Author Archive:
Bradford Smith
The next generation of nonprofit data standards
Our current moment in the human story is often called the age of information. And indeed, we are too-often overwhelmed by the torrent of data coursing through our lives. As a society, we have developed …
Philanthropy’s Difficult Dance With Inequality
America’s foundations do not easily use the word “inequality.” This may seem surprising in the wake of the Ford Foundation’s recent announcement that it will refocus 100 percent of its grantmakingon “inequality in all its …
Foundation Strategy…the Enemy of Collaboration?
This post originally appeared on Philanthropy News Digest’s PhilanTopic blog. PND and PhilanTopic are services of Foundation Center. The original article can be found here> In today’s world, it is almost obligatory for any self-respecting foundation …
When is transparency a really good idea?
When it comes to philanthropy, the answer to this question is a simple one: almost always. This may seem to put me at odds with Jo Andrews’ well-reasoned argument against transparency in all circumstances, but …
The Brave New World of Good
The Brave New World of Good ‘O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in’t.’ (William Shakespeare) ‘Most human beings have an …
Philanthropy and the Millennium Development Goals
New York has been abuzz this week with the reconvening of the United Nations General Assembly and the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, and in the streets, cafes and restaurants you can hear people from all …
US foundations: aligned or segmented?
Gerry Salole raises an interesting point about differences between the foundation sectors in Europe and the United States in the June issue of Alliance. The apparent ‘alignment’ in the US is due to the fact that it …
How do I general support thee, let me count the ways!
With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I could not resist paraphrasing her famous poem for an appeal to foundations to stop trying to be so unique. But, I promise you, this will be the shortest …
Version 2.0: The Giving Pledge globalizes
They said that the Giving Pledge was ‘made in America’, they said that Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett didn’t understand other cultures, and that their brand of philanthropy was inappropriate for (substitute the …
‘Beep, beep’: The sound of philanthropy and the social economy in 2013
‘We will change what we do with and without institutions, and we will change how our institutions (funders, non-profits and others) work.’ So predicts self-described philanthropy wonk Lucy Bernholz in Philanthropy and the Social Economy: …
