Thirteen Nonprofits Worth Following/Emulating on Twitter (+ 1 More)
The good folks at Socialbrite.org have recently posted a list of what they consider to be a ‘Top-Twelve List’ of social organizations and nonprofits that we all should follow on Twitter. The introduction gives you links to Twitter and how to become a ‘Follower’ of these organizations. It also includes links to individuals who might be worth following as well. It is worth noting that, though the number of ‘Followers’ for each of them is listed, the list is based on the work the groups do and the qualitative use of their Twitter presence, not merely their race to get X numbers on their lists (a quantitative benchmark that seems much more important to celebrities than to community organizations).
Popularity: 1% | Category Community, Nonprofit, Technology, Technology for Education, Web and Print | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
“Cultivating Grantmaker Relationships” Conference in Washington DC on 5 May
A recent blog post and extended commentary section on The Chronicle of Philanthropy discusses what might be the ‘Fund Raiser of the Future.’ The Chronicle is working on a full story on the topic and is now soliciting input and ideas. Certainly, as the MKCREATIVE blog has noted more than once in recent months, economic bad times can be good times to expand and enrich networks. Down time at the nonprofit’s office should be time spent keeping up with educational and promotional opportunities. We encourage you to participate in the Comments section and get your thoughts out there as they work on the story. We also want you to get out of the offices as well, so consider a conference.
Popularity: 1% | Category Community, Conference/Congress, Grants and Funding, Nonprofit | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
Education Resources And Analyses In The Context of The Great Recession
Education is a stunningly inefficient human endeavor. A teacher might invest hours of time on a student only to discover that the student’s family situation is too unstable to allow any of the teacher’s influence to stick after the school bell rings. Or the teacher might get dispirited about students’ indifferent reactions to a story, only to discover that a couple of those students recall the story years later and are inspired to write great novels or, better still, become teachers themselves. Or (an irony I have myself experienced) a ‘bad’ teacher might spur a child to believe she could do better if the roles were reversed, so she strives to reverse the roles. Unlike so many other aspects of our economic and social environment, the links of cause-and-effect are tenuous indeed when discussing the ‘value’ or ‘success’ of education.
Nevertheless, we must not give up on the ideal that everyone should have opportunity for a good education to help them strive for what they might choose to strive for. And we must continue to study how better to reform, adjust, and align the educational systems we have. As with environmental and housing issues so important to MKCREATIVE, we are pleased to pass on the word when private and public concerns combine to improve the educational environment of our communities. Today’s example is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation‘s report “PRIMARY SOURCES: America’s Teachers on America’s Schools,” a project done with Scholastic and recently published online.
Popularity: 1% | Category Advocacy, Community, Education: General, Grants and Funding, Low-Income, News and Current Affairs, Technology for Education | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
Government Announces Plans To Forestall New Wave Of Foreclosures
Jeff Swiatek of The Indianapolis Star (Indiana) reported two days ago that the wave of foreclosures that seemed to have been forestalled in that city is on the verge of swelling again. The report, specific to the Indianapolis region, is all the more chilling when we recall that Indiana (and Maryland) was (were) not deep into the risky subprime market. Thus the foreclosures that may come have been triggered by other systemic issues beyond speculation or risky mortgages then packaged off to other investors.
The example that opens his story is one of many, many, tens of thousands: The Gonzales family are over 90 days behind payments because he works in construction and his wife’s company (an auto-parts manufacturer) cut jobs. They both produce highly valued products we all depend upon, and yet they both are cut out by the machinations of the financial sector. The advice from the lender? Short sell to avoid foreclosure. Mr. Gonzales’s response? ‘I’m losing my home either way.’ Mr Swiatek’s report reminds us that the problems are not statistical ones but human ones. Hard working and productive people are being stymied by financial institutions who make money by moving it around, not by creating something of intrinsic value.
The political pressures continue to mount, though, and the Obama Administration has recently allowed leaks about steps they are unveiling today about how to deal with, at least ‘to mitigate,’ the problem.
Popularity: 1% | Category Community | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
New York Seems To Be The New Green – Is Baltimore Next?
Image via Wikipedia
We spotted a tweet that nicely builds on our own report and interview with Steve Frillmann at Green Guerillas. Annie Novak, noted vegetarian and urban-eco farmer, posted a blog at “The Atlantic Monthly” this week, discussing her work with ‘Growing Chefs’ and with reclaiming rooftops for agriculture (a reclamation that lowers the energy demands of the building as soil insulates it from the sun’s heat and the winter’s snows). The entry is part autobiography – part call-to-action. Her work is certainly inspirational, if only for her ability to grow good food on top of a storage warehouse!
Popularity: 1% | Category Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Greening | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
Saving Money, Reducing CO2, and Getting Profitable IS That Easy
Shut down your machine!
The Ford Motor Company did not require the same sorts of bailouts that the General Motors conglomerate did last year. Its family-run structure likely kept its owners, managers, and designers on their toes because they had their own ‘skins-in-the-game.’ Now TreeHugger.com posts a story about how the company went ahead and saved another cool $1.2 million by, uh, turning off the computers at its headquarters at night and on weekends. The decision is rewarded thusly, according to TreeHugger: “By centrally controlling the power settings on the company’s computers, they are saving an estimated $1.2 million annually and keeping between 16,000 and 25,000 metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.”
Popularity: 1% | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Greening, News and Current Affairs, Site Administration, Sustainability, Technology, Urban Farming | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
ACORN Shuts Down and/or Breaks Up
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now closes national offices.
The board of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now announced today that its national organization was shutting down operations, though state-level community organizations may (and surely will) continue to function. The move likely was, as Frank James at NPR‘s blog put it, a “mercy killing.” The national organization faced charges of bending rules on early elections leading up to the presidential election of 2008, and its situation got only more precarious after the infamous ‘pimp’ video apparently showed ACORN employees assisting a self-proclaimed (albeit undercover former employee) pimp get a mortgage loan for a single-family home he wanted to turn into his brothel.
Popularity: 1% | Category Affordable Housing, Community, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Opinion, Politics | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
We Know You Know, But: Health Care Reform Passed Last Night
It has proven to be about as contentious as whether to override the Articles of Confederation in 1788-1789 into a federal constitution, but laaaate last night H.R. 3590 by a vote of 219-212. The vote was exactly party partisan. President Obama responded with reference to the Constitution and to Franklin D. Roosevelt:
Tonight, at a time when the pundits said it was no longer possible, we rose above the weight of our politics. We pushed back on the undue influence of special interests. We didn’t give in to mistrust or to cynicism or to fear. Instead, we proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things and tackling our biggest challenges. We proved that this government — a government of the people and by the people — still works for the people.
John Boehner, Republican Representative from Ohio and House Minority Leader responded with calls for fear:
Americans are out there are making sacrifices and struggling to build a better future for their kids. And over the last year as the damn-the-torpedoes outline of this legislation became more clear, millions lifted their voices, and many for the first time, asking us to slow down, not try to cram through more than the system could handle. … In this time of recession, they wanted us to focus on jobs, not more spending, not more government, certainly not more taxes. But what they see today frightens them. They’re frightened because they don’t know what comes next. They’re disgusted, because they see one political party closing out the other from what should be a national solution. And they are angry. They are angry that no matter how they engage in this debate, this body moves forward against their will. Shame on us. Shame on each and every one of you who substitutes your will and your desires above those of your fellow countrymen.
Popularity: 1% | Category Community, Healthcare, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Opinion, Politics | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
Video Satire Gets Personal-But What About My Privacy?
This bit of political satire might have you laughing hysterically. Or it might convince you that Progressives and Democrats are indeed Satan’s spawn.
So, if you are still willing to read what I have to say, I will admit I was in tears I was laughing so hard. But after the racket died down, we at MKCREATIVE began discussing the opportunities, and dangers, such technology might bring as we eventually move to Web 3.0.
Popularity: 2% | Category Communications, Fundraising, Marketing, Media Review, News and Current Affairs, Public Relations, Reviews, Social Media, Technology, Web and Print | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
NeighborWorks Offers $119 Million For Community Development
After yesterday’s report about the trickle of federal recovery aid being used to assist mortgage holders on the brink of foreclosure, we can return to the topic of the housing crisis with some much better news. NeighborWorks America has announced that it will be distributing $119 million in grants for this year. The amount is made up of funds allocated by Congress and by philanthropic donations to the organization. Most of the money will go to regional and local NeighborWorks offices, so homeowners will best be served by working with one of their 237 (and growing) local offices.
Popularity: 1% | Category Affordable Housing, Community, Grants and Funding, Nonprofit, Revitalization | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner
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