at a Southern Poverty Law Center in Turmoil
The appointment of Baynes-Dunning, a former judge in the juvenile court and the federal court-appointed monitor of the reform efforts at the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services, is a critical step in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s leadership shift.
An Illustration in New Jersey of What’s Wrong with School Funding
Paterson, New Jersey’s public schools would be a sterling example for school reformers if only they didn’t ignore the need to address the difficult issues of equitable funding that plague public education across the country.
Red States versus Planned Parenthood: An Update
Planned Parenthood has made it clear, in the midst of being pummeled by the spate of restrictive measures in red states, that they will leave a state rather than abide by unethical rules that would seriously jeopardize women and the integrity of their work.
Economy Remix: Can We Ditch Tax Incentives and Support True Economic Development?
Economic development incentives cost states and localities up to $90 billion a year, often starving education and social services for resources in the process. Gradually, albeit far too slowly, the field is coming to recognize the folly of developing the local economy by throwing tax dollars at corporations.
Nonprofits: The DNA of Democracy
We are running this classic NPQ article today in preparation for a series of articles from the spring 2019 edition of Nonprofit Quarterly on the role of nonprofits in democracy. The idea that the strength and influence of nonprofits is centrally contained in their practice of democracy is too often lost—traded away for immediate gratification—but the cost for nonprofits and communities could not be higher.
Targeting Pipeline Protestors, South Dakota Bans “Riot Boosting”
Those found to be in violation of “riot boosting” in one of three new laws in South Dakota’s “Pipeline Package” could be subject to some combination of up to 25 years of prison time and civil penalties of up to $50,000.
An Ugly Profiteering Twist to the Sackler Story: Does It Take Eight to Tango?
According to the New York state attorney general’s office, in 2014 the Sackler-owned Purdue Pharma, producer and marketer of OxyContin, came up with a new business idea. Codenamed “Project Tango,” the plan was to sell treatments for the opioid addiction that OxyContin caused.
Kansas City Tax Abatements: Valuable Tool or Welfare for the Rich?
The next mayor of Kansas City is facing a potential sea change in the way the municipality looks at tax incentives for large property development.