By Lisa Bertagnoli, reporter, Crain’s Chicago Community Trust and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation earlier this year introduced what they say is a win-win for Chicago’s philanthropic community: A way for charitably minded investors to participate in a local social-impact fund and a way for area nonprofits and social-enterprise companies to access […]
By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors Last year, 11 percent of Indiana young people took part in after-school programming. That is below the national average of 18 percent. While before- and after-school programs serve nearly 45,000 Indiana children each day, they often operate with limited and patchwork funding from diverse public and private sources. But […]
By Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO, First Book | Changing the world is a complicated business. You need a powerful mission that will inspire and motivate people; you need a problem that needs solving and an effective way to solve it. But you also need funding. It’s critical, but rarely the part that inspires people. […]
By James B. Stewart, New York Times | In what should be a ringing alarm for nonprofit boards across the country long accustomed to minimal scrutiny or accountability, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York has signaled that the laissez-faire approach to nonprofit governance is over. Mr. Schneiderman’s office has sent letters to the […]
By Ken Banks, Ashoka fellow, Stanford Social Innovation Review | Bill Siemering was about to jump in his cab to make an airport pickup when his home phone rang. It was the vice president of the MacArthur Foundation. “I was shocked,” said Bill, “when he told me I was being awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.” That […]
By Gabriel Kasper & Justin Marcoux, Stanford Social Innovation Review | Innovation, it seems, is easier said than done. Despite growing interest in applying innovation methodologies to social sector challenges over the past decade, more often than not, philanthropic efforts to support innovation fall short. That’s because the processes, strategies, and structures that funders need […]