Of Tax Law Changes, Impact Investing and Mission-Aligned for Profits

Not even a full month into the new calendar year, and we’re seeing reports about the impact the 2017 tax bill changes are having on nonprofits.  We’ve got a survey on our website right now.  I’m not willing to call it research because some is questionable, some preliminary and, some really is just guesswork, especially since many nonprofits concede they are still trying to tally what came in by the end of 2018.  Given those caveats, please read on.

Inside Philanthropy, culling the thoughts of many, Read more

January 25th, 2019 0 Comment

What Matters to Donors?

For too many decades, nonprofits leaders have been plagued by the fear of overhead:  too high and risk losing donors; too low and risk insufficient capacity to do all that needed doing.  Then, Dan Pallotta did his famous TedTalk, the Overhead Myth letters came out from the three watchdog groups and Bridgespan and the Ford Foundation jointly suggested that it was time for donors to revamp their funding paradigm.

But, did things change?  Sadly, no.  Yes, there was a greater willingness to discuss the absurdity of Read more

July 19th, 2018 0 Comment

Shaking up Investing

Why would the decision by the Ford Foundation’s Board of Directors to take up to $1 billion of its $12 billion over the next 10 years to make mission related investments be “shaking up the board rooms” of any nonprofit, be it foundation or otherwise?  After all, the Rockefeller Foundation started doing this a while ago, and currently has $68 million (1.8% of its dollars) in mission related investments.

Other foundations have been doing it as well.  So, what’s all of the fuss?  Yes, I get Read more

May 19th, 2017 0 Comment