Here’s the story so far…
In the March 31 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Robert Egger authored the article, “Charities Must Challenge Politicians” which suggested that nonprofits must get more involved in politics.
On June 4, a live online chat session was held between Egger and the public.
The June 28 Chronicle of Philanthropy issue included a rebuttal by Pablo Eisenberg, which encouraged charities to remain nonpolitical.
On August 9, Egger and Eisenberg met at the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal for a live debate. A full podcast of the debate is available here and the transcript can be found here.
On Aug 10, Egger posted a video on his blog calling the debate “crazy” “cool”.
On Aug 13, The Chronicle of Philanthropy posted the audio, transcript, and links to the original articles and said, “We hope this conversation will continue. Please share your thoughts on the issues raised at this session by clicking on the comment box below.”
On Aug 15, Hudson uploads highlight clips to YouTube:
Robert Egger on…
… ending the “charity trap” and the laws that maintain it
… more problems with charity, the Nonprofit Congress as a way to overcome them through unity and political action
.. getting a nonprofit page in the business section of newspapers across the country
Pablo Eisenberg on…
… the importance of “nonprofitness,” leadership
… nonprofits should first challenge foundations, corporate donors, not get into politics
… the need for more young people in the sector, and opportunities for them to be politically active.
All of this is great. But there’s a problem. How many people are going to listen to a 2-hour podcast? I’d like to think everyone who cares about these issues will, but the fact is that people live busy lives. But there is a solution. With my prompting, Hudson has posted the entire video record of the event (Part 1 and Part 2). So here’s my call to the nptech community and/or anyone with some chops in the social media arena. You’ve got the full raw material of the video. Who wants to edit this thing down to a video that lots of people will take the time to watch? If you want to see more information coming out of “philanthropy establishment”, then you’ve got to actually use it once you get it.
You can and your thoughts on whether nonprofits should be involved with politics by commenting on the Chronicle of Philanthropy forum or by commenting on this post.
2 Comments
I have had a lifelong commitment to professional development as an indpendent school headmaster, museum administrator, consultant and volunteer. Although I am a total rookie I can see that blogs like “Tactical Philanthropy” are a goldmine for professionals at every level.
What I am trying to figure out is how to filter out what’s worthwhile. Sensory overload seems to be a real challenge…[I got to this blog for example through Philanthropy Today which is for me a ‘trusted source.’]
Phil, it use to be that the people with the most information were the most in the know. Today, with information easy to access, the people with the best filtering ability are the ones in the know. Blogs are one good way to access filtered information. How do YOU filter?
By the way, welcome to blogging. I look forward to reading your blog Strategic Governance, Philanthropy and Planning.