With a bachelor’s degree from Stanford, a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and stints at the DOJ and private practice, Mondaire Jones has a platinum-plated resume that you’d think would make him a shoo-in for Congress. But Jones told the New York Times, “Growing up poor, Black, and gay, I never imagined someone like me could run for Congress, let alone win.” Jones won New York's 17th Congressional District, 2020 Read More
Pulling Back the Curtain: Mission-Driven Organizations Addressing the Weaknesses of the US Healthcare System
While the US boasts some of the most distinguished healthcare institutions and experts in the world, it is no match for the health and economic destruction of COVID-19. Worse, it has exposed weaknesses in a US health system that is large and complex. According to PolicyAdvice.net the US spends over $10,000 per capita on healthcare, twice the rate of other developed countries, yet it is struggling to provide care Read More
Words Matter: How the Lexicon of Financing Hinders Minority and Women Entrepreneurs
You’re “Too Early” Cat Berman was getting a good vibe. The CEO of CNote, a Bay Area startup fintech firm focused on socially responsible investing, explained, “We had an investor say, ‘This is phenomenal. Excellent team’.” Things were looking positive for this early stage company. Then the investor added, “We’re just not sure if you’re too early because of your traction.” Berman dug deeper to Read More
The Network Gap: Impact on Nonprofits and Their Financials
Having a powerful network can bolster a nonprofit’s donor base and open access to additional funding sources. But what happens when the Executive Director and Board Members do not have a powerful network? I attended a half-day summit at LinkedIn’s San Francisco headquarters in November on The Network Gap. As LinkedIn defined it, “The network gap is the advantage some have based on where they were born, where Read More
Could Nonprofits Be the Solution to 21st Century Woes?
Some 25 years ago while living and working in Germany, I distinctly remember a conversation I had with my language teacher. Looking to improve my German language skills by meeting and conversing with more locals, I asked her about finding a nonprofit in town where I could volunteer. She twisted up her face in a question. “Nonprofits? I think that’s more an American thing.” Indeed it is. According to Charities Aid Read More
Are Nonprofit Workers Paid a Premium?
The Washington Post published an article on September 24, 2019 called “How the rise of urban nonprofits has exacerbated poverty” by Claire Dunning, a professor at the University of Maryland, which was both fascinating and baffling. Dunning discusses how the nonprofit sector was actively cultivated in urban centers in the ‘60s by policymakers to address poverty by 1) providing jobs for a shrinking manufacturing sector Read More
