Weekend Link Roundup (December 22-23, 2012)

Our weekly roundup of new and noteworthy posts from and about the nonprofit sector....

Giving

Philanthropy 2173's Lucy Bernholz wants to know which would have a greater effect on charitable giving: "[G]etting rid of the tax deduction or removing the ability to give anonymously." Cast your vote here.

In the most recent installment of her Social Good podcast series, Allison Fine chats with Giving Tuesday creator Henry Timms, deputy director of the 92nd Street Y, about "the phenomenally successful first year of the event."

"The day took on a life of its own," Fine says on her blog. "Organizations broadened the original concept to include volunteerism as part of the 'donations' for the day and it became [part of] a larger conversation about creating what Henry called Opening Day for the giving season."

Impact/Effectiveness

As part of its annual awards program, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy is asking people to help choose the three grantmaking institutions that "embody philanthropy at its best."

Impact Investing

On their Philanthrocapitalism blog, Matthew Bishop and Michael Green wonder whether the latest position taken by activist hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, should be considered a form of "impact investing." Ackman's firm is shorting the stock of Herbalife, a vitamin supplements company it believes is little more than a "pyramid scheme," and has promised to donate any profits from its bet against the company to charity. "If this is as much as he expects, most of the money will go to his Pershing Square Foundation," write Bishop and Green, although Ackman has "guaranteed that $25m will go to the Sohn Conference Foundation, a pediatric cancer charity....Short selling by a hedge fund is not normally thought of as impact investing," Bishop and Green add. "Yet if Mr Ackman is onto something with his move against Herbalife, perhaps impact investors will start to see shorting as a valuable tool of social progress."

Nonprofits

Charity Navigator's Sandra Miniutti shares a few facts from the Urban Institute's new Nonprofit Almanac 2012, which "features the most recent data on the philanthropic sector, presented in more than 50 charts and 100 tables."

Social Good

On the Impatient Optimists blog, Melinda Gates, co-chair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, reminds readers to pursue their passions with a vengeance. "There are many reasons Bill and I remain inspired and optimistic about the work we do at the foundation," she writes. "But one very important reason that doesn't come up as much is this: It's a lot of fun."

Youth and Philanthropy

Measuring the Networked Nonprofit co-author Beth Kanter has some advice for parents looking to engage their children in charitable work. Her tips include:

1. Help your children learn more about nonprofits;
2. Let your kids choose how to spend some of your charitable dollars;
3. Offer to match their contribution;
4. Set up a spend, give, and save allowance policy; and
5. Encourage them to give their time.

That's it for now. What did we miss? Drop us a line at rnm@foundationcenter.org. And have a very Happy Holiday!

--The Editors