Beyond Giving asks us several questions on important topics that we’ve talked about a lot but haven’t written about yet. The new “FAQ” subcategory on this blog is for posts that directly answer a common question about our project. Here are Beyond Giving’s questions: 1) What’s your evidence that you can accomplish your stated goal…
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I am not a flake
I said we would update this blog every Tuesday and Saturday. It says so right over there on the left. Today I am swamped, and I might not be able to give you the Tuesday masterpiece I’m sure you’re addicted to. I have more pet peeves than anyone else I know, and one of the…
The Holden Foundation: Serving obnoxious bloggers
You know what I wonder, late at night? I wonder whether if Bill Gates had gone the traditional route and created the Gates Foundation at the very end of his life, the Gates Foundation would have been devoted not primarily to education and health (as it is now), but to promoting computer literacy across the…
The customer is on your side
Crif-Dogs and I have different goals. They want my money; I want their delicious bacon-wrapped hot dog. They have to listen to me and cater to me to win my $4.50 (shut up – it’s well worth it). They might think I’m an idiot to want mustard with my bacon-dog, but they give it to…
Every time I tried to tell you, the words just came out wrong …
The latest Blog Carnival asks what donors wish nonprofits knew about them, and vice versa. In a way it’s a strange question: the idea of “wishing” knowledge on someone makes me think of forbidden love, or 8th-grade crushes, or at least Jim Croce. It doesn’t seem relevant when discussing two groups of adults that are…
Wait till next year
I’ve talked a fair amount about the question of what a foundation should do with all the money it has left over, after giving all the money it can give for a year. Now Jon B raises an interesting alternative to both investing it traditionally and to investing it in “responsible companies”: loan it to…