philanthropiccapitalmarkets Consider the alternatives (Photo from Flickr: Creative Commons, I_Yudai) It is always easier to tear down what exists than build something new. It is just plain simpler to point out all that is wrong with what is than actually to imagine, let alone create, viable alternatives. In response to my post about
cross-platform philanthropy Breaking new boxes Photo by Cheryl Senter for The New York Times I'm trained as an historian so I like to put things into time boxes - the sixties, the 1300s, etc. Anthropologists put things into cultural boxes, sociologists into institutional or network boxes, statisticians into percentages, engineers into problem statements,
advisory FasterCures Philanthropy Advisory Service (Image from http://philanthropyadvisoryservice.org/pas) I'm jammed for time so will have to make this quick - check out FasterCures Philanthropy Advisory Service. It launched today at the Milken Institute Global Conference. I have had the great privilege of being in contact with these folks for several
allianceinvesting Metrics are good. Unless they're bad. (Image from http://sewing.about.com/od/beginner1/ig/Sewing-Tools/Tape-Measures.htm) So what happens when you measure the wrong thing? This is one of those issues that tends to either stop discussions in their tracks or lead us all down the path of rhetorical perfection that is in fact
amysampleward Earth Day (image from http://student.britannica.com) I don't think I have much that is original to add to all the conversation that will rage around today in celebration of Earth Day, but I certainly want to mark the occasion. I do think this piece by Elizabeth Kolbert in
environment Three Technologies for Change (Image from http://www.goldmanprize.org/) Last night, on a stage in San Francisco, before a packed house, S. Hugo Jabini, a lawyer and Saramaka Maroon from Suriname, told the assembled about the three most important technologies for protecting the rain forest, his community, and the rights of indigenous people
g4c Conferences that matter This is a tough year for conferences. Businesses are taking a 4th and 5th look at every expense on the books, and many potential participants are just staying home. It's so bad out there that travel planners, the hotel and hospitality industries, and even the private jet industry
mapping Mapping the social economy One of my favorite magazines is Next American City, a quarterly publication that looks at the best that cities have to offer and the challenges to achieving those bests. It relies on the intersections of geography, culture, demography, urban planning, markets, climate, science, government, civil society, art, housing, and good
acumen The search for shared measures I posted an update on the state of philanthropic and social capital markets the other day in which I made this comment: I don’t have an easy answer to the calculation of social/environmental return question, though I’ve been told there are at least 240 methods for measuring
emcf Moving markets I've been thinking about philanthropic and social capital markets for several years now. (There are dozens of posts on the evolution of these markets on this blog and this was the primary topic – and title - of my 2004 book) We are currently in one of the most
acumen The Blue Sweater - book review I spent a good part of my recent birthday stuck on airplanes, re-routed from connecting flights, and sitting on the tarmac instead of getting home. This was my first birthday since my mom died. This was a perfect set-up for self-pity. Luckily for me, I was traveling with a Kindle
AIG Random notes on philanthropy I'm on the road again. What follows are several areas of thought, not necessarily related or coherent: Volunteers and nonprofits In a discussion group yesterday with about 30 foundation executives two threads kept passing one another. The first - will this economic moment be one in which the
atlascorp Atlas Corp Fellowships - Apply Now The following is a free public service announcement.... Atlas Service Corps seeks nonprofit leaders from around the world to apply for their 2009-2010 fellowship positions in Washington, DC and Bogota, Colombia. All expenses are paid -- including a living stipend, health insurance, visa, travel, training, and a $2,500 end
capra Foundations - set your content free! I am working on a book on information, knowledge and philanthropy. This is not news - I've been "working" on this since my last book in 2004. This is the year, I can feel it (Hey, if I can get to "inbox 0" I
cross-platform philanthropy What the public sector might learn from philanthropy This short piece from NPR interviews several foundation executives on the challenges of spending the dollars in the federal stimulus bill well. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101234127 "The art of doling out stimulus dollars" I was struck by the juxtaposition of the above
cross-platform philanthropy It is not a recession, it is a restructuring I've been thinking about this post since last November. Unfortunately, quite a few things have come between my thinking about it and my writing about it. I'm sitting here now, with 25 minutes to go before I know I'll be interrupted, to get some
cross-sector Design principles for building a field I'm perhaps obsessed with this question and so apologies to those who are not quite as interested in the whole notion of field building as I am. (Previous two posts here and here) Based on some great comments on previous posts, more research on behalf of clients, and
evolution Field building part two [First posted around 5:43 pm. Typos fixed and edited around 9:30 pm] My post a few weeks back on field building brought on some great comments. Some of these questioned the possibility that lessons learned from building academic fields in the 1960s (Women's studies, ethnic studies)
dml Field building - does the field matter? I've written a lot about field building and read even more. Nowadays, the word "industry" is often substituted for field. I suppose I could take some credit for this - since a chunk of my 2004 book addressed the issue of philanthropy as an industry -
gsix Global Social Investment Exchange I'm excited to be playing a small part in the brainstorming, pre-planning, possible launching of a Global Social Investment Exchange. (GSIX). Some incredibly creative and accomplished people in online giving marketplaces, social enterprise, poverty alleviation, nonprofit finance, financial exchanges, and technology are coming together to consider the possibilities
jewish Crisis and response Way back in 2008 Bernard Madoff managed to wipe out several foundations. The theft he (allegedly) committed reduced several foundations' asset sheets to zero, left a lot of nonprofits with unfulfilled pledges from donors or unpaid grants on their books, and caused a lot of people a lot of
canada A call for abstracts CALL FOR ABSTRACTS CanadaHelps is seeking workshop abstracts for oral presentations at the MyCharityConnects Conference, June 8-9, 2009 in Toronto. The conference is geared toward small and medium sized organizations. The focus - best practices for various online tools that enable increased fundraising and awareness. They are looking for speakers
innovation Life in 140 bit bits I've been not blogging for the last month. For most of that time, I've been not working, not writing, not doing much of the stuff for which I'm known in my professional community.* On the rare moments during which I've tuned into
(Untitled) Robert Sharpe is best source of Great Depression Giving Data - pay attention to his trends for 2009 fundraising http://ping.fm/mjZHy
