Growing Calls for Nonprofits to Listen to Beneficiaries Prompt Action
Journalism and corporate customer service could offer models, said experts at a conference in Washington.
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Let’s Require All Big Foundations to Let More Nonprofits Apply for Grants
Nearly three out of four grant makers don’t accept proposals over the transom, a sign of the growing elitism marring philanthropy.
By Pablo Eisenberg
Contributor
Hilton Prize Offers Important Lessons for Foundations
By putting the focus on groups with real solutions, not glossy celebrity hype machines, and giving aid with no strings, the $2-million honor sets a standard all grant makers should follow.
By TOM WATSON
Contributor
Opinion: Saudi Mogul’s ‘Philanthropy U.’ Off to a Fast Start
Columnist Paul Sullivan at The New York Times writes about the launch of Philanthropy University, a nonprofit initiative funded by Saudi businessman Amr Al-Dabbagh to offer education and training to nonprofit executives through “massive open online courses,” or MOOCs.
Impact Investing Can Bring Big Returns and Court Battles
The Wall Street Journal examines the growth in high-dollar impact investments by activist philanthropies, focusing on the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation’s stakes in mission-aligned areas like sustainable energy.
Power and Money Don’t Necessarily Buy Smart Philanthropy
Warren Buffett should have applied his ideas about risk in investing to philanthropy instead of making the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation even wealthier.
By Linsey McGoey
Contributor
Chronicle Survey Says 35% of Americans Lack Confidence in Charities
Reports of fraud have soured many people on nonprofits, and sizable percentages criticize charity spending and say leaders are paid too much. Nonprofit experts suggest how to gain the public’s trust.
By Suzanne Perry
Contributor
Surviving Rough Waters: How the Nature Conservancy Bounced Back From Scandal
A decade ago, the group was rocked by investigations by Congress, the IRS, and the EPA, and donations withered. A structural overhaul — and a big dose of transparency — helped restore the public’s trust.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
His and Her Giving: Separate Interests, Mutual Support
A wealthy couple living in the nation’s capital reaches out to nearby neighborhoods still struggling to recover from the legacy of racism and the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
The Leaner-Is-Always-Better Myth: One Size Doesn’t Fit All Foundations
Behind the much-touted trends of downsizing in philanthropic organizations, the picture is more complicated.
By PHIL BUCHANAN
Contributor