Philanthropic feedback

Nonprofits Watch Nervously as Watchdog Groups Multiply and Demand More

By Jenni Bergal, Chronicle of Philanthropy

As more organizations sprout to monitor the financial dealings and operations of charities and foundations, many people in the nonprofit world are worried about whether the new ratings systems are judging groups fairly and are scrambling to figure out how they can keep up with all the information demands they now face.

[cont'd]

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 31, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

From NCRP | The value of fundamental change

Philanthropy 3.0: The Value of Fundamental Change 

By: National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
By Christine Grumm

Philanthropists always try to maximize their impact.

That’s why we have the maxim, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

I call this the move from Philanthropy 1.0, which seeks quick fixes, to Philanthropy 2.0, which is about addressing a skills gap. While both approaches to philanthropy without a doubt are necessary, one obviously has longer lasting impact and a higher return on investment.

Continuing this line of thinking and the search for ever greater returns on investment, philanthropists, myself included, are moving towards Philanthropy 3.0. That is: philanthropy that makes durable structural changes in society – changing the very core fundamentals of how people interact.

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 31, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

When there are no more excuses

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 29, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Study on charity

A new study on charity has important lessons for the social safety net - Vox

It's fair to say most people think of giving to charity as a good thing to do. If we have extra resources, it feels right to help people who are less fortunate.

But there are complicated factors at work in helping us determine who should get our money. In a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, researchers pick apart what makes us tighten our purse strings. And what it finds may have implications not only for people's charitable giving but also how they feel about how Washington spends their tax dollars.

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 28, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Mandate for strict oversight

Yet again, someone on the inside is accused of ripping off a nonprofit agency. This has happened too often, and wasted a lot of public and philanthropic dollars. It is time to significantly increase oversight of such agencies.

Karen O. Lewis, 57, executive director from 2000 to 2009 of the now-defunct South Arsenal Neighborhood Development Corp., or SAND, was arrested last week on a charge of first-degree larceny for allegedly stealing from the organization. Since its founding in 1968, SAND had been a major player in North Hartford, involved in housing efforts, job training and other initiatives. Ms. Lewis, who succeeded longtime director John Wilson, appeared to be an energetic and competent leader. She worked with corporate leaders and had a major fundraiser in 2007 that featured then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker, now a U.S. senator.

* * *

Internally, agencies should segregate duties and not have one person controlling the funds during all phases of the accounting cycle, say accountants and funders who work with nonprofits. ATM cards pose a particular problem, especially at smaller agencies, and their use should be eliminated or curtailed. Board members must be involved, and should have a relationship with the agency's accountant. 

Also, in addition to an annual fiscal audit, each agency should have a periodic legal review. Does the agency have up-to-date bylaws? Are they being followed? It is alleged that Karen Lewis tried to disguise her thefts as loans. There shouldn't be loans to agency personnel; SAND was not a bank. 

Also, nonprofit agencies should have outside directors appointed or approved by major funders. If, say, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is putting significant funds into a nonprofit agency, it should have board representation, as often happens with venture capital investments in the private sector.

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 23, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Strategically planning the optimal development plan

 

Author and Editor: CharityChannel Press & For the GENIUS Press; Internationally Recognized Speaker 

 

Does Your Organization Need a Development Plan? | LinkedIn    

 

Getting Started with the Development Plan | LinkedIn     

 

What Should Your Development Plan Include? | LinkedIn

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 23, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

So what is this ABOUT the giving pledge

Since 2010, 127 of the world's wealthiest individuals and families have joined the Giving Pledge, publicly declaring their intentions to commit the majority of their assets to philanthropic causes. Glasspockets is keeping an eye on the Giving Pledge, providing an in-depth picture of the participants and their publicly-known charitable activities. - See more at: http://www.glasspockets.org/philanthropy-in-focus/eye-on-the-giving-pledge#sthash.lkFbmaak.dpuf

Since 2010, 127 of the world's wealthiest individuals and families have joined the Giving Pledge, publicly declaring their intentions to commit the majority of their assets to philanthropic causes. Glasspockets is keeping an eye on the Giving Pledge, providing an in-depth picture of the participants and their publicly-known charitable activities. - See more at: http://www.glasspockets.org/philanthropy-in-focus/eye-on-the-giving-pledge#sthash.lkFbmaak.dpuf

Ever since Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates formed the Giving Pledge in 2010, enlisting American billionaires to commit at least half of their wealth to charity, one question has hovered: why did the founders focus solely on domestic fortunes? The reason, Buffett now tells Forbes:  “I felt we had our hands full in the U.S.”

http://www.glasspockets.org/philanthropy-in-focus/eye-on-the-giving-pledge

http://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2013/02/19/the-giving-pledge-goes-global-warren-buffett-details-americas-latest-export/

August 5, 2010 

The Giving Pledge’s Message: Philanthropy Is Not a Solo Act  By Joel Fleishman and Thomas J. Tierney

In 1889 the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie wrote an essay outlining his “gospel of wealth” to encourage his rich contemporaries to give their money away in the service of society. To his disappointment, none responded.

In Carnegie’s time, big philanthropy barely existed—America’s gilded age produced many mansions but few engaged philanthropists.

Today, and in sharp contrast with other countries, many of America’s wealthiest (along with others far less well off) routinely make the astonishing personal decision to give away large shares of their hard-earned money (in the aggregate, the equivalent of about 2.2 percent of America’s gross domestic product every year). They give to assist the poor, to clean the air, and to champion the rights and freedoms of people around the world.

http://philanthropy.com/article/The-Giving-Pledge-s-Message-/123776/

Since 2010, 127 of the world's wealthiest individuals and families have joined the Giving Pledge, publicly declaring their intentions to commit the majority of their assets to philanthropic causes. Glasspockets is keeping an eye on the Giving Pledge, providing an in-depth picture of the participants and their publicly-known charitable activities. - See more at: http://www.glasspockets.org/philanthropy-in-focus/eye-on-the-giving-pledge#sthash.lkFbmaak.dpuf

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 21, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Senator Sanders declares what philanthropy is not

Pete Peterson is Not a Philanthropist

Sunday, July 20, 2014

60 Minutes on Sunday rebroadcast a report that first aired last November when the show interviewed billionaires who have taken The Giving Pledge, a promise to give away at least half of their wealth while alive or in their will. One of the billionaires interviewed was Pete Peterson. Is he really a philanthropist, Sen. Bernie Sanders wondered after the show was first broadcast.

"I am not quite sure why 60 Minutes calls Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson a philanthropist," Sanders wrote to 60 Minutes. "You said his cause is cutting the national debt. Does he want his wealthy friends and large corporations to pay higher tax rates to reduce the deficit? No. Does he support a tax on Wall Street speculators who caused the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression?  No.  What Pete Peterson has done is throw hundreds of millions of dollars into lobbying campaigns to cut Social Security, Medicare and disabled veterans’ benefits. That, to my mind, is not philanthropy."

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/pete-peterson-is-not-a-philanthropist

Click on the above link to listen to the videos.  I've included below two additional videos about Senator Sanders' position on billionaires.

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 21, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

It may be past time

 

Regroup Renew Realign? 

It is hard to be successful at fundraising when your board is dysfunctional. It’s hard for your nonprofit to be successful at anything when your board is dysfunctional. The Executive Director can make a huge impact and I have seen NPOs succeed because of an amazing Executive Director despite the awful board they had dragging them down. But it is much easier to succeed with a good (or great) board.

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
July 20, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/