Podcast

Denise Gammal - The Nonprofit Accountability Trap

Why should a grantee invest $50,000 in computing infrastructure and add staff to comply with the reporting requirements of a $16,000 grant? The inherent tensions between the high resource costs of evaluation and the demands of service delivery are a challenge for nonprofits and foundations alike. In this audio lecture, Denise Gammal presents the results from Stanford Center for Social Innovation's large-scale study on nonprofit management to foundation professionals.

Podcast

Evaluating Social Venture Ideas - Net Impact 2005

Three social-venture experts share the process and tools they use to evaluate the impact and viability of aspiring change-makers' ideas in this panel discussion from Bridging the Gap, the Stanford 2005 Net Impact Conference organized by the Stanford Graduate School of Business. A must-hear for anyone planning on starting a social or environmental enterprise.

15 Minutes with Alan Bersin

By James A. Phills Jr.

California’s secretary of education tackles the nation’s largest school system.

Podcast

Measuring Social Impact - Bridging the Gap Conference

Measuring the social impact created by philanthropic projects has forever been the nonprofit sector's philosopher's stone. This panel discussion, at the Stanford 2005 Net Impact Conference sponsored by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, highlights innovative examples of measurement systems and explores some of the complex problems that arise when attempting to apply metrics to social impact.

Overhead Isn’t Everything

By Alana Conner Snibbe 1

How donors should think about nonprofit efficiency.

Drowning in Data

By Alana Conner Snibbe 9

Funders are calling for more program evaluation, but nonprofits are often collecting dubious data, at great cost to themselves and ultimately to the people they serve.

Tainted Love

By Maia Szalavitz

Tough love programs hurt addicts and adolescents.

Appraising Business Ideas

By Jeffrey Pfeffer & Robert I. Sutton

Sidebar to "Act on Facts, Not Faith:" rules to keep in mind when evaluating or developing business ideas.

Listening to Tsunami Survivors

By Leslie Berger

Treating aid recipients like valued customers gives insights into disaster relief.

Act on Facts, Not Faith

By Jeffrey Pfeffer & Robert I. Sutton 1

How management can follow medicine's lead and rely on evidence, not on half-truths.