Are you Empathetic?
Merriam Webster defines empathy as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.” Say what?
WordNet, brought to us by Princeton University, puts it nice and sweetly, defining empathy as “understanding and entering into another’s feelings.” Well, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, current college students Read more
Politics and Charity
I subscribe to several virtual clipping services that send me, daily, the headlines of stories about nonprofits from around the country and, occasionally, from around the world. I subscribe to several because, despite the redundancy, there are, more often than not, unique items on each service.
But why do I do this? I get more than enough e-mails on a daily basis so why add more that I need to read? First, it allows me to maintain a national perspective. Are the things going on in Read more
Think Globally, Act Locally
Back in the early days of the third coming of the women’s movement in the United States, by which I mean the 1960s movement, there was a push, which for many continues today, for women to seek out and use other women providers. You needed a plumber? Find a female plumber or “Plumber and Daughter.” You wanted to consult an attorney? Go to the female associate or the woman in solo practice. And so on. The thinking was that we would support our community—our sisters–and Read more
Charity Begins at Home
I am happy to report that I have data to support what I had always assumed (or was it hoped?): most parents want their children to become philanthropic. According to a recent poll conducted by the Harris Interactive Service Bureau, commissioned by Pearson Foundation and the Penguin Group, 90% of the 500 parents surveyed say “it is important to raise children to become charitable adults.”
Wanting and succeeding, though, are two very different things. And apparently, most of the 90% of those parents aren’t being very Read more
Excuse the Criminals; Punish the Do-Gooders
Now, I am really pissed (it’s my blog – I can say that). I recently wrote about jurisdictions around the country suffering from insufficient resources that are look to nonprofits to fill some of the gaps. Perhaps through rescinding tax exemptions of the past or by creating new taxes on their services (i.e., beds in hospitals, tuition payments to colleges and universities, etc.)
Case in point: the headline “Delinquents get a break in tax amnesty.” It seems that Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are giving Read more
Who Mentored You?
Even in death, my father is still guiding, teaching and showing me the way things should be done.
This past weekend was my father’s memorial. Though we did not officially invite anyone to speak at his memorial, my sister, brother and I knew well in advance that several wanted to share their remembrances. The evening of the memorial, we asked any one else who wished to say something, to please feel free to do so. And the floodgates opened.
My son, who was to be the last Read more
April 29th, 2010 1 Comment What’s your Workplace Culture?
I do not believe in coincidence; I do, however, believe that when multiple, yet disparate, sources point out the same thing, it is important to pay attention. So, when days after hearing a story on NPR about ROWE–results-only work environment–my reading of Daniel Pink’s book, Drive, brought me to his discussion of ROWE, I knew I needed to pay attention.
According to Pink, ROWE was the invention of Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, two human resources professionals. In a ROWE, employees simply have to get the Read more
April 23rd, 2010 1 Comment Heyday for Cynics
No matter how cynical you get, you can never keep up.”
-Lily Tomlin
The chant is getting louder: “Tax the nonprofits! Tax the nonprofits. It’s the answer to all our problems. They get away with everything.”
Every day I’m reading of another jurisdiction looking to tax nonprofits–all or some–from Honolulu seeking to rescind the property tax exemption of nonprofits to Pittsburgh wanting to not only rescind the property tax but put a tax on tuition paid to its numerous colleges and universities; from Kansas seeking to add Read more
We Are Our Own Worst Enemies, Part II.
It is time for the sector to get rid of the “gratitude factor” and remember why we are in the game to begin with. It is the gratitude factor that makes us keep long-time non-performing and under-performing board members on our board long past any “normal” person’s tolerance. It is the gratitude factor that allows non-performing, under-performing and non-team players to stay on staff long past even the longest of times lines for improving performance. And it is time for this to stop.
It goes along Read more
April 1st, 2010 0 CommentGetting What We Deserve
We are our own worst enemies. We perpetuate myths, we engage in worst practices instead of best and we straddle ourselves with behavior and attitudes that can do nothing but harm us. It is time for the nonprofit sector to take control of itself and prove to the rest of the world that we deserve the respect that we so crave.
First, let’s bust the myth that our employees do NOT deserve livable, competitive salaries. They absolutely do, and you know it. While many nonprofits have Read more
