Most Popular P6730
Podcast
William Brindley - Collaborating to Wire NGOs
Aid organizations around the world are learning that they can solve their technology and infrastructure problems faster and cheaper together than on their own. Enabling that collaboration is NetHope, a nonprofit information technology consortium helping NGOs establish the technology "ecosystems" they need to serve constituencies in more than 150 countries. Eric Nee interviews Bill Brindley, CEO of NetHope, on how the consortium got started, how it works, and how it is expanding its mission.
Nonprofits
Lobbying for Good
In their efforts to be socially responsible, most companies fail to wield their most powerful tool: lobbying. Yet corporations such as Mary Kay, Royal Dutch Shell, and General Motors are increasingly leveraging their deep pockets, government contacts, and persuasive powers for the cause of good. Not all kinds of socially responsible lobbying are created equal, however. The authors discuss which forms are best for companies and society.
Full Scale Ahead
To grow to full scale, serving 50,000 students a year, YouthBuild's federal funding must increase from $60 million to $125 million annually. Local programs will also need to raise $250 million annually from state and local education and criminal justice funds, and from private donors. How does YouthBuild plan to achieve this breakthrough and help five times as many people?
Philanthropy
Time for Foundations to Dig Deeper
The economic crisis should spur nonprofits to focus on their mission and foundations to give more.
Nonprofits
Breaking the News
The recession poses an opportunity for nonprofits to tell their stories using social media as a means of fundraising.
Podcast
Good Measures Conference - Evaluation for Learning
Nonprofits tend to collect a great deal of evaluative data but often have no idea how to use it to assess their performance—particularly because doing so properly is a complicated process requiring serious social sciences knowledge. In this panel discussion, part of the Stanford Social Innovation Review's conference on evaluation, two experts talk about how an organization may better use such data—as well as "external" information in the form of theory and advice—to create a "culture of inquiry" focused on learning and improvement.
Philanthropy
Asking and Giving Critical in Tough Times
Eileen Heisman is cautiously optimistic about charitable giving in the recession.
Podcast
Carol Larson - Assessing Performance and Refining Strategy
What does it take to keep a large foundation focused on evaluation for self-improvement? As part of the Stanford Social Innovation Review's conference on evaluation, Carol Larson, CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, shares tools, lessons, and strategies for assessing performance to create a "culture of inquiry." Organizational qualities such as innovation, collaboration among stakeholders, and freedom to make "mistakes" are critical elements to foster an effective learning enterprise.