Northern California Grantmakers

It’s Monday again and I’m perusing our Twitter feed and the blogs I follow on Google Reader finding all sorts of interesting articles and commentary on Philanthropy. Here’s what’s caught my eye so far today:

Disaster Relief
“Floodwaters Continue to Surge in Pakistan”. Photo essay showing the effects of flooding on the people of Pakistan.

“The Legacy of Katrina for Gulf Coast Charities”. In this Chronicle of Philanthropy article nonprofit leaders talk about where things stand five years after Katrina.

Learning From Others
“Do No Evil”. Stanford Social Innovation Review article by Suzie Boss takes a look at Google’s philanthropic arm DotOrg and how their corporate culture proved its brilliance and its burden.

Social Innovation Fund
“Amid Concerns of Favoritism, Federal Officials Disclose New Details on Selection Process”. Social Innovation fund officials explain their decision to post 10 of the 11 winning SIF applications online.

“Next Steps for Social Innovation Fund: A Call to Action”. Tactical Philanthropy’s Sean Stannard-Stockton examines the controversy surrounding the Social Innovation Fund’s transparency issues.

Social Media
“Six Pixels of Separation”, a summary about a new book by Mitch Joel that examines “how social media is connecting your business to everyone.”

Social Media is a topic rife with themes, tangents and conversations. Here’s a few recent blog posts and articles that caught my attention:

“Arts Groups Use Twitter to Compete for Grant” by Kate Taylor, New York Times Art Beat. A sort of cautionary tale of the pitfalls of social media driven competition funding.

“Philanthropy 2.0: Raise Awareness, Raise $” by Natasha Isajlovic-Terry, Philanthropy Front and Center. A breakdown of some of the new social media fundraising platforms.

“Where Social Media Doesn’t Matter” by Dan Elitzer, Full Contact Philanthropy. As Nonprofits become more savvy at using social media to bring money in, will they use their marketing skills on the delivery side?

“Why We Love Social Media” by Rosetta Thurman, Stanford Social Innovation Review. Exploring the emotional effects of social media and how organizations can use social media to build real trust with potential donors and volunteers.

The Stanford Social Innovation Review is taking a moment to highlight their most read articles of 2009.

Ranked by popularity (measured by hits on their website), these most-read articles can be read online.