Incomplete Pass
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It’s reasonable to think that when you make a donation to a particular charitable organization, the funds will be used in a way that supports that organization’s mission. But as…
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Strange Math
[A version of this piece appeared in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on July 13, 2017.] Here’s the world’s simplest math problem. My wife Pat and I often meet a pair of friends…
Read More Collateral Damage
People keep asking me: How is the current political upheaval going to affect nonprofits? My first answer: I don’t really know. We’re in unprecedented political times. Who really can predict…
Read More Sidewalks, Snow, and Democracy
You can learn a lot about people and communities by how they clear their sidewalks. And I think there may be a lesson in there for those of us trying…
Read More Navigating the Evaluators
I recently gave a keynote address for a conference of nonprofit leaders in Oregon. At one point, I asked people to raise their hands if they thought that the evaluation…
Read More Giving, When You Have a Lot to Give
[Note: A version of this post appeared in Philanthropy Daily on February 8, 2018.] The rich have always played a leading role in charitable giving. Now their role is getting larger. In…
Read More Wall Street 9, Charity 0
The news last week was stunning, but at the same time utterly unsurprising: When The Chronicle of Philanthropy compiled its annual Philanthropy 400 list of the nonprofit organizations that had…
Read More Starvation Diet
A friend who serves on a nonprofit board asked me whether her organization was drawing enough from its endowment each year. “Probably not,” I answered. Then she described her organization’s…
Read More Lonely At the Top
{Note: This post has been co-published by the Maine Association of Nonprofits.} It’s not easy being a nonprofit CEO. People expect the CEO to have all the answers. The ideal CEO…
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