Weekly Reader – January 7, 2019

What we’re reading and recommending this week. We add to this post throughout the week and look for your suggestions in the comments.

Monday, January 7

The 10 Most Popular SSIR Articles of 2018 (Shivonne Logan, SSIR) Many of Stanford Social Innovation Review’s most popular articles this year offered strategies for reducing this polarization through improved communication tactics, and using newer and better tools to promote social good.

Tuesday, January 8

The Art Of Philanthropy: Empowerment and Diffusion (William Keator, CEP Blog) The characteristics of grant seekers should be critical when determining which approach a foundation takes. In most cases, high-capacity grant seekers are served best through non-prescriptive practices, while low-capacity nonprofits generally need a more prescriptive model.

Wednesday, January 9

NCRC Turns Banks into Social Justice Backers (Troy Price, NCRC Blog) Nonprofit moves big money by letting neighborhoods lead the way; will philanthropy follow suit?

Thursday, January 10

How Nonprofits Solve Social Enterprise’s Three Big Problems: Money, Trust, and Information (Curtis Child, Nonprofit Quarterly) Scratching below the surface of social enterprise businesses reveals that they depend significantly on the nonprofit sector for their effectiveness and survival.

Friday, January 11

Making Better Big Bets (Heather McLeod Grant and Alexa Cortés Culwell, SSIR) Philanthropy is poised for a grand transformation, but it will require a lot of investment, capacity building, and experimentation to get it right.