Today Sally Beatty wrote a Wall Street Journal article on: effectiveness. Yes, on the ability of donors to track the effectiveness of the charities they give to. Annie E. Casey, Edna McConnell Clark and Latin American Youth Center were all included as was Youth Villages.  We don’t need to editorialize it—just go read it. Accountability, measurability and effectiveness are beginning to enter the national dialogue. SS of the NYT also wrote today — on GiveWell. And, philanthrophy.com reports that the exec director of Charity Navigator is leaving. We link to Trent’s site so you can hear it straight from him.

WEF is coming in January. And, direct from the horse’s mouth: “a closer examination of the international environment also reveals that leadership vacuums are beginning to emerge on a wide range of critical issues looming on the horizon. Moreover, a paradox has emerged in our networked world where knowledge is ubiquitous and change is rapid, but the absence of a common vision and agenda ensures that the status quo will be maintained with respect to major global challenges.” LINK There are five “pillars,” Business, Economics and Finance, Geopolitics, Science and Technology, Values and Society.

Leadership vacuums, ahem. We see a leadership vacuum of our own...as there is increasing debate about the delivery and value of “charity,” and the move to social investing, with all its baggage. We read articles EVERYWHERE that debate the status of foundations, evaluation, program effectiveness and more. From national articles calling for accountability, to regional articles that are basic tutorials on how not to get scammed, charity is in the news. The rise of volunteerism, charity watch groups and cynicism among potential donors is on the rise.

While we can’t host our own WEF, we can start to fight back. According to a recent post of Guy Kawasaki, it is word of mouth referrals that power decision makers, not necessarily “influencers.” Okay, this is related to online communications — and is advertising based.  However, there may be something to it for our space. How does the macro (WEF) trickle into the micro (our daily work). Think the Devil Wears Prada. (Miranda’s lecture on the evolution of the lumpy blue sweater). Or, for our community: how do we bubble UP.

Our community is head-down doing good work. Measuring it. Testing it. Changing its programs as needed. Take a moment to share your successes outside our community – tell a colleague. Tell a friend. Go viral. Why? Because we believe real anecdotes, successes and challenges are what will make a difference.

Good morning.

It's likely you've all heard of Give Well. And, if not, time to pull your head up out of the sand. Here is a primer. Young upstarts challenge the way funding is measured, because when they went to find the CNET of charities, it didn’t exist. And, as such, they’re taking on the traditional foundation model. They are looking for total transparency — and ran into the same problem many individual donors have. Charities have a hard time showing programs work, foundations don’t share the thinking behind their donations and there is no true measure of effectiveness. Thursday’s blog post on True Expert of Old Boys Club is worth reading. It is brash, insightful and challenging. 

On the same day, we pointed to the EMCF annual report on our blog.  While many foundations are struggling to verify expertise and rationale, EMCF is there. So, we’re giving them a shout out. Again. In the meantime, bookmark Give Well’s blog. If you’re NOT reading it, you’re missing some dynamic stuff.

Givewell, charities, donation, transparency, effectiveness, Old Boys Club, philanthropy, foundation,

We’d like to point to the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation’s annual report.  This is, to quote the Foundation, the first public report on the performance of the Foundation and its grantees, as well as future projections. Youth Villages, Nurse-Family Partnership, and others are each profiled within the report. Why is this significant? Because of the furor around reporting. Because it demonstrates that it is both possible — and reasonable—to report on progress. And, to think toward the future.

Philanthropy.com points to a new study that finds the largest gifts are going to colleges, hospitals and museums. The report was fielded by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. And, the very biggest gifts, those worth $10 million or more — saw nearly eight of every $10 going to medical organizations or arts and culture institutions. Ouch.

Here Alliance Magazine has an article with the Hewlett Foundation on funding evaluation and outcomes. Which, brings us full circle to EMCF.

Have a good one.

Tags: Edna McConnell Clark, annual report, philanthropy, evaluation, outcomes, reporting

If you’re breathing you have certainly seen the WSJ section on philanthropy that ran yesterday. (We’d link, but the Journal content requires passwords.) Sally Beatty pays ample attention to the shortcomings of current measurement in the charitable space. She says, “Approaches that aren’t effective should stop soaking up dollars better spent elsewhere.” Of course. However, she goes on to say that there is “no system for measuring and reporting charity results.” Ahem. Try telling that to the very people who are measuring and reporting on efforts every day (i.e. ROCA, LAYC, Nurse-Family Partnership) and the funders who are requiring effective measurement (i.e. Annie E. Casey Foundation, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.)
 
Getting to the Point talks about the issue from a marketing perspective – and we’re glad to see that addressed. Philanthropy Today points to the article, and comments seem to circle on the ineffectiveness of measuring admin costs. Again, people are listening.
 
Stanford Social Innovation Review has been talking about self-critical behavior and its benefits, effective measurement, and so on. Our community knows the tide is shifting. Thus, it is critical to see this issue making its way into the popular press. But, contrary to the Journal’s assertion, it IS possible to figure out one group’s approach to solving a problem is better than another’s. There is a standard set of measurement criteria.
 
There is apathy, misinformation and a lack of transparency out there. And, there is also a powerful, dedicated group of individuals who are working every day to make their organizations stronger and more effective. We encourage each and every one of you to raise your voices and be heard.

Tags: Wall Street Journal, Philanthropy, ROCA, LAYC, Edna McConnell Clark, Annie E. Casey, Efforts, Outcomes Measurement, Funders

From Peace at Home — to Verizon — to Lifetime Television — DV has powerful advocates. But, all the money and all the effort didn’t help first responders. Historically, officers were, “using little more than intuition and a dash of hope,” according to the Baltimore Sun. They’d make a recommendation to seek care, and do their jobs, which is to address the crime. But, the victim got little to no guidance or support, in a moment of crisis. Officers are trained to address crime, not counsel.

Law enforcement agencies in 58 jurisdictions statewide have adopted "lethality assessments" over the past two years, during which time almost a third of the 900 victims who spoke to a counselor on the scene later showed up at a domestic-violence agency seeking a protective order, shelter, counseling, a support group or other service.

Tags: Baltimore Run, Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, Social Solutions, First Responders

You often hear about people moving from the corporate landscape to the nonprofit world in search of a fulfilling career, but having to take a considerable pay cut in the process. But what if you didn’t have to? According to the Hartford Business Journal, depending on the organization, you might just be able to keep your current salary. Furthermore, the article goes on to say that salaries for senior executives can range from $197,000 or less to more than $2 million. That’s a pretty penny! Not to mention that according to a study by the Bridgespan Group, finding one of these jobs won’t be all that hard considering that by 2016, more than 80,000 new senior managers will need to be hired at nonprofit organizations.

In today’s post we’d like to give heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Emmett D. Carson, CEO and President of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Dr. Carson was honored today by The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the Center’s 20^th anniversary celebration.

Retirement is on the rise. Of course this news isn’t surprising, given the recent headlines regarding Social Security benefits and baby boomers. For nonprofits, this flood of staff turnover can be both positive and negative. On one hand, if proper executive succession planning hasn’t been established, the turnover can cause headaches for your organization; on the other hand, as CEOs, COOs and CIOs of large and successful corporations find themselves with a wealth of free time, the perfect opportunity to showcase their years of expertise on the job by volunteering to sit on the board of your organization presents itself. Are you a recently retiree? Then take a look at this article from the Gloucester Daily Times, which gives a few resources you can use to find a local nonprofit that’s right for you. Another option is to ship a list of your qualifications off to nonprofit headhunter, Cynthia Remec, who can perform some serious board matchmaking. After all, it’s never too late to help make a difference and effect social change.

Tags: Human Services, Social Worker, Social Change