Who’s Really at Fault in the American U. Scandal?
To the Editor: Pablo Eisenberg’s opinion piece on American University (“When You Can’t Trust the Trustees,” October 27) is characteristically provocative but his conclusions are way off the mark. According to Mr. Eisenberg, America’s universities have become “corporate structures” and their boards…
When the average American makes a charitable gift, he or she makes the decision based on gut feelings and personal connections. A nonprofit group that becomes tainted by scandal or seems more intent on collecting checks than in fulfilling its mission rarely gets money from a donor again. While…
By Ruth A. Wooden
Contributor
Unsatisfied Lawyer Finds Fulfillment Helping Interfaith Families
I wasn’t one of those people who knew early on what they wanted to be when they grew up. I’d majored in political philosophy at Yale University. Unfortunately, the job market for philosophy professors when I graduated in the early 1970s was really bad. I couldn’t think of what else I wanted to do.…
Charities reward employees who recommend job candidates Linda LaPoint is a walking advertisement for using personal contacts to recruit nonprofit employees. In 1997, a friend encouraged Ms. LaPoint to apply for a job at YAI/National Institute for People With Disabilities, a social-services group in…
By Scott Westcott
Contributor
A Year of Progress, a Year of Setbacks
Many challenges, from lack of coordination to an overabundance of aid, have hampered recovery efforts in tsunami-stricken regionsThe Indian Ocean tsunamis that struck South Asia last December triggered one of the largest charitable ALSO SEE:Caught in the Crossfire of Disaster and WarRebuilding,…
By NICOLE WALLACE and Ian Wilhelm
Teaching Nonprofit Managers to Focus on the Common Good
For most of his career, Peter F. Drucker was renowned as an expert on business management, whose books and articles were widely read, and advice widely sought, by corporate leaders throughout the world. But late in his life, he turned his attention to the nonprofit world, writing a best-selling…
By LESLIE LENKOWSKY
Contributor
Philanthropy Loses Two of Its Giants: Waldemar Nielsen and Alan Pifer
A touch of greatness marked the lives of Waldemar Nielsen and Alan Pifer, two of philanthropy’s legendary figures, who both died last week after suffering long illnesses. Though they differed in personality, style, and approaches, both men shared the same passion for strengthening the performance…
By Pablo Eisenberg
Contributor
Putting Retiring Baby Boomers to Work
As the first baby boomers are about to turn 60, a new advertising blitz is beckoning them not only to a new stage of life, but also to one built around making a social contribution. “Lead the retirement revolution,” one advertisement tells sixtysomethings; swap your roots in the “counter culture”…
By John S. Gomperts
Contributor
Developing Leaders at Nonprofit Groups
To the Editor: In your October 1 article describing the challenges faced by young fund raisers (“Wanted: a Little Respect”), you omitted one important challenge faced from inside the organization: a lack of talent management. Many nonprofit managers fail to incorporate and execute an effective plan…