The Down Side of Giving

When did giving become all about the donor and not about the
nonprofit?   With all of the years behind me, no one could
consider me naïve, so what could make me ask this question?  Is it just wishful thinking?  Or that ever pressing need to believe that
people still really are decent, caring, compassionate? 

We saw changes in people’s giving last year that seem directly attributable to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that nearly doubled the standard deduction, erasing the need in some people’s minds to Read more

August 22nd, 2019 0 Comment

Shaking up Investing

Why would the decision by the Ford Foundation’s Board of Directors to take up to $1 billion of its $12 billion over the next 10 years to make mission related investments be “shaking up the board rooms” of any nonprofit, be it foundation or otherwise?  After all, the Rockefeller Foundation started doing this a while ago, and currently has $68 million (1.8% of its dollars) in mission related investments.

Other foundations have been doing it as well.  So, what’s all of the fuss?  Yes, I get Read more

May 19th, 2017 0 Comment

On a Mission

In the past week, I have read 69 mission statements.  Perhaps it is a Guiness Book of Records triumph, but that wasn’t the purpose. Perhaps it is one of the top 10 worst things I have ever done, but masochism was not the point either. It was done in response to an assignment I gave my graduate students: critique three mission statements. That assignment will most definitely be revised before next semester.  I simply cannot put myself through it again.

#157382685 / gettyimages.com

While reading 69 of Read more

September 19th, 2014 0 Comment

Time to Brew the Tea

When it comes to reading, I often come intentionally late to the party.  I figure if everyone else is talking about it, I don’t need to be reading it right then as the word is getting out.  Which is why I find myself now, five years after its publication, reading Three Cups of Tea.  It is, as everyone said, a nice read—at least as far as I’ve gotten.

There are many things that one can take away from this book and Greg Mortenson’s story; Read more

April 29th, 2011 2 Comments

When Boring is Better

Developing policies are a bore and a waste of precious time.  At least that seems to be the thinking of most board members, as demonstrated by the amount of time and energy boards commit to their creation, reliance upon and monitoring.  And yet, they are among the most important things a board should be doing as they provide for clarity, increased efficiency and, most importantly, allow the board to ensure that an organization’s values are both practiced and protected.  Along the way, they do a Read more

October 8th, 2010 0 Comment