Ideas That Attracted the Most Attention in the Nonprofit World in 2009

The King of Pop was crowned Give and Take’s biggest attention-grabber of 2009, with a blog post on Michael Jackson’s philanthropy generating more views this year than any other item.

A debate about how much money board members should be required to give was the second most-popular item. Virginia Ikkanda-Suddith, a fund-raising consultant in Los Angeles, suggested that giving or raising at least $2,500 should be a requirement of board service, but some readers posted comments suggesting that a financial requirement undervalued the nonfinancial ways in which some trustees contribute.

Dan Pallotta, a former fund-raising consultant and author of a blog about nonprofit groups that appears on Harvard Business Publishing’s Web site, was responsible for 2009’s third most-popular post, in which he argued that poor salaries keep the charitable world from making sufficient progress in tackling social problems.

A covert meeting among many of the world’s top philanthropists provided fodder for the fourth most-viewed blog post, in which readers offered suggestions for how big donors should direct their money.

A list of ways in which charities are using iPhone applications rounded out 2009’s top five posts.