CSRwire's New Multimedia Platform
February 20, 2008 1 min. read

CSRwire is a site that covers pretty much everything to do with corporate social responsibility. It tends to take a pro-business slant on the issue, but also contains a lot of useful information. Interested in the CSR profile of Coke vs. Pepsi, CSRwire is a good place to start. They’ve just added a multimedia section […]

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Nobody Trusts Non-Profits
February 19, 2008 1 min. read

Thanks to Tactical Philanthropy for pointing out this Ellison Research study that suggests a majority of Americans do not trust non-profits to spend their money efficiently. Most of us apparently believe non-profits spend too much money on fund-raising and administration. The average American believes that 22.4 cents out of every dollar would be reasonable, but […]

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Does Gates's Money Buy Too Much Influence?
February 17, 2008 1 min. read

The fiesty WHO malaria chief, Dr. Arata Kochi, thinks that the Gates Foundation's $1.2 billion supporting for malaria research gives them too much influence over the field. He believes that it is now becoming difficult to find non-biased scientists to peer review research, and that the Foundation using its weight to to ensure that research […]

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Remittances Linked to Corruption
February 17, 2008 1 min. read

A new IMF Working Paper has found an association between remittances a country receives, and the deterioration of institutional quality in that country. It seems counter intuitive but basically they are saying that if citizens have more non-taxable income, there is less incentive for the government to spend its own resources on those citizens. The […]

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Burma Keeping Do-Gooders in Check
February 15, 2008 1 min. read

Like a lot of non-democratic governments (and some democratic ones as well), the junta that rules Burma likes to keep track of the international NGOs operating in its country. You never know when they’re going to be stirring up an insurrection. This article gives a brief description of the policies they have put in place […]

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Aid to Africa Serves Many Purposes
February 15, 2008 1 min. read

One of the recurring themes here is that public and private philanthropy have many driving purposes. There probably isn't a better example of this than the US current aid policy in Africa. Not only is aid is the dominant feature of US foreign policy on the continent, but we also see the three major purposes […]

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Gates Foundation Can't Go It Alone
February 13, 2008 2 min. read

This online Op/Ed by David Dickson originally comes from scidev.net, but I found it on an interesting blog called Gates Keepers. It keeps an unbiased eye on the Gates Foundation, as is worth a read if you have interest in what Gates is up to. The Op/Ed makes a sound argument that the Gates contribution […]

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Google Quotes Ghandi
February 12, 2008 3 min. read

As part of the Slate's special on philanthropy the executive director of Google.org, Larry Brilliant, wrote a very good explanation of the thought process behind Google's philanthropic funding decisions. Because most of this post will be a negative critique of his reasoning, I want to start by saying I appreciated Brilliant's view, and think that […]

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Slate on Philanthropy
February 11, 2008 1 min. read

Slate published a series on philanthropy today. The cover story is about what they call the “Slate 60”, a list of the 60 largest charitable contribution in the US. It is an annual series with a stated goal of inspiring the wealthy to compete for the top spot. Why 60? I have no idea. Maybe […]

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Handouts with Conditions
February 11, 2008 2 min. read

Another Economist article caught my eye this week, it discusses a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program in Brazil, Bolsa Familia (Family Fund). CCT programs give poor families money if they meet certain conditions, usually participation in public health programs or educational sessions. Programs like the one in Brazil have been tried in many Latin American […]

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The Limits of Leapfrogging
February 11, 2008 1 min. read

This week's Economist contains two articles that discuss leapfrogging technology – when a society skips a generation in technology. The usual example is the cell phone, which a developing country can adopt without ever having had widespread landlines. Both Economist articles refer to a World Bank report on Global Economic Prospects. Leapfrogging is usually seen […]

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Counter-Terrorism Standing in the Way of Charity?
February 10, 2008 1 min. read

The Christian Science Monitor ran on op/ed by Ian Wilhelm last Friday. He contends that US-backed policies to control charitable giving in the Muslim world are making it more difficult for wealthy Muslims to donate money. Since 9/11 the US has been understandably concerned with Muslim charitable foundations – some of which are suspected to  […]

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