Stanford Social Innovation Review

The fate of new nonprofits is often linked to public funding.

Grantees of foundations have little control over which program officer takes their case. Yet program officers make or break grantees’ experiences with foundations. To trigger social change, foundations must give program officers better training, clearer expectations, and regular performance feedback.

Responsible Wealth, a Boston-based nonprofit, is convincing many affluent Americans to challenge the very rules that made them rich. Far from mere check writers or “limousine liberals,” these wealthy activists work against their self-interest to stamp out inequality at its source: unfair laws and policies. Their unique strategy of using privilege to contest privilege not only has attracted the rich and famous to their ranks, but also has bent the ears of senators and CEOs.

Why eco-friendly products may be bad for the environment.

Why the most religious societies have the most volunteers.

An HIV organization in Botswana provides lessons in cooperation.

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.

Civil society may not be in such bad shape.