Guest post by Caroline McAndrews, Director of Research & Documentation, Building Movement Project

Figuring out what data to collect, how to collect it, and how to make sense of it in order to build impact was the theme of the 90-second poster presentations from discussion leaders at the Data 360 session. In her opening, Fay Twersky of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation touched on one of the biggest challenges in the room – not just collecting information, but engaging others in using and analyzing it, and ultimately employing it to make better decisions.

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Guest post by Walter Howell, associate at IS business associate member, Community Wealth Ventures (CWV). This is the sixth in a series of posts originally featured on CWV's blog.

Jim Horan was faced with a dilemma. As executive director of the Connecticut Association of Human Services (CAHS), he had overseen the successful completion of CAHS’ 100th year in operation, and his organization had developed into a leading policy advocate and community leader for Connecticut families in need.

But Jim wanted to do more.

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Guest post by Phil Buchanan, president of The Center for Effective Philanthropy

This is the fifth in a series of six blog posts, which were originally featured on the CEP Blog.

In my last several posts, I have described what I regard as worrisome trends: the way many (inside and outside the nonprofit sector) push for a “blurring of boundaries” between sectors, disparage the term “nonprofit,” and equate “business thinking” with “effectiveness.”

But, many go further still, arguing – or at least strongly implying – not just that nonprofits could benefit from an infusion of “business thinking” but that, in fact, nonprofits are increasingly irrelevant because it is companies that will solve our most vexing social problems. To this growing chorus, the private sector is now where the action is.

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Guest post by Laura Callanan, Consultant, Social Sector Office, McKinsey and Company

In 2010, McKinsey & Company released the findings from our Learning for Social Impact initiative. The importance of a learning culture was highlighted as critical to making social impact assessment successful within an organization.

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