Each week we try to bring you a collection of links that highlight political news that impact nonprofits, helpful links for nonprofit professionals, the importance of sharing stories, and something positive to end your week.
Helpful Nonprofit Links
- In a great article in SSIR, Allison Fine & Beth Kanter discuss bots, nonprofits, and service programs.
“Early adopter nonprofits have used bots to automate civic engagement, such as helping citizens register to vote, contact their elected officials, and elevate marginalized voices and issues.”
- Antionette Kerr uses the TV show Friends as an entry point for a discussion on diversity, communications, fundraising, and nonprofits.
- The Silicon Valley Community Foundation confirmed that Mari Ellen Loijens, a top official accused of sexual harassment and poor leadership, has resigned. The Chronicle of Philanthropy details the resignation here. This follows Marc Gunther’s article which provided the context of why this resignation happened.
“Former staff members say Loijens’s fundraising prowess allowed her to get away with treating people badly.”
- Why is grant reporting such a broken, painful process for all parties involved? And can we do anything to make it less so? David Sasaki and Dennis Whittle dig into these questions on Feedback Lab’s website.
- Last week we shared a tool for dealing with internet trolls. This week, Caroline Haskins at the Outline looks at how isolating trolls appears to be effective on Reddit.
- Ben Paynter from Fast Company reports on data that shows that “47% of all tech nonprofit founders are women, compared to just 17% at traditional startups. Minorities make up 30% of all tech nonprofit founders compared to 13% in the for-profit field.”
- This infographic from AdWeek shows how consumers expect brands to contribute to social good and quality of life.
Political News
- Conversion therapy is a dangerous and discredited practice that claims to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Only 10 states have banned this therapy. Elly Belle from Teen Vogue reports on politicians in Maine attempting to ban this practice. Meanwhile California is also looking at banning this practice. Sophia Bollag from the AP details the progress in Sacramento. If you’re looking to learn more about conversion therapy, we recommend this link from the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
- Kate Mirkin at Salesforce lists five ways that the Wildlife Conservation Society is utilizing Salesforce to further their mission. This post provides good examples of how data management can further your mission. For more on this subject, check out our data and analytics archives.
- Scott Waldman and Niina Heikkinen of E&E News describe how released emails show that Scott Pruitt’s EPA coordinated with House Republicans regarding plans to restrict the science used in crafting regulations. If you’re looking for a nonprofit organization that is keeping track of all of the Pruitt and EPA news, check out the Union of Concerned Scientists. Click here to view a blog post by Yogin Kothari on this subject.
- Erin Ruben from NPQ details an ongoing issue between the state of Tennessee and the city of Memphis. The article describes how the city of Memphis sold two city parks to a nonprofit, Memphis Greenspace, as a way to remove three Confederate statues from the park. To retaliate, the Republican-led state legislature approved a last-minute amendment that would cut $250,000 that had been allocated to Memphis for a bicentennial celebration. Citizens of Memphis responded to the cuts by starting to crowdfund campaigns to replace the $250,000. Click here to view a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $62,000 in two days. Click here to learn more about the work Memphis Greenspace is doing. Finally, we appreciated this sentence in Ruben’s article, after quoting a state representative who compared the removal of confederate monuments from public parks to what ISIS does.
“We would like to briefly acknowledge the confoundingly horrific comparison between community activists and terrorist groups, between leveling cities and making room for more inclusive narratives.”
Sharing Stories
- Teen Vogue has incredible coverage of how young people are engaged in politics. This week, Rainesford Stauffer shares the stories and perspectives of students in Kentucky who are organizing against gun violence.
Something Fun
- This gif shows two different dogs participating in a dog discipline/attention course. Some days we’re the German Shepard. And some days we’re the Golden Retriever.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons