United States Ranks Below the Netherlands and Norway on New Civil-Society Index
The world’s most highly developed voluntary sectors are in the Netherlands and Norway, according to a new index ALSO SEE: Ranking of Countries by Health of Nonprofit Groups that ranks 34 countries according to the scope and influence of their nonprofit institutions and organizations. The United…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Cost of Door-to-Door Canvassing is $19 Per Vote, Research Finds
A new book financed in part by the Pew Charitable Trusts is helping foundations and charities figure ALSO SEE:» Related articles: about Charities and Elections out how best to spend money to persuade a higher percentage of Americans to vote this November. Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber, two…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
$225-Million Gift Opens New Horizons for NPR
A year ago, in thinking of how to improve news coverage at National Public Radio, top executives were limited in ALSO SEE:The $1.5-Billion Challenge their ambitions by concerns about money, recalls the nonprofit organization’s executive vice president, Ken Stern. A new bureau in Africa seemed…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Sierra Club Voters Defeat Challengers’ Board Bids
A bitter fight for control of the Sierra Club’s 15-member national board has ended with the defeat of independent candidates who had hoped to alter the Sierra Club’s policy on immigration and other issues. The controversy sparked a record turnout by the group’s members. Nearly 23 percent of the…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
United Ways Are Spreading Quickly Around the Globe
United Way International has come a long way since the dark days of 1992. That year, it nearly succumbed after ALSO SEE:A New Era for Nation’s United WaysWhere United Way’s Leader Isn’t the BossGiving to United Ways Drops for a Second Consecutive Year losing much of its support in the scandal…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Sierra Club’s board candidates fight to shape the group’s futureThe bruising battle over the election of new board members to the Sierra Club has exposed deep fault lines ALSO SEE:A Bruising Board Fight: Campaign Statements by Sierra Trustee Candidates in the nation’s largest environmental advocacy…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
80% of Foundations Expect Giving to Increase or Stay the Same in 2004
A lingering stock-market slump and the after-effects of substantial endowment losses since 2000 ALSO SEE:Foundation Giving Trends, 2002 prompted foundations to decrease their giving by 2.5 percent last year, according to one of two new reports issued by the Foundation Center. Giving had also…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Better Press Skills Could Help Relief Groups
A lack of training in how to work with reporters often prevents relief groups from getting the kind of favorable news coverage they depend upon to draw public attention -- and attract donations -- to humanitarian emergencies, according to a new report. The report, commissioned by the Fritz…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Report: Engaged Foundation Boards Are Most Effective
Chief executives of large U.S. foundations believe that the most effective governing boards are those whose members do not limit themselves to overseeing investments and approving grants but are also highly engaged in developing their institutions’ strategies and evaluating the social impact of…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Regional Differences Found in Giving and Volunteering
Geography matters in stimulating donations of time and money, a new report suggests. An analysis of data from a nationwide survey by Independent Sector, a coalition of foundations and nonprofit organizations, concludes that people in different areas of the United States respond disproportionately…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor