Book Review: CauseWired

This has been a busy month reviewing books but luckily both of them were fabulous. I just finished reading CausedWired by Tom Watson, the publisher of onPhilanthropy.com. Tom writes about how individuals and institutions are changing the face of philanthropy using new media tools. We are living through an exciting time where you don't have to be a socialite or a fortune 500 CEO to be a philanthropist. You can be a high school student with a facebook account or a young professional that connects using Twitter. The book is a great study on how Gen X and Y are being philanthropic and how nonprofits are changing how they interact with the public to be more accessible using these tools. This is one of the few books that I read that immediately caused me to do something I said I would never do. After reading the first two chapters I opened a Facebook account and connected with Headwaters donors and volunteers. I had been avoiding Facebook because I had been using LinkedIn (connect with me here) for social networking and I felt like it would be too much to have two social networks to keep up. CauseWired made me rethink that position. Multiple access points helps individuals get to know your cause and while we aren't using those tools as a fundraising method right now, being accessible better connects you to supporters and makes your work more transparent. I also started to Twitter (which I also said I would never do). CauseWired is a great study in how these web 2.0 tools are being used, who is using them effectively, and what the true potential is of these mediums.

CauseWired is available now at Amazon.com, this book is a must read if you are developing strategies for reaching new donors and supporters using web tools.

If you have examples of nonprofits that are using these tools effectively or ideas about what you would like to see me Twitter or include on my Facebook page, add your suggestions in the comments.

Book Review: Uncharitable

Dan Pallotta send me a copy of his new book Uncharitable to review and I LOVED IT! I am a big believer in the potential of the nonprofit sector and I also believe that there are many structural issues that impact how effective nonprofits can be at achieving their missions. Dan's premise is that human beings are innately charitable and that we have a desire to help our fellow man. Our current system of charity is the bureaucracy that we set up to fulfill that need to help one another. This system has remained unexamined because doing "good" is good enough. In this book Dan asks some key questions: Does this system work? Is it the best system we could have? What other systems are available? His vision is to set free charities and all of the people that work for them from a set of rules that were designed for another age and another purpose and begin to use the rules of free-market capitalism to supercharge the sector. Before you get all high and mighty and remind me that the free-market system is collapsing around us everyday and that opening up the nonprofit system to its corruption and volatility wold ruin the purity of the sector, I'd like to remind you that the sector is already influenced by the corruption of the for profit sector, as evidenced by many high profile scandals and the volatility for the free-market is what is shrinking my foundation's endowment. The nonprofit system has all of the pitfalls of a free-market system with none of the benefits (e.g tolerance for risk, investment in research and development, and competitive pay). This book is destined to start some great conversations, which are very overdue.

The book is available November 28th at Amazon, check it out here.

Philanthropy in the New Administration

During this year's Council on Foundations annual conference there was a plenary session focused on what role philanthropy could play within the new administration. Many ideas were tossed out there, such as creating an advisory position on the new President's cabinet and changing the foundation tax laws. For those who may still have some thoughts and questions about what the new administration means to philanthropy, Grantmakers in Health is partnersing with other grantmaker groups to host a session on this topic on December 1st and 2nd in Washington, DC. Here's the description:

Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce; Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families; and GIH invite you to attend a Post-Election Briefing for Grantmakers. This timely briefing will inform grantmakers about the priorities of the new Administration and Congress and provide funders with an opportunity to help inform, shape and influence this agenda. Several informative sessions will be offered, including:
-A diverse panel of experts and representatives from the new administration’s transition team will discuss the priorities of the new Administration and Congress on a variety of domestic policy issues including health, human services, and budget and taxes.
-A panel of grantees will discuss the implications of the new political environment and what it suggests in terms of opportunities and challenges for the short- and medium-term on a federal, state, local, and community level.
-A facilitated strategy session will provide grantmakers with an opportunity to reflect on the briefing and consider strategies and opportunities for investments and cross-sectoral collaboration.

For more information, go to http://www.gih.org/calendar_url2665/calendar_url_show.htm?doc_id=706190

Independent Sector- Diana Aviv

Diana Aviv gave a wonderful keynote at the Independent Sector Conference. She was also was getting her groove on at the NGen party. I don't have video of her dancing, but I do have her full remarks from the keynote here.

New Voice- Tera Wozniak

Tera over at the Social Citizen Blog is twittering about the Independent Sector Conference here.