Blog
Serving the Public Good (by Invitation Only)
America's foundations are not particularly interested in receiving your proposal. Earlier this year I did a quick search on Foundation Directory Online (FDO) of the 96,042 independent, company-sponsored, and community foundations based in the U.S. The results were pretty shocking: only 26,663…
November 30, 2015
The Clinton Foundation Reveals Its Donors: Should You?
A fundraising foundation has two world famous founders, a global network of generous donors, and a track record of grantmaking success. One of the founders plans to run for higher office, and the foundation makes the decision to be highly…
June 1, 2015
How do you define a nonprofit’s size?
Visitors sometimes ask us if there are industry standards for"large", "medium", or "small" nonprofits. They often ask in the context of a funder's eligibility requirements or a released report. The simple answer: No standardized scale for "nonprofit's size" exists. However,…
October 27, 2014
Ants in the Kitchen: The Role of Data in Human Rights Funding
A professor at Vanderbilt University, Brooke Ackerly, once told me, “Numbers matter. If someone tells you there are ants in your kitchen, you will want to know whether there are two ants in your kitchen or whether there are TWO…
June 19, 2013
Philanthropy’s Data Dilemma
When McKinsey & Co. released its seminal study Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition, and Productivity, the firm confidently predicted that the world was "on the cusp of a tremendous wave of innovation, productivity, and growth, as well…
July 11, 2012