October 22, 2012
Children’s Parties and the Demise of the Soviet Union
GlobalGiving CEO Mari Kuraishi speaks her view on the explicit and implicit structures that would define a new information infrastructure for the social sector.
October 15, 2012
Filling the Nonprofit Information Vacuum
Cinthia Schuman Ottinger, Deputy Director for Philanthropy Programs at the Aspen Institute’s Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation, discusses the need for nonprofit data and the impact that it can have. A good part of the problem, however, is unlocking that data from the protocols and structures that render is...
October 11, 2012
The Bear And The Ladle, Part II
If, in part I, we were urged to adjust our lens for viewing social problems, Katya Smyth continues the disruption here, making the case for thinking across boundaries as we attack those problems and for combining our minds long before we combine our data. If I am a homeless survivor...
October 10, 2012
Faster, Smarter Nonprofit Financial Analysis, Part II
In Part I of this two-part look at financial analysis for nonprofits, Rebecca Thomas gave insight into the “why” of financial statement literacy. Continuing here, she uses Financial SCAN as an example to share what can be achieved when financial analysis becomes a regularly used tool among others in the...
October 9, 2012
A New Reporting Commitment
Guest post from Darin McKeever, a deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, regarding a major new agreement among a few of the US’ largest foundations: The Reporting Commitment. At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we firmly believe transparency is a key ingredient in maximizing impact because...
The Bear And The Ladle, Part I
The momentum toward better use and sharing of data is clear. But, before simply continuing the march forward, Katya Smyth suggests that we adjust the lens through which we see social problems (how we see “the bear”) and then take a hard look at our base assumptions. Part I of...
October 3, 2012
Let Our Data Define Us – Part II
Lucy Bernholz outlines a new definition for the sector at the forefront of taking on our biggest challenges.
October 2, 2012
Let Our Data Define Us – Part I
In the first of a two-part post, Lucy Bernholz issues a challenge to the social sector: discover the potential in our data and change the way we use it.
Beth Kanter: Doing The Math Ourselves
What are the skills and mindsets that nonprofits need to embrace data for social change? Guest blogger Beth Kanter talks about data-literacy as an in-house necessity for nonprofits. In a resource constrained world, many nonprofits view measurement and data as “yet anotherthing on our to-do list” or as a lost...
Jacob Harold on GuideStar and Digital Infrastructure
Social strategist and author Jacob Harold shares his vision of a solid information infrastructure and how it could work in the social sector.