An ‘Inexcusable’ Approach at Red Cross
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: I like that Sen. Charles Grassley is looking into ways to ensure proper board oversight of the Red Cross (“President’s Appointees Shun Red Cross Board Meetings,” March 23), and I commend Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, and her predecessor, David T. McLaughlin, for their…
Charity CEO’s Should Look in the Mirror
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: Julie L. Rogers articulately presents some of the challenges encountered by CEO’s in working with foundations (“Foundations Are Burning Out Charity CEO’s,” My View, March 9), and provides important information to both. Nevertheless, at a time when almost…
Giving Charities a Voice: the Legacy of Norton J. Kiritz
DAVID CAY JOHNSTON When people start new careers, they often have little understanding of what went before, why things change, and who wrought those changes. Those who have entered the nonprofit world in the last quarter-century live in a world unimaginable to the generation before. And while many…
Lobbying Often Benefits the Public Interest
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: Gary Bass and Rick Cohen have both written in your pages about the impact of the scandal involving the lobbyist Jack Abramoff and suggested ways to reduce wrongdoing by paid lobbyists (“Let’s Change How Washington Does Business,” March 23 and “How to Prevent…
“Nothing in excess,” part of the wisdom of the ancient Greeks, is an idea our society has trouble with. Just look at America’s obesity epidemic. The Greeks knew that things that are valuable in moderation, like food, become dangerous when taken to an extreme. Such is the case with the nonprofit…
By Kennard T. Wing
Contributor
The Dells Find Patience Is Key When Trying to Measure Social Progress
Michael S. Dell hopes lessons he learned from a business crisis more than a decade ago could help the foundation ALSO SEE:A Focus on Efficiency that he and his wife, Susan, created make charities more effective in the future. In 1993, the Dell computer company was in deep trouble: A new product…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Opinion: Global Poverty Can Be Eradicated
“We already have the knowledge, technology, and wealth to end extreme poverty; all we need is the political will,” says Peter D. Bell, chief executive of CARE, in an opinion article in The Christian Science Monitor. Mr. Bell says members of the U.S. Congress hamstring efforts to fight poverty by…
Foundation Trustees Need a New Investment Approach
Foundations control more than $600-billion in assets, but they put only a tiny amount — less than 1 percent — into investments designed to help them further their missions. That is a massive lost opportunity for the nonprofit world. And it is caused, in part, by a misperception of the bounds of…
By Mark R. Kramer
Contributor
Let’s Change How Washington Does Business
The lobbying scandals that have roiled Washington in the past year have amply demonstrated just how uneven the lobbying field is. Nonprofit groups that don’t have money or connections often lose out to business leaders and other wealthy people who can buy access to lawmakers. As a result, citizen…
By Gary D. Bass
Contributor
The Evolution of Philanthropy in South and Central America
Philanthropy and Social Change in Latin America
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions