Year founded: 1912 Founder: Juliette Gordon Low, a volunteer who aided wounded soldiers Headquarters: New York Why it was founded: To encourage girls to experience the outdoors and to help them develop traits such as self-reliance and resourcefulness What it does today: Promotes science, math, and…
Year founded: 1910 Founder: William D. Boyce, a Chicago publisher Headquarters: Irving, Tex. Why it was founded: To teach boys values such as patriotism, courage, and self-reliance What it does today: Prepares boys to make ethical and moral choices
Aaron Hurst, who founded the Taproot Foundation to link skilled professionals with charities that need them as volunteers, describes what happens when charity upstarts become part of the establishment.
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
How Charities Should Pursue Innovation
Seth Godin, the author and marketing expert, says charities need to be less businesslike in their approach to change.
By Derek Lieu
Contributor
A Nonprofit Organization Builds Bridges to Committed Donors Around the World
Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture-capital organization, finances efforts in developing countries. Now it is turning to overseas donors to support more of its work.
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
A Cleveland Charity’s Fighting Spirit Helps Stem a Tide of Foreclosures
A grass-roots Ohio charity helps homeowners avoid foreclosure and improve their neighborhoods thanks to tough tactics and a remarkable 72-year-old leader.
By Michael Anft
Contributor
A New Orleans ‘Land Trust’ Opens Doors for Low-Income Homebuyers
A nonprofit approach to helping New Orleans homebuyers acquire low-cost housing is gaining attention across the nation.
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
A Preservationist Lies Down to Stand Up for Saving Slaves’ Homes
Joseph McGill, a program officer at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is sleeping in former slave cabins to call attention to the poor condition of these overlooked structures.
By Eric Frazier
Contributor
A Soccer Field Is Designed to Multitask and Pump Clean Water to Poor Regions
Kids from several Los Angeles Boys and Girls Clubs play soccer on a model of a structure intended to help people in developing countries gather and process clean drinking water.
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
A Creative Nonprofit Manager Seeks to Influence the Business World
Nancy Lublin, chief executive of the charity Do Something, has become a prominent and outspoken leader, speaking about what charities and business do right -- and wrong.
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Live Webcast of Microfinance USA
Watch a live webcast of Microfinance USA 2010, a conference that brings together investors, government officials, social entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and charity leaders to discuss the future of microfinance.
By Reaching Out to Amateur Players, a Symphony Gets in Tune With Its Audience
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra reached out to amateurs to spread the word about the value of music, but the effort also helped the organization’s professional musicians get more in touch with their own passions for the arts.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Interactive Map Helps Charity Show New Yorkers the Impact of Burning ‘Dirty’ Heating Oil
An environmental charity used computer mapping tools to persuade people in New York City to fight pollution in their neighborhoods.
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
A Washington Charity Finds Opportunity in the Real-Estate Bubble’s Collapse
A nonprofit group in Washington has saved big money by buying real estate in the down market.
By HEATHER JOSLYN
Contributor
Relief Group Uses Power of Song to Convey Health Messages in Haiti
Charities are creating songs with public-health messages to reach victims of Haiti’s earthquake.
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charities Move Into Role Traditionally Held by Drug Companies
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and other health charities are starting to finance early research for new treatments -- the type of work many drug companies don’t want to do when a disease affects a small number of people.
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor