Stanford Social Innovation Review

Why the most religious societies have the most volunteers.

An HIV organization in Botswana provides lessons in cooperation.

Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good

Organizational Success Through Deep Diversity and Gender Equality

What gets lost when donors follow their own hearts instead of recipients’ needs.

How the Union Bank of California attracts lower-income people to traditional banking.

How donors should think about nonprofit efficiency.

In the frenzy over accountability, funders, donors, and the general public are calling for more program evaluation. But few understand evaluation well enough to conduct or bankroll high-quality studies. Without sufficient knowledge or funding, nonprofits are often collecting heaps of dubious data, at great cost to themselves and ultimately to the people they serve.

Too often, individuals make decisions about how much money to donate to charitable causes on an ad hoc basis. As a result, many people give less money than they can actually afford.  If the affluent contributed as much to nonprofits as the authors believe they can, charitable giving in the United States would increase by $100 billion a year – enough to solve many of the world’s most pressing problems.

“The Leadership Deficit” sidebar

Variation is the rule when it comes to foundation expenses and compensation.

Civil society may not be in such bad shape.

Both humans and chimpanzees naturally lend a hand.

Donors don’t know much about capacity building, except that they don’t like the term.

“The Hidden Cost of Paradise” sidebar.