Philanthropy Action

May 05, 2008

Human Rights and Philanthropy

The tendency in philanthropy to overstate impact plays a key role in undermining the confidence of the public in philanthropy and non-profits. Several studies have shown that such confidence is at an all-time low. When philanthropy makes assertions and promises it cannot meet, it encourages public cynicism. In the case of human rights, isn’t it enough to say that all human beings deserve to live lives of dignity without appealing to grander claims?

May 05, 2008

Recession and Donor Advisors

Donor advisory services have been growing rapidly in recent years, particularly among private banks. But many of these private banks are facing budget cuts because of turmoil in global financial markets.

May 01, 2008

Donors’ Role in Non-Profit Fraud

A recent study suggests that non-profit fraud may account for $40 billion in losses annually. Donor demands regarding low non-profit overhead is partly responsible for creating an environment in which fraud flourishes. For those donors who are most concerned about fraud, their first priority shouldn’t be to demand proof that their funds be used for program expenses, but to demand that their funds be used to invest in quality financial systems and well-paid finance professionals.

Apr 30, 2008

No Punishment for Traffickers

Nearly every country on the globe is either a source or a destination location for trafficked people (or both). Most trafficking cases begin with the promise of a good job in another location (a separate country, or a different region). The trafficked person goes willingly at first, and only realizes later that he or she has been sold into slavery or debt bondage. While sex trafficking gets most of the headlines, labor trafficking is far more prevalent. The United States estimates that 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders every year, while many NGOs in the sector estimate that the total number, including those trafficked within their home country, exceeds 20 million.

Apr 29, 2008

The Global Fund Not Seeing Red

Some recent news articles raise new, conflicting questions about Bono’s (Product)Red campaign.

Apr 24, 2008

Explosive Growth in Conditional Cash Transfers

Conditional cash transfer programs (CCT) are rapidly gaining popularity around the world. While there are studies which show that CCT programs have a positive impact, there’s still a lot we don’t know about how well they work, why they work, and how to structure programs for maximum benefit to both recipients and society. To help answer these questions, we recently spoke with Dr. Leigh Linden, an assistant professor of economics at Columbia University.

Apr 23, 2008

Paying Parents to Keep Kids in School

For families living in poverty, the cost of sending a child to school can involve more than just educational fees. The “opportunity cost” of attending class—generally measured in potential wages lost as a consequence of having a child who’s in school rather than taking care of younger siblings so parents can work, or working himself—can be too great to justify the expense and delayed benefit of a formal education. To deal with this conflict governments are experimenting with conditional cash transfer programs which, in the case of education, provide incentive payments to poor families that send their kids to school.

Apr 21, 2008

Turning a Corner on Malaria?

The UN is planning a focused five-year campaign to eradicate malaria. Such an effort could save millions of lives. But we should watch the rhetoric of the campaign carefully, and be prepared for a long fight—one that will demand the attention of thoughtful donors long after the current spotlight has moved on.

Apr 16, 2008

Global Food Inflation: What Can Be Done?

Rapidly rising food prices around the world are capturing front page headlines daily. The problems in the agricultural sector of been decades in the making and will take several years to fix.The biggest danger is that in the rush to short-term fixes, we’ll simply create more distortions that don’t deal with the real issues and make future food crises even worse.

Apr 11, 2008

Cash Is More Addictive than Nicotine

Economists from Innovations for Poverty Action and the World Bank have found that money might be the most powerful tool to help smokers quit.

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