I’m sorry to say that I’ve decided to end the Exploring the Edge series of “big idea” blog posts without even publishing a single one. The intention of the series was to try to source “big ideas”, but the execution strategy, the format of guest blogs, isn’t the right fit. We received a number of [...]
Category Archives: Cross-Disciplinary Conversations
Exploring the Edge: Social Sector Ideas That Matter
September 13, 2010 – 9:12 am
“I have always felt that the action most worth watching is not at the center of things but where edges meet. I like shorelines, weather fronts, international borders. There are interesting frictions and incongruities in those places.” Anne Fadiman The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Today I’m happy to announce the re-launch [...]
“New” Philanthropy & The Charleston
July 9, 2010 – 9:11 am
The idea that “new” philanthropy exists is controversial. While many people claim that venture philanthropy or focusing on impact are characteristics of a “new” approach to philanthropy, many “new” practices were in fact pioneered by the Rockefellers, Carnegies and Fords of the world. However, I believe that something new really is happening in philanthropy. But [...]
Getting Results: Outputs, Outcomes & Impact
June 29, 2010 – 7:43 am
Professional philanthropy, like all professions, has built a special language to describe its work. This sort of language can be used to more precisely discuss issues of importance to a field or it can be jargon that obscures meaning and serves to identify professionals to each other while excluding “outsiders”. Most donors, regardless of [...]
Chasing Philanthropic Opportunities
June 18, 2010 – 8:36 am
The general framework of how money flows in the nonprofit sector is focused on the assumption that nonprofits need to chase donations. This is also how the business sector works; companies chase revenue. But investing is different. Investors often are the ones chasing the best investment opportunities. It is simply an issue of supply and [...]
All Donors Care About Impact
June 10, 2010 – 8:57 am
In my post on Tuesday, I discussed a study that seemed to suggest that donors are not interested in information about whether nonprofits are any good at what they do. My conclusion was that donors are interested in this sort of information, but only if it is presented in an engaging way. In other words, [...]
Performance Vs. Impact Debate Rekindled
June 7, 2010 – 9:10 am
Last summer, an epic debate took place on this blog as a number of readers and social sector leaders argued about whether donors should focus on supporting “high performing” or “high impact” nonprofits (see links here, here, here and here). The basic difference is that a high performing nonprofit is an organization that is run [...]
Philanthropic Impact & The Search for The Truth
May 10, 2010 – 8:29 am
When we talk about measuring the impact of philanthropy, we are in essence discussing how to know the truth. We are examining how we might best understand the reality in which we live and the ways in which our actions affect the world around us. While “impact assessment” can sound like an academic or theoretical [...]
Monitor Institute & The Future of Philanthropy
March 29, 2010 – 8:46 am
On Thursday, I had the great pleasure of attending an all day workshop on the future of philanthropy hosted by the Monitor Institute. The session was so stimulating that I have page after page of potential blog post concepts I scribbled down over the course of the day. I know that I’ll never get around [...]
Philanthropedia: Capturing Expert Recommendations of Nonprofits
March 9, 2010 – 9:15 am
This is my newest column for the Chronicle of Philanthropy. You can find the archive of my past columns here. A Philanthropic Network Passes On Recommendations of Worthy Charities March 7, 2010 | Chronicle of Philanthropy In all the talk about measuring results in philanthropy and how best to determine which nonprofit groups are effective, [...]
