What’s Your Impact? A Deceptively Simple Question
The Hewlett Foundation’s “Charting Impact” project is a collaborative effort between three leading organizations to help nonprofits reflect on their own work. This year, Independent Sector, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and GuideStar have joined forces to pose five “deceptively simple” questions that encourage nonprofit leaders to analyze everything from their goals and organizational capacity to their strategies and measures of progress. Giving honest and clear answers is hard; but, as anyone in our line of work would say, it’s essential.
The Poo IQ Advocacy Challenge
For this year’s annual GHC international conference here in Washington, the Health/WaSH Coalition is asking participants to think about (wait for it…) poo. The “What’s your poo IQ?” Advocacy Challenge is a scavenger hunt designed to inform players about clean water, sanitation and hygiene in the developing world. We really can’t think of a more creative way to combine the exploration of such a pressing issue with good, old-fashioned fun. Bravo!
Proactive Philanthropy
On the eve of their 100th birthday, The Economist asks: which organization has “done more for society,” IBM or the Carnegie Corporation? They point to Carnegie’s decline in the last 50 years and suggest a couple of reasons for it (complacency, age, diminishing energy, etc.). We know from our work with foundations and nonprofits that to create social change, it takes smart planning, effective evaluation, and a willingness to change course. In short: it takes constant self-reflection to evolve.
