Author Archive
Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?
April 2nd, 2013
Impact investing has been hailed as potentially transformational by nonprofit sector, corporate, and foundation leaders. Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, has called it “the game-changer we need in the quest to end poverty” that will allow us to “solve many of the world’s social problems while making attractive financial returns. ...
Sifting Through the “Research”
March 14th, 2013
An op-ed in The New York Times on March 8 titled “Does This Ad Make Me Fat?” points out that a recent journal article in BMC Public Health that established a correlation between advertising for junk food and obesity rapidly made an unjustified causal leap. ...
Making Evaluation Matter
January 23rd, 2013
Evaluation matters. When we surveyed foundation CEOs about performance assessment in 2011, we saw that nearly all rely on formal evaluations—including of grantees, program areas, and grant clusters—to inform their understanding of their foundations’ effectiveness. ...
When “Dependency” is Not a Bad Word
January 15th, 2013
I have a dependency problem. No, it’s not drugs or alcohol. ...
Which Data? And Who Will Pay for It?
October 30th, 2012
The following post originally appeared on Markets for Good. Markets for Good is a welcome push for the development and use of data to inform better decisions and, ultimately, better philanthropy. ...
Gloves Off Wisdom for Donors from the UK: A Philanthropy “How-To”
August 22nd, 2012
I did not necessarily expect to like Caroline Fiennes It Ain’t What You Give, It’s the Way You Give It, but I’d rank it among the best in the burgeoning industry of philanthropy how-to literature. I did not expect to like it because, lately, I have had trouble not rolling my eyes when I see the latest press release for yet another book offering donors advice on how to maximize their impact. ...
Transparency Starts at Home
July 12th, 2012
There seems to be more and more talk of “transparency” among foundation leaders. Leading the charge is Brad Smith, the CEO of Foundation Center, who has brought tremendous new energy and vision to that organization. ...
The Risks Posed by a Sector’s Silence: Toward a Forceful and Positive Articulation of the Nonprofit Sector
June 21st, 2012
This is the final installment in a series of six blog posts. Why are we, in the nonprofit sector, putting corporations on a pedestal? ...
Companies to the Rescue
June 13th, 2012
This is the fifth in a series of six blog posts. In my last several posts, I have described what I regard as worrisome trends: the way many (inside and outside the nonprofit sector) push for a “blurring of boundaries” between sectors, disparage the term “nonprofit,” and equate “business thinking” with “effectiveness. ...
“Business Thinking”
June 6th, 2012
This is the fourth in a series of six blog posts. Related to the emphasis on boundary-blurring and the frequent dissing of the term “nonprofit” that I have discussed in my last several posts is an equation of “business thinking” with effectiveness. ...
assessing performance
beneficiary feedback
beneficiary perceptions
communications
community foundations
comparative data
conferences
developing strategy
Donor Perception Report
economy
effective philanthropy
Essentials of Foundation Strategy
foundation effectiveness
foundation governance
foundation performance
foundation staff/program officers
foundation strategy
foundation transparency
Funder/Grantee Relationships
funder/grantee relationships
funder effectiveness
giving strategy
goals
Grantee Perception Report
grantee perspectives
Grantee Voice
indicators
leadership
nonprofit sector
overall foundation performance assessment
performance assessment
performance measurement
philanthropy
role of philanthropy
social media
Staff Perception Report
stakeholder engagement
strategy implementation
youth
YouthTruth
Lessons from a Risk Taken
I really appreciate your willingness to share this and your assessment of what didn't work out as planned or anticipated. Thanks.
I really appreciate your willingness to share this and your assessment of what didn't work out as planned or anticipated. Thanks.
Lessons from a Risk Taken
Jon, thanks for the comment. If there’s one thing we learned, it’s that the cost in time and effort and dollars were all higher than...
Jon, thanks for the comment. If there’s one thing we learned, it’s that the cost in time and effort and dollars were all higher than...
Lessons from a Risk Taken
Thanks for sharing the lessons learned, and what I sense are second thoughts about the cost/benefit of the whole enterprise. I appreciate the thirst for...
Thanks for sharing the lessons learned, and what I sense are second thoughts about the cost/benefit of the whole enterprise. I appreciate the thirst for...
Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?
Great insight. Sometimes it's great to invest in multiple countries as security as the economy in one country might decrease and increase in another.
Great insight. Sometimes it's great to invest in multiple countries as security as the economy in one country might decrease and increase in another.
Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?
Great questions. It is likely still too early to get a handle on whether the (potential) results reflect the hype meaningfully. However, I will be...
Great questions. It is likely still too early to get a handle on whether the (potential) results reflect the hype meaningfully. However, I will be...
