Not So Simple
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[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…
Read More No. DON’T Smile.
[Note: This post was published in similar form in the Chronicle of Philanthropy December 15, 2014.] The other day a nonprofit organization I admire sent out a Facebook posting that…
Read More Violent Opposition, For Now
[Note: This was cross-posted October 1, 2014 by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.] Arthur Schopenhauer said, “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is…
Read More Labor Day Plus One
We all have our favorite day of the year. It might be a birthday or a particular holiday. For me, it’s Opening Day of the baseball season. For my wife…
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