Vogel: Smart Philanthropy | Vermont Public Radio

Vogel: Smart Philanthropy | Vermont Public Radio: "A recent report from Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell shows that on average, 70 percent of the money raised by professional fundraisers for Vermont charitable groups goes to the fundraiser, and only thirty percent goes to the nonprofit. So it’s easy to become cynical.

On the other hand, the needs that nonprofits try to address are critical. A recent study by the Vermont Community Foundation found that one in four Vermonters are not earning enough to make ends meet. And one in five Vermont families pays more than 50% of their income for housing."



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6 Major Shifts in Corporate Philanthropy, New Report Finds

6 Major Shifts in Corporate Philanthropy, New Report Finds:



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The Best and Worst Charities (According to Consumer Reports) - NonProfit PRO

The Best and Worst Charities (According to Consumer Reports) - NonProfit PRO: "On Monday, Consumer Reports released its “Best and Worst Charities for Your Donations” list. By no means as comprehensive as the magazine’s robust coverage and hands-on reviews of cars, appliances and electronics, the list is intended as a snapshot for would-be donors, offering a CliffsNotes on this year’s biggest charity scam, an overview of the three big charity watchdogs and tips on how to avoid charity scams. It’s entry-level stuff, but sound information nonetheless—an accessible starting point for first-time donors."



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A Sensible Makeover for the Ford Foundation - The New York Times

A Sensible Makeover for the Ford Foundation - The New York Times:



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Why Zuckerberg’s Critics Are Wrong - The New Yorker

Why Zuckerberg’s Critics Are Wrong - The New Yorker: "The backlash is no surprise. The sheer size of Zuckerberg’s grant, currently valued at forty-five billion dollars, shows just how concentrated wealth has become, and the earnest rhetoric of his mission statement, couched as a public letter to his baby daughter, reinforced a sense of Silicon Valley’s overweening confidence in its ability to fix the world. Hostility toward philanthropy is nothing new; when John D. Rockefeller established his eponymous foundation, he was attacked for reasserting “the old reign of aristocracy under the new names of philanthropy and science.” And Zuckerberg’s move comes at a time of anxiety about the rise of so-called philanthrocapitalism."



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Attendee Experience Mapping - ASAE Technology Conference & Expo

Attendee Experience Mapping - ASAE Technology Conference & Expo: "What is a Customer Journey Map?
Often used by Fortune 500 Companies, customer journey maps allow you to walk in the shoes of your customer by traveling with them as they interact with your company. They provide an accurate outside-in view, focusing on desired outcomes from the customer’s perspective. (Michael Hinshaw, 2012). They help illustrate individual customer’s needs, interactions that are necessary to fulfill those needs, and the resulting emotional states a customer experiences throughout the process. (Joel Flom, 2011)

How can we take this concept and turn it into a model that would helpful for associations & meeting planners to assess their own meetings and plan more successful ones in the future? The M&E Council is using Customer Journey Maps as a guide to create our own model for associations & meeting planners; we are calling it “ExperienceGuru”."



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Turmoil on Senior Staff Gives Funders Pause: Two Cases in the Arts | Nonprofit Quarterly

Turmoil on Senior Staff Gives Funders Pause: Two Cases in the Arts | Nonprofit Quarterly: "The boards of two nonprofit arts groups—one in Irvine, California, the other in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—are facing difficult questions from philanthropic supporters in the wake of recent changes in senior staff leadership. While the underlying stories are somewhat different, in both instances board and staff leaders seem to have fallen out of step with one another, and funders are reacting to leadership transitions that have, at the least, been poorly explained, if not poorly executed."



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The Limitations of Nonprofit Audits: A Cautionary Case | Nonprofit Quarterly

The Limitations of Nonprofit Audits: A Cautionary Case | Nonprofit Quarterly: "NPQ has repeatedly suggested to readers that they need to be cautious about depending on an audit to provide the board with a sense of security about its financial systems. This story is perhaps a more dramatic case in point than most.

NPQ has reported on the tragedy and allegations surrounding the federal GEAR UP grant award to the state of South Dakota that first came to national attention with the murder-suicide of a family of six in the small town of Platte, South Dakota in September 2015. Mid-Central Educational Cooperative (MCEC), the agency which administered GEAR UP on behalf of the SD Education Department, commissioned its own forensic audit of its handling of GEAR UP funds. The audit results were made public last week, and MCEC’s board were briefed publicly yesterday."



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