Radio interview with Public News Service
Update: Today I was interviewed by Joe Teehan of the Joe Show on 930 AM Progressive Talk radio in Bellingham. If I can find a link to the show I will post here.
I was interviewed by Chris Thomas of Public News Service last week about the hunger action challenge that I took and blogged about back in March. You can listen to the piece, "Washington on a few Bucks a Day," here.
If you want to read my posts about my experience you can read the series here:
Top Seattle arts leader says goodbye
Late last month Dwight Gee stepped down as executive vice president of ArtsFund. I've known Dwight for years and it is no overstatement to say his departure is a significant loss for the sector at a time when it seems to be hemorrhaging leaders. I was at Dwight's goodbye party at Farestart, an innovative job training nonprofit he helped transform, and I'll be posting on what I heard and the significance of his departure.
For now, here is Dwight saying a final goodbye to his friends and colleagues.
How I remember the late Bagley Wright
Seattle's arts community suffered a major loss this week after philanthropist Bagley Wright died Monday.
Although this is certainly a sad day for those in Seattle's business of the arts, I cannot help but laugh as I think of Bagley.
Thinking about it now, it sounds odd to say that I never interviewed Bagley. I actually never spoke with him, even though I covered the arts and many of the organizations he was closely tied to in Seattle for more than five years.
But the one time I did see Bagley in full form, he left an experience in my mind that I'll never forget.
In March 2009, Seattle lost another major arts patron when Peter Donnelly, former executive director of ArtsFund, died suddenly. Peter was a giant in the local arts scene, he knew everyone and everyone knew him. His death was a shock that brought arts organizations and supporters together to grieve and celebrate his life.
At the memorial held at Seattle Repertory Theatre - inside the theater's Bagley Wright Theatre, which was named for its first board president - Donnelly's friends and family gathered to remember him. If you were there you probably remember this.
The celebration of Peter's life was a perfect example of how loved ones should be remembered - a true testament to Peter's contributions to this community. While there were many tears and some entertaining stories, I felt that the best tribute of the evening was Bagley's. Unfortunately, my notes from that evening are long gone (looking back I did write a brief on all the donations that were made in Peter's honor) but I remember Bagley sharing stories about Peter's assimilation into the Seattle community and tales of his work in leading the effort to make the arts a big-time recipient of philanthropy. Truly that legacy lives on today, due in no small part to Bagley's own giving.
I wish I could remember the details, but I do remember rolling with laughter, much like the rest of the crowd, at the remarks by the older gentleman seated on the stage. Perhaps some of you remember what Bagley said...
I hope that the arts community will step up and celebrate Bagley's life in the same way that he was able to celebrate the life of Peter Donnelly.
Why I haven't been blogging very much
You may have noticed the blog - now named NonprofitKingdom.com - is a little light on content. I feel an explanation is in order.
My new, part-time job at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has turned in a full-time gig for the next three months. The Hutchinson Center is redesigning its web site and I am helping them work on this very large project.
The cool thing is I am learning a lot about web design, use, development, social media integration and more, as well as working with some very cool people. The bad news is the full time work is eating into my blogging schedule - well that and moving into a new place and trying to enjoy the short summer in Seattle.
I have more posts lined up and will be getting to them as soon as possible. And once I go back to part-time work, I will blog and write much more frequently.
In the mean time, I am building out my social networks and trying to attend as many local nonprofit events as I can (please invite me!). Please check out my new pages and join my networks on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Seattle microfinance charity reorganizes as Unitus Labs
One year ago today (July 2), on the Friday before the 4th of July holiday, Seattle microfinance "accelerator" Unitus, Inc. abruptly announced it would close its local office and lay off most of its staff.
The Unitus board of directors, most of whom had started the organization a decade before, said the charity's mission of helping to facilitate private investments in foreign microlenders was complete. Unitus, they said, would reorganize under a new mission.
Many wondered what the new mission would be, and why Unitus had to close so quickly. Unitus recently unveiled its reorganization plan, and while the charity will use a different approach to reduce poverty, its new business strategy appears very similar to the one that sparked an international controversy last year.
GiveBig raises $4 M; secrets to successful appeals
UPDATE: The Seattle Foundation has posted its final Big Give results that you can find here.
Yesterday I blogged that if the Seattle Foundation's GiveBig initiative didn't raise much money, it would be a disappointment because nonprofits here consider themselves pretty handy with social media and online fundraising.
It's good to see local charities did not disappoint.
GiveBig pulled in nearly 19,000 donations worth a combined $3.5 million for about 900 local nonprofit groups. With the $500,000 matching fund, the big day generated more than $4 million in online donations. More details here.
The leading GiveBig donation recipient was the Seattle Public Library Foundation, which is on a bit of a roll after its successful "Make a Million" campaign in December of last year.
The top five organizations receiving donations (in alphabetical order) were
• Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest
• The 5th Avenue Theatre Association
So how and why did these groups succeed?
GiveBig is today - Will Seattle nonprofits flex their online muscles?
UPDATE: As of 2 pm today the GiveBig initiative has topped $2.1 million and has more than 9,500 donations. The largest single gift is $60,000 and the largest number of gifts to a single organization is 402. See details and updates here.
Seattle's community wide, day of online fundraising is finally here. Let's all say it together: "Show me the money!"
The "GiveBig" campaign to encourage community donations for hundreds of local nonprofit groups is underway and it seems everywhere you go online there is an appeal for a donation. It may even become too much for some people.
The Seattle Foundation is coordinating the campaign with a directory of nonprofit groups eligible to receive donations plus a portion of a $500,000 matching fund. Even the Sounders FC soccer team is chipping in and tonight will highlight the campaign during its match against the New York Red Bulls. I'll be there and will post some details later.
I'm curious about how much money will be raised today. But not for the same reason I normally would.
Seattle is a community that prides itself on nonprofit innovation, leadership and savviness. The campaign's totals, especially in its first year, will provide a good data point on exactly how far local groups have come in terms of their online fundraising strategies and social media communications.
If the campaign doesn't raise a lot of money (I'd say $1 million is the floor because of the matching fund) then I'd say it will be more of a disappointment that local groups don't have the online and social media capacity they supposedly have.
GiveBig ends at midnight tonight.
Giving USA's big market trend — and who will fund it
If you've been pulling apart the latest report on charitable giving by the Giving USA Foundation and Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy, keep in mind one of the sector's most important trends isn't contained within the data.
Over the next few years, state and local governments — and possibly the federal government — will reduce spending on social sector programs to balance budgets. Here in Washington state, the cuts look like $3 billion over the next two years.So how will a massive reduction in government spending on education, human services, health, environmental conservation and the arts impact the market for giving to those fields? That is the trend that the new Giving USA report can't really help with. Be assured, the impact will probably be significant as 40 percent of all philanthropic contributions over the last five years (see attached image, courtesy of the Collins Group) went to those five program areas.
U.S. philanthropy climbs to $291 B in 2010
American donors gave an estimated $291 billion to charitable causes in 2010, according to new figures from the Giving USA Foundation and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
The total is up about $10 billion over what Americans gave in 2009, according to a new estimate that was revised downward. The annual survey is considered to be the most comprehensive of American philanthropy.
If you want some story coverage, Stephanie Storm at the New York Times, Michelle Nichols at Reuters and David Crary with the Associated Press all have good summaries and insight you can check out.
You will read and hear about how the increase is the first since the recession and that the trend may indicate a strengthening economy. But after a few years of looking at the numbers, I am pretty wary of drawing any conclusions by looking at the broad data.
I can't offer any analysis right now (I've been moving all weekend and am still adjusting to life after PSBJ). But I'm attending a webinar on Tuesday and a breakfast presentation on Wednesday offered by Seattle consulting firms that will help pick apart the numbers. I will post more of my own analysis then.
As far as first weeks go to start my blog on philanthropy, this is a pretty good one.
VIDEO Athens Subway
In the mean time, I'm testing the multimedia features for the site. This is a video I shot with my phone in an Athens subway a month ago. You are looking at what was on the site when it was excavated. Those are my parents and our tour guide Kathy.
