This is amazing. Freakonomics guest blogger Sudhir Venkatesh has been working for the past few months with Michael, a trust-fund baby with $78 million to donate over the next few years. After paying 20 grand to a few consultants to help him direct his funds and getting a lot of hogwash about “embracing the innerRead More
Splashing Around the Pool
A roundup of tasty tidbits for your weekend: Adam Forest Huttler is really smart. The founder of Fractured Atlas delivers a very lengthy, but entirely worth reading analysis of what MBAs can bring to the nonprofit sector, and arts organizations in particular. I am by no means a card-carrying member of the “business skills canRead More
The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) of GiveWell
When we last left GiveWell, the donor education startup was riding high on the strength of a successful media campaign resulting in a feature story and chat in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and later, coverage in the New York Times, New York Magazine, CNBC, NPR, and other outlets. The young organization, led by ex-hedge-fund twentysomethingsRead More
Knowledge
As I mentioned on the blog a little while back, I’m working in California this summer for the Hewlett Foundation. Though my internship started last week, I’ve refrained from blogging explicitly about work thus far because I didn’t want to violate any understandings of confidentiality. Nevertheless, I’m thankful that the staff has graciously and generouslyRead More
Around the horn
And now for our semi-regular trip around the blogosphere: So this is what I’m up against in the philanthropy job market? How very, very sad. It’s hard to tell whether the writer of the column (who prefers to remain anonymous) is just feeling sour grapes or actually speaking truth to power, but I’m inclined toRead More
Ding, dong
As of Monday, I have completed my first year of business school. I’m currently occupying my time trying to find a sublet in or around Palo Alto, CA, where I’ll be starting a summer internship at the Hewlett Foundation in the performing arts division. In the next few weeks, I’m going to try to kickRead More
Thoughts on Effective Philanthropy: Part VI – The Philanthropist as Speculator, Not Gatekeeper
For this sixth and final post in this series, I’m going to wax philosophical for a bit here and talk about values. Everybody knows that philanthropy in the nonprofit sector, and the arts in particular, is a big deal. Leaders of most nonprofit organizations spend the bulk of their professional lives worrying about where (figurativelyRead More
Thoughts on Effective Philanthropy: Part V – Meeting the Artists Where They Are
To view the rest of this series, click here. One of the memes that’s been coming out of the “best practices” camp for philanthropists the last few years is that organizations need more general operating support, rather than the project support that many funding entities are accustomed to providing. The advantage of general operating supportRead More
Thoughts on Effective Philanthropy: Part IV – Funding Activity, Not Individuals
To view the rest of this series, click here. For years, artists have complained about the National Endowment for the Arts’s 1996 decision, under pressure from Congress, to eliminate individual artist fellowships (except for literature). Nevertheless, it seems that a number of local and private arts agencies and foundations have instituted programs in the pastRead More
Transparency
There’s a long article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal (see? I’m catching up) about philanthropy and public charities, repeating the oft-heard complaint that it’s hard to know how and where to give when there’s so little information out there about the effectiveness of the programs and organizations being funded. Says author Sally Beatty: These debatesRead More