Philanthropy
Time for Foundations to Dig Deeper
The economic crisis should spur nonprofits to focus on their mission and foundations to give more.
The economic crisis should spur nonprofits to focus on their mission and foundations to give more.
The recession poses an opportunity for nonprofits to tell their stories using social media as a means of fundraising.
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.
Eileen Heisman is cautiously optimistic about charitable giving in the recession.
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.
Citizen-created content benefits nonprofits in myriad ways.
In considering the effectiveness of your social enterprise, are you making a difference? Do you add value to your constituents' lives? Are you as effective as possible per dollar output? In this panel discussion at the 2008 Skoll World Forum, talented experts talk about the challenges of social enterprises and how metrics can impact organizational learning and innovation, and lead the more effective use of resources.
With the election over, progressives have an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference.
The abuse of the synthetic drug known as methamphetamine has become a top crime problem in the United States, and now a global epidemic. In this audio lecture, part of the Stanford Social Innovation Review's conference on evaluation, IT leader and philanthropist Thomas Siebel discusses the nature of meth addiction as well as the efforts of the Meth Project, a large-scale prevention program aimed at reducing first-time meth use through public service messaging, public policy, and community outreach.