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Current News

Myth: Good Board Members "Give, Get, or Get Off"

It's great to see Bill Ryan, writing at Nonprofit Quarterly, touch on the myth that good board members "give, get, or get off". Personally, I'm not sure I fully subscribe to the alternative notion that good board members "govern", because I think it's far from clear what governance is, exactly. It's even less clear whether, were it not for the tax and legal codes, the corporate model is even the right one for most organizations. Finally, there is something to be said for the alignment of commitment that fundraising responsibility has a way of creating. But in the end, I agree with this critique: Making a board all about raising money can create profound damage and distortion. Posted: 1/24/12; 6:24:10 PM #

Gates: Benevolent Dictator for Public Health?

Laura Freschi and Alanna Shaikh, in their article: Gates: Benevolent Dictator for Public Health?, ask us to imagine this scenario: "It is not inconceivable that you might find yourself some day reading a story about a Gates-funded health project, written up in a newspaper that gets its health coverage underwritten by Gates, reported by a journalist who attended a Gates-funded journalism training programme, citing data collected and analysed by scientists with grants from Gates." We need more analyses like this. It's not so much the alarming implications that concern me -- I may disagree with the Gates Foundation on their unfortunate focus on technological fixes, but they are moving the standards of practice in the field of philanthropy forward. I think we all need to be aware of the patterns of influence in civil society. Power in our sector is often a taboo topic, except when it's an explosive one. Neither is conducive to positive change. Posted: 1/24/12; 6:23:48 PM #

Allen Gunn on Blackbaud's Acquisition of Convio

You may have read that Blackbaud just acquired Convio. I invite you to recall that Blackbaud acquired eTapestry in 2007 and Kintera in 2008. Convio itself acquired GetActive in 2007. If you know the field, you'll recognize this as a dramatic consolidation of market power in one firm. In Talkin' Blackbaud Blues, Aspiration's Allen Gunn offers what I think is the most valuable first reaction to Blackbaud's recent acquisition of Convio. It's not an analysis, by any means, but I firmly support his call for meaningful, open alternatives. Posted: 1/24/12; 6:23:30 PM #

Marcia Yudkin's No-Harm Marketing Manifesto

I wonder what the nonprofit equivalent of Marcia Yudkin's No-Harm Marketing Manifesto (12 page PDF) would be. Some of the specifics don't apply to fundraising, because donors are definitely not customers. (Although many nonprofits do in fact have customers.) I don't even agree with all the principles here, but I appreciate the ethos. Those principles are: (1) Always aim at the best possible match between what you're selling and who it's helpful for. (2) Use responsible packaging. (3) Have reasonable return/refund policies that accommodate buyer's remorse to some extent. (4) Appeal to the positive values of customers, not fear or nastiness. (5) Sell in consumable amounts. (6) Don't run your business by numbers. (7) Donâ•˙t trick people. (8) Disclose back-room deals. Posted: 1/24/12; 6:23:05 PM #