Why Public Education Should Beware of Philanthropists, and More: Wednesday’s Roundup
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
January 13, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
- Public school systems should be wary of philanthropic support, says an editorial in the Los Angeles Times. “Even the best-intentioned gifts have a way of shifting behavior,” it says. “Educators and the public, not individual philanthropists, should set the agenda for schools.”
- While international charities seek to build a personal connection between donors and recipients of aid, such fund-raising efforts are misguided and amount to philanthropy of a “Dickensian sort,” writes Owen Barder, an aid worker in Ethiopia, on his blog.
- While everyday donors will never replace government aid agencies or big foundations, they are increasingly becoming a major player in international philanthropy thanks to new technologies, says Dan Morrison, founder of Citizen Effect, which helps people start charity projects abroad. His views appear on the Case Foundation’s blog.
- Solving social problems requires drawing connections between needs and resources, writes Robert Egger, founder of the V3 Campaign, on his blog. He highlights two examples of issues he thinks can be linked: older people and sustainable food, and “green jobs” and the “aging in place” movement to keep older people in their homes. For example, a smart nonprofit group could train and employ young people to make the homes of older individuals energy efficient, Mr. Egger writes.
