While the United States may not hold the patent on freedom, I’m pretty sure that we hold the trademark. Freedom and liberty are a huge part of our national identity, though a nation, almost by definition, imposes limits on freedom. That’s generally where political differences arise from–how much and what types of freedom should be limited? The people at The Institute for Humane Studies would probably say not much and not many. They are an Arlington, VA based organization (housed at George Mason University) that “advances a freer society by discovering and facilitating the development of talented, productive students, scholars, and other intellectuals who share an interest in liberty.”
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Have any of you seen the movie North? Roger Ebert said, “North is a bad film – one of the worst movies ever made” (and Siskel agreed). I sheepishly admit that I liked it. It’s about a kid who sues his parents so that he can be a free agent and have potential new parents try to woo him. I think the reason that so many people found the movie so distasteful was that North, the main character, has an exceptionally good life–and this makes light of the fact that there are so many real-life kids who really could use legal help to get out of truly terrible situations. Luckily, there’s a real-life organization to help them. It’s called the Juvenile Law Center. They are a Philadelphia, PA based non-profit that “plays a leadership role nationally and in Pennsylvania in shaping and using the law on behalf of children in the child welfare and justice systems to promote fairness, prevent harm, secure access to appropriate services, and ensure a smooth transition from adolescence to adulthood.”
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Chances are that there’s something happening in your community that bothers you and you’ve done nothing about it. Most of us could stand to be a bit more engaged in our democracy, but it’s harder and harder to get yourself engaged as you get older. That’s why Generation Citizen wants to start while kids are in high school. It’s a Boston, MA based non-profit that “teaches teenagers direct political action through an innovative in-class curriculum” where “students work with local leaders to fix local problems.” These classes are taught by “near-peer college Democracy Coaches” (college student volunteers) alongside secondary school teachers.
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Think about your favorite small business. If you like it enough for it to be your favorite, they’re probably doing a lot of things right–but chances are that they still face a lot of serious challenges. Unfortunately, they’re small, and that means that there are a lot of factors that they have little control over. That’s why many small business owners have banded together to start Small Business Majority, a San Francisco, CA based “national small business organization, founded and run by small business owners to focus on solving the biggest problems facing small businesses today.” They have offices in thirteen cities across the U.S. that are working to “bringthe voices of small business to the public policy table.”
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From what I’ve seen, the non-profits that work at the community level often have the most impact. They may be smaller, but they’re in touch with the most pressing needs and able to react quickly to them. A great model for big non-profits might be to work through smaller non-profits. In fact, that’s exactly what Local Initiatives Support Corporation does. They are a New York, NY based organization that “has connected local organizations and community leaders with resources to revitalize neighborhoods and improve quality of life” over the last three and a half decades. They do this by bringing together public and private resources and making it easy for partners to access them.
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Over the past 7 years, I’ve heard from a lot of frustrated college grads who can’t find jobs. Some of the most frustrated have been international students. They came to the U.S. to get an education, and they’d love to stay here and put that education to use. Unfortunately, the current laws make that extremely difficult. Right now we have a system that is both unfair and economically damaging. We can do better, and FWD.us is a San Francisco, CA based non-profit lobbying organization that wants to make that happen as soon as possible. It was “started by key leaders in the tech community to promote policies to keep the United States and its citizens competitive in a global economy—including comprehensive immigration reform and education reform.”
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I love shows like The Wire, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos. One common theme in all of those shows is money laundering. When you earn a lot of money illegally, you have to find a way to make it “clean.” While pop culture has made me well aware that money laundering happens on a large scale domestically, I had no idea how big the problem is for developing countries. Not only do these nations have to deal with the initial problem of criminal activity, but they also have to deal with the fact that these activities are sucking money out of their economies. Global Financial Integrity is a non-profit organization that is working to stop this. They are based in Washington, DC, and they promote “national and multilateral policies, safeguards, and agreements aimed at curtailing the cross-border flow of illegal money.”
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I can’t stand political advertising, but it must be pretty darn effective. Why else would politicians have spent $6 billion on advertising for the 2012 elections? Though it may seem crazy to think that people who spend other people’s money for a living are rational spenders, remember that getting elected is what they’re actually good at. Still, they often need outside help, and that’s where Targeted Victory comes in. They’re an Alexandria, GA based agency that has “anchored digital campaigns on the local, state, and presidential level.” While at some point they seem to have worked with non-political clients, today they seem to only work on the Republican side.
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We can all agree… that we can all agree on some things sometimes–even when it comes to politics. I tend to like when the disagreement between the two parties locks things up because it means that the government won’t be able to break anything else; however, I understand that occasionally we need our government to actually accomplish something. The Bipartisan Policy Center is a Washington, DC based non-profit that encourages the two parties to work together on important issues where ideological differences can be worked through. The organization was “founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell,” so it truly is a bipartisan effort.
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Our government spends a lot of money. $10 billion is essentially a rounding error in the Federal budget. The problem with that is that even the tiniest amount of government spending can have a huge impact on people’s lives. It’s important that our elected officials do a better job of spending our money on the right things. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a Washington, DC based non-profit that “conducts research and analysis to help shape public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that policymakers consider the needs of low-income families and individuals in these debates.” This is an organization that sees the people in the rounding errors.
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I went to both a public and a private university, yet I never transferred, and I only got one degree. How did I do this? I went to Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. It’s a New York State school even though it’s part of a private university. While it wasn’t always obvious, there were definitely times when I noticed distinct differences between how the public and private sides operated. Public universities and land-grant institutions often have common constraints, and that’s why they work together through the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. It’s a Washington, DC based non-profit “research, policy, and advocacy organization representing 219 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and related organizations.”
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This is the time of year when homelessness becomes more visible for many people. The colder weather combined with the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons help us remember that not everyone has a roof over his or her head. In fact, there are “633,782 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the United States.” The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a Washington, DC based non-profit that, as its name indicates, would like to bring that number down to zero. As a leading voice on the issue of homelessness, The Alliance “works collaboratively with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build state and local capacity, leading to stronger programs and policies that help communities achieve their goal of ending homelessness.”
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While our government’s intelligence programs seem to be getting a lot of attention lately, they’re not the only one’s gathering information for strategic purposes. The same stuff that is important for our government to know can also be important for businesses, non-profits, and even individuals. Unfortunately, you can’t just knock on the NSA or CIA’s door and say, “Hey, what’s going on in Southeast Asia lately?” That’s why Stratfor exists. They are an Austin, TX based “geopolitical intelligence firm that provides strategic analysis and forecasting to individuals and organizations around the world.” They do this through two main product lines: subscription services and consulting. In other words, you can buy the information that they’re collecting, or you can hire them to get the information that you want.
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At this point you’ve spent a lot of your life in a classroom. Do you think you’d be better off if you spent more or less? I lean towards saying less, but only if I would have put that time to good use. I tend to think that a lot of today’s kids are overworked when it comes to school, but that’s probably because I went to a very competitive private school. There’s a lot of research that shows that more time in school leads to better outcomes, and The National Center on Time & Learning is a Boston, MA non-profit that “is dedicated to expanding learning time to improve student achievement and enable a well-rounded education.” Even though it pains me to say it, The National Center on Time & Learning probably has it right.
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There is a seemingly infinite number of non-profit organizations fighting for the environment. Whether it’s the Marine Conservation Institute, the Biodiversity Project, or the International Council on Clean Transportation, at any given moment you can find a group of people organizing somewhere to do something to better the condition of the world around us. Although there are many groups and organizations that focus on single environmental issues, there are few that cover as many bases as the Natural Resources Defense Council. While you may have never heard of NRDC before, you’ve probably seen the effects of their influence. The Natural Resources Defense Council, is a non-profit based in New York, NY that is tackling a variety of issues including clean energy, pollution, and endangered animals. Named by The New York Times as “one of the nation’s most powerful environmental groups,” NRDC does everything it can to approach environmental issues from all sides.
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While I tend to think that the importance of home ownership is overrated by most people in the U.S., I do realize how powerful the psychology of owning something can be. This becomes far more important when it comes to how you make your living. Using someone else’s capital is often the easiest choice, but it gives you very limited control over your future. This may not matter so much if you’re an accountant who is working in a competitive labor market, but it’s a huge deal if you’re farming for subsistence–and that’s what much of the world’s people do. Landesa is a Seattle, WA based non-profit that “works to secure land rights for the world’s poorest people– those 2.47 billion chiefly rural people who live on less than two dollars a day.” They do this because they believe that when people own the land, they can invest in improving it without worrying about having to worry about someone else reaping the rewards.
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I used to be really interested in politics, but over the past decade I’ve come to the realization that business is usually a better way to enact positive change than public policy is. While I might have lost most of the faith I had in the political process, I still realize that it’s necessary for a functioning society. The only way that it’s going to get better is for better people to go into politics. American Council of Young Political Leaders is a Washington, DC based non-profit (big surprise there) that is “recognized as the pre-eminent catalyst for introducing rising political and policy professionals to international affairs and to each other.” The organization was founded in 1966 by leaders from both American political parties because they saw how important fostering cooperation and understanding could be at the height of the Cold War.
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While I love meat (I told you about that yesterday), I love the outdoors even more. There are all kinds of ways to enjoy nature, but I think that hunting and fishing are two of the best (they’re also a great way to get protein). It may seem that these sports lead to the depletion of resources, but in reality hunters and fishermen are some of the most ardent conservationists around. Theodore Roosevelt is a perfect example. The guy was a total badass–the Presidency was probably the most boring part of his life (except when he was campaigning, got shot, and finished his speech). While Teddy killed a lot of animals during his lifetime, his conservation work has had an amazingly positive impact on wildlife. That has continued with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. They are a Washington, DC based non-profit that “strengthens laws, policies and practices affecting fish and wildlife conservation by leading partnerships that influence decision makers” to “guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish.”
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While the USA may be the only country with America in its name, it’s not the only country in the Americas. Our region encompasses much of the Western Hemisphere and has an amazing diversity of geographies, cultures, people, and more. While most of us seem to get along pretty well compared to other parts of the world (at least recently we have), it’s still important to foster an even better inter-American relationship. That’s exactly what Americas Society/Council of the Americas does. They are two New York, NY based non-profits in one that aim to improve relations across the Americas. The Americas Society “is the premier forum dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue in the Americas,” while the Council of the Americas “is the premier international business organization whose members share a common commitment to economic and social development, open markets, the rule of law, and democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere.”
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Transportation is all about turning energy into movement. The problem is that almost every single mode of transportation results in some sort of environmental impact. Even when you’re walking down the street, you’re constantly expelling carbon dioxide. After thinking about it for a while, I’ve come to the conclusion that floating down a river might be the cleanest form of transportation. Unfortunately, that’s not realistic for most of us (even if it is my favorite way to travel). Luckily, we have the International Council on Clean Transportation to help us all move towards cleaner transportation. They are a Washington, DC based non-profit that aims “to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of road, marine, and air transportation sectors and fuels, in order to benefit public health and mitigate climate change.”
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One of the most important areas that non-profits do work in is education. I have no doubt that education can be the solution to many of society’s biggest problems; however, improving educational outcomes for any group of people is never easy. There are organizations working on nearly every facet of education, so one would hope that we’ll eventually start seeing some significant gains. The Institute for Educational Leadership is a Washington, DC based non-profit that brings “together leaders across the various sectors of education (P-20), workforce development and child- and youth-serving systems” to build “partnerships across institutional boundaries, helping individuals and institutions tackle leadership challenges and leverage the resources of multiple partners to foster reform.”
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When I think about the environment, I usually think about water quality. That’s because I’m a fisherman, and the ecosystems that I practice my sport in are particularly sensitive. Air quality issues are much easier to ignore because they’re usually not as immediately apparent (until you run into a 100 degree day with an air quality advisory and can’t breathe). Yet the fight for clean air may be the environmental cause that is most important during our lifetime. That’s certainly what the people at the Center for Clean Air Policy think. The CCAP is a Washington, DC based non-profit that is “a recognized world leader in climate and air quality policy and is the only independent, nonprofit think tank working exclusively on those issues at the local, U.S. national and international levels.”
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For me Father’s Day is all about wildlife. I’ve spent every one for the past 20 years in woods of Michigan on a fishing trip with my Dad. It used to mark the end of the trip, but this year it’s the beginning. Every year we get to reap the benefits of the work done by conservation organizations. Up there a lot of the work is done by non-profits with a sporting focus, but I’ve come to realize that there quite a few organizations that protect wildlife just because it’s something that should be done. One of these is Defenders of Wildlife. They’re based in Washington, DC, and they aim to “protect and restore imperiled species throughout North America by transforming policies and institutions and promoting innovative solutions.” The organization was founded in 1947 and operates at both a national and local level.
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A week in the desert has reminded me just how live-giving water is. Even a tiny trickle of a river can completely change the landscape out there. Seeing that reminds me how vital our oceans are to our planet’s health. While 12% of the earth’s land is protected in one way or another, only 1% of its oceans are protected. Marine Conservation Institute is a Seattle, WA based non-profit that is trying to change that. They “use the latest science to identify important marine ecosystems around the world, and then advocate for their protection, for us and future generations.” Because of the nature of oceans and the fact that they cover more than two thirds of the earth’s surface, it’s easy to overlook how fragile and important they are. Marine Conservation Institute exists to remind us.
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Latin America is a region with amazing economic potential. I haven’t spent a ton of time there, but I’ve spent enough to know that the business climate is very different from the U.S., and can vary significantly from country to country. Still, the economies of Latin American countries are very closely tied to each other, and that makes it extremely important that there is cooperation and communication amongst the business community. The Group of Fifty is a Washington, DC based non-profit that is made up of select “business leaders who head some of the most significant and forward-looking enterprises in Latin America.” The organization provides “a forum for the leaders of the region’s most important companies to address changes as they appear in different sectors and markets, to hear from their peers in other countries about alternative business strategies, and to compare experiences and exchange ideas about the future of the hemisphere, its economies and its politics.”
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I’m in Michigan on a short fly fishing trip, and that means that I’m making the most of my access to public land. It’s easy to forget how lucky we are in the United States to have access to so many interesting places for free. Much of that is thanks to organizations like The Trust for Public Land. They’re a national non-profit based in San Francisco, CA that was “founded in 1972 with goals of protecting land in and around cities and pioneering new land conservation techniques.” Since then they’ve done work on more than 5,000 parks and conservation projects, and by using “sophisticated finance and legal techniques,” they’ve had amazing success.
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I was blessed to go to great schools with great teachers. I’m convinced that a big part of why the schools performed so well was that the parents demanded it (especially at my private school where the parents were truly customers). Unfortunately, many of our country’s schools are underperforming, and often the parents of children at those schools are unable to hold the administration and teachers accountable. Parent Revolution is a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit that is aiming to change that. They want to “transform public education based on what is good for children, not adults, by empowering parents to transform their under-performing schools through community organizing.” That obviously sounds great, but it comes with a ton of controversy.
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Our country was built on railroads. Rail travel changed the way that nearly every entity did business in the 19th and early 20th centuries, much like the Internet has done during our lifetimes. The similarities don’t end there. The railroad system was subject to multiple boom and bust cycles, and that led to far more rail being laid than could ever be used. Chances are that you have abandoned rails somewhere near you. Rails-to-Trails is an organization that wants to put them to use. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit that is aiming “to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.” Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has been around for more than 25 years now, and in that time they’ve helped the number of rail-trails grow by more than 700%.
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While it seems to me that most of the debate about healthcare policy happens at the national level, states actually bear a lot of the responsibility on that front. It makes sense in that they’re closer to the people they’re serving, but it also means that there are a lot of separate organizations doing the same things just in different places. The National Academy for State Health Policy is a non-profit that helps “states achieve excellence in health policy and practice” by working with each other. The organization is based in Portland, ME and Washington, DC, and they provide a “forum for constructive work across branches and agencies of state government on critical health issues.” While most functions will be duplicated across states, they’ll each have a slightly different take on health policy. The National Academy for State Health Policy allows these organizations to learn from how other are approaching the same issues.
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Two weeks ago we took a look at the Better Government Association, an organization that “works for integrity, transparency, and accountability in government by exposing corruption and inefficiency; identifying and advocating effective public policy.” While shining the light on government misdeeds is one way to make things better, it won’t fix everything. We need better people working in our governments. My idea is to instate a political draft, but I’m not sure that will ever fly. City Hall Fellows offers a more reasonable approach. They’re a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that engages “diverse, talented young people in the work of cities.”
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