Grant Makers Seek Specific Results, but That’s Rarely Possible
Giving money to programs with proven results is all the rage, but do grant makers realize how bad human beings are at predicting what works, wonders Sean Stannard-Stockton, a Chronicle columnist.
By SEAN STANNARD-STOCKTON
Contributor
Grant Makers Need to Muster the Power of Democracy to Promote Change
The Tea Party movement shows that the power of democratic involvement can have a more profound effect on social causes than all of foundations’ prized innovations and scaled-up programs, writes a veteran nonprofit activist.
By MARK ROSENMAN
Contributor
Public Broadcasting Cuts Send the Wrong Signal as Demand for News Rises
As Congress considers big cuts in support for public broadcasting, they need to recognize that demand for news, educational, and cultural programs is growing, writes a Chronicle columnist.
By Vince Stehle
Contributor
A Foundation’s Report on Its Failings Should Spur Reflection Among Grant Makers
A foundation’s examination of mistakes it made in an ambitious antipoverty effort raises questions about whether grant makers can really promote big social changes, says a Chronicle columnist.
By LESLIE LENKOWSKY
Contributor
As Assets Slowly Recover, Foundations Grapple With How to Help Cash-Strapped Charities
A new Chronicle survey suggests that grant makers will give more in 2011 even though they still have not recovered all their losses from the financial crisis.
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Nonprofits Must Fight Obama’s Cuts in Aid to the Poor
The failure of nonprofit leaders to defend government antipoverty programs is a key reason the White House has gotten away with ignoring the plight of the poor, writes Pablo Eisenberg, a Chronicle columnist.
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor
More Donors Need to Support Innovative Climate Solutions
Grant makers should move away from promoting a single approach to curb global warming, write two executives at the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
By PETER TEAGUE
Contributor
Obama’s Silence on the Achievements of Struggling Nonprofits Is Deafening
President Obama spends a lot of time promoting businesses but puts almost no effort into using his bully pulpit to help nonprofits, writes Ralph Nader, the veteran consumer activist.
By Ralph Nader
Contributor
As Social Needs Mount, How Can Philanthropy Best Alleviate Homelessness?
Grant makers should finance groups that push for changes in economic and health-care policies that hurt the neediest and not focus on direct services alone, says a New York grant maker and the leader of a group run by homeless people.
By LYNN LEWIS
Contributor
To Succeed, Philanthropy Needs to Be Rooted in Deep Personal Beliefs
Philanthropists are free to express their creativity and individuality in any way they want to, but they need to take steps to be sure that freedom does not become an Achilles’ heel, write two donor advisers.
By Alan Tuck
Contributor