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The Best of the Guru's Handbook: Year Two

Asher Bey is the most prolific of the bloggers in the Gilbert Author's Network and thus it's helpful to have an accessible introduction to his work. In Another Year's Reflections, the author of The Guru's handbook points to several titles, including: What is a Teacher, Exercises in Listening, Teaching a Colleague, Teaching by Speaking Honestly, Taking Breaks, Teaching with a Clear Signal, and Why Teach if it has Already Been Taught. Posted: 10/13/08; 4:13:34 PM #

Spying on Activists Discussed at Forum
	It seems that anyone with the potential to stand in the way of the current U.S. regime is subject to dirty tricks. Whether it's demonizing ACORN because they register poor people to vote or spying on a wide range of activists, I wouldn't be at all surprised if there weren't thousands of U.S. nonprofits that are on some kind of enemies list or another. Posted: 10/13/08; 4:09:41 PM #

Networking Begins with Listening

A lot of organizations seem to think that they will get more mileage in their work by talking rather than by listening - that they will raise more money and engage more stakeholders if they push messages out to people, rather than paying attention to those people. This point of view neglects both the risks of failing to respect a community and the considerable influence that listening itself can have. In Networking Begins with Listening, Dennis Stevenson frames this strategic insight as "How can I make someone else better?" Posted: 10/13/08; 3:54:41 PM #

You Don't Need a Home to Vote! 2008-2009 Voting Rights Manual

The American right is currently engaged in an enormous voter suppression campaign in an attempt to "win" the upcoming election. There are thousands of organizations whose stakeholders are the very people they are trying to disenfranchise. Given that one of the core suppression tactics involves raising doubt about residency by sending certified mail to potential Democratic voters, I'm happy to see that IssueLab has published a 2008-2009 Voting Rights Manual, You Don't Need a Home to Vote! Posted: 10/13/08; 3:46:16 PM #

The Top 50 Mailers
	Target Marketing Magazine has published their report on The Top 50 Mailers (5 page PDF) in the U.S, based on volume. Unfortunately, they don't actually report on that volume! There are 4 large nonprofits among these, a couple of which are profiled in the report narrative. Posted: 10/13/08; 3:42:16 PM #

Recession and Charities: The Paradox of Charitable Opportunity?

Charities exist to help in times of need, but unlike government programs with Keynesian spending, they may find themselves in as much need as their stakeholders. In Recession and Charities: The Paradox of Charitable Opportunity? (4 page PDF), Jenny Harrow and Cathy Pharoah explore several aspects of this issue, including the contradictory advice to which nonprofits are subject, the risks to their reputation that they face, and how difficult times may call for bold actions. Posted: 10/13/08; 3:31:42 PM #

Effective Advocacy at All Levels of Government

The Kellogg Foundation hosts Effective Advocacy at All Levels of Government, a handbook for nonprofits prepared by the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. In addition to sample advocacy plans and a list of advocacy resources, the handbook addresses these five questions: (1) Why should your nonprofit try to change public policy? (2) Is it legal for nonprofits to advocate policy change? (3) How does the policymaking process work? (4) What policy issues should your nonprofit address? (5) How can your nonprofit influence public policy? Posted: 10/13/08; 3:15:10 PM #