Buzzwords for 2021: Hope for a Better — and More Predictable — Year
From how we care to how we collaborate, the buzzwords we can expect to hear next year reflect a wary world edging toward recovery.
By Lucy Bernholz
Contributor
President Obama’s Lessons for Nonprofit Leaders: Advice From ‘A Promised Land’
The former president’s remarkable memoir is a guide for all of us who need to make difficult decisions during these especially challenging times.
By Mark J. Pelavin
Contributor
The ‘Jewish Future Pledge’ Is Not the Hanukkah Gift Philanthropy Needs
Some 200 wealthy philanthropists so far have signed a new pledge committing to devote at least half their estates’ charitable funds to Jewish causes. But this blatant effort to control the future has potentially dire consequences at a time of enormous economic struggle.
By Lila Corwin Berman
Contributor
To Ride the Growing Civic Wave, Nonprofits Need to Find New Ways to Engage Supporters
The November election and the massive civic engagement that preceded it, demonstrate the importance of deploying every asset that volunteers and donors bring to a cause.
By Natalye Paquin
Contributor
When We Return to Our Foundation Offices, Let’s Make Them Spaces Where We Collaborate With Grantees
Our offices should inspire brainstorming and conversation, filled with music and art that shows we want to work with nonprofits to devise new approaches, not impose them.
By Lisa Pilar Cowan
Contributor
Diversity Mandates From Foundations Make It Harder for Nonprofits to Do Their Jobs Well
Nonprofits are more likely to succeed when they hire people with different points of view, different life experiences, different ways of thinking, and different ideas on how to solve hard problems. When grant makers ask about demographics, they rarely focus on these characteristics.
By Debi Ghate
Contributor
Fundraisers for All Causes Can Work With Donors to Advance Equity
Nonprofits can encourage donors to support work that tackles systemic problems, no matter the organization’s mission. That’s why those who argue that fundraising has to be donor-centric or community-centric have it wrong. It can be both.
By Elizabeth Middleton
Contributor
We Need to Hear More Than Platitudes From Charles Koch
I read the recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on Charles Koch and his new book hoping to hear something new. After all, Koch has been discussing his supposed change of heart as he makes the rounds promoting the book. Unfortunately, he has failed to explain what his new perspective…
Conservative Nonprofits Were Behind Many of the Successes of the Trump Era
Because of the vitriol over White House policies that advanced hate, too little attention has been paid to the influence of nonprofits on changing the nation’s judiciary, climate, education, and other policies. Let’s not forget that this multitude of perspectives on policy is what makes the nonprofit world such a distinctive part of our society.
By Suzanne Garment and LESLIE LENKOWSKY
Philanthropy Must Rethink Its Support of Technology Solutions That Harm Democracy
Rather than funding the latest app or digital platform that promises — but often fails — grant makers should focus on redefining how technology can be used to create a more equitable and just society.
By Janet Haven and danah boyd