Peter Frumkin

How much money should the grieving families of the Washington area sniper victims receive? Is $5,000 enough? How about $50,000? Or how about nothing at all?

In the aftermath of the shootings, a local nonprofit organization appealed for donations to help families victimized by the attacks. After several weeks, the group had raised $50,000 -- to the dismay of its spokeswoman, who observed that "$50,000 divided among 13 families isn't a lot of money." In fact, it is only a… more

Seeking greater programmatic effectiveness and lower costs, government agencies have long contracted with both nonprofit and for-profit providers for the delivery of a broad range of human services. 1 In recent years, however, the stakes involved in many service-contracting decisions have changed. Public managers today are increasingly having to make judgments about the current and future structure of the provider marketplace that will have far-reaching implications for the organizations that deliver services, the clients who rely on these services,… more

For years, foundations have experimented with a broad range of theories and tools for generating social change. To frame our thinking about the ways in which foundations go about generating change, it may be useful to distinguish between macro-level strategies and micro-level tactics. At the strategy level, foundations typically adopt one or more theories of change that express their underlying beliefs about how progress is achieved in a given domain. At the level of tactics, foundations select one or more theories of leverage that dictate how… more

The art world is all abuzz with the news that a vacationing Scottish museum director, searching through boxes of drawings at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, in New York, came upon what everyone now seems to agree is undeniably a work by Michelangelo. The drawing represents one of only a handful of works by the Italian master in this country and is probably worth more than $10-million.

To the delight of the Cooper-Hewitt, Michelangelo's drawing of a massive candelabrum, replete… more

I recently interviewed a foundation trustee about her institution's payout policy. In explaining why her foundation never strayed very far from the legally required minimum disbursement, she made a telling observation. It went something like this:

The charitable world has few good measurements of social impact and effectiveness. Staff members often contend at board meetings that programs are working. But when pushed, they really can't document performance very well or show what the money is buying in… more

Who should pay for misconduct in a charity? That is the question that the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston faces as it continues to reel under the ever-darkening cloud of sexual misconduct by a significant number of its priests.

After the recent conviction of the archdiocese's most notorious pedophile, John Geoghan, the archdiocese settled the legal claims of a first group of his victims for an estimated $30-million. More priests have been named and more lawsuits are coming. By the time… more

The New Year brings with it the promise of change, reform, and renewal. For the harried and often unappreciated nonprofit manager, the list of possible resolutions is long. Though often muttered quietly and grudgingly, here are some resolutions I have heard nonprofit people whispering in the hallways in recent weeks.

I resolve to:

Figure out a way to use volunteers sensibly. This year, I won't bend to the pressure of my yuppie volunteers to have that big blowout clambake at the end… more

Discontent runs deep in philanthropy today. Although the amount of money given away each year continues to rise, there are lingering doubts about what, if anything, billions of dollars already backed by good intentions have ultimately produced. Of course, almost all foundations, corporations, federated funders, and major individual donors can point to some grants that have led to impressive results. However, it remains very difficult to see how the many small and isolated success stories of donors around the country… more

The effect of the war against terrorism on civil liberties presents one of the most important challenges facing nonprofit leaders.

On issues ranging from profiling at airports to the use of national identity cards to new limits on Internet privacy, difficult choices await a thoughtful resolution. Rather than approach the issue from the extreme edges of the policy spectrum, nonprofit officials should call for a national discussion about where a middle ground might be found that could guide the nation's political… more

The events of September 11 eclipsed President Bush's plan to funnel more government money to religious charities, and in recent weeks the White House has decided against fighting to get Congress to approve its entire plan. In the short run, at least, the President will try to persuade Congress to pass a few noncontroversial measures, such as tax incentives to encourage people and corporations to give more.

But the president's faith-based plan was in trouble even before the national zeitgeist… more