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Why Do You Teach?

Whether you write, manage, coach, lecture, or facilitate, many of you are teachers of one kind or another. I really agree with Asher Bey that one of the most important questions you can ask yourself is this: Why Do You Teach? He points out that knowing the less flattering reasons can often be the basis for dramatic improvement in your abilities. He emphasizes that these reasons might be barriers to your success, but I suggest that sometimes they may reveal the true source of your gift. Good reading. Good question. Posted: 9/9/08; 12:22:23 PM #

There Is an Alternative to Corporate Rule

Mark Engler's adapted a section of his new book How to Rule the World: The Coming Battle Over the Global Economy into an article entitled There Is an Alternative to Corporate Rule. Although I think a lot of authors are engaging in wishful thinking when they describe movements that they think are taking shape that will save the world, Engler really does put his finger on one of the few clear, large scale collaborations across vast swaths of local and international civil society. As he puts it "Those who reject corporate and imperial models of globalization have a wealth of ideas at their disposal, a healthy internal debate to refine their strategies, and a vibrant, growing international network of citizens that see their efforts as part an interconnected whole. They also have very powerful enemies." Posted: 9/9/08; 12:18:28 PM #

An Empathy-Helping Perspective on Consumers' Responses to Fundraising Appeals

In An Empathy-Helping Perspective on Consumers' Responses to Fundraising Appeals (46 page PDF), Fisher, Vandenbosch, and Antia report on their findings on research on more than 4000 appeals done by a public television station over a two year period. Given the transparent self-interest and frequent happy-talk that infects so much fundraising, their results are interesting. The most effective fundraising appeals communicated the benefits to others rather than to the self, and they evoke negative rather than positive emotions. Posted: 9/9/08; 12:14:34 PM #

Community-Wealth.org: Strategies and Models

I've long advocated for models other than the traditional tax-exempt corporation as vehicles for public benefit work. At Community-Wealth.org, they've assembled a great table of Strategies and Models that describe many such alternatives. For each of the many ideas, they have links to deeper descriptions, practices, supporting organizations, and research. If you're tired of the endemic structure problems of the nonprofit sector (and are ready to try on some different problems), this would be an excellent resource. Even if you're not considering alternative structures, it's full of inspiration for leaders. Posted: 9/9/08; 12:08:46 PM #

Development Communication Sourcebook: Broadening the Boundaries of Communication Public Disclosure

Paolo Mefalopulos has written a Development Communication Sourcebook (245 page PDF) for the World Bank. It's a treasure house of communication strategies and tactics, solidly based on participatory design. One of my favorite examples from the book is entitled "When a Perfectly Appropriate Technical Solution Does Not Make Much Sense" and illustrates why we need to pay attention to what people actually do in order to plan our technologies. The short version of the mistake used in the book's example is this: The experts did a so-called assessment and realized that women in the village in question were still taking an hour long walk to a river to fetch water, so in their judgment, a local well was needed. So they build them a well. But when they return a year later, they find that the well is hardly being used. Why? Because that walk to the river was one of the few moments that the woman had to visit with each other and take a break from the hard labor of their everyday lives. Posted: 9/9/08; 12:03:31 PM #

NTEN Donor Management Software Satisfaction Survey

We're at the tail end of our own survey on the subject of donor cultivation, so I want to take a moment to also promote the Donor Management Software Satisfaction Survey being conducted by the Nonprofit Technology Network. If you complete their survey, you'll receive a full copy of the report, which (if I recall correctly) is otherwise only available by purchase or to members. Posted: 9/9/08; 11:40:19 AM #