The Story of DAN and ALICE
A euphemism
is a word or phrase that is used in place of some other word or phrase that is
deemed to be too harsh for “polite society.”
Unfortunately, however, euphemisms
are misleading because, in part, they lack the bluntness that truth
brings. In lacking that bluntness, they
allow things to be misconstrued, misunderstood and worse, ignored.
A recent newspaper op-ed identified two euphemisms that had me silently screaming. One was an official euphemism started by the United Way in this region. A.L.I.C.E. A nice female name that stands for “Asset Read more
Lucky Nonprofits
While many are chattering about Fidelity Charitable (which collected—don’t call it raised—philanthropic dollars totaling $4.6 billion last year) firmly bumping United Way (which only collected $3.7 billion) from the top of The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s newly released “Philanthropy 400” list, I’m having very different thoughts—though they are pretty much the same thoughts I have every year when I look at this list.
First, is there any real value in this list? Does it actually do some harm? To the extent that the American public learns about Read more
Chicken Hits the Fan
The world is a tough place these days for nonprofits. Not exactly a news flash. But I’m just returning from vacation, where I tried hard to concentrate on the waterfront, books that never used the word “nonprofit”, my tennis game, and, yes, forgetting. Now, I’m back and playing catch up with, among other things, my reading. And it feels so perilous out there that I’m reminded of a words from “Blood in the Water” (from Legally Blonde), describing to first year law students what makes Read more
What’s Behind the Numbers?
Numbers tell a lot. On Monday of this week, as members of the military read the names of the dead from each war going back to WWI, I stood and counted each from this small, suburban Philadelphia community, noting that this community lost as many soldiers in Vietnam as it has, thus far, in the war on terror.
On Tuesday, on NPR’s Morning Edition, the First Lady cited two telltale statistics: an American child spends an average of 7.5 hours a day looking at a screen Read more
June 1st, 2012 0 Comment Zero Sum Pie Tastes Bitter
Why does the scrutiny always get focused on the charities instead of the funders? Are the latter immune from wrong-doing or questionable-doing? And I am sure in far too many circles, the mere fact that I’m suggesting that a funder might do wrong is blasphemous and minimally cause for tar and feathering. After all, look what happened to Rell Grrls when an employee tweeted about Comcast! But two different articles, read hours apart, just got me thinking.
Go get the nonprofit! The New Jersey Division of Read more
