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PEAK Grantmaking

Weekly Reader – March 6, 2017

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, March 6

Apocalypse Later? Philanthropy and Transparency in an Illiberal World (Brad Smith, Glasspockets) How long will it be before nonprofit transparency takes its place alongside diceros bicornis on the endangered species list? Hopefully never, but in a world that’s growing more technologically sophisticated and more illiberal, I’m beginning to think that if it’s not Apocalypse Now, maybe it’s Apocalypse Later.

Tuesday, March 7

House GOP Releases Health Care Repeal and Replace Bill (Martin Levine & Michael Wyland, Nonprofit Quarterly) This week, two House committees will work on legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). While “repeal” has been a Republican goal from the day President Obama signed it into law, and “repeal and replace” was a central part of President Trump’s campaign, we are just getting the critical details of what the new approach will look like and can begin to judge how it will affect the lives of the millions who will have to depend on it for health care along with the functions of the thousands of nonprofits that will have to work with it.

Wednesday, March 8

NPR Wrestles with the Ethics of Disclosure of Philanthropic Revenue (Ruth McCambridge, Nonprofit Quarterly) To say that journalism has changed significantly over the last decade would be a major understatement. The rapid growth of nonprofit journalism and donor-funded, for-profit journalism has led to the emergence of new ethical questions. Among these are concerns about how and when to disclose the donors to a particular strain of reporting.

Thursday, March 9

Foundations Engaging in Policy: Not an Option But an Obligation (John Mullaney, Philanthropy News Digest) Philanthropy as a sector produces an ever-increasing body of writing aimed at encouraging impact investments for the public good. Much of that writing ignores a key consideration: Any foundation involved with impact investing cannot be taken seriously if it does not engage in policy.

Friday, March 10

Implicit Bias and Native Americans: Philanthropy’s Hidden Minority (Crystal Echo Hawk, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy) As a dual citizen of the U.S. and the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, and a nonprofit professional for more than 18 years, my work is to challenge my colleagues in philanthropy to examine implicit racial bias within our sector.

 

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