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Charities and the American Police State

I got a lot of hate mail when I wrote The Nonprofit Sector and the March Toward Tyranny, but I wasn't wrong. Just look at the fate of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, one of seven Muslim charities that have been shut down by the US government. Not one of these charities and not one of their leaders has actually been convicted of "supporting terrorism", but that innocence doesn't matter. If the government doesn't like what you are doing, they can destroy you with charges and executive orders alone. Chris Hedges uses some pretty strong language in his description of what is happening to civil society in the US, but I agree with every word, including his conclusion: "I am sure terrorists will strike again on American soil. But while terrorists can wound and disrupt our democracy, only we can kill it." Posted: 11/18/07; 10:20:32 PM #

Creating Online Surveys

Nonprofits do a lot of surveys, but in my experience most of them are close to meaningless. There are no doubt many cauese for this, among them the fact that our high school science classes seem to fail at teaching people basic experimental design. This is why I'm particularly pleased to recommend Arthur Prokosch primer on Creating Online Surveys at Third Sector New England. Given how much cheaper it has become for organizations to conduct surveys, Prokosch's recommendations (among other useful tips) on how to design questions that will give meaningful results are of timely value. Posted: 11/18/07; 10:20:25 PM #

How to Survive Creative Burnout

Connected as it is with the idea of heat and passion, I'm fascinated by the phrase "burn out". Sometimes I think the concept distracts us from the real issues that cause motivation to flag, but sometimes it's a term that can be used constructively. Scott Berkun's recent essay on How to Survive Creative Burnout is an example of the latter. While my own work on this subject has tended to address deeper issues of the creative tension between authentic work and everyday realities, Berkun simply packs in a lot of practical tips, while focusing on some of the classic patterns of burn out among those of us who do creative work most of the time. Posted: 11/18/07; 10:20:12 PM #