Some in the legal profession seem to be stuck in an obsolete paradigm of compliance, transparency, and good board governance for nonprofits—while the accounting profession (and Sarbanes-Oxley) advocates a holistic approach with an integrated system of internal controls as its centerpiece.
Mega churches concentrate efforts on developing small group leadership skills to keep their members engaged on a personal level. Perhaps secular nonprofits need to pay attention.
When a huge foundation initiative failed to show much progress, they brought in outside help to turn it around, completely revamped the project, and wrote it all up for the world to see.
And yet, despite initiatives in community development, gay & lesbian rights, and immigration policy, large civic gestures still define the principal foundation of the Haas family.
The group has achieved a name change, headquarters relocation, and acceptance of a modern repertoire to attract younger members, despite grumbling from the old guard. And the organization offers a wealth of accessible, online help for local groups that want to organize—better than what many nonprofit advisors have to offer.
Strategic planning, a management technique long ago rejected by for profit businesses, thrives in the charity industry mostly because funders insist on it. And the exercise has drifted from both strategy and planning to emphasize consensus-building instead.
Philadelphia is waking up to the reality that no one is waiting to take the place of retiring boomers in the city's many small scale charities. Interim directors can turn into executioners when they lack fundraising ability.
Playing by the rules of the federal workplace giving program (similar to the United Way campaign), charity coalitions managed by Maguire/Maguire capture $60 million of the nearly $270 million given by federal workers.
