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 Philantechasserts 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.”
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.”
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 Plantreminds 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.”
“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.”
“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!”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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
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
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?
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 LauderZinterhofer 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.
A gentle reminder that submissions to November’s Giving Carnival are due Monday the 26th.
You can submit links or text to me at mnorton [at] TheNewJew.org or by commenting here.
November’s Topic
“What best practices in business should nonprofits adopt to maximize their resources?”
We know from research and experience that the private sector is far more adept at handling resources than the public sector. What can we as nonprofit organizations learn from for-profits in how we conceptualize and manage our organizations?
Should we think about ways to offer our employees better incentives? Should we require our managers and directors to have degrees in the field? Should we partner more deeply? Display our image more prominently? Use social media tools more expansively?
Among those distinguished entrepreneurs whom BusinessWeek has named to its Philanthropy Hall of Fame, there are two that we can lovingly call our own.
Estee Lauder and Paul Newman are distinguished both for the depth of their generosity and the creativity that they bring to their giving.
This entry will focus on Estee Lauder and Evelyn Lauder’s Pink Ribbon Campaign for Breast Cancer. Please note that Paul Newman’s philanthropy work has raised over $220 million for sick children and breast cancer research.
The Creators
BusinessWeek actually named the Pink Ribbon Campaign itself and not its founders, but here I will profile Estee Lauder (nee Josephine Esther Menzer) and her daughter, Evelyn Lauder, as the creators and greatest proponents of the campaign.
An idea is nothing without a force behind it and the Lauder women should be honored accordingly.
Estee Lauder and Evelyn Lauder: Breast Cancer Awareness
Estee Lauder’s fame sources from her kitchen chemistry as mixing creams in her home is where she first learned the trade.
We know Estee Lauder (z”l, 2004) as the founder and CEO of Estee Lauder Cosmetics, but she was also a force for women’s health and welfare worldwide.
As much as the Lauder name is synonymous with cosmetic giants, the Lauder family’s philanthropy is just as large.
In 1992, Evelyn Lauder, Estee Lauder’s daughter in law and Senior Corporate Vice President of Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. created the Pink Ribbon Campaign to support breast cancer awareness. All company cosmetic and perfume counters were branded with the now ubiquitous pink ribbon and educational brochures were distributed with each purchase.
Fifteen years since the campaign’s launch, over 60 million pink ribbons have been distributed in 50 countries and the campaign has been called, “The most significant and influential campaign ever instituted to educate women worldwide about the need for early detection and treatment of breast cancer.”
Does this mean that approximately 2,600 Israelis are joining Facebook a day? How can this be?
Let’s look at what we do know.
Israelis on Facebook by the Numbers
Here are Israel’s Facebook users by chronology:
June: 18,000 users
August: 18,000 users (no discernible change from June to August)
October 15th: 70,000 users
October 25th: 100,000 users
November 11th: 152,00 users (according to Ha’aretz); Jeff Pulver cites 175,840 for the same day (see chart below)
November 19th (today): 184,460*
That’s exponential growth.
* This number has risen to 186,200 from the time I started writing this entry. That’s probably a four hour time span as I took a break in the middle. I can’t imagine 1,700+ Israelis sitting at home on computers in Tel Aviv, Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona, Eilat, Ashdod, and Modi’in signing up for Facebook accounts tonight– but it looks like that is what is happening.
If we are estimating by October and November’s numbers that 2,600 Israelis are joining Facebook a day, tonight’s statistics fit the pattern.
What is one thing your organization can do to improve its message? Get online with video blogs.YouTube is to television what Guttenberg was to the press.
Well, maybe it isn’t that extreme, but you get the analogy.
How This Post is Organized
In this entry, I present you with 6 strategies your organization can use to craft a superior video message. Each will be accompanied by a best practice example by video.
For further recommendations, go to my YouTube accountand see what I am watching. I am carefully gathering a folder of best practice models in my playlist labeled The New Jew: Blogging Jewish Philanthropy.
Why Your Foundation Should Use Video
Video is an advanced, but important step for an organization. Videos are most often used by established foundations with set priorities and secure funding– but they don’t have to be.
If your organization prioritizes media relations and has a graphic designer or someone computer savvy on staff, a video is a great way to get your organization’s message to a wider and more diverse audience.
Six Things To Consider When Making a Video
Here are six high value components for a YouTube video:
Target your audience
Combine images, text, and voice to appeal to multiple intelligences
Use visual analogies to better communicate your message
Use humor– it’s universal
Keep it short
Brand up front and give instructions on how to get connected
Best Practice Examples
1. Target Your Audience
The number one key to success in communicating your message through video is to understand your target audience and speak directly to them. Keep in mind age, language, level of education, socioeconomics, and geography.
The best practice example for targeting your audience is a condom education video from India (with subtitles). Through dance, humor, and an array of mixed media techniques, the Nrityanjali Academy speaks to every audience about sexual health and education.
Their message is so universal that any person in the world could understand this message.
There has been little momentum by the government, who consistently refuses to consider the teachers’ demands.
Why Teachers Are Striking
Israeli teachers make an average of $17,568 per year, approximately $6,000 below the average Israeli salary of $23,616, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (2007).
“A university-educated teacher with 20 years’ experience today makes about 5,200 shekels (about $1,300) a month. If we divide that salary by the number of hours that a teacher works in practice, then we come to a wage that is less than that earned by a babysitter.”
The Major Issues
Although the government has offered a 25% pay raise, teachers are obligated to work 30% more. This means that their hourly salary will actually fall
If salary and work hours rise but the education budget remains the same, principals will have to fire teachers to compensate for the financial deficit
Experts believe that schools will make up for the differences by hiring teachers with minimal qualifications or for part-time positions. This means that many veteran teachers will likely be forced into underemployment
Teachers will lose job stability and professional standing
The quality of education will fall and student learning will suffer
Weaker populations will be the most vulnerable because they won’t have the finances to pay for outside classes and tutoring. (Consider that Israel has the highest percentage of immigrants of any country in the world– education makes us equal)
Israel, known worldwide for its academic prowess, will lose competitive status in the global knowledge economy
Many believe that a decrease in the level of education will jeopardize Israel’s economy in the future
Think this all sounds too dramatic? Everything I have in life and everything I wish for my children and the future of my countries boils down to intelligence and education.
Don’t gamble with education. The stakes are too high.
The Foward 50’s annual list of movers and shakers in the American Jewish community is at once interesting, important, and expected. Few surprise entries made the cut, but the list is nonetheless mandatory reading for a Jewish community guide to 2007.
Calling for a New List
Before going on to assess the Forward’s choices, I do have to assert that it is time for a list that moves beyond the traditional bounds of American Jews over 40. Where are the Israelis? Where are the scientists? Where are the young people seeking to make a difference through innovative and daring projects that will forward the thinking of the global Jewish community?
One of my goals in the next year is to bring you these stories– those outside the confines of the United States’ Jewish communal system. We need to broaden our minds to consider the impact of Jews worldwide, not just those influencing the Jewish community.
Investing in Jews Globally
If we truly believe in the advancement of Jews worldwide, we will consider the actions and values of all Jews and not just those within our regimented boundaries. Jewish Israelis are making tremendous leaps and bounds in hi-tech, promoting alternative energies, and green investments.
To exclude progress like theirs because it benefits only Jews and not the Jewish community as a whole weakens our goals and ambitions as a Jewish people.
Providing Examples
While you are thinking about who should be included, take into the consideration of individuals I have mentioned recently, like:
Did you know that scribes were valued in the top tiers of Egyptian society because they represented the values of learning and culture? Almost everything we know about Ancient Egypt comes from the works (and words) of the scribes.
Israeli Freelancers Union
Israeli freelancers are starting a union. Their first meeting will be Sunday, November 18th at 17:30 at the Histadrut headquarters, Strauss 17.
As a writer and freelancer myself, I feel obligated to post this for my colleagues, but to be honest, I can’t really envision how this would work in practice.
You can establish professional relationships through freelancing, especially in Israel where the needs are ongoing and specific, but most often freelancing is based on specific projects with the criteria for employment being heavily based on salary and style considerations.
“Although my friends are already calling me Norma Rae, the purpose of this union is not just to raise hell and rattle recalcitrant employers.
People have expressed an interest in group pension, life insurance, and disability benefits at more favorable rates than we can achieve on our own. [David] Galanos* assured us at the meeting that he can negotiate us favorable packages citing one example of a reduction of 5% on the commissions for volume. In any case, we plan to establish a committee to investigate the best options.
The union has already agreed to start discussion with the appropriate authorities on our behalf to change practices of the Tax Authority that make life hard for freelancers. We will conduct seminars in English and Hebrew with legal, financial, and accounting professionals provided by the union.”
* David Galanos is the President of the National Federation of Graphical, Media, Entertainment, and Energy, which is 50,000 members strong.
Why I Support Writers and Freelancers
I support the effort to explore these possibilities and certainly to secure a fairer and more stable future for writers who are providing an important (and easily exploitable) service to Israeli universities, businesses, and nonprofits.
It’s rapidly becoming clear that writers everywhere are feeling dissatisfied and underappreciated. Any movement that can professionalize the standards of authorship for how consumers treat producers will be of considerable benefit to whatever society it affects.
Best wishes to Laura Goldman and those working with her. I, for one, will be paying attention– and yes, writing about it. Read the rest of this entry »
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:
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:
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:
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:
Posted by Maya Norton 
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.
Posted by Maya Norton 
Posted by Maya Norton 
In 1992, 
It’s rapidly becoming clear that writers everywhere are feeling dissatisfied and underappreciated. Any movement that can professionalize the standards of authorship for how consumers treat producers will be of considerable benefit to whatever society it affects.
