All Types of Charities Can Assist the Elderly
To the Editor: As a former development director for a church-related retirement community who has also toiled in the fund-raising world of the arts, I do not agree with Ted Halstead and Michael Lind (“Alter the Tax Code to Avert Elder-Care Crisis,” December 13) that changing the tax code is a…
A Nonprofit Manager’s Resolve: Pledges for Doing Better in 2002
By Peter Frumkin The New Year brings with it the promise of change, reform, and renewal. For the harried and often unappreciated nonprofit manager, the list of possible resolutions is long. Though often muttered quietly and grudgingly, here are some resolutions I have heard nonprofit people…
How Foundation Argot Works: Excerpts From a New Book
ALSO SEE:Doing Good by Rejecting Gibberish Following are excerpts from Bad Words for Good: How Foundations Garble Their Message and Lose Their Audience. The book, by Tony Proscio, is to be released this month by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. convener, convening Although these words are…
Doing Good by Rejecting Gibberish
ALSO SEE:How Foundation Argot Works: Excerpts From a New Book Not too long ago, an American foundation proudly declared that it had managed to lower the incidence of “negative health outcomes” among a group of poor people. Fewer of the people, it seems, had died. (The boast may prove overhasty.…
By Tony Proscio
Contributor
Charities, Funds Must Unify Efforts
To the Editor: Many thanks for Edward Skloot’s thoughtful opinion piece (“Foundations Must Meet the Era’s Challenges,” November 15). In particular, his call for coordination of efforts by charities and funders in addressing the new national realities and priorities following September 11 is…
How Charities Can Weather a ‘Perfect Storm’
Philanthropy is facing its greatest challenge in history. Just as an unusual series of meteorological conditions combined to create the “perfect storm” that Sebastian Junger depicted in his best-selling book, so too is philanthropy facing turbulent forces that could be devastating. Coming together…
By JENNIFER DUNLAP
Contributor
Nonprofit Groups Should Lead Debate on Rights, Safety
The effect of the war against terrorism on civil liberties presents one of the most important challenges facing nonprofit leaders. On issues ranging from profiling at airports to the use of national identity cards to new limits on Internet privacy, difficult choices await a thoughtful resolution.…
By Peter Frumkin
Contributor
Charities Failed to Halt a Runaway Fund-Raising Train
To the Editor: The leadership of our national charities, and national organizations of local charities and institutions, failed us miserably in the aftermath of September 11. Within a week of the attacks, more than 100 organizations were raising funds for victim relief. Close to 200 ultimately…
Alter the Tax Code to Avert Elder-Care Crisis
For all the public debate about the strains that the retirement of the baby-boom generation will place on our Social Security and Medicare systems, surprisingly little debate has occurred about the looming crisis in caring for the elderly. After all, the huge number of baby-boomer retirees will…
By Michael Lind
Contributor
Careful Planning Is Key to Success of Online Advocacy, Charity Leaders Say
Nonprofit organizations have learned that running a successful online advocacy effort ALSO SEE:Taking Action OnlineEdgy Online Advocacy Campaign Clicks With Young ActivistsOnline Advocacy: Resources for Nonprofit Groups takes more than asking members to flood their elected representatives with…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor