Budget Resolution
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It happens all the time. A private-sector businessperson takes over as board treasurer and meets with the nonprofit staff to go over the new budget. In that meeting, the new…
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Real Change
[This post was co-published in Inside Philanthropy on September 10, 2015.] A friend of mine rolls her eyes whenever I speak skeptically about the value of charitable endowments. “You’re neglecting the…
Read More “It’s Their Money.” Well, Sort Of.
There are occupational hazards to writing about philanthropy. One is that when I make a critical comment about donors, I run the risk of being chastised for passing judgment. I’m…
Read More A Closer Look at One Donor-Advised Fund’s Questionable Pay-out Numbers
[Note: This post was co-published on July 20, 2015 in Inside Philanthropy.] It’s one thing for organizations to spin information in a way that puts them in the best possible…
Read More Not So Simple
[A version of this post was published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on August 12, 2015.] I often hear donor-advised funds marketed as “giving, simplified.” I appreciate the gist of this. Donor-advised…
Read More Naming Rites
It’s not unusual for people to change their names. Last names change with marriage, divorce, career changes, whim, and the urge to assimilate. My maternal grandparents anglicized their surname “Medvedsky”…
Read More The False Allure of Charitable Endowments
[Note: This article was co-posted March 2, 2015 at Inside Philanthropy.) In her recent Inside Philanthropy guest blog post defending donor-advised funds, Council on Foundations CEO Vikki Spruill asserts that…
Read More Wall Street’s Charitable Gold Rush
[Note: This article was co-posted February 25, 2015, in Inside Philanthropy.] The unbridled growth of donor-advised funds (DAFs) is the biggest story in philanthropy. Some startling facts: Contributions to DAFs…
Read More CEOs, and Everyone Else
A recent article in the Boston Globe about the generous perks major Massachusetts nonprofits are providing to their CEOs has stirred up debate once more about proper compensation and incentives…
Read More The Year in Review
Yes, I write a lot about donor-advised funds. That’s because their surge in popularity is the biggest story in philanthropy – and, to my mind, a growing threat to an…
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