Hag Sameach & The New Jew’s Return

 Hag sameach, everyone!

 I will have a new computer in about two weeks (after Sukkot) and plan to return to The New Jew: Blogging Jewish Philanthropy then.

 

Digg, Delicious, You Name It: In Need of an Aggregator for Articles of Interest– Your Advice, Please

 Dear Friends,

While my computer is non-operational, I would like to be collecting articles and blog posting of relevance that you can refer to and I can refer back to in the interim.

I know that there are many sites where I can aggregate links and keep them in a personal collection.

 Your advice would be most appreciated on which site you recommend most highly.

 Many thanks and hag sameach,

Maya

Israel and Syria: Scare in the Air– One Israeli’s Reaction

A Note on This Entry

My computer has crashed and I have no confidence that I will be able to write this simple entry from this ancient machine, but I will try anyway. No frills. Little editing. The links are readily available from all main news sources, especially Israeli. Please look to my sidebar for guidance.

Scare in the Air 

Yesterday’s air scare between the Syrian and Israeli military sent points of fear throughout the Israeli population.

We listen with half an ear to the peace talks (through the generations), but with two ears to the security situation, which has much more potential to impact our lives.

When the news came that there had been some kind of an altercation, my first throughts were for my friends, especially the men, who would certainly be called for active military reserve duty within hours– as they were last summer.

Next, selfishly, I thought about myself. How could I bear sending my loved ones to war yet again? Last year was hard enough, but so soon? And the bomb shelters. Sitting in the bomb shelters. Attacks by aircraft are different than airborne missiles. While supposedly targeted, who knows what intent our opposing military regimes might have in mind.

Trends in Philanthropy: Predicting the Future of Nonprofit Fundraising

What is the future of nonprofit fundraising in the next 10 years? How will current philanthropy trends be manifested? These are the questions that Gayle Roberts asks in this month’s Carnival of Giving roundup.

I am really looking forward to the responses of my fellow nonprofit professionals. I suspect that they will speak to the way in which nonprofits will function in the coming years as fundraising organizations, so I have decided to go a different route by examining the field of nonprofit organizations as a whole.

Predictions

1. Lowered barriers to technological access, especially in computer hardware and web media, will attract more smaller foundations to the field. Advancing computer technologies and cheaper prices on hardware and software will facilitate the entry of new organizations into the field of fundraising, particularly in developing countries.

2. Increased need for monitoring and transparency will necessitate the formation of umbrella organizations. With the increased number of grassroots organizations, especially in the international arena, umbrella organizations will be formed to authenticate the practices and ensure the credibility of foundations.

3. There will be stricter and more universal measures for organizational monitoring and transparency. Authoritative umbrella organizations will rate charities’ effectiveness and succes with stricter and more standardized measures for benchmarking, reporting, and how funds are used. All organizations with credibility will be expected to register with an umbrella organization for monitoring purposes.