Posted on Saturday, 12th December 2009 by chris wignall

Kiva has initiated something not far short of a true paradigm shift in donor relations; everyone else would be wise to pay close attention.
By taking a model with some similarities to traditional child sponsorship (as World Vision and Compassion are well reputed for) and taking full advantage of the immediacy of the internet, Kiva has [...]

Posted in Partners, Philanthropy | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 4th December 2009 by chris wignall

We have a hard time getting our minds around relative poverty and wealth. Here’s one helpful idea. Dutch economist Jan Pen imagined a parade in which all of humanity walks past in order of wealth, from least wealthy to most. The parade lasts one hour and people’s heights are also determined by their wealth. (I [...]

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Posted on Thursday, 3rd December 2009 by chris wignall

“What charities other than your own do you personally give to?”
Credit once again to Seth Godin:
if you work for a non-profit and you don’t give money to charity, what exactly are you doing in this job? I’ve met some incredibly generous people in the charitable world, but I can also report that a huge number [...]

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Posted on Monday, 9th November 2009 by chris wignall

It may be the economic issues, poor strategy, or just circumstance; but there are a lot of charities struggling to overcome revenue gaps these days. Over and over again I hear people describing the current fundraising climate as unprecedented. What none of us seem certain on is whether we’re in a period of chaos that [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Philanthropy, Resources | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 6th November 2009 by chris wignall

I have been waiting to be able to announce this:
(Click image for link to more info)
8 Canadian funders have together pledged $1Million to support capacity building for Canadian Christian charities next year. A single application process will give access to all the funders and grants of between $5000 and $30000 to support projects related to [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Philanthropy | Comments (2)

Posted on Tuesday, 27th October 2009 by chris wignall

The stories we tell about people who receive the benefits of charity are very important. They are often a key part of what motivates us to give, they are the way we express progress, and they are the way we assure ourselves that what we are doing is really making a difference. But there is [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Partners, Philanthropy | Comments (1)

Posted on Friday, 18th September 2009 by chris wignall

I just got home from a meeting with young adults who are considering how to become more involved in the work of Opportunity International. It was the first gathering for the group and I am really excited about what could emerge from this.
Opportunity is ahead of the curve simply by acknowledging the value and potential [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership, Philanthropy | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 1st September 2009 by chris wignall

As Catalyst has become a slightly more mature in our funding programs we have learned the importance of establishing and communicating clear criteria for our grants, both in applications and in reporting from grantees.
Today a part of me wishes we hadn’t done so quite so much.
Almost a year ago I had a long conversation with [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Philanthropy | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 21st August 2009 by chris wignall

The global humanitarian crises are desperate and sadly appear all too permanent. Statistics and stories from boooks like Billion Bootstraps, Out of Poverty, and Dead Aid reveal the lasting ineffectiveness of the billions we’ve poured into the developing world for decades. There has to be a better way.
At the recent Willow Creek Leadership Summit Andrew [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Philanthropy, Resources, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 18th August 2009 by chris wignall

I’m always intrigued by innovative ideas about doing good in the world; particularly when they shed light on cultural assumptions that have little basis in fact. Dan Pallotta, writing at Free The Non Profits is doing just that this week.
He argues that (in the USA) current tax laws could and should be changed to allow [...]

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