Weekly News Alert: Disaster Relief, Effective Philanthropy and Delegation

Top Trends:
 
On Disaster Relief…

• The tragic earthquake in Haiti has sparked debate about the best way to provide relief.  Philantopic publishes a blog post suggesting that the U.S. should create some sort of a joint appeal that would “manage a coordinated fundraising campaign for a specific emergency.”  Donations would be collected by a central committee and then would be distributed to organizations which could make the best use of them at the time.
• Rosetta Thurman offers ways that the philanthropic community can help in Haiti.  She includes things that we should do (mobile giving) and that we should not do (collect canned goods).

On Effective Philanthropy and the Future…

• Business Week publishes an article about trends in philanthropy including donors’ wish that organizations be held more accountable.  Because of the recession people have less money to give but charities need more money to provide more services to more people.  People who can afford to donate want to make sure their money is actually making a difference.  The result is programs like Tactical Philanthropy which acts as a philanthropic financial advisor to donors in order to determine where their money will make the biggest difference.
• Accountability has become key for nonprofits hoping to attract big donors; impact, measurable outcomes and the question “to what end?” are constantly being assessed.  The problem with this new type of thinking, Mario Morino of Venture Philanthropy Partners says, is that by looking at tangible evidence-based impact we focus on measurement rather than the greater benefits organizations produce.  He sees problems resulting from this type of thinking as very similar to the problems that resulted from No Child Left Behind: there are only so many aspects of an organization that can be measured and by focusing primarily on those (in the case of No Child Left Behind this was test scores), we ignore many of the larger goals and potential benefits organizations also need to focus on.  Morino suggests ways that we can alter this thinking to become more mission-driven rather than measurement-driven.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy invites anyone who is interested to join a live discussion with Eric Kessler of Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors to discuss current trends (baby boomers retiring, technological advances, etc.) and how these will affect philanthropy over the next 10 years.  The discussion will take place on January 19, 2010.
   

On the Social Innovation Fund…

• Sean Stannard-Stockton submits his thoughts about the draft NOFA for the Social Innovation Fund to the Corporation for National and Community Service.  His submission is based on his own research and his readers’ comments.  He believes that the draft NOFA “seriously overestimates the availability of conclusive evidence” as it states that the model subgrantee should be an organization that has substantial evidence of program effectiveness.  Instead, he says, the model subgrantee should be an organization that consistently collects information about its programs’ effectiveness and adjusts its programs so as to improve the outcomes based on the new information.

On Leadership and Delegation…

• The best leaders delegate but delegating can be easier said than done.  Many leaders have type A personalities and have a hard time letting others do work that they believe they could do themselves.  The problem with not delegating is that it affects both the organization’s performance and the leaders' personal health.  If leaders insist that those they work with only do the “unimportant” work then not as much will get done, new ideas will be stifled and they will physically and mentally struggle.

On Fundraising…

• Blackbaud publishes a slide show showing 2009 fundraising trends for non-profits.  The study looks at average gifts, quarterly fundraising, median giving and general growth.

 
Top Articles:
 
Coordinating Relief Aid: Is it Time?
Author: Toni Pipa
Date: January 15, 2010
Source: Philantopic
URL: http://pndblog.typepad.com/pndblog/2010/01/coordinating-relief-aid-is-it-time.html?
 
 Four Lies People Should Tell Themselves About Philanthropy (Or Why You Shouldn’t Send Canned Goods to Haiti)
Author: Rosetta Thurman
Date: January 15, 2010
Source: Rosetta Thurman blog
URL: http://rosettathurman.com/blog/2010/01/four-lies-people-tell-themselves-about-philanthropy-or-why-you-shouldnt-send-canned-goods-to-haiti/
 
Rethinking Ways to Give Wisely
Author: Amy Feldman
Date: January 13, 2009
Source: Business Week
URL: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jan2010/pi20100113_727147.htm
 
‘Social Outcomes’: Missing the Forest for the Trees
Author: Mario Mornio
Date: January 2010
Source: VPP News
URL: http://www.vppartners.org/learning/enews/archive/2010/jan10.html#cc1
 
Philanthropy 2020: Online Discussion Next Week
Date: January 15, 2009
Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy
URL: http://philanthropy.com/news/philanthropytoday/10616/philanthropy-2020-online-discussion-next-week
 
My Comments on the Social Innovation Fund
Author: Sean Stannard-Stockton
Date: January 15, 2010
Source: Tactical Philanthropy blog
URL: http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2010/01/my-comments-on-the-social-innovation-fund?
 
Leadership Through Delegation – A Matter of Performance and Health
Author: Karla Kurtz
Date: January 15, 2010
Source: Get Fully Funded Blog
URL: http://getfullyfundedblog.com/leadership-through-delegation-%e2%80%93-a-matter-of-performance-health
 
2009 Online Fundraising Trends
Date: January 14, 2009
Source: The Agitator
URL: http://www.theagitator.net/hot-research/2009-online-fundraising-trends/