Brad Rourke

Category: philanthropy

  • I'm Just Not That Into "Theories Of Change"

    An offhand question asked by a colleague the other day got me thinking. She asked me, “In five years, what would you like to be known for?” This is a slightly different version of the standard where-do-you-want-to-be-in-five-years query. The way it was framed drew me up short and made me think. My immediate answer was…

  • What's On Your "Stop Do" List?

    Rip Rapson, president of the Kresge Foundation, recently spoke to gathered YMCA’s and gave a chilling overview of the nonprofit sector: Early on in the crisis, we argued about whether the problem would be short- or long-term, about whether we could simply limp through to a resumption of what we’ve come to understand as normalcy.…

  • Danger For United Way, And Similar Organizations

    Twenty-one DC-area nonprofits announced this week that they had suspended their memberships in the United Way and were linking up with a new competitor. The new umbrella organization is called Community1st, and it includes the region’s largest nonprofits. [UPDATE to clarify: Community 1st is the name of the Washington-area campaign. It is overseen by an…

  • The Downturn Hits Nonprofit Fundraising

    As my friends know, I only work with organizations that hold a public trust — typically non profit organizations. Many colleagues have been talking to me about how concerned they are about the latest downturn. The Chronicle of Philanthropy is reporting on one of the more solid pieces of evidence that the economic downturn is…

  • Philanthropy’s Unique Advantage

    My good friend Dave Moore writes of a middle ground when it comes to leadership at philanthropic foundations: [A]t times foundations need to act in a “top down” or “leadership” way to innovate and take on tough issues. The critique is that this behavior is undemocratic and at times even autocratic. I think there is…

  • Philanthropy's Unique Advantage

    My good friend Dave Moore writes of a middle ground when it comes to leadership at philanthropic foundations: [A]t times foundations need to act in a “top down” or “leadership” way to innovate and take on tough issues. The critique is that this behavior is undemocratic and at times even autocratic. I think there is…