Interview: Why Nonprofits Need ‘New Power’ When Good Battles Evil
Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms argue in a new book that charities must embrace technology — and unorthodox thinking — to mobilize people for their causes.
By Drew Lindsay
Contributor
How Chatbots Are Helping Nonprofits Do More for Less
Computer programs that simulate written human conversation can answer donor questions, gather data, share stories, encourage advocacy, and even raise money.
By ALLISON FINE
Contributor
Daily News Roundup: Melinda Gates Talks About Diversity in Tech
She also discusses problems money can’t fix and more. In other news, aid groups are scrambling to solve the problem of sexual misconduct after the Oxfam scandal; an opaque religious charity run by top U.S. housing officials raises questions; three employees of the disaster-aid charity Shelterbox have left after allegations of sexual misconduct by aid workers; and more articles about giving and about nonprofits and policy.
Daily News Roundup: Donor Chops $75 Million From Big Calif. Medical Gift
Plus: Big names in tech are boosting Goldman Sachs’s fast-growing donor-advised fund, the maker of OxyContin wades controversially into anti-addiction giving; a Democratic House leader looks into the Trump Organization’s donation of profits to the Treasury; and news and views on Latino philanthropy, a growing advice club for the very rich, and the latest XPrize Foundation contest. (Hint: humanoids!)
Daily News Roundup: Metropolitan Opera Fires James Levine
An investigation found evidence of sexual abuse and harassment by the music director emeritus. In other articles, the vast majority of managers of foundations and endowments say they have no plans to invest in cryptocurrencies, but many are intrigued; Brown University has decided not to display a house linked to Rosa Parks after a dispute about whether she lived there; an African nonprofit has made strides in reducing childhood deaths; and much more about the new tax law and the arts and giving.
Daily News Roundup: Bono Says Charity He Co-Founded Failed to Protect Workers From Abuse
He says he is “furious” after accusations resurfaced about an atmosphere of bullying and abuse at the Johannesburg operation of ONE. In other news, a protest at the Metropolitan Museum of Art takes aim at donors connected to OxyContin; a California veterans program was struck by violence; nonprofit officials are accused of harassing union organizers; David Rockefeller’s estate sale may hit $1 billion; and other articles about the arts and Trump-inspired “rage philanthropy” and more.
How an Education Nonprofit Grew as Fast as Facebook
CommonLit, a group that offers free reading materials online, learned the techniques of Silicon Valley and has been expanding fast ever since.
By MARC GUNTHER
Contributor
Evaluation Can Help Us Learn What Works, if We Fix It
The explosion of data and measurement won’t be meaningful unless foundations and nonprofits stop thinking about them as reporting requirements and embrace them as an exchange of ideas about what works.
By Gabriel Kasper and TONY SIESFELD
Group Helps Other Charities Speed Up Their Success, Silicon Valley Style
Fast Forward has won the support of Google.org and others for its innovative methods of nurturing nonprofit tech startups.
By Marc Gunther
Contributor
Daily News Roundup: Child-Sex-Abuse Claims Reported to British Charity Watchdog
In other news, international nonprofits worry about proposals to tighten Washington lobbying rules for foreign entities, a U.K. charity draws fire for cooperating with immigration patrols to round up homeless migrants, Salesforce and the United Way team up in a bid to transform workplace giving, and more.
Daily News Roundup: Mo. Governor Used Charity Email for Political Messages
In other news, a New Hampshire university dedicates $20 million to scholarships for Dreamers; Bryn Mawr gets a $25 million gift; and thousands of nonprofits could lose Google Ad grants. Plus, the Metropolitan Museum of Art introduces mandatory admission, big foundations fight Trump cuts for the arts, charity-fundraising site CrowdRise rises again, a nonprofit leader proposes a Star Trek-inspired management model, and more.
Daily News Roundup: Trump’s Family-Planning Program Favors Clinics That Push Abstinence
In other news, International Committee of the Red Cross says 21 people have resigned or been fired since 2015 over sexual misconduct; 50 years after a landmark report, barriers to equality remain; the Moody Foundation is stepping up grants to small arts groups in Dallas; Disney gives $1 million from Black Panther to Boys & Girls Clubs; gifts from the Koch Foundation stir debate at the Harvard Kennedy School; and more news and opinion.
Podcast: Former Obama Official Discusses How to Create a Culture of Innovation
Sonal Shah, former President Obama’s director of social innovation and civic participation, now leads a center at Georgetown University that teaches methods of social change, with a heavy emphasis on data and technology.
This Grant Maker Pledged $17.5 Million to Address Diversity and Inclusion in Its Own Ranks
A disclosure about its staff diversity — required in Britain — made for some “uncomfortable reading,” according to the group’s director.
By Megan O’Neil
Contributor
‘It Just Felt Like a Miracle’: Small Groups Win Big in Bitcoin Donor’s $56 Million Giving Spree
‘The Pineapple Fund wants to give you $1 million,’ read one unsolicited email. It sounded like a scam, but the offer, like many others from the donor, was real.
By Drew Lindsay
Contributor
Daily News Roundup: High-School Shooting Survivors Receive Millions in Donations
Also, George Clooney, Oprah, Steven Spielberg, and Jeffrey Katzenberg have given to the student survivors’ March for Our Lives cause. In other news, a lesbian couple prohibited by charity from being foster parents have sued; Ford Foundation and Color of Change lead a list of most innovative nonprofits; for colleges, it’s now survival of the fittest; the #MeToo movement has shattered illusions about the nonprofit world; and much more about harassment and giving and other news.