Foundations
L3Cs: A Cure in Search of a Disease
Most social problems now addressed by charities cannot be appropriately addressed by for-profit entities, whether or not those entities pledge to restrict or recycle their profits.
Kelly Kleiman
Foundations
What Price Democracy?
A slippery slope: from good-willed private philanthropy in support of public goals to a system in which private goals predominate.
Arts
What Can Cities Expect of the Arts?
Many cities claim they plan to renew themselves through the arts, but solving urban problems requires more than a few artists-in-residence.
Foundations
Existing Forever Versus Doing Some Good
Philanthropists need to organize their giving so that it ends within a reasonable time after their death.
Philanthropy
The Billionaire vs. “Free-riding” Multimillionaires
Philanthropy is not sufficient and taxation is necessary.
Arts
Arts Funding Promotes Neighborhood Vibrancy
The argument that the arts are an economic engine (true or false) is unpersuasive.
Governance
How Not to Handle Succession in the Arts
The most effective bosses wear their power lightly, in cooperation rather than in conflict with the artists they mean to be serving.
Individual Giving
Beyond the “Will not!” “Will so!” of Tax Reform
Campbell and Co. sponsored a study to determine the impact of increased marginal tax rates and a cap on the charitable-giving deduction on giving.
Government
Wisconsin Says No to Money for Nonprofits
Governor Walker's ideology requires that people who need assistance seek private charity and that private charity be deprived of the means of assisting them.
Fundraising
Charity Begins at Home—and That Means Taxes
The nonprofit sector has become infected with the shortsighted, quarter-to-quarter thinking that addles Wall Street.
Government
Eliminating the Charitable Deduction: The End of the World as We Know It, and I Feel Fine
Wouldn’t we advance the goals of nonprofit hospitals and schools, and environmental and arts organizations if the government had more to spend on them?
Nonprofit Management
Everything Old Is New Again, and Nonprofits Should Stay That Way
What nonprofits need isn’t more advice, it’s more money.
Nonprofits & NGOs
“L3C” Spells “Caveat Emptor”
The notion of L3Cs is that they’re a vehicle for doing well by doing good and therefore an improvement over the typical nonprofit structure.
Governance
Ownership and Its Discontents
Co-op boards act as landlords: They determine who may move into the building, what sort of alterations may be made to the units, and even how much heat any individual owner receives.
Education
The Rich Get Richer, Once More
If institutions of higher learning want to maintain their tax-favored status, they should abolish legacy preferences.
Nonprofit Management
Fired Up To Volunteer
Nonprofits can gain highly skilled volunteers through a variety of resources.
Social Enterprise
Social Enterprise and Its Discontents
A new study reports that nonprofit agencies that choose to support themselves with for-profit businesses end up serving their clients less and worse.
Individual Giving
Whether Women Are More Generous Than Men, and Whether It Matters
A recent study shows that at all income levels women give more than men—both more frequently and more generously when controlled for income.
Nonprofit Management
Be Careful What You Wish For
Words of advice to nonprofits transitioning leadership.
Government
An Appraising Stare Down the Gift Horse’s Gullet
Self-governing societies can’t operate on noblesse oblige, and societies that do aren’t truly self-governing.
Nonprofits
Are You a Tax-exempt Charity? Sure About That?
A look at re-evaluated nonprofit tax legislation in Illinois.
Nonprofits
The Best Thing We Can Do for Nonprofits–and Ourselves
We must actively withhold support when we see the government acting in a way counter to our ideals and its own.
Social Innovations
Charter Schools and Unions: Good Ideas in Conflict?
Unionizing charter-school teachers bring to light the ever-present income inequity that takes place within the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofits
A Retrospective on Information Technology From Someone Who Should Know
An interview with Gavin Glabaugh, long-time IT guru at the Charles Stuart Mott Foundation, gives incite on where nonprofits have been and where we're going in terms of using technology.
Social Innovations
Social Innovation in the White House
The White House is about to announce the creation of the Office of Social Innovation.
Nonprofits
Speaking of Nonprofit Retirees…
Nonprofits need to think seriously about helping their employees' with post-work survival.
Nonprofits
State of the Sector: Lots of Facts and a Few Thoughts
Tips for surviving as a nonprofit during tough economic times.
Philanthropy
Of Kids and Dogs
As charitable causes are brought to the forefront by the release of movies like Slumdog Millionaire, questions of how intent should impact charitable decisions arise.
Nonprofits
Straws and Nets
The author asks if there really is a difference between religious organizations taking x percent of a donation for their church and a nonprofit taking money out for operating costs.
Government
Second (and Third) Thoughts about Public Funding for the Arts
The author breaks down how public funding of the arts should be put towards performance, exhibition, and education leaving the artists and their creative process to private patronage.
Philanthropy
The Disappearance of Yet Another Painless Way to Give
As the economy continues to shrink, individuals will need to make a more conscious effort to give.
Nonprofits
A Modest Proposal for Nonprofit Lobbying
The author suggests that nonprofits seek lobbying help from corporations that are limited in the cash they can offer.
Nonprofits
Why a New Nonprofit Might Be a Good Idea After All
The author draws attention to a situation in which adding a new nonprofit may not be a bad idea.
Nonprofits
Arts Policy Redux: A Board of Artists That Can’t Govern
A furor has accompanied the National Academy Museum's decision to sell paintings to pay for operating expenses. The Nonprofiteer argues that sometimes such drastic steps are necessary in a crisis.
Nonprofits
Everybody’s Got an Idea for the Transition Except for Me and My Monkey
The new administration needs to support nonprofits with expert advice and access to money.
Philanthropy
This IS the Rainy Day
Nonprofits
Board Members Are Not Hypothetical Constructs
In picking board members, first figure out what you want out of them.
Philanthropy
Everything Old Is New Again, Apparently
The biggest idea in private-sector charity turns out to be slopping more effectively at the public trough.
Nonprofits
Too Many Nonprofits
An unresponsive political system has spurred the need for nonprofits.
Nonprofits
...But Some Are More Equal than Others
Don't assume potential minority board members can't give money.