Philanthropy by definition is a noble endeavor. Yet people want to know, “what good does philanthropy do?” The answer is hard to get, partly because philanthropy doesn’t really want to know, and evaluation doesn’t really know how to serve up good answers. This article illuminates the dilemma. […]
Pay for performance in the social services may sound good in principle, but there are many reasons to be skeptical. There is a certain allure in the many kinds of legislative proposals that link pay […]
…while attracting the supporters, funders, and partners you’ve always wanted…while being the change you want to see […]
There’s a hopeful mantra going around in evaluation circles that “you get what you measure.” Personally, I don’t believe it. I’ve been trying to measure social justice for years, and I can’t say I’ve seen […]
In his TED talk, “The way we think about charity is dead wrong,” Dan Pallotta, activist and fundraiser, makes many interesting and provocative points about the dysfunctional nature of our society’s “philanthropic market.” I cheer […]
“Advocacy” is from Latin, meaning to give voice to a cause that it might progress and succeed. The practice of advocacy has recently gained legitimacy and momentum as a strategy for promoting social change. Wikipedia […]
Like many, I’m intrigued by this Occupy Wall Street movement. And why not? It purports to voice both the pain and the interests of the 99% of Americans who are harmed by the richest 1%. […]
There has long been perceived a kind of class warfare between foundations who have the money, and nonprofits who beg for the money. This is summed up by one of my favorite quotes, “Ah, philanthropy, […]
In response to a comment on the subject of “pay for performance in the social services” I suggested that rather than have government workers police the cost of outcomes, it would be useful to form […]
A well-established emergency food shelf near me “distributed 542,453 pounds of food” last year, according to its website. No doubt it calculated and announced this measure of program productivity to answer questions about impact coming […]
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