The November Giving Carnival Has Arrived!

Taking the Fast Lane to Success

The November Giving Carnival asked readers to respond to the question “What best practices in business should nonprofits adopt to maximize their resources?”

Here are thoughts from our experts.

Phil Cubeta of Gift Hub encourages us to look at all the stakeholders of our organization and think of them as a united team. Phil asks: “How can you emerge as your donors’ mission partner?” and urges us to:

“Look for opportunities to reposition yourself in the donor’s brain, from the box marked ‘honored obligations,’ to the box marked ‘mission partner’ or ‘trusted ally.'”

Dahna Goldstein of Philantech asserts that foundations should act like good public companies through practicing public disclosure, promoting excellent customer service, and sharing stakeholder responsibility. Dahna says:

“Foundations should contribute to growing the field, to building on past successes and failures, to sharing those successes and failures so that others can learn from them, build upon them, and ensure that the public trust is honored.”

Dahna’s response comes to us as part of Sean Stannard Stockton’s One Post Challenge.

Marc Pitman of the Fundraising Coach has two recommendations. First, that nonprofits should strive to achieve maximum transparency by opening their books to ensure clean accounting. Marc says:

“It means having tight financial controls so that it’s easy to see that the money people give goes directly to the right place.”

Second, Marc advises that nonprofits invest in training: “We have to be life-long learners. Even if you pick up only one thing each time you invest in learning, the investment pays off.”

Christopher Scott of Nonprofit Leadership, Innovation, and Change has a three part recipe for nonprofit success: building and implementing strategic plans, entrepreneurial involvement with for-profit partners, and developing future leaders. Christopher says:

As nonprofit leaders we can reverse what successful for-profit leaders are doing and become very involved with the for-profit business world in our community.”

Arlene Spencer of the Grant Plant reminds us that the most effective nonprofiteers act with the height of professionalism, saying that we should always strive to “proactively research and learn about modern management paradigms.” Arlene asserts:

“The best business practice that any nonprofit could adopt to serve its organization’s resources is to keep up with and learn modern, effective, ethical management. Implementing demonstrated effective best practices in your organization’s operations, as appropriate, will save your organization money, time, and its reputation.”

Rosetta Thurman of Perspectives from the Pipeline articulates ways in which nonprofits can encourage Generation Y leadership by offering competitive salaries, creating opportunities for professional development, and offering promising young employees key leadership positions to encourage their development. Rosetta says:

“We already have a great pool, but we really need to fix the marketing problem we have in the sector if we want to win the war for talent and convince young people to enter and remain in the nonprofit field.”

Setting the Nonprofit Agenda

It looks as though we have a very clear agenda. According to our experts’ recommendations, nonprofits need to maximize their resources and do the following:

• Invest all stakeholders in our organization’s mission and share stakeholder responsibility
• Empower professional development and create ongoing leadership opportunities
• Practice public disclosure and open accounting
• Strive for excellent customer service
• Plan strategically to establish our long-term agenda
• Partner with successful businesses and community organizations for deeper involvement in our communities

Thanks

Thanks to all our participants for their thoughtful and interesting responses and to Sean Stannard Stockton of Tactical Philanthropy who founded the Carnival.

Are you interested in hosting a carnival, have ideas for the future, or want to offer feedback? Please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

December’s Carnival of Giving

Get Ready for December’s Giving Carnival hosted by Christopher Scott of Nonprofit Leadership, Innovation, and Change. Christopher asks us to think about: “How much does the leadership of an executive director or CEO affect fundraising?”

Send your responses to Christopher by December 20th for inclusion in the Carnival. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Solving the World’s Problems One Video Game at a Time? 12 Real Life Video Games You Should Know About

Tired of the same old story of Middle East conflict, world hunger, and regional unrest? Well maybe video games can help. New video games are being developed to model real world situations and help players better understand what it is like to be a decision maker in the face of intense regional and international pressure.

Real World Viral Video Games

Can video games encourage activism and promote education on real world issues? This post looks at 12 video game simulations that you should know about.

• Peacemaker
• Global Conflicts: Palestine
• Free Rice
• Food Force
• Darfur is Dying

Along with: Balance of Power, Hidden Agenda, Stop Disasters, What Would You Do, A Force More Powerful, and Al-Quraish.

Recommended reading: familiarity with the United Nation’s 8 Millennial Goals will help you to better understand this entry.

Peacemaker (2006)

I have been wondering about the power of smart video games as an educational tool since I first heard about Peacemaker. Peacemaker was released last year to loud acclaim for its originality and willingness to cross taboos of politics, race, and war in the Middle East in a thoughtful and instructive manner.

In Peacemaker, the player chooses to take on the persona of the Israeli or Palestinian leader and is required to react to real life crises with realistic feedback from the populace. Bombings, refugee camps, home invasions, and politics are central features of the game.

The Peres Center for Peace announced this week that it will be distributing 100,000 copies of Peacemaker to help Israelis and Palestinians experience the role of the Other in Middle East decision making– just in time for the Annapolis Peace Summit.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will also receive copies of the game upon their return.

Can video games manifest peace in the Middle East? It’s worth a try. We certainly have nothing to lose.

Download a demo on Peacemaker’s website to learn more. Better yet, buy a copy ($20) and let me know what you think.

Global Conflicts: Palestine (2006)

In the same category as Peacemaker comes Global Conflicts: Palestine where the player is an embedded journalist in the Middle East, giving a first hand view of the conflict zone.

Palestine is also craftily designed to be serial ready: the designers can transfer the central journalist character to a new region or conflict for further play and education.

Download a demo on Palestine’s website or buy a copy for 20 Euro (approximately $30).

Free Rice (2007)

Free Rice holds a special place on this list since it is not quite a video game, but does act as an interactive online tool to help players better understand world hunger.

Since its October 2007 launch, Free Rice has raised funding for 1 billion grains of rice: enough to provide 150,000 meals to hungry people.

But what is it? Free Rice is a simple vocabulary game run by the United Nations World Food Program and sponsored by advertisers whereby a player matches words with definitions. Each correct response earns 20 grains of rice. There is no log in or sign up. Anyone can click on the website, start playing, and add their rice grains to the tally.

With the aid of Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and other social networking sites, Free Rice has gone viral. This type of simple social innovation would never have been possible in any other age. Free Rice is living proof of the possibilities of social networking and entrepreneurship.

Recommendation–
Given Free Rice’s exponential success, I recommend that the program developers add a donation button to the site allowing users to contribute by PayPal or credit card. To do so would advance the United Nation’s millennium goal of eliminating world hunger and create buy-in among users around the globe.

Play Free Rice on its website.

To My Readers: Avoiding Plagiarism, Understanding the Creative Commons License

To My Readers,

Many things happen in the blogosphere that can be qualified as plagiarism and stealing. My guess is that much of this is unintentioned and done out of ignorance or carelessness. Nevertheless, I want to be perfectly clear with how you can and cannot use my material.

I spend a tremendous amount of thought, research, time, energy, and love crafting the words that go into this blog. If you use my work, which I welcome, I respectfully request that you do the following:

• Put my words in quotes if you are quoting text directly
• Cite me by name, journal title, and the URL of the post (Maya Norton, The New Jew: Blogging Jewish Philanthropy, www…)
• Leave me a message or send me an e-mail letting me know that you have done so– if we have the same interests, I would like to get to know you

You will find a link to the Creative Commons License 3.0 as the very top image on this website. Please familiarize yourself with it if you would like to quote my material on your blog and you have not already done so. It is very straightforward.

Syria Says No To Facebook: Bloggers Talk Back

In my continuing series to examine Facebook’s integration in Middle Eastern and Muslim countries comes the news: Syria says no to Facebook.

It is widely believed that the Syrian government’s blocking of Facebook is intended to shut down freedom of speech that might endanger the existing government.

Blocking websites and net applications is nothing new for Syria. Newspapers published from abroad are blocked for fear of the ideas they might contain.

But is it a knee jerk reaction for the West to criticize Syria in this way? At this point in world history, we have the incredible advantage of going to Syrian bloggers to find out what is the word on the street. How do average Syrians react to this development?

Opinions from the Syrian Cyber-Street

Here are some opinions from the street. The Jerusalem Post has collected the following feedback:

Ammar al-Qurabi, Head of the National Association of Human Rights in Syria:

“We have asked officials and they said Facebook could become a conduit for Israeli penetration of our youth, but the real reason for blocking the forum is because it provides for criticism of the authorities. Now there is an ‘Internet Political Crimes’ ward at one prison. Internet cafes have been required to limit their communications services.”

Dania al-Sharif, women’s rights advocate:

“Facebook helped to further civil society in Syria and form civic groups outside government control. That is why it has been banned.”

Mais al-Sharbaji, professional photographer and former Facebook user:

“They cut off communications between us and the outside world. We are used to this behavior from our government.”

Syrian Bloggers Speak

Tamara of MidEast Youth had this to say:

“The Syrian people are smart enough to make up their own minds about what is going on in the world. And from my point of view the Syrian government has little to fear of its people.

It is only with real freedom that the people can stand by their governments, and help protect their nation. Allow the Syrian people to be humanised, to be seen and to be heard, so that we can avoid another war.”

Golaniya asserts:

“My theory? I think the Syrian officials don’t have a thorough idea how Syrians are facebooking, I think they did not block Facebook–the-site, but the unfamiliar reaction to this site, the unknown consequences of this reaction that might be very much, uncontrolled!”

Chabad Provides Free Chanukkah Resource Kit to College Students in Need (A Rohr Family Profile)

 

It is that time of year again when we find ourselves wondering: Chanukkah? Chanukah? Hanukkah? Hanukah?

Who knows if we will ever get it right, but here’s a story of something that is right on target. Chabad on Campus is donating free Chanukkah kits to students without Jewish resources in their area with the support of the Rohr Family Foundation.

There is big giving, little giving, and plain old generosity of spirit. I am continually impressed with both Chabad and the Rohr family’s efforts to enhance connections in vulnerable Jewish communities. How do they do it? Through a commitment to Jewish values and a directed and aggressive agenda.

To get your free menorah, register here.

About Chabad on Campus

Chabad on Campus intends to make college a “home away for home” for thousands of college students. In the 1950s and 1960s, under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson (z”l), Chabad began establishing centers on college campuses to provide Jewish students with a resource for prayer and practice.

Today, the Chabad on Campus International Foundation is sponsored by George and Pamela Rohr.

Who are the Rohrs?

The Rohrs are major sponsors for vulnerable Jewish communities, including being one of the biggest supporters of Jews in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.

Sami Rohr (father of George Rohr) was a Columbian real estate developer. As a significant portion of his holdings were in the the Former Soviet Union, he traveled there often and had an opportunity to learn more about the Jewish communities struggling under Soviet rule.

Rohr grasped the opportunity to make a difference. He felt a personal and social responsibility to the Jewish people to help support Soviet Jews and to rebuild their communities. He believed that with his support and the contributions of others like him, he could reestablish Jewish life in the Soviet Union.

Top American and Canadian Doctors Donate Time and Expertise to Israel

There are many kinds of giving. Money has the best reputation, but pure acts of generosity are valued above all else.

Last week I wrote about Amitai Ziv, who received the Charles Bronfman Prize as the founder and Director of the Israel Center for Medical Simulation, which helps reduce medical error and promote training simulations in medical communities.

Today we have even more proof of the importance of this effort.

Visiting Doctors Train in Israeli Emergency Medicine

Thirty top American and Canadian doctors will gather in Israel next week for a course in “Medical Emergency and Disaster Preparedness.”

The course trains visiting physicians in emergency medicine scenarios unique to war and disaster situations so that if Israeli doctors are called to the front lines of war, the doctors who are now training will be fully capable of taking their place in hospitals across the country.

This is a selfless act of giving to the people of Israel.

Dr. Mike Frogel, Vice President of American Physicians Fellows states:

“Israel has earned global respect for its incomparable emergency medical care. This has come at a dear price.

If we can help alleviate the strains of war-time health needs through this remarkable partnership with our Israeli colleagues, then we stand to both help the people of Israel in a critically important way and also draw immense satisfaction from our personal commitment…

The invaluable experience and lessons learned will also be applicable to Emergency Preparedness planning back home in the US and Canada.”

Sponsorship

The year 2007 marks the 10th anniversary of the program, which is sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Health, the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps, and the American Physicians Fellowships (APF).

American Physicians Fellowships is a nonprofit foundation which supports American and Canadian doctors in receiving emergency medical training in Israel. It also maintains a list of medical volunteers on-call for Israel.

Facebook in Turkey: What Makes Turkey #1?

In honor of Turkey Day, today I will be talking about why Turkey is the number one fastest growing network on Facebook.

Thanksgiving is primarily about two things: Turkey (or good food in general) and social networking (reconnecting with old friends and family and meeting new people). This entry is about the exact same thing: Turkey and social connections– on Facebook.

Recommended reading: “Israel Facebook Network Goes Viral: Cultural Reporting from the Front Lines” (I will be referring to it frequently in this entry as the basis for discussion and to determine what we know and what we don’t about Facebook networks and exponential growth.)

Fastest Growing Networks of Facebook: Turkey & Israel

As I wrote about earlier, Turkey and Israel are the number one and two fastest growing networks on Facebook. We deduced that Israel’s Facebook penetration depends on three primary factors:

1. English literacy— even though Facebook is enabled for Hebrew and Arabic scripts, the menus, navigation, and applications beyond these insular communities require dexterity with the English language and alphabet both as a reader and writer
2. Facility with technology— known worldwide for its technological expertise and the technological saturation of the population as a whole, Israel is considered a very adaptive culture and population
3. Cultural role of social networking— Israel is widely acknowledged as a communal society where connections are key to social functioning. Facebook enhances and feeds into this inclination

What can we learn about Turkey and Turkish young adult culture that would lead us to similar insights? Let’s figure out what there is to know.

Facebook’s Turkey Network

Let’s examine the basics.

• Facebook’s Turkish network at time of writing: 1,124,590*
• Language: Turkish (distinct language, but written with Latin alphabet like English)

* It has grown to 1,129,750 by the time I publish some hours later. That’s a growth of 5,100+ over about four hours, higher even than Israel’s 1,700 for the same period of time. What accounts for numbers that high?

Billionaire Jews: Bloomberg, Lauren, and Lauder Top Forbes’ List (it’s not who you think)

‘Tis the season to be ranking, tra la la la la, la la la la.

In keeping track of all the lists currently being released, I came across Forbes’ list of the “20 Most Intriguing Billionaire Heiresses.”

Gracing the list were three lovely young women who (theoretically) could show up in a shul near you. They are: Georgina Bloomberg, daughter of New York Mayor and possible presidential hopeful, Michael Bloomberg; Dylan Lauren, daughter of fashion king Ralph Lauren and owner of Dylan’s Candy Bar; and Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer of Lauder cosmetic fame.

Let’s take a brief look at our budding billionairesses.

A Brief Note on Family Names

• Estee Lauder, grandmother of Aerin, was born Josephine Esther Mentzer. She married Joseph Lauter and they changed their names to Lauder before starting the company
• Ralph Lauren, father of Dylan, was born to Fraydl Kotlar and Frank Lifshitz. His birth name was Ralph Lifshitz (pictured right)
• As you can guess, the Bloomberg name remained the same
  

On a gossipy note, the stories of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, nee Richard Klein, are often compared as they grew up in the same era, same Bronx neighborhood, and of similar Eastern European Jewish backgrounds. Klein and ex-wife Jayne Centre had one daughter, Marci, who is 33.

Georgina Bloomberg

The young Ms. Bloomberg, 22, is well known for her love of horses. She is the founder of Riders Closet, an organization which collects and distributes used riding gear and equipment to collegiate horse lovers. Bloomberg is seeking a place on the 2008 Olympic team as a championship rider.

Emma, the elder Bloomberg daughter (who did not make the list), earned top honors at Princeton and went on to Harvard to do a joint masters in public policy and business. She was a key player in her father’s mayoral campaign.

Georgina Bloomberg’s net worth is $11.5 billion.

Read more about Bloomberg here and Riders Closet here and here.