Architecture, operating systems, codes 1) The September issue of Alliance has a a must-read article calling for a new architecture for philanthropy ("A New Architecture is Needed, Olivier Kayser). Among other ideas, the author looks at the changing market of intermediaries and the role that competitive incentives might play in how foundations operate.
buzzword Ideas to snack on A conference to note - Social Innovation Conference in NY - The Feast (h/t Allan B) And something to read - this SSIR blog post on "pooled giving" - or lending teams, at Kiva. This takes donor collaboratives, pooled funding, etc. to the internet. It also may
communityphilanthropy Be The Change OK, so here's a twist on university alumni relations - the San Francisco chapter of my college alumni association was the source of information on this grassroots community service day - October 4 - be the change day. Here is some info on this event, which is sponsored
cross-platform philanthropy Tech Roundup 2008.2 I'm on day 2 of a 14 day East Coast/European business trip so my posting schedule may be a bit jet lagged. That said, I just found this post over at SocialActions and realized I could skip ahead on an entire tech roundup simply by linking to
Timing matters Some headlines from the past few days: * Federal Reserve loans $85 billion to bailout insurance company AIG (Sept 16) * Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch for $50 Billion (Sept 15) * Treasury Department announces takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - puts $5 trillion in mortgages on taxpayer bill (September
buzzword A more meaningful prediction I posted some short term prognostications early this morning. I then talked with someone who immediately confirmed my sense that my call about celebrity giving as this Giving Season's big buzz was correct. I also got a comment from Beth Kanter alerting me to her social media predictions,
buzzword Philanthropy Hot or Not? It is September - time to make some predictions for Giving Season - otherwise known as November and December. In the style of fashion (T), pop culture (Entertainment Weekly), movie ratings (thumbs up/down), and tech magazines (Wired) here is my list of what will be in and out for
markets How are you using them? I've received dozens of emails about the geologic and evolutionary timelines I posted a few days back. Thanks to all who've written in and said "wow," or "thanks" or "you're wrong about X" or "too inside baseball&
disasterrelief When the blur fails.... Tony Pipa asks why are Obama and McCain fundraising for the American Red Cross instead of talking about the government's role in disaster prep and response? Great questions, great post and comments. See some additional thoughts I posted on this over at All Things Reconsidered. Tags: philanthropy, disaster
auctions To bid or not to bid? Just as eBay's WorldofGood site launches, allowing you to buy and sell "socially responsible" products along comes CharityBuzz, which is an auction site for charity. At WorldofGood you can buy handmade, environmentally sound crafts and other pro-social products. At CharityBuzz you can bid on celebrity events,
marketplaces Online Giving Marketplaces - Stanford October 8 I write about online marketplaces for giving all the time - now the Stanford Social Innovation Review is hosting a conference on the topic. (I'll be moderating one session) The description and registration materials are online here. Tags: philanthropy, SSIR, marketplaces
philanthropiccapitalmarkets Geologic Eras of Philanthropy The above is another view of the development of the philanthropic industry - you can compare it to this one. Please send improvements, suggestions, revisions, etc. to lucy (at) blueprintrd dot com. I'm happy to email you a copy of either graphic, on three conditions: * You let me
algorithm The Evolution of Philanthropy Markets And we're off...I wrote several months ago about how recommendation engines might work in philanthropy - donation dashboard has made this real. The site comes out of the Center for New Media at UC Berkeley and is based on collaborative filtering (similar to the Pandora music service)
More blur I write about the blurring of the sectors often. And I appreciate it when others send me a 'heads up' on an example of this at work. Sean Stannard Stockton pointed me to zoosa.org - a new website where job seekers can find "social enterprise"
New types of trend data My colleague Jonathan Jaffray has a new blog, philanthropyadvisor.com (great name!), and is out of the starting blocks with an important insight - he notes here that more than 100 domain names had been registered with the word "gustav" by September 1st. He rightly continues to note
Where will your disaster dollars go? As I write this, Gustav has moved, having left 80+ people dead in Cuba and is now bearing down on the gulf coast. Hanna is headed for Florida's eastern flank. There are two more tropical storms brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. According to The Wall Street Journal
While I'm away Well I am away but not for the reason (vacation) I had planned. So instead I'm within striking distance of the Internet and can't help but capture some thoughts in between other things.... Sean Stannard Stockton has a good conversation going on over at tacticalphilanthropy about
allthingsreconsidered Sustaining Attention Top 20 I just learned that the p2173/JustMeans cross-post, "The Customer is always Right" was picked up as a top 20 blog post. ----------- Here is my most recent post, "Sustaining Attention," from All Things Reconsidered, the JustMeans blog (Save yourself a click or two)
buzzword Let us hope it is not a buzzword - philanthropizza Alternative definition of philanthropizza - that which must be provided to volunteers at all meetings...Tags: philanthropy, buzzwords
philanthropiccapitalmarkets The customer is always right Cross posted from All Things Reconsidered There are several customer-centric tropes in the business world: “listen to the customer,” “the customer is always right,” “make the customer happy.” It is harder to find this kind of focus in the world of social action, nonprofits or philanthropy. First of all, who
christensen Innovate and educate If you know anyone who has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 6 hours then you know someone who has heard a lot about what the sector can learn from business. They may think there is a great deal for the sectors to learn from each other, they
cross-platform philanthropy International aid and philanthropy My friend Tony Pipa sent me this thoughtful reflection on international aid and international philanthropy. He delicately raises some key questions about the distinctions between them, intended and perceived, past, current and future. He lets me off the hook for mistakes I made in this post, and gracefully suggests my
dml Monday bits and pieces Is it redundant to post small bits and pieces of thoughts on a blog since so much of what gets blogged is small bits anyway? That asked, here are a few "bits and pieces*" of philanthropy thoughts to start your week: ******************* New Report on Community Foundations and Social
networks Network analysis as metric for grantmakers [image from boxesandarrows] You hear a lot about networks these days. In nonprofit jargon no one even wants to be an organization anymore, everyone wants to be a network. I've been thinking on a smaller scale of how networks might matter to philanthropy and funders and do-ers. Assuming
