What We’re Reading
Why Cooperate?
It’s well known that strong social networks can lead people to engage in cooperative behavior. But what are the underlying forces that help build and sustain such networks? Delia Baldassarri, a professor of sociology at…
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Governance and Accountability: A Different Choice for Nonprofits
Governance is of central concern to nonprofits, yet theories of nonprofit governance are underdeveloped in comparison with corporate governance. This Nonprofit Quarterly article aims to expose and question the…
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How to Bet Big on the American Dream
According to return-on-investment calculations from the Bridgespan Group, large amounts of capital, invested in targeted, on-the-ground innovations that are already producing results (but at too small a scale), can pave…
Read MoreModels and Components of a Great Nonprofit Dashboard
Nonprofits are built around mission and desired outcomes but must be supported by the right revenue and expense models— which together comprise an integrated enterprise model. As an organization’s goals, strategy, and operating context shift over time, a dashboard…
Read MoreWhat Leadership Looks Like In Different Cultures
Although the core ingredients of leadership are universal (good judgment, integrity, and people skills), the full recipe for successful leadership requires culture-specific condiments. Depending on the cultural context, your typical…
Social Media Effectiveness for Public Engagement: An Example of Small Nonprofits
When small nonprofits work with social media, they are faced with many considerations, including ways that constituencies wish to communicate; resulting engagement, social action, or donations; how widely used and well suited various platforms of social media are for…
Read MoreThe Sustainability Prerogative: Nonprofits in the Future of our Economy
In his book, Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity, Douglas Rushkoff argues we have failed to build the distributed economy that digital networks are capable of fostering and have instead doubled down…
Read MoreThe Best of Online Fundraising 2016
Online fundraising is hard, but smart charities have shown that it can done successfully with innovative thinking and smart planning. This Chronicle of Philanthropy special report highlights nonprofits that are particularly good at it, and their secrets of success.
Policies, Processes, and Protocols: Three Keys to Building a Diverse Workplace
Read about the new tools necessary to address institutional bias, and to set a new standard for diversity and inclusion at social sector organizations.
Policies, Processes, and Protocols: Three Keys to Building a Diverse Workplace
Read MoreCommunity Engagement Matters (Now More Than Ever)
Data-driven and evidence-based practices present new opportunities for public and social sector leaders to increase impact while reducing inefficiency. But in adopting such approaches, leaders must avoid the temptation to act in a top-down manner. Instead, they should design…
Read MoreSelf-Coaching Strategies for Nonprofit Leaders
Read these self-coaching tips that will prove useful for all nonprofit leaders. These strategies could greatly reduce time wasted in needless drama and miscommunication.
Self-Coaching Strategies for Nonprofit Leaders
Read MoreThe Case for Investing in Nonprofit Talent
Between 1992 and 2011, research by Talent Philanthropy, foundations devoted less than 1% of grant dollars toward supporting the recruitment, retention, compensation, development, or retirement of nonprofit talent. In fact, grantmakers send signals encouraging nonprofits to deemphasize staff development and…
Read MoreHow Snapchat is Revolutionizing Modern Day Advertising for Nonprofits
Social media in general has had a profound impact on the way that people interact and do business, but many people have overlooked its effects on nonprofits. Social media ads and sharing have increased awareness for organizations in a…
Read MoreNew “Bright Spots” Report a Goldmine for Nonprofits about Successful Fundraising at the Grassroots
What makes one grassroots group so much better at fundraising from individual supporters than another? The secrets are embedded in this research report, and it has everything to do with mindset.
Read MoreTechnology Changes, Good Management Doesn’t
Because human nature doesn’t change, the fundamental art and science of managing human beings doesn’t change either – but you wouldn’t know it from reading the popular business press that pledge quantum leaps in managerial effectiveness.
Read MorePhilanthropy and Inclusivity: A Longstanding Problem That Must Be Treated as Urgent
When it comes to diversifying American philanthropy, few would argue that there has been too little discussion about making the sector look more like the people it serves. The real challenge has been to set in motion the measures…
Read MoreThe Lazy Funder’s Guide to High-Yield Philanthropy
Read the Stanford Social Innovation Review’s six ways to do more funding with less.
The Lazy Funder’s Guide to High-Yield Philanthropy
Read MoreWhen Was the Last Time You Asked, “Why Are We Doing It This Way?”
When stakes are high, it can be difficult for leaders, especially senior ones new to their roles, to pause before acting. Here’s advice for how to give yourself time to reflect and lead with questions.
Read MoreNo Exit: The Case for Nonprofit Holding Companies
Learn more about how applying the structure of a holding company to the nonprofit and social enterprise sectors could help both small, high-potential organizations and larger anchor organizations flourish.
Read MoreNow or Forever: Rethinking Foundation Life Spans
One big question of philanthropy is how much should be spent now to solve today’s urgent problems and how much should be conserved to deal with future concerns. Philanthropists, Congress, and the courts have all weighed in…
Read MoreTapping the Great Potential of Female Philanthropists
Read the ten ways to better engage high-net-worth women donors, and work with them to effectively invest in women and girls, and other social causes.
Tapping the Great Potential of Female Philanthropists
Read MoreThe Philanthropic Attitudes of the Ultra-wealthy, According to Their Advisors
Why and how do the world’s richest people give to charity? A new philanthropy study reveals trends of the world’s wealthiest.
The Philanthropic Attitudes of the Ultra-wealthy, According to Their Advisors
Read MoreThe Importance of Linking Leadership Succession, Strategy, and Governance
Whether one’s starting point is a leadership transition, board development or strategy, case studies teach us to recognize and embrace the interrelated nature of these processes.
The Importance of Linking Leadership Succession,…
Read MoreImprov Tools for Organizational Impact
Learn how the art of improv can help nonprofits stay grounded in what they are, while simultaneously allowing nonprofits to creatively respond to the ever-evolving needs of the people they strive to serve.
Read MoreNonprofit Risk Management Report a Must-Read for Nonprofit Boards and Execs
Read an insightful report from SeaChange Capital Partners and Oliver Wyman on all of the conditions inherent in overseeing a nonprofit’s budget and their recommendations on risk management.
Nonprofit Risk Management Report a Must-Read for Nonprofit…
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