The word “results” is extremely common in the business world, but you don’t hear it as much in the non-profit world. That is changing, but I still hear a lot of my friends griping about how ineffective the non-profits they’ve worked in have been. My guess (and hope) is that that’s not a problem at Results for Development Institute in Washington, DC considering that they have “results” in their name. They’re a non-profit organization that “delivers policy analysis, critical information, decision-making tools, and policy advice for governments, civil society organizations, and external funders to use to reduce poverty and accelerate social and economic progress in low and middle income countries.” It’s all about finding the levers that will deliver the highest impact and then finding the right way to pull them.
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My parents are big gardeners, so when I go home in the summer there’s always something fresh to eat. I never appreciated this as a kid (except for the wild berries in the backyard), but now I think it’s pretty awesome. Gardening is not only a great source of healthy food, but it can also be an extraordinary education tool. That’s why Urban Sprouts, which is based in San Francisco, CA, is using gardening to grow “healthy schools and communities.” It started as “a doctoral thesis project conducted at Luther Burbank Middle School during the 2003-04 school year,” but it was so successful that the school begged them to continue and expand the program.
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I’m lucky to live smack dab between two parks. Though they’re both small but very lively–filled with dog walkers in the winter and everybody else when it gets a little bit nicer out. Park space really makes cities better, which is why managing and maintaing parks is an extremely important job. That’s exactly what the Madison Square Park Conservancy in New York, NY. Madison Square Park is owned by the city, but is managed by a partnership of the Department of Parks & Recreation and the Conservancy. It wasn’t all that long ago that the park “was neglected and crime-ridden.” After $6 million and a lot of work from caring people through the Campaign for the New Madison Square Park, it is now a place that people want to visit again with “lush and brilliant horticulture” and a variety of cultural programs.
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Despite my outdoorsiness, I was never a boy scout. I’ll admit that I was a little jealous of the other kids when they came into school with their uniforms covered in patches, but I’m sure I earned plenty of patches as a kid–even if I never actually got patches (now I can buy them from Best Made Company). Still, I have a ton of respect for Boy Scouts of America. They’re an organization that has lasted more than a century by staying focused on a core set of values. They believe “that helping youth is a key to building a more conscientious, responsible, and productive society,” and they’ve continuously adapted the way that they’ve helped you to keep current. Boy Scouts of America is headquartered in Irving, TX, but they operate (and have job opportunities) all across the country.
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I went to small, private middle and high school. They were really big on outdoor education, so almost every year we took some kind of class trip to promote bonding and a kind of learning that can’t be done in the classroom. The trips were wonderful–even when 20 of us got lost in the woods with one teacher overnight. I was lucky to get these kind of experiences through my school, but if I hadn’t, there’s a good chance I would have done something like Outward Bound. They are “a non-profit educational organization and expedition school that serves people of all ages and backgrounds through active learning expeditions that inspire character development, self-discovery and service both in and out of the classroom.” Outward Bound is headquartered in Golden, CO (but operating across the country), and “was founded in 1941 in the tumultuous waters of the North Sea during World War II, to provide young sailors with the experiences and skills necessary to survive at sea.” They got their start in their current state in 1961.
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New Year’s Eve is a wonderful holiday for celebrating a great year past and the prospects of a great future. It’s a time that we spend with family and friends and think about how we can better ourselves. Yet for many alcohol plays a prominent role in the celebration, and the new year begins with a hangover. That’s not my style, but you’re free to have a great night however you want. Just make sure that your alcohol use doesn’t negatively affect anyone else. Most importantly, that means don’t drink and drive. That’s the message that Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been spreading since it was founded in 1980 by Candy Lightner “after her daughter, Cari, was killed by a repeat drunk driving offender.” Three decades later MADD, which has national offices in Irving, TX and Washington, DC and chapters all across the country, has made a lot of progress fighting drunk driving, but there’s a long way to go considering that there is an injury from an alcohol-related crash every minute.
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One of my favorite classes at Cornell was Animal Science 290, which was better known as “Meat Science” or “Meats.” We did pretty much everything including slaughtering, butchering, curing, cooking, and eating, but, even better, we learned all about the scientific reasons for why we were doing what we did. Everything about the class was great (especially the eating), but one of the unexpected benefits was getting to interact with an entirely different group of students than I was accustomed to. A lot of the kids in the class actually grew up on real, working farms, and I don’t think that I had ever met anyone my age who grew up on a farm before Cornell. They were the kind of kids I assumed did 4-H in high school. It turns out that my view of 4-H was a bit narrow, as it’s much more than an organization for farm kids–it’s a non-profit that “empowers youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults” in all environments. 4-H is based in Chevy Chase, MD, and it’s pretty clear from their website that they’re trying to build an image that goes beyond agriculture. Still, 4-H is administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture and works through the Cooperative Extension of “America’s 109 land-grant universities,” so agriculture remains extremely important within the organization.
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I’ve always been fascinated by wildlife. Every time I see a species that I’ve never seen before in the wild, I get excited. So I find it upsetting that so many amazing animal species are in danger of extinction. I realize that some extinction is natural, some is caused indirectly by man, and some is caused directly by man. It’s that last group that is most worrying. There is currently a $5-10 billion worldwide trade in illegal wildlife, yet many wildlife conservation efforts ignore this fact–they invest millions in try to protect the species, but they ignore the demand side. WildAid is a San Francisco, CA based non-profit organization that aims to “end the illegal wildlife trade in our lifetimes by reducing demand through public awareness campaigns and providing comprehensive marine protection.”
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For most people health is a deeply personal issue that is only to be talked about with close friends, family, and medical professionals, yet “public health” is a term that you hear used more and more. It’s because health isn’t an independent outcome–it’s closely tied to the health of others in your community. You’re better off if your peers are healthy, which is why governments and non-profits direct so many resources to improving public health. One of the organizations that does this work in New York, NY is Public Health Solutions. They are an “organization that develops, implements and advocates dynamic solutions to prevent disease and improve community health.” They were founded in 1957, and since then they’ve been building upon a “foundation of rigorous scientific research to link research and practice in dynamic ways to improve the health of communities.”
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The job search is a vulnerable time for most people, and that results in a lot of people trying to take advantage of those who are looking for work. This makes me very angry, which is why I always do my best to stick my neck out for job seekers. I won’t hesitate to turn down sponsors who seem even a little sketchy, and I’ve put a lot of effort into exposing job and internship scams and pushing for employers to pay their interns. I guess you could call these the ethical duties of my job, and I take them extremely seriously. Josephson Institute for Ethics is a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit organization that also takes ethics extremely seriously (in case you couldn’t tell by their name). Their mission is to “improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior.”
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I don’t think I realized how much I enjoyed the gardens my parents had in our backyard until I moved to a city and lived in a high-rise. As cool as it is to be 30 stories up and see tiny people going about their business below, I’d much rather be able to open my back door and see blooms, butterflies, bees, and birds. I’ll bet that the people at the non-profit American Horticultural Society would agree with me. The AHS “is one of the oldest national gardening organizations in the country,” and since their founding in 1922 they’ve grown to more than 20,000 members. The AHS is headquartered in Alexandria, VA at a placed called River Farm, which was owned by George Washington. It includes 25 acres of landscaped lawns and gardens, so I’m sure it’s stunning.
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During high school I was inducted into The Société Honoraire de Français. Though I don’t remember it, I apparently recited, “L’homme qui sait deux langues en vaut deux” (The man who knows two languages is worth two men). I guess that means I’m worth just barely more than a single man, because I never took a French class after the ceremony (mostly to avoid crazy French teachers). Since then I’ve traveled to places like Paris and Montreal, and a small part of me wishes I had kept up with the language so that I could better appreciate the culture. If I lived in New York, NY, I could use the resources provided by the French Institute Alliance Française. They’re a non-profit organization that aims “to create and offer New Yorkers innovative and unique programs in education and the arts that explore the evolving diversity and richness of French cultures.”
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I’m consistently impressed by how many new grads say they want a socially conscious career. It’s a good sign that so many young people are willing to commit to making the world a better place; however, I think a lot of them overlook how much of a positive impact you can have working in the business world. Just think about how many positive developments over the course of human history were driven by businesses. Net Impact is a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that aims “to inspire, educate, and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.” It’s a membership organization that has more than 20,000 members across 280 worldwide chapters.
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I used to wake up every day, look out the window, and see the Chicago skyline. In my new place, I wake up and see a whole bunch of trees. Though I know I’ll miss being able to watch the city from a few hundred feet up, it’s a nice change. Who doesn’t love trees? Well, the people at the Sacramento Tree Foundation probably love trees even more than the average person. The Sacramento Tree Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Sacramento, CA that is “working to grow healthy, livable communities in the Sacramento region by empowering people to plant, protect, and learn about trees.” They have a goal of planting 5 million trees in the area by 2025. Though they have a long way to go, they’ve already gotten off to a great start.
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There’s no question that America’s future is filled with challenges, and we’re going to be the ones who have to rise to them. It’s a huge opportunity, but it’s also a bit daunting. The New America Foundation is a non-profit organization that “emphasizes work that is responsive to the changing conditions and problems of our 21st Century information-age economy — an era shaped by transforming innovation and wealth creation, but also by shortened job tenures, longer life spans, mobile capital, financial imbalances and rising inequality.” They’re based in Washington, DC (and Sacramento, CA), and they’re working to ensure that every American generation is able to live better than the one that came before it.
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I’m no art expert, which is probably why most of the artists whose work I am familiar with are both European and dead. My knowledge of contemporary American art is pretty limited. Maybe that would change if I visited the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, NY, as it’s the “preeminent institution devoted to the art of the United States.” My awesome sister (who is a painter now pursuing a career in medicine) gave me the heads up on the fact that they’re hiring interns. The Whitney Museum of American Art was founded in 1930 after sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s offer to the The Metropolitan Museum of Art of a collection of more than 500 works was rejected. Much like taking her ball and going home, she took her art and started a new museum.
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I was lucky to go to a school that committed significant resources to both sports and arts. Though I certainly wasn’t a standout in either area, I’m convinced that I was a better student because of both. It’s that connection that drives what the Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation does. They’re a New York, NY based non-profit that aims to “bridge the academic performance gap among under-achieving students by extending the school day and year with wholesome, skill-building activities designed to improve New York City children’s academic performance, health and wellness, attitude towards school, self-confidence, character and values, and opportunity for lifelong employment.” The organization was founded in 1992, and it now serves more than 50,000 students across more than 300 public schools.
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I’m on Cape Cod for a wedding this weekend, so I decided to take my girlfriend over to Nantucket, MA for the day yesterday. I hadn’t been there in 9 years after going there every summer for the first 18 years of my life. It’s a wonderful island that is loaded with history. We walked around all day and made stops at the Old Gaol and the Whaling Museum, both of which are owned and operated by the Nantucket Historical Association. Both are well worth a visit, and so are all of the other NHA properties. If you want to learn about early American history, Nantucket is a great place to visit, and much of the reason is because of the work of the Nantucket Historical Association.
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It’s hard not to notice homelessness when you live in a big city like Chicago. I can’t even leave my apartment without seeing a panhandler–there’s one guy who is always sitting in front of the Starbucks down the street during the day and in front of the Hooters next door at night. I don’t give him money because I don’t think that it helps solve the root of the problem, but I often think about what would be an effective solution. Pathways to Housing is a non-profit organization that seems to have it figured out. They’re based in New York, NY with offices in Burlington, VT; Washington, DC: and Philadelphia, PA, and they’ve taken a “housing first” approach that is focused on “addressing homelessness among people with psychiatric disabilities.” In other words, they provide housing before any other services, and they’ve found that this is a far more effective way to attack the root causes of homelessness.
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I don’t know about you, but I did a ton of learning after school. Sometimes it was in formal activities like Odyssey of the Mind or a computer class, but often it was on my own, whether it was digging holes in my backyard and finding artifacts or trying to teach myself how to write simplistic computer programs. While formal education sets the foundation for a successful life, it’s often the activities that students take up outside of school that influence what they do later in life. The After-School Corporation is a New York, NY based non-profit that works “in New York and the nation to change public policy and expand public funding so all kids from all backgrounds can have high quality experiences beyond regular school hours that support their intellectual, creative and healthy development.” They’re different from other non-profits that focus on after school activities in that The After-School Corporation does not actively operate after school programs.
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I can’t believe that it’s already back to school time. I’m not happy that summer is nearing its end, but I’m going to keep pretending it’s summer and playing beach volleyball until I’m forced to put on a hat and gloves. I don’t know for sure, but my guess is that the school kids who are involved with The Steppingstone Foundation aren’t nearly as bummed about going back as the average kid. The Steppingstone Foundation is a non-profit “organization that develops and implements programs which prepare urban schoolchildren for educational opportunities that lead to college success.” They’re located in and focused on Boston, MA, and they’ve been helping children achieve at higher levels since 1990.
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Although I may not be a big fan of NPR, I guess it’s pretty useful for learning about new companies and organizations to profile. Yesterday one of the sponsors that was mentioned while I was listening was the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They’re a Princeton, NJ based non-profit that is “devoted to improving health policy and practice.” It’s one of the wealthiest charitable foundations in the world, and it was founded after the death of Robert Wood Johnson II, the founder of Johnson & Johnson. During the 90s one of the Robert Wood Johnson’s main goals was to curb tobacco use in the United States. They spent nearly half a billion dollars on it, and they were quite successful. Now they’re using what they learned in that battle to fight childhood obesity.
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Last Sunday we took a look at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and how they’re promoting democracy across the world by helping build strong electoral systems. Today we’re going to look at an organization with similar goals, but a very different approach. The Center for International Private Enterprise is a Washington, DC based non-profit that “strengthens democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform.” We often emphasize the political freedom part of democracy, but I’m convinced that economic freedom is just as, if not more, important. The Center for International Private Enterprise or CIPE is all about helping countries build an economic system that encourages a democratic way of life.
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For me water is all about recreation. It’s a place to fish, swim, kayak, and hopefully one day learn how to surf. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy drinking water–I’ve had servers at restaurant tell me that I drink more water than any other customer they’ve served–but it’s mostly an afterthought. Unfortunately, for nearly a billion people across the globe water is neither fun nor an afterthought. “Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.” charity: water is a non-profit organization that is “bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.” They’re based in New York, NY, but they’re doing work all over the world. One of the most interesting things about charity: water is that they’re able to put 100% of the public donations that they receive towards clean water projects. This is possible because a small group of private donors has committed to covering the organization’s operating expenses.
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Although the United States may not have invented democracy, but we certainly made it popular. That’s not to say that we always get it right, but we’ve built a model of government that has inspired a lot of people (the people who work within that model aren’t nearly as inspirational). Our nation went through a brutal war to achieve the system that we have in place, and now we’re watching similar processes happy in many places across the world. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems or IFES is a non-profit organization that “promotes democratic stability by providing technical assistance and applying field-based research to the electoral cycle in countries around the world to enhance citizen participation and strengthen civil societies, governance and transparency.” They’re based out of Washington, DC, but they obviously do a ton of work internationally. IFES has been around for just under 15 years, and they’ve already worked in more than 100 countries.
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Now that our country has a shiny new AA+ credit rating (that’s a downgrade from AAA in case you were wondering), we’re going to have to get far more serious about cutting our government’s deficit spending. Considering that 23% of Federal spending is on health care and that health care costs are consistently growing faster than GDP, we’re going to have to find a way to spend less on health care. Oddly enough, there seem to be a lot of people who strongly believe that cutting costs and improving health care can go hand in hand. Some of those people run the New England Healthcare Institute, a Cambridge, MA based non-profit organization that is “dedicated to transforming health care for the benefit of patients and their families.” They realize how broken our system is, and they’re taking an evidence-based approach towards fixing it.
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Our country’s relationship with Europe started off pretty rocky. There were all kinds of conflicts including the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Spanish American War, and plenty of others. It wasn’t really until after World Wars I and II that U.S-Europe relations really began to stabilize. That’s why in 1961 The Atlantic Council was founded. They are a Washington, DC based think tank that “promotes constructive U.S. leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting the international challenges of the 21st century.” Over the organization’s 50 years its mission and programs have evolved, but they remain focused on maintaining a constructive trans-Atlantic dialogue.
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I took French in middle and high school, and I hated it even though I was pretty good at it. I dropped French as quickly as I could (after 10th grade) and never tried another language. Now I realize how important speaking multiple languages can be. Unfortunately, picking up a new language gets progressively harder as you get older. If only I had started as a young kid. That’s what Global Language Project is all about. They’re a New York, NY based non-profit organization that “seeks to equip disadvantaged public-school students with the skills to compete in a globalized world and work force” through a “free and comprehensive language training program.” It’s amazing how many opportunities can be opened up for you just by speaking multiple languages. Global Language Project aims to leverage this fact to empower young students.
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Yesterday we looked at an organization called Youth Service America that encourages youth to get involved in their communities. Today we’re going to look at an organization with a similar, but slightly different approach. Mobilize.org is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that aims “to improve the way democracy works by investing in Millennial-driven solutions.” I kind of hate the term Millennial, but it is important that our generation makes an effort to act together in our shared best interest. It all started with a guy named David Smith who was a student at UC Berkeley. He learned of another tuition increase, and instead of taking it, he mobilized some peers and made some noise. It worked, and David decided to make the movement national by starting Mobilizing America’s Youth, which eventually became Mobilize.org.
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Some of my fondest memories from my high school years are of my church mission trips. Every summer my youth group would pile into a van, head somewhere within a day or two’s drive, and start helping people–usually by fixing up dilapidated houses. It was a ton of fun, and it was extremely rewarding. Consequently, I’m a strong believer that everyone should be involved in some kind of service work, especially our nation’s youth. That’s why Youth Service America caught my attention. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that “improves communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles.” It’s all about building a commitment to service in the next generation that will continue to thrive as the generation matures.
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