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Meet the Hidden Majority of Nonprofits: The All-Volunteer Organization

NonProfit Quarterly

In this series, The Unexpected Value of Volunteers , author Jan Masaoka takes on the underappreciated topic of volunteerism, provides some unexpected ideas, and points the way toward a public policy agenda on volunteerism. But informal hierarchies may be the dominant—if inexplicit—system in place. (Of

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Strengthening Democracy by Practicing It

NonProfit Quarterly

These approaches fail to enable democracy to work, because democracy is based on the equal value of each person’s voice in making collective decisions about the good of the whole. Mariana Mazzucato, The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy. Berkeley Journal of Sociology 17 (1972/73): 151–64.

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What We Can Learn From the COVID-19 Philanthropy Commons

Stanford Social Innovation Review

We attribute this failure, largely, to sociological hurdles. But if everyone is pitching their own funded work rather than listening and buying into others’ suggestions, then (without first addressing the fierce individualism that is so prevalent within philanthropy) the value of the shared infrastructure will be nil.

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Safety First: CEO Grows Organization, Leads Communities By Doing The Right Thing

Fundraising Leadership

While she did later return to earn a bachelors in sociology from College of New Rochelle and a masters in nonprofit and organizational management from Maris College School of Management, Chan Shue joined the NYPD in 1993. “I stopped going to school to take care of my dad. I take care of everyone,” Chan Shue says. They call me Mother Teresa.”

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Calling People Forward Instead of Out: Ten Essential Steps

NonProfit Quarterly

It’s well documented in studies in the fields of psychology, anthropology, sociology, and even neuroscience that shaming, blaming, and guilting someone shuts down the center of their brain responsible for learning and growth. What values are central to this world? What values are central to this world? How would people feel?

Sociology 128
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Digital Friendships

The Agitator

Here, from Stephen Baker at Business Week, is a superb article on the psychology, sociology and anthropology of "digital friendships" — you know, all those online relationships you have on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc, etc. But for business and individuals alike, the value in online friendship is poised to grow."

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Recapping & Reflecting: How to Learn from Nonprofit Mistakes

Fundraising Coach

We recommend promoting risk-taking within reason as an organizational value. Surveys have shown that adults in the U.S. overwhelmingly prefer playing it safe to taking risks. However, a study from Susan R. Why can’t the same be true for your nonprofit?