Golden Fleece Redux
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In the mid-1970s, Senator William Proxmire, a Democrat from Wisconsin, created the Golden Fleece Award. He would give this award to the organization which Read more
August 29th, 2008 0 Comment Big Profits….No Taxes. The American Way?
According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal taxes between 1998 and 2005. And a whopping 68% of foreign companies doing business in the United States also paid no federal taxes during that same period. All while doing “trillions of dollars in sales.”
I must say, I am inclined to agree with Senator Byron Dorgan (D.,N.Dakota), who observed in response to the report, “It’s shameful that so many corporations make big Read more
Wish You Were Here
Dear Executive Directors:
I am writing to you from summer camp and want to share with you the joys and benefits of vacations. Something all too many of you feel that you can’t possibly take. Why is that? There really is nothing better for the mind and the soul to take breaks, remove yourself from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, allow the gray matter to breathe, the nerves to be released from the tight ball in which they normally find themselves, the blood pressure Read more
August 8th, 2008 0 Comment Passion is Overrated
I am changing my tune! I’ve been wrong all these decades when I’ve been saying that in deciding about board service—and in recruiting individuals for board service—the most important thing is real passion for the mission of the organization. A board member has to truly believe in the goals and means of the organization.
Wrong! If I hear one more executive director say to me, in speaking about her/his board, “They are all such nice Read more
August 1st, 2008 3 CommentsTaglines…Just do it!
A tagline? Does your nonprofit have one? Do you really care whether you have one or not?
Does it make or break your organization? And I ask this as someone whose organization has a tagline: In the business of nonprofits.
Blogger Nancy Schwartz recently conducted a tagline survey and found that 72% of nonprofits don’t like or don’t have a tagline. (Twelve nonprofits won prizes for the best taglines, and to that dozen I send Read more
July 25th, 2008 2 Comments Paying for Pampered Poodles
Is it true that our tax laws that allow individuals to donate tax free, as much of their assets as they wish to charitable causes is really another gift to the rich paid for on the backs of the rest of us? Ray Madoff, Boston College Law School Professor, would have us so believe. And her point is one that should give us all pause. Noting Leona Helmsley’s bequest of $8 million for the care of dogs, she questions the acts of other similarly wealthy individuals, Read more
July 18th, 2008 0 Comment The Power of Numbers. Or Not.
I believe in the power of statistics. But I also believe that statistics can be manipulated. They can be manipulated by the method of their collection and by the method of their presentation. And while both bother me tremendously, it is the latter that worries me the most, as the naïve reader/listener may be easily duped. And once duped, bad decisions may follow.Take, for example, the following. Ted Hart has been tracking online giving since 2001, when a mere $550 million dollars was given Read more
July 11th, 2008 1 Comment Zero Sum Game
Two new data points give with one piece of news and take away with the other.
According to Giving USA 2008, the news appears all glowing. In 2007, over $306 billion was given to charities by foundations, corporations and individuals, an increase of 3.9%. And, good news or better news, depending upon how your organization’s planned giving skills are, bequest giving rose 6.9%, after what is referred to as a “steep decline” in 2006. The conclusion Read more
July 7th, 2008 0 Comment The Truth about Founders
What about founders? Do they help or hurt? That was a student’s recent version of a question I get asked a lot, in many different setting? Loaded question or what!
The truth is that founders who know how to be good founders are a true asset, not just to the organization which they establish, but to the community which they serve. Unfortunately, however, the flip side of that is equally true: founders who do not know how to be good founders are worse than not being asset; they Read more
June 27th, 2008 1 Comment Broken Windows
In criminology, there is a theory called “broken windows” used to explain how neighborhoods decline and become riddled with crime. Simply put, it goes like this: when the first evidence of “petty” crimes—vandalism, graffiti, loitering—goes unchecked and uncorrected, that is a signal to others that the neighborhood does not care. It is a welcome sign for more serious criminal activity. The first broken window that goes unrepaired, the initial graffiti that is not instantly removed, invites other, more serious crime Read more
June 23rd, 2008 0 Comment 