Summer 2018 – Digital Issue

Nonprofits as Engines of a More Equitable Economy and Do Donor-Advised Funds Need Regulation?

Volume 25, Issue 2

Features

• The Nonprofit Whisperer Is there a guideline for measuring how many grant writers are needed on staff to raise x amount of funds?
  Is that even the right question? The Nonprofit Whisperer weighs in on the importance of a strong culture of philanthropy.
  
  
• Rethinking the Economy and Our Role Within It
  
  
• The Economy Is Changing—and So Must We
  “What is the role of civil society in a world where the economic ground beneath us is shifting rapidly?,” asks Nonprofit Quarterly senior editor Steve Dubb. This article explores that question and outlines some paths toward community wealth. by Steve Dubb
  
  
• Organizing Our Economy as if We Lived on a Single Planet: A Conversation with Douglas Rushkoff
  If efficiency requires us to send slaves into caves to extract metals and create toxic waste that destroys the planet, notes media, technology, and society expert Douglas Rushkoff, then maybe we should be less efficient. This interview explores the inherent problems with our current extractive economy.
  
  
• Visions of a New Economy from Detroit: A Conversation with Malik Yakini
  A democratic society, contends activist and educator Malik Yakini, requires embedding the economy in “a universal, respectful, inclusive approach to spirituality that recognizes . . . the connection we have to each other and to the planet.” This interview situates the search for a more democratic economy in the history of the movements for Black liberation and food justice in Detroit.
  
  
• Social Enterprise: What the U.S. and European Experience Can Teach Us— And Where to Now?
  As author and professor Janelle Kerlin has noted, “From practitioners to policymakers, activists, and funders of the social good, social enterprise has captured the imagination and hopes of a growing cross-section of society that seeks to find a more sustainable answer to the problems of society.” This article examines notable differences between the philosophy and practice of social enterprise in the United States and Europe. by Janelle A. Kerlin
  
  
• Do Donor-Advised Funds Require Regulatory Attention?
  Donor-advised funds have been around for a half-century, but until commercial financial firms began playing the part of sponsors, DAFs were largely uncontroversial. Now, DAFs are in direct competition with community foundations, and tensions are erupting. The problem is, DAFs do not operate in a transparent manner yet are afforded tax deductions. And this, writes Nonprofit Quarterly editor in chief Ruth McCambridge, “raises questions about accountability and access.” by Ruth McCambridge
  
  
• Three Simple Steps to Protect Charities and American Taxpayers from the Rise of Donor-Advised Funds
  “Without a doubt, the most noteworthy story affecting the charitable sector over the past twenty-five years has been the meteoric rise of donor-advised funds,” writes Ray Madoff, cofounder and director of the Boston College Law School Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good. This article lays out three steps to ensure that DAFs work “for everyone.” by Ray D. Madoff
  
  
• DAF Reform—A Chance to Provide a Real Benefit to Working Charities
  This article, by former tax counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Dean Zerbe, asks what it would look like if donor-advised funds reform focused on, among other things, “getting . . . dollars out of warm banks and into the hands of working charities.” The result, concludes Zerbe, would be nothing short of astonishing. by Dean Zerbe
  

Departments

• You First: Leadership for a New World “Tipping Points—Tipsy Times”
  “With news that CO2 levels in April 2018 hit the highest average ever recorded, I couldn’t help but think about the boiling frog video.” Thus begins Mark Light’s meditation on organizational change efforts and why we tend to resist them. by Mark Light, MBA, PhD
  
  
• SPECIAL REPORT How Many Nonprofits Are There? What the IRS’s Nonprofit Automatic Revocation and 1023-EZ Processes Left Behind
  This report, by Nonprofit Quarterly consulting editor Michael Wyland, is a first-of-its-kind analysis of the state of the nonprofit sector since the IRS’s nonprofit automatic revocation process and introduction of the 1023-EZ. by Michael L. Wyland
  
  
• Community Influences: Understanding Nonprofit Markets
  Here, Spectrum Nonprofit Services principal Steve Zimmerman outlines how to undertake a holistic market analysis so that an organization can both better understand the needs of its community and be better positioned to serve it. by Steve Zimmerman
  
  
• Courageous and Ethical Leadership in a Polarized World
  This article is a reminder that we can choose where we stand in a moment of challenge. Such choices, well and courageously made, can be both very dangerous and the deepest expression of respect for ourselves and each other. by Grant Oliphant