Lucy Bernholz

Who is deciding?

Alt Headline: Thoughts on Non-public digital infrastructure for civil society. (I've been hosting this conversation on Reclaiming Digital Infrastructure for the Public Interest - the following post explores an example of what happens when we don't do so) I've been thinking for awhile about

Digital Civil Society and Democracy: How we got here and where we need to go

I am delighted to be speaking in a master class for Columbia University's Nonprofit Management Masters Program. Join us on October 15 for this event: Master Class | Digital Civil Society and Democracy: How We Got Here and Where We Need to Go The Nonprofit Management Program at Columbia

Foundations and nonprofits need democracy. "Democracy" doesn't need them

Here's the 5th article in the series I've written for the Chronicle of Philanthropy: "What Now: The Philanthropic Future our Democracy Needs" https://www.philanthropy.com/article/What-Now-The-Philanthropic/249363 Foundations and nonprofits exist within a set of norms and laws unique to democracy. If

Digital dependencies destroy independence of "independent sector"

Here's part four of the five-part Chronicle series: https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Digital-Dependence-Has/249343

Toxic Tax Policies

Toxic tax policies - part three of the five part series

Also read this

I've written a five-part series for the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Parts 1 -3 are posted as of today and can be found here: Part One: Confronting Uncomfortable Truths Part Two: Current Economic Crisis Part Three: Dismantle toxic tax policies Four and Five are coming in next few weeks.

Resetting philanthropy

Part two of my 5 part series in the Chronicle of Philanthropy is out - find it here https://www.philanthropy.com/article/The-Current-Economic-Crisis-Is/249313 Part one ran last week - it's here https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Confronting-Philanthropy-s/249296

Uncomfortable truths

Everyone wants to know what lies ahead. My advice?  Get comfortable in the uncomfortable spaces, revisit assumptions, imagine better possibilities. I've got a 5 part series in the Chronicle of Philanthropy - running over next several weeks with two opportunities to join me and others in conversation. First

Integrated advocacy to save democracy

Nothing like sending everyone home to work to get some attention to digital dependencies. Pleased to share this video interview with Independent Sector on the range of digital policies that matter to #nonprofits, #foundations, #political and #civic engagement. Take a look: https://independentsector.org/events/this-week-in-washington-6-4-20/Here's the

Mini observations on digital civil society as we're living it right now

I'm finding it difficult to focus and track time. From what I gather, so are many others. These are (simultaneously) problems of the fortunate, signs of grief, life-altering though not threatening, and opportunities. These days I'm not just writing and teaching about digital civil society, I&

Your landlord is listening

By now you've probably seen at least some of the news about Zoom, the video conferencing program that has quickly become a verb, is full of security and privacy risks. It is sharing/leaking data to other companies (Facebook), being investigated by Congress and Attorneys General, not really

Digital civil society's dependencies come into stark view

I've been arguing for several years now that civil society is dependent on digital systems, which are not neutral, designed with civil society in mind, or inately democratizing. Our dependence on digitized data, commercial software and hardware, and global communications networks lays bare the fallacy that nonprofits/foundations,

Covid buzzwords

Flatten the curve Shelter in place Mutual aid Caremongering Zoombie PPE Physical distancing, social solidarity zoombombing Sigh. The list just goes on and on. On the one hand, these terms don't seem to have anything to do with philanthropy or digital civil society, the topics of this blog.

Many things old are new again

A rebirth of mutual aid. Phone trees. Grocery pick-ups for your neighbors. Pooled funds for loans to cover unexpected expenses. Sharing physical goods within communities. Many things that defined philanthropy before it became a formalized, industry unto itself (early 1900s in the U.S.A.) are coming back into fashion.

We all live in digital civil society

Italians singing from their balconies. Spaniards doing calisthenics, led by one trainer on rooftop. Peruvians thanking doctors - and me watching it in California. Penguins walking down stairs in an empty (of humans) aquarium Virtual museum tours.   People sending cash directly to strangers in need, via their phones. Governments expanding

Time warp plus whiplash = timelash?

I'll get back to writing...soon. On March 1, 2020,  I  delivered a manuscript to a publisher for a book called How We Give Now. It is scheduled to be on bookshelves in Fall 2021. So, I've been in a time warp for some time. Ask

A letter that made me feel better....

Professors Rob Reich, Mehran Sahami, Jeremy Weinstein, along with Hilary Cohen and Mohit Mookim, sent the following letter to students last week. Posted by permission. ****** The crisis that is unfolding around the world with the coronavirus pandemic is frightening. And it appears likely that things will become worse before they

Why “Blank for Good" is Bad (UPDATED)

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Please read this response and thread and my apologies for first using logo without permission. I very much appreciate having this broader perspective brought forth from @CassieRobinson, Stefaan Verhulst and others. Original post Since we started the Digital Civil Society Lab I’ve been invited to countless conferences,

New Digital Infrastructure and Philanthropy's Roles

Media's past, civil society's future?

For the last decade(s) or so, there has been much attention to the blurring of lines between nonprofits and social businesses. Much of the pressure is self-inflicted by funders and nonprofits looking for sustainable revenue models. The rise of impact investing is part of this story. I'm

Hey nonprofits, your rent is going up 10X

Do you work for a "dot org?" Do you know there's an effort underway (currently put on hold by the California Attorney General) to sell the registry of .orgs to a private equity firm? At a time when hands wring over closing civic space and the

Artificially Intelligent Associations

My next big research project (I hope) will be coordinating a distributed team of researchers from many disciplines to better understand how our digital dependencies influence our associational opportunities and rights. For example: * How do the personas that data-driven algorithms create for us align with, or not, how we see

Job boards for social sector, public sector, nonprofit, tech and policy jobs

Students often ask me for information on jobs. There's a noticeable (and welcome) uptick in interest in jobs in the public or social sectors at the intersections of policy, analysis, technology, and data. I asked Twitter for relevant job boards and here are the resources I received.* Internet

"Hey (random woman's name applied to a connected digital speaker), donate money to...."

I heard this story last week, from the mother of a toddler. The kid is home, playing with grandpa. Kid is just past the peek-a-boo stage, now experimenting with hide and go seek. Like most kids of this age, hiding generally involves standing on the other side of a chair

Nonprofits and artificial intelligence

I’ve participated in a lot of conferences, panels, discussions etc. about “nonprofits and AI,” “foundations and AI,” “AI for good”* and so on. The vast majority of them miss the point all together. It’s not really a question of these organizations using artificial intelligence, which is how every