Where Most Needed

Boring Bus Ride Nets over $20,000 for Video Game Charity

A marathon online event using a mind-numbing simulation of a bus driving across the desert gets enough buzz to fuel four days of fundraising.  But your results may vary. 

Jerry Lewis & Don Imus: The Downside of Charity-Celebrity Co-Dependency

Hitching a charity's reputation to a single individual is a high-risk strategy that pays off—until it doesn't.

Trial Spotlights Lapses in Cleveland Diocese Oversight

The first of two federal trials accuses a former assistant treasurer of the diocese of conspiring with the CFO in an overpriced outsourcing arrangement for accounting and computer services that included kickbacks to the CFO.  But when the CFO was found out, he went to work for the Columbus diocese.  The defense claims that these arrangements were business as usual in Cleveland. 

Dawning of the Dark Side of Philanthropy

A few voices are (re)awakening to the realization that philanthropy is about public relations, not charity.  But they aren't yet ready to abandon the myth of an independent third sector or civil society. 

Blogathon Demonstrates Long Tail (Up to a Point)

Shared vision is largely absent from a twenty-four-hour blogging event to raise money for charity, which could be why it wasn't more successful.  And the winner was online editor for a newspaper in Midland, Texas, who blogged from a 30-foot Genie scissors lift in a grocery store parking lot (isn't that cheating?)

Kitchen Democracy Turns into Online Oligarchy

A tiny nonprofit operates a web site that allows citizens to weigh in on local issues like zoning changes without attending city council meeings.  But there are complaints of ballot stuffing in online polls, which a little analysis shows is a credible claim.   

Thieves Use Online Charity Contributions to Test Stolen Cards

Charity contributions are the least likely to raise flags about card misuse or unusual spending patterns. 

Media Watchdog Double Dips from Charities

President and founder of two prominent organizations monitoring television and media, one in Washington and one in Los Angeles, claims to work full time for both of them. 

Ferret Follies and Civil Society Silliness

California ferret advocacy group releases poll results showing that people are overwhelmingly opposed to legalizing the little creatures as pets.  Other advocates say that sometimes it might be better just to keep your mouth shut. 

Email Blasts Billion-Dollar IT Project at Nonprofit HMO

A project manager's rant focuses attention on problems with the conversion of the Kaiser system to electronic medical records.