Volunteers Are Neither ‘Saints nor Teddy Bears,’ Plus More: Thursday’s Roundup
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
December 3, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
- “Volunteers are neither saints nor teddy bears,” says Jayne Cravens, a nonprofit consultant, on her blog. They are people motivated to donate their time for their own selfish reasons but are still a valuable resource nonetheless, she says.
- Why not use social media — Facebook, Twitter, and similar sites — to help nonprofit boards run their organizations? asks Beth Kanter, a blogger who writes about online trends.
- 2010 will see the rise of “niche” online networks designed to raise money for specific causes or specific, one-time charitable projects, predicts Debra Askanase, a charity consultant, on her blog.
- It’s not unusual for a nonprofit trustee to take over a charity when an executive director leaves, writes Mike Burns, a consultant, on his blog Nonprofit Board Crisis. But is that really in the best interest of the nonprofit group? he asks.
- Daniel J. Gerstle, a journalist and consultant to humanitarian groups, on the Change.org blog critiques Rajiv Shah’s showing at his confirmation hearing for administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Mr. Gerstle writes that Mr. Shah has a “fantastic background for a leading role in foreign aid” but asks whether he is “the creative, wise, and persuasive leader we need to pilot urgent, dramatic reform of U.S. foreign assistance.”
- As nonprofit organizations compete to recruit technology personnel, they should be clear about what their needs are and be specific about those needs in job ads, advises George Weiner, chief technology officer for DoSomething.org, on the Huffington Post.
