The Drawbacks And Benefits Of ‘Irrational’ Aid Work
The drawbacks and benefits of ‘irrational’ international aid programs
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Former Venture Capitalist Helps Prisoners Prepare for Business World
I went straight from graduating from the University of California at Berkeley right into venture-capital investing. I loved it. I made my short career in forcing deals. I was an aggressive and good deal originator. I would call up CEO’s or find them wherever I could, and I was successful in turning…
Charities’ Loss of Trust and Stability Is the True Damage of the Madoff Scandal
Now that nearly a month has passed since news of the Bernard Madoff scam broke, it is time to put the scandal in perspective. Much has been written about the horrific effects on Jewish philanthropy, and how the fraud reaches deep into Jewish nonprofit life. But the real tragedy of the Madoff…
By Gary Tobin
Contributor
How Board Members Can Respond to Investment Turmoil
Even the most financially astute trustees have met their match in today’s market turmoil.
By michael peregrine
Contributor
Send Economic Stimulus Money to the Nation’s Charities
The unraveling of the nation’s economic and social institutions over the past year has been horrible to watch, but as a new year opens, America has a special opportunity to rebuild its social capital and bolster its economy. As President-elect Obama shapes his response to the perils the nation…
By EDWARD SKLOOT and JOEL FLEISHMAN
America’s Greatest ‘Public Works’
America’s most crucial infrastructure is strained to the breaking point, but few Americans notice it. That’s because it’s not the bridges and tunnels and other public works that are at issue — it’s the nonprofit groups that have been doing more with less for so long that the public has come to…
By CLARA MILLER
Contributor
How to Rally an Army of Nonprofit Volunteers
As President-elect Obama and members of Congress get to work on what promises to be the mother of all economic-recovery programs, much of the talk has focused on an expected vast infusion of cash into state and local governments for a variety of long-delayed public-works projects. Largely…
By Lester M. Salamon
Contributor
Foundations Should Step Up as Obama Steps In
The inauguration of Barack Obama as president next week offers clear lessons and opportunities for philanthropy. Looking back to the campaign, what can grant makers learn about mobilizing social change? And looking ahead to the president’s first 100 days, how can foundations and nonprofit groups…
By Amber Johnson and Mark R. Kramer
Controversy Deepens Over a Former United Way Chief’s Pension Deal
A controversy over leadership and compensation at the United Way of Central Carolinas here has deepened as a new investigation shows that the head of the organization sought to increase her pension benefits significantly, ignored a lawyer’s concerns about possible tax-law violations, and made…
By Eric Frazier
Contributor
A Plea for Nonprofit Priorities
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt put together the New Deal in his bid to lift the country out of the Great Depression, he created the Civilian Conservation Corps, a program that employed people on projects to protect and improve the country’s parks and other natural resources. As…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor