Week Ten

Week ten’s reading was all about funders and Philanthropy, which etymologically means "the love of humanity" (just a fun fact). The Foundations chapter from Nonprofit Nation was one of the more interesting chapters in the book. I like that it provided some controversy and wasn’t just throwing numbers at you. What really surprised me though was the statistic that foundations contribute to only 3% of nonprofit revenue. With the amount of “Grantmakers” I found during my second scavenger hunt I expected that number to be exponentially higher.

The article about artist-endowed foundations was my favorite reading of this week as I always enjoy stories about groups standing up for what is right and actually making a difference. That sounds cheesy but so be it. What confused me about the article was what it said about how unusual it is for foundations to take a side in a controversy. Perhaps I am just uneducated in the matter but I’ve always felt that having an organization of like minded individuals devoted to a cause, no matter what it was, would lead to members convincing each other to take a stand when something negatively effecting their cause, ideal, or passion arose.

I did some further reading on the evolution of philanthropy in America and I found a short story (okay, this is from Wikipedia) about the emergence of philanthropy and the continental army. Apparently Commanding General, George Washington served as a volunteer for three years explicitly for the public good. He even often signed his letters, “philanthropically yours”. I feel like this lends a bit of credit to my previous assertion that philanthropists will take a side and stand strongly against opposition. You become involved in philanthropy in the first place because something moves you enough to become involved in its growth.  

I found The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Budget Plan Brings Big Changes to Tax Incentives for Donors” to be a bit dry in comparison to the other readings. I am glad it was part of the required reading this week though as I don’t understand our current taxation system as well as I would like to and I believe it’s important to remain educated about the things that effect me directly as a citizen.  I did like most of Obama’s tax proposals as the tax cuts given to America’s wealthy have never made any sense to me. I’m assuming the question we are suppose to be asking ourselves concerning this reading is how these cuts would effect charitable giving and I think the answer is by quite a bit. We have a gigantic federal deficit right now but scaling back tax deductions for charitable gifts is not the answer we’ve been looking for.

I found the idea of a “new normal”, referenced in the “Donors and Nonprofits Face a Defining Moment in Responding to a Crisis” Article, to be quite fascinating. It’s not often in the American school system that you talk about the slowing down of the economy in the United States being good for the world as a whole. At the same time if our economic growth slows and developing countries speed up is it in our best interest for philanthropists to be spending so much money overseas? As I mentioned in my previous post I think we still have a lot of problems to focus on here in the States.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127411127


Above is a link to a pretty interesting interview with Mohamed El-Erian, the economist who coined the phrase "a new normal". Check it out if you have the time/ an interest. 

The final article was titled “How to Do Good and Prove It: Integrate Social Impact in Your Nonprofit's DNA”. I thought Kevin Starr made a lot of sense. There are hundreds of non-profits out there with the same statement of intent and having clear solid measurements of how successful and impactful they are seems logical and necessary. 

Week Nine

I’ve always had an interest in international nonprofits, mostly because I have an intense desire to travel and doing hands on important work while experiencing another culture seems like a perfect situation. At the same time the saying “think globally act locally” has always made a lot of sense to me and I while international nonprofits seems wonderful for selfish reasons I think we have a lot to work on domestically before we can be putting too much effort and money into isolated issues around the world, many which we lack the cultural know-how to deal with properly.

The interview with William Easterly was fascinating, especially because many of his opinions echoed my own thoughts yet his point of view is based on in depth personal experiences with global aid. I’ve worried before that we weren’t always focusing on the most vital issues of a community but I had no idea that the money leaks were so bad.

I really enjoyed the Aid vs Trade TED talk and let me just say that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala may possibly be my new hero. She is an amazing and powerful woman. I went on to read her biography after her speech and continued to be impressed. I suggest you check it out yourself.

http://www.ted.com/speakers/ngozi_okonjo_iweala.html

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala brought up some great points and I truly believe that in the end nations that are receiving U.S. aid are not going to reach their goals until they are in the forefront of what is happening and respected as people with important input and knowledge about their communities and nation. I think that often aid recipients are dehumanized. Perhaps not in a way as negative as that word suggests but we definitely like to think that we are helping “less developed” perhaps less intelligent and able people.

I thought the eight millennium goals were important but it seemed to me that the final one, A global partnership for development, could have been written to be more inclusive of the developing countries wants. Globalization is a two edged sword and not every country may want to trade as freely as the UN is suggesting. 

I perused Mercy Corps webpage for a while and kept going back and forwards about whether I like the way they are handling their global work or not. They seem to use the word ‘expert’ freely and possibly become over involved in international political events. I think that we can improve individual’s lives around the globe through empowering them rather than just telling them what is right or wrong. With my information at this time I’m unsure whether Mercy Corps is more involved in the first ideology or the latter. I did however really appreciate how they worked to make sure the Sudanese people in Southern Sudan were well informed about their own voting process. This put the power in their hands and led to an important national event

Week Eight

This week’s topic was advocacy and the arts. I believe that art programs in general are highly underrated and while not all the assigned reading was focused on nonprofits devoted to the arts I found them all to be quite informative and enjoyable.

The article titled The Power of Nonprofits painted a colorful and exciting picture of the birth and growth of nonprofits in America. The small section on Martin Luther J. King especially interested me as while we all know his basic history I had never thought to associate so many nonprofits with the life changing work he did.

Arts Groups Pumped $166.2 Billion Into U.S. in 2005, Study Says presented some statistics that actually really surprised me. Apparently nonprofit art groups contributed 5.7 million jobs in 2005 alone. I’m curious what that number is today with the increased budget cuts within public programs. Communities seem to be doing a really good job of picking up the slack, which is wonderful. I hate to think of art becoming an activity one participates in only if they can afford to.

In The Poetry Gives Teens A Voice article it was really the last sentence that got me, “It was really a movement”. These are the kind of stories about true empowerment that I really love. Clearly the activities that these kids are participating in through this program are changing their lives. This article only highlights how ridiculous it is that art and music education continue to be swept under the rug in public schools around the country.

Two of the articles from this weeks reading focus on proposed legislation that would take away the tax exempt status of nonprofits that were found to be engaged in “unethical fundraising practices” where not enough of their total funds were focused toward actual program services. Honestly there is a part of me that feels like there are better things that Oregon’s attorney general could be doing with his time as there are already websites, many which we utilized during our scavenger hunt, that contain this sort of information for interested donors. At the same time there are thousands of nonprofits out there that are doing incredibly important work and I hate to think about their credibility being questioned by the general public because of the poor choices of a few bad apples.  As long as the power to essentially shut down certain nonprofits is based completely on legitimate misuse of charitable funds I believe this to be a good thing. However there is a part of me that remains concerned about where this legislation could take Oregon in the future. I assume that all of you know what is going on right now with House of Representatives voting to strip Planned Parenthood of all it’s federal funding, a blow towards pro-choice ideology which will eliminate birth control, cancer screenings, and STD testing and treatment from the lives of those who will no longer be able to afford it. Here is a great clip of some floor highlights if you haven’t been keeping up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed58TatSEW4

Okay, so you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this. Basically I just hope that we as citizens remain aware and that nonprofits aren’t targeted based on their ideology or what type of work they are doing.

Week Seven

This week’s readings really dove into the world of for-profit education. I found this to be especially interesting as I, like many, had the previous tendency to only categorize education into public and private. I had not given for-profit education much thought and I had certainly not realized the far reaching negative effects of turning education into a business. 

I found the chapter Education and Research from Nonprofit Nation to have some interesting statistics but I was especially drawn to the section on quality. Studies show that private schools tend to have a more positive educational effect yet receive (in general) less money and lower paid teachers. Makes you wonder what exactly is going on here. I noticed that these statistics are from 1993 and I’m curious if the same trends apply now that private education costs have gone through the roof. Is the “more positive educational effect” of a private university carrying graduates into jobs where they can actually pay back their debts?

The short article from education.com provided a useful overview that simplified the for-profit school debate. While it didn’t seem to bring many new ideas to the table I was however interested by the fact that only a very small number of private schools are for-profit. One of the other articles mentioned that enrollment in for-profit colleges had increased by 236 percent from 2008 – 2009 and I had a mental image of massive amounts of unsuspecting students being wronged. While I still find a serious problem here further research shows that many for-profit schools have actually had recent declines in enrollment.

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/business/3258261-420/company-enrollment-phoenix-percent-rules.html

The above link is one example a for-profit school having decreasing enrollment. Hopefully it’s a trend and not just an exception.

The article titled Fed Up at the University of Phoenix was absolutely infuriating. Besides providing non quality education to people trying to better themselves they are also the top recipient of federal financial aid dollars. That means that University of Phoenix students are not only wasting their own money they are wasting all of our money. On top of this, federal loans to University of Phoenix students are guaranteed. That’s just ridiculous. I strongly believe that these loans should be more regulated. If the process of applying to these loans required including examples of what you want to do with your degree it would force potential students to look further into the worth of the degree they were actually attempting to receive.

The Subprime Opportunity article was once again infuriating. The foreclosed futures section of this reading was especially upsetting. As student loan debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy, the attendance of a seemingly accredited online college can be a mistake that will literally haunt you for a lifetime. Keep in mind this is whether or not you graduate.

The article from ConsumerAffairs.com was once again upsetting (SURPRISE). I did however really agree with the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulation that would cut off federal financing to programs that have high debt-to-income ratios and low repayment rates. This action would help students out in the long run, keeping them from wasting money, and perhaps push certain for-profit schools to improve the quality of their education. 

Week Six

Week Six

Let me just start by saying that Paul Hawken’s Commencement Address was absolutely brilliant. I reread his address as I began to write my post and I realized that there were so many great quotes within his speech that I basically just wanted to copy and paste the entirety of it here. Alas that probably would not lead to a 4 on my post this week...

My favorite part of Hawken’s address was actually the paragraph where he briefly discussed having a different kind of economy where the Earth wasn’t exploited for a profit today that will cost us in life, happiness and health in the future. “You can print money to bail out a bank but you can’t print life to bail out a planet. At present we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it gross domestic product”. It’s in every person on the planet’s best interest to keep the planet healthy but it’s become so easy not to. Convenience and profit take center stage and everyone finds a way to point the finger.

The article “Social Finance Goes Green” seemed a bit convoluted to me but I do know that I like the idea of private investments and individual gain being able to maintain the common good. As I stated previously I think one of the greatest issues facing the world today is that profits are the bottom line and no one is willing to decrease their earnings (not even for a quarter) especially when their competitors are keeping the status quo. I believe that we as a society need to shift our paradigm in general and that success and wealth shouldn’t be measured simply by money and material assets but if saving the Earth could be viewed profitable it might just be what we need to make some serious changes before it’s too late.

The Mother Jones article “A Guide to Environmental Non-Profits” proved to be quite informative. While the summary’s of organizations that do good for the earth will probably prove to be a good resource later on I must admit that I was most intrigued by the bit on anti-environmental groups with deceptive names. I actually ended up going to a few of the anti-environmental group’s websites and was especially interested in a section on The Institute of Cetacean Research page labeled “Illegal harassment and terrorism against ICR research”. It goes on for pages with pictures and videos of damage done to ships etc. I thought that this was kind of an odd thing to make so public. I don’t know if proving that they’re strongly lacking in public support is really doing them any good.

http://www.icrwhale.org/eng-index.htm

If you feel like checking the website out be careful about downloading the videos, they’re in a strange format.

The McKenzie Watershed Council Annual Report was a real “feel good” read. It was awesome to see how successful this organization has been and how much community involvement they have fostered. I was very impressed with how many different partners they have and the wide variety of their partner’s focuses. Having the understanding and support of a community is really want allows a nonprofit’s work to be a success story.

I’d also like to pass along that The Coalition Against Environmental Racism (CAER) has an upcoming event, Community Circles: What Environmental Justice Means to You. The purpose of this event is to create a safe place in which the campus and Eugene community can come together to explore in depth environmental justice, from meaning to examples to action. This event will be on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM in the Multicultural Center (EMU, Suite 33). 

Not sure if any of you will be interested and available but I figured I’d put it out there anyways. Hope to see you there! 

Week Five

Chapter five of Nonprofit Nation focused in on a sector that’s near and dear to my heart (no pun intended) – Health Care.

I really enjoyed the debate over whether nonprofit healthcare still deserve their tax exempt status or if they are just “for-profit’s in disguise”. The chapter goes on to tell us that nonprofit health care agencies receive most of their revenue from payments for service and only 0.3% from gifts, grants, and private sources. This lead me to seriously consider what motivates hospitals and the like to provide services to people without insurance who cannot afford to pay. If people without insurance could be quietly turned away nonprofit hospitals could keep their tax exempt status and rake in the money. I’d like to think that this is in no way common practice but there are people out there who don’t have anywhere else to turn and not a lot being done to insure that they are all given the proper care. I realize that nonprofit does not equal low cost but every person should have a right to be healthy, or at least the right to seek good health.

It it saddens me that decisions made by health care agencies today seem to be focused on economics and good business practices rather than ethics and the value of a human life. I found this article that you might find interesting which talks about the marginalization of the uninsured and the current trend towards creating outpatient centers in wealthy neighborhoods.

http://mediaworks.journalism.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=hm

It’s a bit of a long read but if you have the time it presents an interesting side of the healthcare saga.

The article from the Alliance of Advancing Nonprofit Health Care was great but clearly more than a little biased. Their list of community benefits was vast and looked wonderful on paper but I don’t know how much I trust that all these things are actually happening, and if they are to what degree. For example, at one point the article states that nonprofit health care will “charge no fee or a discounted fee to uninsured, low-income, or medically indigent patients for needed health care services”. In my personal experience this discount is miniscule and you are more likely to simply rack up hospital debt than to actually pay less.

The article titled Mergers of for-profit, non-profit hospitals: Who does it help? Posed some interesting questions. I know it may sounds like I’m harping on nonprofit health care but I still do believe that the nonprofit sector can do a better job than the for-profit one. I just worry that the two sectors are becoming one and the same. Is truly affordable health care available anywhere?

The CBS News article on adult ADD was probably my favorite article this week. I have to say that I agree with many of the statements made by Caplin. Especially when he says that while he has no doubt that some adults have problems with attention there are not 8 million of them, because if you went to Germany, or Japan, or Britain, you don't find them. I’m sure that some people involved in production and marketing of an ADD “cure” have good intentions but prescription drugs are a multi-billion dollar industry and we’ve created a pill pushing culture where 46% of Americans take at least one prescription pill daily (according to a survey published in The San Diego Union-Tribune). People want answers to the problems in their lives and I feel like drug companies have a tendency to exploit these insecurities.

I’ve never been a huge football fan but I really enjoyed the article on the Green Bay Packers. I like seeing nonprofit ideals prospering in a creative previously unexplored setting. Additionally, I don’t believe that this is the only arena where the mindset of “maybe we don’t need owners at all” can and should be applied. It’s no secret that corporate America is pulling more and more of the strings that affect our daily lives. Maybe it’s time to cut a few?

Week Four

Week four’s reading covers a multitude of subjects from social services in general to specific housing and heating crisis’ affecting people today.

Chapter 4 from the book Nonprofit Nation provided a broad overview on the impacts and trends of social service agencies within the nonprofit sector. What really stuck with me from this chapter was within the statement “ the collective impact of nonprofit social service programs on society is not as visible as, for instance, the impact of Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and other leading nonprofit research universities”. While these more prestigious organizations may have high-profile board members and eye catching furnishings, it is social service agencies that make the differences we would truly suffer most without. It upsets me that the organizations and people who are pouring their hearts into dealing with some of the toughest problems that we as humans face can be so easily swept under the rug. It reminded me of a nonfiction novel I read a few years ago (that I can not remember the title of for the life of me) where the state of New York spent tax dollars to paint nice looking windows on a vast blank wall of an apartment built in the “projects”. This side of the apartment building faced the freeway which lead into the nicer areas of the city. By spending money on the “beautification” of this building people driving into the city were more easily able to ignore the suffering going on in their own backyards.  It’s sad that this out of sight out of mind mentality continues to prevail throughout America, especially as wealth in our country continues to polarize and the number of individuals in need continues to increase.

A glance at the Louisiana Housing Assistance article made me briefly consider recanting my previous statement, as 10.5 million towards electricity bills initially sounds like a pretty good deal. However, when you take into account the affects of the recent GP oil spill on the economy of Louisiana and that this is an 11 percent drop from the funding provided during the last fiscal year it continues to look like our priorities are in bad shape.

The article Understanding the tools in the affordable housing toolkit goes on to say that there are currently over 20,000 residents of DC’s Southwest Waterfront on the waiting list for a Section 8 voucher. Keep in mind this is just within one district, in one state. I was then astounded to read that the US government only awards 7,000 section 8 vouchers annually when clearly there is a greater need.  As the documentary made by the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition illustrates, as the number of people that are left without adequate housing increases the more economic and social productivity we lose as a nation.

I read the article done by the Register Guard on St. Vincent de Paul immediately after finishing Chronic Problems Plague Auburn Family Residence. And wow, it was really interesting to see what a difference good management can have on an organization. Granted St. Vincent de Paul and the Department of Homeless Services do different kinds of social work but I believe that the same ideas of prioritization and creative problem solving apply.