Jun
11
Guest post by Phil Buchanan, president of The Center for Effective Philanthropy
This is the second in a series of six blog posts, which were originally featured on the CEP Blog.
It has become an article of faith that the “boundaries are blurring”
between nonprofits and companies, and that this is inarguably positive.
But what we need, today, is a clarifying – not a blurring – of what
differentiates the sectors.
The proponents of boundary-blurring
are often business school faculty, and they’ve been at it a while.
Harvard Business School (HBS) Professor James Austin predicted,
hopefully, more than a decade ago that, “We’ll see the stark
differences between NPOs and business diminish, revealing a new world of
integrated, rather than independent, sectors.” (Note: I feel compelled
to say that I took a course with Professor Austin while a second-year
student at HBS and he was among the best professors I had during my time
there, but I disagree with him on this issue.)
Read more...
Jun
8
Guest post by Anne Sherman, vice president for Nonprofit Strategy, at Growth Philanthropy Network
Like
many in the social sector, I believe strongly that leadership and
talent development are important factor in the effectiveness of
nonprofit organizations. Having worked for over 12 years with nonprofits
and foundations on strategic planning, I have witnessed first-hand the
myriad ways in which leaders—working at all levels of an
organization—can make or break a nonprofit's ability to advance on
achieving its mission. Weak leadership capacity can be a death knell for
a program or an entire organization. Strong leadership capacity, on the
other hand, can really distinguish an organization in terms of
programmatic quality and impact, success in raising money, and readiness
for growth.
Read more...
May
11
Guest post by Irv Katz, president and CEO of the National Human Services Assembly
I assume many Independent Sector members and readers of this blog have seen the Washington Post op-ed
by Bridgespan’s Daniel Stid. Harking back to Eisenhower’s warning of a
Military Industrial Complex, Stid suggests that human services in the
U.S. now comprise a Social Services Industrial Complex, which is, by
extension, comparable to the Military Industrial Complex. The metaphor
is clever but the case is sketchy at best.
Read more...
May
10
Guest post by Jitinder Kohli, Douglas J. Besharov, and Kristina Costa
Social
Impact Bonds are the #1 philanthropy buzzword of 2011 according to the
Chronicle of Philanthropy. So what’s all the fuss about? And how can the
concept help the nonprofit sector?
In essence, Social Impact Bonds
are an arrangement between government and an outside organization in
which the government defines one or more outcomes and promises to pay a
sum of money if they are achieved. The government commits to cooperate
with the outside organization’s efforts to achieve the outcome, and also
promises to leave it free to devise and implement its strategy.
Read more...
Apr
2
What do Isadora Duncan, Steve Jobs, Maya Angelou and Ansel Adams have in common?
They were all hall of fame level game-changers and each one called the San Francisco Bay Area home.
This year we've embraced GameChangers as the theme for the 2012 IS Annual Conference and are thrilled to call the Hilton San Francisco Union Square our home for Veterans Day weekend, November 11 & 12.
Read more...
