Philanthropy Daily Digest

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says nonprofits can't change the world because they "have no resources and [are] constantly out trying to raise money instead."

Kyle Reis of the Ford Foundation has joined the steering committee of Philanthropedia's Expertise on Demand platform, of which Sean is the Chair.

David Brooks discusses the success of Alcoholics Anonymous and writes: "we should get over the notion that we will someday crack the behavior code — that we will someday find a scientific method that will allow us to predict behavior and design reliable social programs. As Koerner notes, A.A. has been the subject of thousands of studies. Yet “no one has yet satisfactorily explained why some succeed in A.A. while others don’t, or even what percentage of alcoholics who try the steps will eventually become sober as a result.”

The New York Times recently profiled what was depicted as a successful, but expensive effort to turn around a struggling urban high school. In this post, the Center for High Impact Philanthropy runs the numbers and shows why the large expense might save a lot of money in the long run. This sort of analysis is crucial for guiding great philanthropy.