Week Ten!

So I guess last week was not the end of this wonderful blog we have been keeping. So here we go...

This class has sort of come full circle with the article about Obama's budget plan and the change in tax incentives. We discussed tax incentives for giving in the first few weeks of school and our group talked about how we do not really mind that people are only giving because of tax breaks as long as they are giving. But now with the limit on the incentive to give it could really hurt the nonprofit sector. At the same time though, it would be helping the economy. And there is the fact that when the economy is good less people need the services of nonprofits. So this leads to the question which would be the best way to go about this? On one hand, since I hope to work in nonprofits I want more and more people to give to them, but I am also a citizen of this nation and know that we are in desperate need of a strong economy. Then there is the other article about nonprofits facing a defining moment in nonprofits. No pressure here or anything right? Just basically right now is the make or break moment of nonprofits and will determine where the future lies. Don't mess up or anything, because the lives of millions are in the hands of the players right now. But while there is so much pressure it also gives nonprofits a chance to think differently and REALLY make a difference on so many levels. I am looking forward to seeing what they do, and how they handle the changes that are now the "new normal", that phrase sounds so sad, but every could has a silver lining. "New normal" could be great.

The art-endowed foundations article was very interesting. For a place like the Smithsonian to give in to the public so easily really surprised me. I am so glad that so many people and foundations stood up for what they believed in because I agree with them and this was not an ok thing to do. I assume that that the people who were against this were those who felt as if public money was going towards art that did not reflect their values, when in reality the place their money goes is towards the buildings and maintenance. The exhibits are privately sponsored. If you do not want to be affiliated with these ideas you do not need to be. Art-endowed foundations do not really come to mind when I think about foundations, but now that I know they exist I feel like I will be more aware of them and all the work they are doing. I found this letter when I googled more about the exhibit and thought that the president of the foundation did a wonderful job conveying the message in a very professional yet passionate way. (I still never learned how to make this a link after 10 weeks but I hope you guys still read it because it is great!) http://www.warholfoundation.org/foundation/35_detail.html?page=1

Also, here is a news article I saw with clips of the video. What do you guys think? I am not offended by what I see, are you?


Integrate social impact in your nonprofits DNA. Easy enough right? It could be possible if you follow the steps in the article. In a always changing society, it is important that nonprofits can change with it to appease the audience. It seems that now a days everything has to be direct and to the point. Our time is precious and we cannot be bogged down by extra details, we are in the fast lane and everyone needs to keep up. An eight word mission statement fits perfectly. Eight Words?!? was my initial thought. But now I like it. Reminds me of when I was in high school and we wrote six word novels. Keep it simple, keep it light, and you can be more effective. But what about the people who want more? Saving rain forests and building house in Venezuela, is a little vague in my opinion. But maybe with these new steps for impact organizations will be able to create more jobs and tie in to the previous article we had to read about the new normal. Maybe the direction we move in will not only affect the world we live in but also change the entire nonprofit culture. I look forward to seeing where it goes, and hope to join in soon to make a difference myself!

Week 10

It seems that philanthropy has been so resilient during the recession because this is the time when so many of us depend on it most. I was not surprised to hear that philanthropic giving has not been effected by the recession; many of the people who give money to organizations are live off of the interest of their own large endowments and although interests rates are less beneficial the upper .01 percent of the income bracket is likely relatively unaffected by the recession relative to people in lower income brackets. I don’t think that the new budget will deter philanthropic giving significantly; philanthropy is part of the culture of the upper class. It seems that upper class people are always in fear of being perceived as greedy and selfish, I think part of the reason they give to charities is to ensure to themselves and others that they are not the stereotypical rich person. This prejudice against the rich will only grow as the gap in income difference does and for this reason, silly as it seems, I think that people will still keep donating to charities. Oh and because it makes them feel good.

            One of the articles mentioned that this post recession economy would eventually become the new normal. This really saddened me; 60 minutes this week talked about the growing number of children becoming homeless.  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7358670n&tag=contentBody;housing

I wonder how this growing crisis will develop into a future where the economy has flat lined and I think that there will need to be a greater dependency on organizations that create programs catered to this large new group of impoverished children. I watched a documentary on HBO on this same topic which fallowed and organization right near Disneyland, an area that is infamous for a large child homeless population, the organization created a school for homeless children that provided them two meals and a safe place to talk about the issues going on in their families. The purpose was to make sure that the children feel comfortable at school and that they are not made fun of for wearing the same clothes every day and don’t feel the pressure to have the latest toys. It was a very inspiring story however it is also very sad to think that there may be a time where there is a need for many of these organizations because middle class people can no longer pay their mortgages. 

            I am proud of the Andy Warhol foundation for standing up for their beliefs, the Smithsonian is an organization that documents our culture and if they are going to leave homosexuality and AIDs out of their exhibitions they are failing to properly reflect American culture especially artistic culture which  we rely on to question notions of conventional sexuality and culture. It makes me happy that so many artists have foundations that address wide ranges of social issues. I think that this is an affirmation of arts importance in society. Many of our cultures greatest artist are also our greatest social theorist and it makes me happy to see that they are working to keep alive what is important in our country and attempting to relive us of our prejudice through exposing us to provocative and thought provoking art works.

            I thought the article on design of impact was very spot on, nonprofits are in a place right now were the industry is growing and more and more competition is popping up with this there will be more of a need for data collection that proves an organizations effectiveness. I think this is an important step because it is a push that will force organizations to collect information that allows them to better evaluate their approaches and techniques.

Week 10

I wasn't sure if last week was supposed to be our last blog post but since there was week 10 readings posted on blackboard here is week 10's blog post:

This weeks readings were on a broad range of topics all dealing with foundations from tax breaks to artist-endowed foundations to what one foundation looks for when giving out grants. From the O’Neill book I was surprised to find out that only 3% of the nonprofit revenue comes from foundations and that in the past these foundations were centralized predominately in the northeast. This makes sense though, when looking at the history of nonprofits and foundations, the northeast was really where it all started and where the first large foundations were established. I also thought it was interesting in looking at the list of the nonprofit sectors that receive the most funds from foundations that international issues and affairs was so low on the list. I wonder if since this book was written and now that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest in the world, if this has changed.

The reading on changes to tax incentives was also interesting. We talked about this before in class about whether the wealthy would continue to give to charities without the incentive of lower taxes and it will interesting to see if these changes actually happens and then what will happen to the different foundations and charities. However, since as the next reading stated that even through the recession philanthropy was raising more than $300 billion each year of the recession, I think that many people would continue to give to nonprofits. This reading also mentioned the “social impact bonds” that the UK is trying to implement, I wasn’t quite sure how this worked, if it was tax breaks to investors who financed these programs because they lowered government costs or what, I was a little confused at this part.

I really liked the reading about artist-endowed foundations and what happened at the Smithsonian. Its one thing for the public to protest the removal of the video by artist and AIDS activist, but something else entirely when its an artist’s foundations that give grants to the museum to help it run. These foundations finance exhibitions and donate artwork to museums and its only right that they have the voice to protest a museum of other organization removing artwork because it might be controversial. I was also surprised about the variety of organizations that these foundations fund, from HIV/AIDS, animal welfare, environmental conservation, and mental health.

In the last article, they talk about only funding organizations that can prove that they are effective and beneficial and how only these groups should grow and expand. This is a good idea, however I think it is really difficult to fully measure how effective a group can be without letting it work for awhile which requires funding and if funders are only looking to fund groups that are effective, it will be extremely difficult for any new organization to arise.

Week Nine!

I think this weeks’ theme should be empowerment. The empowerment of humanity makes all things possible. We just have to be careful who and what we are empowering. Are we empowering a rebel militia or a mother with a child sick with malaria? In the Aid vs. Trade clip Ngozi Okonojo-Iweala talks about how giving aid to women in Africa has proven to increase benefits in economic development. I found this to be very interesting. She said that women use their money to contribute to things like healthy youth. I don’t mean to be sexist but I can see how that is the case. My mother first and foremost agenda is to make sure my sister and I are safe and healthy. My father’s foremost agenda is to make sure I have a good education. Many people do not have the gift of having to parents to collaborate like that. I can see how investing in women can have a healthy impact in a society socially and economically. It is a shame that most aid goes to men as Ngozi stated. I do not think that men should not receive aid for funding but keeping it equal with women seems extremely valuable.

After this weeks readings I got the impression that globally people are constantly trying new ways to tackle the problems pressing the human race. For example, looking at the site on Mercy Corps. They take pride in the fact that they are a grassroots organization. The people working there are locals who know the real issues and needs of the people they are trying themselves run them themselves. They also state that often times the people who are working for them received benefits from Mercy corps previously. I think that often times organizations think that “experts” who have gone to school gotten PhDs and so on know what is right for a community but it’s the locals who really know what is going on and what they need. I think this is especially the case when it comes to disease, economic development and poverty. Ngozi Okonojo-Iweala also spoke about how she did a survey to ask people what their biggest concern was and they said jobs. I think this type of assessment is absolutely crucial in anytime of aid giving process. The people who are being helped must be involved in order for the operation to be successful. William Easterly talks about how the dispersment of aid is also an issue. Like I said before we need to be sure the people we are helping are the people actually in need. Giving money straight to a corrupt government does not seem like an efficient way to disperse funds. That is why we need to continually to try new ways of achieving goals, such as the ones laid out in the Millennium Development Goals.

In the case of MDGs the people in charge realized that they were not on track to meeting their goals and thought of new innovative ways to keep the ball rolling in the right direction. In doing this they addressed the failures of the programs and developed an acceleration plan. There is a great video on this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUt-uMvSD1I. I would suggest that constantly re-accessing and re-focusing your goals keeps them clear and with the times. As long as organizations, like Mercy Corps. are staying true to their main goal of helping the needy they will find ways to prevent any straying from the path.

Week 9

I’m glad we finally got to international nonprofits since this is the area that I hope to someday work in and definitely find the most interesting. From the book all the information that was given was for the most part already things I had known about and areas that are covered a lot in international studies classes. One of the pieces of information that I think should be noted is the “Green Revolution.” This research of advancements in the agricultural sector is something that I find fascinating and unnerving. When the Rockefeller Foundation funded this research their intentions were to advance agriculture and provide high yielding varieties of crops in order to grow more food and help peripheral countries. All of which is a good idea, however I don’t like the genetically modified organisms that were created through this research. While some have a good use and are effective, the GMO that is round up ready only continues to exploit communities in the periphery where the agricultural sector is already having issues in compete in the capitalist market ruled primarily by the western nations. Another that exploits those in the periphery is the change in the genes of the seeds that makes the seed good for only one planting, after that the seeds it produces are unable to grow anymore crops, instead new seeds have to be purchased every year. Here is a short video from CBS news that gives some facts about GMOs and how many people do not even know that they are eating food that’s been modified and another that better describes GMOs. (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4086524n http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php). These developments and agricultural practices have caused many of the issues today that international nonprofits are working on trying to fix. For example, much of the environmental degradation is caused by an increase use of plants that have been modified and need round up or other herbicides and fertilizers to grow, yet also deplete the soil of much of its nutrients. After years of this many of the pests have become accustomed to the herbicides and pesticides and prosper in these areas, ruining crops and spreading disease.

I also thought that the videos were interesting to watch. It’s incredibly unfortunate that much of the money that is given to nonprofits is lost along the way. There definitely needs to be more people that watch out for those receiving the aid and make sure that they receive all of it and as William Easterly was saying, there needs to be more accountability to those distributing aid. Also, in the video Aid vs Trade, I thought the lady brought up a great point that there needs to be more talks between those giving out aid or trying to do humanitarian work and those receiving the aid. There are too many people trying to go to countries and fix problems that they see, instead of going to the people that live in these communities and see what they think needs to be fixed and what process should be taken to accomplish it. Another thing she said that is important to remember is that aid cannot fix problems but can only be facilitator.

Last One...I think

In my opinion Micro-lending is the new face of philanthropy. Micro lending allows middle class people to participate in philanthropy, which is often times reserved for the upper class who have enough expendable money to donate large amounts of money or create their own foundations. One organization that has really interesting lending model is Kiva, which allows people to donate to small businesses in Africa and Latin America through an online, facebook paypall like profile.  Most loans go to women and range from 100-10,000 dollars with no collateral. It has been very successful so far. Kiva has expanded to 11 countries and given thousands of dollars in loans to small businesses. What is so unique about Kiva is that the lender can go online and view the profile of the business it wants to donate to. Below is a frontline video that shows a man from San Francisco who donates to Graces Peanut Butter in Uganda. It is a really inspiring story and I think it is possible for social entrepreneurship organizations like Kiva and Grameen Bank to replace the need for foreign aid and alleviate poverty through small loans. I think it is a way to take the selfish aspect out of free market attempts to correct global poverty. I also thought that this topic connected to the aid vs. trade video on blackboard.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/video_index.html

            When I think of the World Bank, I immediately think of this documentary I saw called, “Yes Men.” It is a movie about two guys who made a website that look like organizations that they don’t like and show up to conferences as fake representatives for these organizations they call it, “identity correction.”  They try to tell the truth and expose the lies of entities they dislike while impersonating them. It is hard to explain, but here is a video of them impersonating the World Trade Organization. In this case they go to a university to discuss the “WTO’S” new plan to partner with McDonalds and serve people in third world countries burgers made of poop. The video is really funny and I think it gives a good example of why the WTO and organizations like it, (World Bank), maybe are not so effective at foreign aid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTG6sGX-Ic&feature=related.

            The Yes Men’s satire of foreign trade to me had a real connection to what William Easterly had to say about the World Bank. It seems like people just go in and imposes capitalistic ideals on little villages in unindustrialized countries and expects the money to change the world. To effect change you have to dig deeper than economic principle and the incentive to make money and this is why it doesn’t make much sense for these economically driven massive organizations to be helping the poor, when they have no real idea of what it means to be poor. I think that organizations like Kiva are much more effective abroad. Many Kiva lenders keep close contact with the business, in the video we see the lender emailing graces peanut butter to ask how things are going. This provides a sense of accountability that goes beyond collateral and perhaps this is what is necessary to effect change in a small village where money is less culturally central. This also means that if business owners are having issues that they can communicate it to the lender who may be able to offer them help, it is a community like lending model which in my opinion is much more successful in small villages where people have a much better understanding of community than they do economic principles.  I think that if we are going to reach the “Millennium Goals” we are going to have to rely much more on social entrepreneurs than large foreign aid organizations, because these organizations lack the personal connection that effects long term economic change.  

            I think that Mercy Corps is a very interesting organization, until looking at their website I thought that they only worked in the United States.  Both of my boyfriend’s parents were in the Peace Corps and they both had amazing experiences and made life long connections with the people in the villages where they worked. I like that organizations like Mercy Corps, send people abroad for years and not just a few weeks, I think that having people commit to staying somewhere and helping for two years makes the person really connected to the cause and really want to see it succeed. These kinds of personal connections are so important to global aid and are what large lending organizations lack. The Chapter on Philanthropy was interesting; it made me realize what mass amounts of money go towards the non-profit sector each year and I am surprised that with so much money we have not figured out a way to fix the world. But reading everyones blog this term has made me much more hopeful for the future, everyone had some really wonderful ideas and I look forward to watching them develop into change. 

Week Nine!

Wow! Week nine already! Time has flown by I cannot believe it is our last blog postings today. International nonprofits are not something I thought much about, until I came to college. Now it is a part of the sector I would like to be involved with at some point in my career. To me international nonprofits create an interesting situation. When there are so many problems in the United States that need fixing and different services to do so, I feel as if we can forget about the rest of the world and their needs. We are a very fortunate country and should share our good fortune with those in need outside of our borders. Nonprofit Nation stated that international nonprofit work can help create better relationships between us and other countries. I had not thought about this before I read it, but it makes a lot of sense. So many people have a misinterpretation of what Americans are like and I think our goodwill work in across the world can provide us with the opportunity to change the image one might think of when they think of Americans. International work has been around for a long time and will continue to be a important part of the nonprofit sector. A sign that it will be around until at least 2015 are the Millennium Development Goals. These goals seem pretty ambitious, and to be achieved in 2015? That is only four years away. But as long as someone has a vision and they are working hard why can't they be achieved. So much good could come from them that I hope the United Nations makes a big dent in the goals. I feel if anyone had the power to achieve them it would be the United Nations.

Before I even watched the trade vs. aid video I thought to myself that maybe there are other ways besides international aid that would be more or equally beneficial. Trade vs. aid makes one really examine what is best for the well-being of a country or even a whole continent. So many people want to give back that sometimes it is not in the way that is really the most important or beneficial. When I think about Africa and the organizations I have heard about there it seems like many of them do the same things but if there was investments in all of the economies throughout the continent there might not be so many problems to deal with.

Mercy Corps does so much! I looked at their website a few blog posts ago to learn more about what they do and I was amazed. There are so many projects that they have going on at once all over the world, there must be A LOT of people involved in making it a successful organization. I have become more interested in fundraising this term through a class I am taking and I was very intrigued by what they have on the website. They have a donate tab, but they also have a support a project tab. The project tab is great for those who want to be involved but might not have the capacity, they have made it possible for someone to create a page and get donations from their friends and family. They also use great videos to show what they are doing first hand, which makes things more relate-able to us. We are so fortunate that we are not in situations that many of these people are in and Mercy Corps does a good job at tugging on our heart strings when we see videos such as the following...


Why Does Foreign Aid Fail? Shows that while many organizations are attempting to do good in the world, they sometimes fall short. I was not familiar with the World Bank, before watching the video so I decided to look up the organization. As soon as the video started I was a little put off by William Easterly because he immediately stated that he had a bitter experience that made him feel the way he does about foreign aid. The word bitter sort of made me question the rest of his video. I kind of felt like it was a yelp review of a restaurant. Some may say that the food was delicious, they had a great time, and the atmosphere and service was wonderful; and then there is one person who did not like how the hostess spoke to them and proceeds to give the restaurant a horrible review. While I know that there has to be unsuccessful parts in the world of foreign aid I think most people are trying to make a difference and not just a dollar. But there must be some validity in his statements because he has seen things first hand. Obviously they aren't going to boast their shortcomings on their website so it was interesting to hear the other side of the organization.

I have had such a great time reading each one of your posts! I have a feeling we will all run into each other in new classes very soon, but if not good luck with the rest of your time here at the U of O!

Week 8

I thought that this week’s readings about the arts in the
nonprofit world were extremely fascinating, especially on how much they bring
in for revenues and how much the average person spends each year going to
various events. The fact that consumers spent more on performing arts events in
1999 that on attending sports and seeing movies, I thought was exceptionally
surprising because while I knew that many people attended theater and musicals
and various events, I thought for sure that sporting events and movies would
bring in more. However this might just be from my own point of view and while I
attend performing arts events I more frequently attend sporting events or go
see a movie. It’s also interesting that so many arts and music programs are
being cut in high schools when the jobs once out of school in these fields
provide so many Americans employment and brings so much more money into the
economy.

The readings on advocacy organizations were also
interesting. I had heard about many of the organizations that were listed in
the readings and also in outside searches of examples, but was surprised to see
how under financed and comparatively small they are. As a nonprofit
organization that can advocate for or against different issues and can change
current policies and practices in the different sectors of our government and
economy they are incredibly important. I am not sure if Planned Parenthood
necessarily fits in the advocacy organization group, but since it is now
threatened by the lack of government funding and is an advocate for sexual and
reproductive health care, it is unfortunate that they could lose a major source
of funding and be even more under financed.  I was unable to get the organization
website to load on my computer to find the current data but on the org’s Wikipedia page it was mentioned
that one third of the org’s funding is sourced by the government, and while it
is still receiving a large chunk of its funding from other sources it is still
quite a bit and many people would be negatively affected if this actually
happens. It doesn’t really make sense that this is one of the org’s or programs
the government is thinking of cutting to reduce our country’s debt, a lot that
is an expense of the health care bill to provide citizens with universal health
care and then think to go and cut an already existing and effective group.

I also thought that senate bill was interesting in trying to
find the organizations that are not using there money for the betterment of the
communities or for expanding their organization to reach more people. While the
reading said that it was not a huge problem here in Oregon, it still provides
more money to the organizations that are actually giving their money back to
the community. 


(I dont know why its formatted so weirdly, I tried to change it back to normal
but I think I made it worse :/ )

week 8

Art! How can you be against it? It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing but, since beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose it is not much of a surprise when people cut funding for the arts. This weeks readings were about Art and Advocacy and Advocacy for the Arts. I really enjoyed readings the chapters and the articles because they displayed a somewhat softer side to non-profits. Healthcare, homelessness, drug use, child abuse, poverty all these things seem to be more closely associated with non-profits than the Arts. I think it is important that the Professor displayed that these seemingly facts of life tend to discourage ones outlook on the human race. Art on the other hand surprises, enlightens and engages the human race. The guest speaker today, Sarah Collins, passionately spoke about how everyday she creates her own art. How art does not have to be restricted to a painting or a play. Aren’t we all kind out works of art? The books talks about how art organizations are poorly funded, but are widely renowned and attended. I would be surprised if organizations involved in the arts would be one of the corrupt ones associated with the new Senate Bill 40. Unfortunately it seems that exploitation happens to the most vulnerable of people. I believe that it is a very tough decision to decide where funding should and should not go. I just think it is interesting that we put so much funding into research, which is incredibly important, but aren’t researchers simply expressing themselves through science and technology? We can argue so many things to be considered art. I had an econ GTF who would call low level math arithmetic and higher-level math, like calculus and derivates and things, art. Who am I to tell him its not? The article “The Power of Non-profits” discusses the great contributions non-profits have made in our history, mainly concerning civil rights. In the article they quote some of our founding documents, which personally give me chills to read sometimes. They are so powerful and moving. I would argue anything that can do that can be some form of art. It is a real shame there is a lack of funding for organizations that nurture this type of human expression. The Bloomberg article about how much the arts have pumped into the economy really enlightened me on the impact art has, both emotionally and economically. I am in a class called thinking sustainable. It is all about thinking in systems. If we look at art and its relation to the greater system of the economy we can see that we would be at a lost if we removed its presence. For example, in the article called “Poetry gives teens a voice” the author talks about teens are given the opportunity to express themselves and flourish doing so. The most substantial thing I got from the article was that programs such as the national Youth speaks art-in-education program gives youth and underprivileged youth the chance to show that they have something more than what people may see at first glance. It is amazing what that time of opportunity can do to a person.

Basically I believe that art creates, educes, and encourages social capital. Which I would argue is a driving force of mankind.

Week Eight!

I was very excited to find out that this week we would be talking about the arts. Arts in the nonprofit sector is not something that I think about when the word nonprofit comes to mind. Know that the notion of the arts in the nonprofit sector is on my mind, I can see how powerful it much be. Even thought the speaker today, Sara Katherine, was in class to talk about education she lit up when the discussion of arts in the nonprofit sector. It made me happy that someone cares so much about the arts and feels the need/importance of them in everyone's lives. The book states that France, Germany, Sweden, and "other modern economies" play a large roles in the their countries artistic and cultural arts. I just don't see how as a culture and country with so much appreciation and interactions with the arts everyday do not feel the importance of them. There needs to be a push to change our mindsets.

The article on arts groups contributing $166.2 billion to the economy was such good news to hear, even though it was from 2005. In a time where arts are not as highly respected as other things, it is good the know that there is still a presence. But is disheartening to know that they still do not receive a proper amount of funding going towards this part of the sector. I decided to look up the phrase "life without the arts" to see what would come up. Even though this is a commercial, the beginning points of view on the arts gave a variety of thoughts on the arts. Take a look at the video and in the comment area I would be interested in your thoughts on the arts.

This is a great example of fundraising for a arts nonprofit, it really makes you relate.

Since I was on youtube I also looked up Youth Speaks Nashville to actually hear some of their work. Those who recite poetry, especially slam poetry always amaze me. There is so much power in this art and the confidence that people have when they share their works is very moving. I would never be able to do something like that, therefore I respect these teens and all poets so much.


The Power of Nonprofits article really stood out to me. If one is interested in the nonprofit sector, they can be sure that their work is truly for the good, and will live on forever. Through so many important times in our history there has been the presence of nonprofits or the same messages that nonprofits carry out in their everyday work. It is great to know that there is a strong history of helping others in our country so that if I ever need help in the future I know that there will be someone to help me out, even in a society where many feel that one should pull themselves ups by their own boot straps.

It is disheartening to hear though, that while many nonprofits are doing good there are nonprofits out there that are questionable. The article really made me think about what I want to know about a charity before I make a possible donation to them. What do would you guys expect to know? Some people may feel like knowing a lot is not important but when there are so many organizations out there to give to it should be an important thin to think about. I know that I would definitely want to know if an organization was questionable, it would make me want to find a new charity to give to, and make me feel comfortable that they are taking my gift and truly making a difference. Senate Bill 40 is something that I never really thought of until I took a fundraising class. I found out that many people like to know where there donations are going to and appreciate it when they are given the option to choose its where the funds will end up. I always thought that I would just give my money to the general fund that can go towards services but also towards the funds that support those who make the efficiency of an organization possible. But when I hear that people are misusing funds and putting more money towards themselves and not the cause it makes me somewhat upset. There needs to be legislation that holds organizations accountable for their actions and we can make sure that people are receiving the best services possible.

Week 8

     This blog is making me realize that I watch far too much TV, but Senate Bill 40 just reminded me of an American Greed episode I watched about, “The Baptist Foundation of Arizona.”  The Organization had to pay 159 million dollars in restitution after it offered its church members options to invest. The money invested by church members was totally miss managed as a result the organization used money from new investors to pay old investors and found itself pulling off one of the largest ponzie schemes in the history of Arizona. This is a great example of why it is so important to closely monitor and expose fraudulent charities like senate bill 90 claims, not everyone donates to get a tax ride off a lot of people invest their retirement in nonprofit investment groups and it is important to closely monitor the use of that money. Here is the, “case file,” that was on the CNBC website so you can watch videos all about these scammers. http://www.cnbc.com/id/19638084/?photo=2

I am an art minor so I am obviously all for funding of the arts; I love the emphasis on art in the Eugene community. Oh how I miss seeing the beautiful Chihuly sculpture lit up in the health center window and I feel so lucky to live so close to the Jordan Schnitzer, it is an amazing museum for a college campus and every time I go in there I always find something new I am impressed with. Speaking of which, if you have not seen the Chris Jordan exhibit you have to go, in my opinion it is one of the best exhibits they have had. The work comments on consumer culture especially trash, Chris Jordan came to speak on campus and he showed this moving video of dead Albatross bodies after their stomachs had exploded from eating so much trash out of the ocean. I probably should have shared this on the environmental week but I thought it was relevant because the video displays the importance of art and how it can make very meaningful comments about our culture. I know that it sounds really morbid but the photos are not that gory they are just really sad and it makes you realize what an awful effect trash has on wildlife. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbqJ6FLfaJc. Art education is very important to me, it hurts me to see that is often the first thing cut from schools when they are low on money and I think that it is really important for art related nonprofits to exist.  Art education is like a head fake, it allows us to learn things that we don’t necessarily know we are learning, and I think it essential to a well-rounded education. Youth speaks poetry slam is an example of the kind of head fake I am talking about. It allows students to express themselves and share their feelings with their peers. This kind of self expression gives children confidence, public speaking, and communication skills. It makes me happy to read that nonprofit art groups are generating lots of money, although this is not really what art is meant to do, in its essence, I think that this commoditization of art is sometimes essential to art staying relevant in a culture that often doesn’t emphasize its importance.

            Nonprofit organizations play such an important role in policy creation and advocacy for issues that are not addressed by policy. There are a lot of entities that are involved in policy creation but I think that nonprofit organizations are a unique resource in policy creation because many nonprofit organizations focus on specific issues that policy has already failed to address so they can provide a lot of information about how to improve policy to better incorporate these issues into policy. I thought that Sarah’s lecture in class today on how nonprofits contribute to the educational agenda was very relevant and a great example of why nonprofits play such an important role in policy creation. One example she gave was, The Common Core standards, which raise the standards for literacy and numeracy. She explained that The National Governors Association played a big role in the creation of these content standards and that they play a large role in creating a better curriculum nationwide. The standards aim to create a wider system of assessment for students and holds teachers accountable. The chapter in the book provided a lot of statistics that support the argument that nonprofits play a large role in issue advocacy and arts education as well. 

week 7

My friends tell me I think everything is a scam. After week sevens readings I don’t feel like so much of a cynic. It seems as though people on top will do just about anything to swindle money out of the less well off. I mean we all can make the argument that tuition is too high but they can make it that high because there is a market. The same goes with textbook prices. But charging a lot for higher education does not seem quite as deceitful as no actually providing a “higher” education. I love to hear that more and more less fortunate people are going to college and I know America is proud of this too. However, if we are simply getting these kids into college without seeing them through then what do these numbers even mean? All they are are a selling point for the next generation of prospective students. If we allow under qualified students to be admitted into college we are wasting a countless amount of time and money. The article “Subprime Opportunity” goes into detail about how students are receiving “access but not success”. I think this is the biggest shame of all. Here these students are, breaking away from the pack, going to college, trying to get degrees and get high-paying jobs. They are mislead into believing that the costly degrees they are working towards will land them in the high paying jobs they are hoping for. However, as mentioned in the readings, the education they receive does not qualify them for these positions. In the article, “ Will The For Profit Bubble Burst in 20100” a women named Hope from Georgia talks about this very problem. She went to school to work as a paralegal and found a job out of college but was fired after a year due to a lack of skills and proper education. I cant not imagine how she must of felt having graduated thinking the would be able to fall back on her degree for the rest of her life only to be let down completely. This weeks readings focus a lot on the University of Phoenix. One of my relatives went there to get her MBA in Business. She is currently unemployed. She had already had a undergraduate degree in microbiology but decided to go back to school. I am not sure if her unemployment is due to economy or another factor. It would be a real shame to find out that employers are holding off on hiring her simply because she attended University of Phoenix. In the article “Fed Up with The University of Phoenix” the Stephen Burd talks about how the University has the mentality of putting “asses in classes, including those of unqualified students”. This is bothersome to me because I know my relative was qualified and works very hard. I am sure there is a large group of students that do attend these for-profit universities, similar to my relative, that are qualifies but are cheated as well. I feel like at least at the U of O there are some pretty reasonable standards to the way the university conducts itself. This is not to say they do not do their fair shame of questionable things but at least for the most part academically sound. And shouldn’t that be what a university is all about anyway? When did congress and lobbyist come into the picture? It’s all very disheartening.

-I was unable to open the last reading

Week Seven!

Education, something everyone needs; but not something everyone gets. To me this is one of the saddest things wrong with this nation. This should be one of the most important discussions in the United States and it just is not. I attended a private school for a short period of time and then attended public schools for the rest of my K-12 education. Luckily I am from an area where there are great public schools and I got a great, if not better, education than many of my peers here at the university. I remember in high school there were a few girls that left my school and went to a private one 30 minutes away from where they lived because they were not getting the best education and they wanted to go to great schools. Turns out we all ended up at the University of Oregon. But for some families in many places public schools are failing, and it is almost necessary to send their children to private schools. It should not be this way, and we need to find an answer to the problem with schools as soon as possible. The movie, Waiting for Superman, came to mind as soon as it was announced that we were going to be talking about education this term. It really addresses all the problems that are wrong with the system and sheds light on the potential for success. While so many are doing education wrong there are also many focusing on new and innovative ways to help us get back to being some of the smartest people in the world because unfortunately right now we just are not. Here is the link to the Waiting for Superman website, I encourage all of you to see it if you have not already. http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/

I never really knew much about the University of Phoenix, or for-profit universities for that matter, besides what I had seen in the commercials. It never really even dawned on me that they were a for-profit college, but to be honest with you I was under the impression that all Universities were for-profit establishments all the readings and class this week. What I did know was that I never really trusted the kind of education one was getting at a place like the University of Phoenix and now that I have read about them in the articles we had to read this week, Subprime Opportunity, Fed Up at the University of Phoenix, and Will the For-Profit Education Bubble Burst in 2011, it is true that indeed they cannot be trusted. I'd like to say that I have a problem with the way they are conducting business, from recruiting to the students leaving the school without receiving the proper training for the field they went to school for, but what really makes that any different from schools that are not seeking a profit? I went to an informational meeting with a recruiter at my school for the University of Oregon and who knows if what I am being taught here is really going to prepare me for the field I wish to enter when I leave here. The one place I am lucky is that my parents are paying for my college education, but if they were not I too would be leaving here in debt. (In reality though if I had to pay for my own schooling I definitely would not have gone out of state) One thing that I think is a VERY big difference is that me and my peers are not the target market for these for profit schools. When I see a commercial for a for-profit institution I feel like it is always a single mother who needed a degree to make a living and support her child. It makes me sad to know that there is the possibility that someone like the person in the commercial could be swindled and tricked by these universities, but it seems like they really do not care and their main goal is making money. Its unfortunate because these kind of institutions have the power to do good and they are not. I am surprised that there have been so many complaints about for-profit universities and we never really hear about them. I hope that at some point in time someone will step up and fix the problems with the system.

After reading the very, and I mean very short, brief on the benefits of for profit schools something came to mind after I discussed these sort of for-profit universities in class with Danielle. Her mother and my father are both police officers in San Francisco. In San Francisco a police officer gets paid more the higher of education they have. It does not really matter where it comes from but it is something that drives officers to get educated. Schools like the University of Phoenix are a good match for police officers because they are already making a good amount of money and do not risk the chance of being in debt, especially because once they get a degree they will make even more money, and then they can go to school on their own time. Instead of people leaving the schools not taught the skills for which they attended the school like many others, it is not important for police officers because they already have a job. So playing the devils advocate in this discussion of for-profit universities, maybe some people are just not meant to attend a for-profit school and others have the ability to thrive in them.

Week 7: Education

Immediately when I started the reading for this week I was reminded of a Frontline episode that I saw a few months ago called College, Inc. It was an interesting investigation of for profit colleges and it discussed many of the same issues that these readings do. It is on Netflix if you want it in full but it is also on youtube, the link is; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJSPkXiVDhE

I am unsure if I agree with for-profit educational institutions . Education is something that almost everyone wants, it allows for better life chances and allows people the opportunity to make much larger incomes over their lifetimes. I think it is dangerous to view education as a commodity and students as a market, but this is a reality, even outside of the for-profit college sector. Marketing techniques used by colleges make a mockery of the education they offer, I am always amazed that the University of Oregon feels that it needs a commercial to attract students, I would hope that students come to this school for it's academic programs not because we have an alluring commercial and a good football team. In class a few weeks ago someone in class who is a cold caller for the alumni center mentioned that after we win football games people donate to our school, this made me very sad. Commercials like this make it seem like having an education has a monetary value, to me this idea is a total destruction of the moral and ethical value of eduction, I think that my education is something that is too abstract to be defined by a numeric value, yet I fear that monetary value is the only way society can understand what value education has. It seems that many people have a difficult time understanding what value exists in things that don't have a price, things like health, education, and social welfare. It is a sign that capitalism has infiltrated our morality and that a culture of thought exists where it is acceptable for everything and anyone to be bought. We have to ask ourselves if we want to live in a nation that mass-produces education. The dangers of doing this are the same dangers associated with mass-producing any other good, you sacrifice quality for quantity. This kind of idea could essentially erode the meaning of higher education in the United States, all together. 

These for-profit colleges serve a population that otherwise might go uneducated, so in this sense it is positive, it offers people who did not do well in high school a chance at a college education, which could be life changing.  However, I wonder if it actually does them much good, in the article, Subprime Opportunity it mentioned that these schools graduate very few students and students who do attend have to take out large loans to pay for the expensive tuition, leaving most of them with an enormous amount of debt by graduation. The article, Fed Up at the University of Phoenix, provided a great example of what happens when profit is intermingled with an educational institution. Many student have complained that University of Phoenix engages in predatory recruiting that targets low income families that can’t pay for school with out loans, its as if they have a deal with the credit card companies or something, it seems like these businesses are more like snake oil salesmen than educational institutions and I feel  a lot of sympathy for the people who were promised quality educations that would lead to successful careers and were failed by the for-profit system. 

I hope that the for-profit college bubble will burst in 2011. I think that what these organizations do more to hurt their students than to help them, by making unrealistic promises of a bright future and recruiting students who they know are under qualified. They only cement the cycle of debt that is already a problem in the United States. It doesn’t take a for-profit business to recognize that there is a need for higher education that is not being filled. There are thousands of students who want access to a good education, many of them have been failed by the public and private school systems in k-12 and then taken advantage of by the for-profit system in college. I think that this weeks reading indicate a need for a reform of both public and private school systems on every level. The fact is that the public system fails to provide low-income children with the education they want and deserve, a good primary school education is essential to access to a quality college education and a successful career. Our system needs to be rebuilt from the top down, which is not an easy job exemplified by the constant changing of staff in the U.S. department of education. Problems with greed and money have infiltrated the public school system as well, with teachers who refuse to give up tenure and often refuse to properly educate, public education these days is beginning to resemble more and more this for-profit model. 

The chapter on education in the book was very interesting, I think what many non-profit private schools and charter schools are doing really amazing things with k-12 education. I did my assignment for this class on KIPP a charter school that provides quality education to low income children by making a six day school week with longer days, the education offered at KIPP surpasses some of the best public and private schools in the nation. Their success rates are amazing and I hope to see both public and private schools move in this direction.  Here is their website, they have schools all over the nation and what they have achieved is really inspiring…http://www.kipp.org/

Week 7

After reading this week’s readings, the first thing I did was type “how smart are Americans” on YouTube. I watched the first video that came up and while it was a hilarious video, I was also pretty disappointed with the people that answered some fairly simple questions with very wrong answers. You guys can watch the video for yourselves (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE), I remember watching something similar to this in one of my political science classes and was pretty dumbfounded how bad some Americans are with geography. Geography isn't necessarily something that everyone is expected to know, but still people should be able to locate US neighbors on a map instead of locating them in Asia or as Australia and especially the countries in which we have been at war with since the first term of Bush's presidency. I know this video is a portrayal of only a few people and there are many people in the US that are incredibly smart, yet it is still sad that there are still people that either the education system has failed for them or they are just incredibly uninterested with learning anything about the world. I think this video fits into the readings because it is an example of a failing education system where kids are not receiving quality education. The question then becomes if education provided by the nonprofit or for-profit sector and whether public or private is best in offering the cheapest and best quality education.

I was really surprised by the readings this week. There were a lot differences between public and private education that I did not expect at all. In the O’Neill book I thought the different statistics that were provided about which type was more expensive and which offered higher salaries was interesting, and I actually thought that it would have been the opposite than it was. I also thought that the voucher system could also be a potential program, having the choice to choose which school a child is sent to and giving lower-income families the options to send their children to schools they previously would not have been able to afford is a good idea. It’s unfortunate that it’s believed to be a violation of government aid to religion. I also disagreed with the argument that it would increase segregation, I think it would provide opportunities for more people and would have the potential to the opposite. Price of education is really the only hindrance people face in receiving the quality education that everyone deserves. Its outrageous how expensive schools have become and how many people are left after school with extremely high debts and few means to pay them off. This seems exacerbated by the for-profit schools, which from the few articles on University of Phoenix and Kaplan, only seem to be out to exploit their students for the highest profits possible. The last reading mentioned a few advantages of for-profit, one being that for-profit schools would have increased competition compared to non-profit schools. However I disagree with this, nonprofit schools still have competition from other nonprofit schools, they still have to compete in order to get new students to enroll in their school, and they do this by constantly expanding the school to offer the latest technologies, facilities, and majors. The opposite seems to be happening in the schools mentioned in the readings with the students that do graduate and make it into the work force, eventually realizing that they paid exorbitant prices for an education that’s of poor quality and does not prepare them for future employment at all. For this particular case, nonprofit seems to be the way to go with education.

Week 6

Environmental topics within the nonprofit sector are pretty interesting I think, the idea itself of protecting the environment is a fairly new branch of the sector, and this week’s readings and lecture offered a variety of different ways of participating in support of the environment. The annual report for the McKenzie Watershed Council had a variety of different interest groups ranging from local community groups, to the city and state levels, and then to the federal level. All represented different goals to protect the McKenzie River. This was interesting to see all the different work that is being done on the river in order to preserve its natural habitats and ecosystems or to rebuild these ecosystems to promote sustainable “watershed health”. The commencement address promoted individuals to go out and make a difference in protecting the world and I thought it was a pretty motivating speech to get everyone to realize that all have a role in preserving the natural resources on earth. I liked the idea he presented when he stated: “you can print money to bail out a bank but you can’t print life to bail out a planet,” and I think it’s very true especially in the society we have today, where our government promotes consumption and where we are in a recession but still using more and more natural resources at an unsustainable rate. Another group presented in this week’s readings was the role that corporations could and do have in environmental protection. The idea of environmental commodities, I thought was very interesting and if as successful as claimed for sulfur dioxide emissions, then a really good idea. While it doesn’t cut down on the emissions a hundred percent, it’s a good start and is at least limiting them and it seems making a larger impact than relying solely on regulations. Also the idea of partnerships between nonprofits and corporations, depending on the corporation, could be beneficial for the nonprofit, providing them with larger amount of funds than they could receive solely on donations. However, this partnership could also be bad for the nonprofit if the corporation is only out to exploit the image viewed on the nonprofits by the public. I also thought that the program in Costa Rica was an interesting concept to reimburse environmental services. This idea could have potential, but I don't know if could work on a much larger scale.

For an outside source, we watched a video in my international studies class on the environment and the effects that consumerism has had on it. Its a little biased and not all arguments are backed up with clear sources however it was interesting. Its called the Story of Stuff. http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.php

Week Six!

I am glad that we are discussing the environment this week because I am quite embarrassed to say this but I really do not know enough about it, especially in relation to the nonprofit sector. Do not get me wrong though, I do my part when it comes to being a human on this planet and I try to lead a sustainable lifestyle but there is so much more to it and I am excited to find out about it!

I must say I was a little confused by the saving the environment for profit article. It was a lot of numbers and information I was not too familiar about it. So I will focus on the beginning part where Al Gore is mentioned because I am very intrigued by this man. There is just something about him that makes people want to listen. Maybe not enough to get him elected president, but there is something there. I like how he decided to become so dedicated to the cause and has created a new audience for those who are not as well informed on the issues of the environment. There is a new found investment to finding alternative ways to be sustainable because of him. So here is a nice video of Al Gore talking about Global Warming. I watched this video because I wanted to know more about what was happening, I hear so much about global warming and the effects it has on everything but I still feel like there is so much more to learn about it that any piece of information can help. I also appreciate that 100% of his salary will go towards the Alliance for Climate Protection.

When I think about nonprofits I usually never think about the ones that are related to the environment. So it was funny that when I went through the list of environmental nonprofits that I was familiar with over half of them...ok maybe not half but a lot of them! I am from Marin County, home of Muir Woods, so I have heard of the Sierra Club all my life. At a young age I would constantly get the Serra Club and Sierra Club having family members in both so I would constantly get explained the difference between them. When I would get the two explained I always question why someone would want to be in the Serra Club and not the Sierra Club. They do so much to help the environment and save the beautiful places we live in. I am happy that I go to a school like the U of O because I feel as if there are many little Sierra Clubs on campus trying to make a difference. Its the small things like "Take Back the Tap" that will make a difference, who knows? someone in this very class may be working for the Sierra Club in the near future. Being familiar with the Sierra Club because of my home I feel as though I should be familiar with things around my second home. Thanks to the McKenzie Watershed Council Annual Report and the McKenzie Watershed Council website I know more about what is going on and what it takes to maintain the River. I have said it before, and I will say it again. I love fun facts, and one of my good friend is interested in water conservation so I will definitely be breaking out the ones I have learned from this information. I can just see it now, "Hey did you know the McKenzie watershed is almost 300 square miles larger than the state of Rhode Island? Yeah that's right 300 square miles larger than A STATE!"

Paul Hawken’s Commencement Address to the Class of 2009 gave me mixed feelings. Yes, all the things he said are true. Earth is an important place and we need to do things to change the direction our planet is headed. We are the future, we are in control of what we do. I agree with these statements but to some extent I feel as if everything he is saying is what everyone has been saying and I do not know if a speech like that to a group of recent graduates is really going to change anything. People have it set in their mind what they hope to achieve with their college degree and for a large amount of us saving the world is not on the top of our list. It is unfortunate that this is the way many think, but for those who have that on the top of their lists this speech will be very inspiring, but it will not be the first time they have heard something like it. He did mention Mercy Corps in his speech but to me it was somewhat vague so I decided to look up what they did (here is the link if you are interested in knowing more about them also www.mercycorps.org ) I was surprised to see that they do so much. This kind of organization is what people set out to create when they want to make a difference in the world. The people involved in Mercy Corps are the people Paul Hawken is targeting and lighting a fire under. If I was in the audience during this speech I imagine I would have felt a change within me, and if he was able to make one person who went to college with the goal of getting a job that makes a lot of money think differently about the way they view the world they live in differently I think he would have done his job.

week 6

So it’s already week six and my have we come a long way! I really enjoyed the environmental theme of the readings this week. It was nice to see that side of the non-profit world. Originally I was an environmental studies’ major but changed it to PPPM. So I do love seeing the overlap of the two fields, a very big over lap at that. I found the article “A Guide to Environmental Non-Profits” to be extremely beneficial. It did a great job of laying out all the non-profits in an easy concise manner. Although on a side note, it seemed like most if it was about marine environmental issues. It is wonderful to see how established and impactful these organizations are. It seems that the more established you are the more credibility you have. It’s amazing that there is still so much controversy around environmental issues, especially in this country. With that being said it is nice that organizations like the ones listed in that particular article have the credibility they deserve and need to accomplish their goals. It also listed agencies that participated in other ways such as law firms. I went on the Earth Justice website, which is a law firm dedicated to the defense of the environment. Their slogan was so catchy I had to check them out. One of their legal victories I found most interesting was one discussing the Tahoe Regional Planning Agencies duty to restore and protect the lake. They have a great list of all their monumental victories at http://earthjustice.org/our_work/victory. I bet the Mackenzie Watershed Council could use some great lawyers like these! But they have victories all their own. It was great to read about how the Upper Willamette Basin is the only tributary to sustain levels of the endangered Chinook salmon. That is a fete worth mentioning. In one of my environmental studies classes we spend weeks talking about Salmon. I will never look at Salmon as simply my favorite fish again. The “Saving The Environment Article for Profit” was equally riveting.

We love to bash on the for profit world but after reading this article I can put some good knowledge under my belt about their activity concerning environmentalism. For example, the Costa Rican system for compensation of environmental services seems like a win-win for all. Its innovation and creativity that may not cure the underlying issue but I think these things are important if we want to get more people on board the environmental awareness train. Just think, a person who was possibly against environmental change or awareness might become a believer through programs, like the ones in Costa Rica, that make environmental responsibility work for them.

I wanted to finish off my blog for this week with the Paul Hawkens commencement speech. I don’t know if I was cold when I read it but it certainly gain me chills. I love speeches and I especially love when people go their own way with them. Its tough not to be too cheesy but I think Mr. Hawkens does a great job of that. We see hints of the need for environmental awareness all the time now, whether it’s the organic food aisle or all the reusable water bottles on campus, it’s tough to ignore. But it is not as often that we are sitting for a long period of time willing listen to a subject that most people claim to get the main points of. Whether you understand global warming or endangered species is beside the point. Whether you appreciate the magnitude of life and all its beauty seems to be at the root of the issue. Paul Hawken drives this home.

Week 6

I recently watched a national geographic special on the book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” written by UCLA anthropologist Jared Diamond. In this special he discussed the importance of agriculture and domesticated animals to the success of a population. He gave the example of the Fertile Crescent, a place that used to be thriving with all the elements essential to supporting an agricultural based society, where people no longer move around to gather their food, and villages were built around areas with ideal growing conditions. The Fertile Crescent was so Fertile, however, that it yielded mass amounts of grain, people could then sustain bigger families and population size began to grow until the land reached its carrying capacity and all of the nutrients in the soil were depleted which spawned a migration into present day Europe. Today what once was the Fertile Crescent is a dry desert and a great example of what happens to an area when it depleted of all of its resources. This story provides a parallel to what is happening today, the population is growing beyond the capacity of the earth and at this rate it wont be long until the world is depleted of its natural splendor. There are a great number of nonprofits devoted to addressing so many facets of this issue. However, I worry that their power will not be great enough to combat the consumer attitudes of the American people who use more energy in one day then peoples from less developed countries use in a year.

            I liked what Paul Hawkins mentioned about the importance of nonprofits to social and environmental justice issues. The breadth of this movement is tremendous; it is such a multifaceted issue it has to be broken up into different areas in order to make any significant change.  The guide to environmental nonprofits made apparent the complexity of our environmental frustrations, it is even frustrating to try to distinguish one organization from another. I think that Hawken’s mentioned a very important aspect of this issue he wrote, “We have an economy that tells us that it is cheaper to destroy earth in real time then to renew, restore and sustain it.” I think this is a very fundamental aspect of the issue, I fear that we often rely too much on environmental technology to fix this issue. I think there is a need to examine the way we function within our society. I think the majority of us appreciate nature and want it to be a part of our lives without considering the sacrifices we may have to make to maintain it.  A few years ago a New York Times journalist appeared on the Daily Show and discussed the role of nonprofits in combating social issues and complained that there is not enough government momentum to effect change. Although this was filmed in 2006, sadly it is still very relevant to our current situation.  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-june-12-2006/thomas-friedman

            Watershed management is incredibly important; a great example of why it is so important is Klamath Basin, who had an environmental disaster a few years ago that led to the near extinction of already threatened Coho salmon in the area. This is a great example of what happens when water is not properly managed. Wikipedia is a great resource for learning more about it and if any of you have an interest in environmental management you should read it, it’s a really interesting story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klamath_Basin The organization section of the McKenzie water shed reading is a great example of all of the vested interests that exist in watershed management, industries like fishing and agriculture depend on proper water management and because there is money to be made it can be quite complicated to manage considering you also have to conserve the habitat of all of the fish and wildlife that the river supports.

            Dr. Susan Raymond's article discussed the environmental commodity market and the Kyoto Protocol, which America was the only industrialized country not to agree to. Although, I do not think that an environmental commodity market is a permanent solution to our environmental issues I do support what the Kyoto Protocol attempts to achieve and I wish that we had included ourselves in the global emission reduction effort. The commodity market for sulfur dioxide seems rather effective and I think that a cap trade system is a great first step in reducing the carbon emission of industry. I realize this may push industry out of the United States but I think this is a worthwhile sacrifice for a better environment.

week 5

I found the weeks readings truly insightful. Although public health is not necessarily a field I aspire to be a part of I find it very intriguing. The more I learn about public health the more I realize I hardly know anything at all. There seems to be so many complex chronic issues that just get masked to the public. After reading the article “The Value of Non-Profit Healthcare” I was amazed to read what a substantial role non-profits play in the hospital market. It addressed the fact that three fifths of all hospitals in the U.S. are non-profits, while only one fifth are for profit. All other hospitals here government owned. How did I not know this? In the article “Mergers of for-profit, non-profit hospitals: who does it help?” It was troubling to see that there has been a shift toward non-profit health care organizations being bought out by for-profit investors. There was a particular case of this in Detroit where a non-profit hospital, which provided lots of support to un-insured demographics of the community, was being taken over by another for-profit company. Helping the un-insured is something that a for-profit hospital simply has no interest in doing. There was mention of improvements such as massive funding for investment and debt reduction along with equipment improvements and development of a new children’s wing. This is in hope to bring insured patients back to the hospital. These improvements all seem to be very great things but I wonder if the group intending to buy the hospital has taken any time or consideration in accessing the community of which the hospital supports. I would assume that if there is currently a great deal of un-insured patients going to the hospital then this must not be the wealthiest of neighborhoods. This type of activity will surely reinforce current injustices in the health care system. It is saddening that so many times community involvement is harshly overlooked when it comes to these big mergers and acquisitions.

Health care seems to be ridden with these types of issues that are increasingly difficult to address due to the nature of the health care system. While reading the article concerning ADD in adults, I couldn’t help but think, “Oh great here’s another thing we have to watch out for, pharmaceutical companies.” The pharmaceutical industry can be pretty controversial. This article just reinforces that notion. They are almost as bad as the tobacco companies; at least in the way they market their product. In the book “Brave New World”, written by Aldous Huxley, there is intensive use of the drug called “soma” that allows for instant satisfaction or pleasure. I couldn’t help but thinking that is where our country is going with all these overprescribed people just trying to escape from the troubles of the world. I believe that ADD is real but it’s a real shame when adults try to convince their children and each other that there is something “wrong” or “different” about them. The person you become on Adderall or Strattera isn’t human or “normal”. You become a machine. Why can’t we all be as awesome as the Green Bay Packers and stay true to ourselves! No matter how out of the box or different that may be. It’s so great to hear about the Packers being a non-profit and all the amazing volunteer support they receive. Those are true fans. Maybe I will be a Packers fan too for the weekend J

Week Five!

The Value of Nonprofit Health Care brought up that nonprofit health care organizations are responsible for the communities and populations they serve, the subject of the community benefits, which I felt was something very important that many people do not think of when they think of the nonprofit sector. My mom works for Kaiser Permanente in California and because of her involvement in the not for profit part of the company she is involved in many things in the community. Through her I have gotten involved in community outreach programs that go out into the area and discuss reproductive education. I have also made presentations on domestic violence and have focused a large amount on abusive relationships amongst teenagers. These things that I have done are so small compared to the other work that health care providers do in their communities to encourage healthy lifestyles and make health care available to those who cannot afford it. It saddens me a little bit to read, "The nonprofit sector is where we go for solving our most troubling social problems. It is where we go to protect our values and culture. The nonprofit sector is society's safety net." I wish there was a way that the nonprofit sector could exist but not have to fill the gaps where other sectors fail, especially when it comes to health care and the differing views surrounding it in our society. I would like the nonprofit sector to be more like a ladder, helping someone be successful in reaching the top of their goals, and not as something that you need to fall back on when all else fails.

I do not know enough about the way hospitals are run, but it seems like it is possible for a hospital to still be affordable and have the communities best interest in mind when it comes to being a for profit organization. Here is information on Kaiser that works as both a nonprofit and a for profit corporation that I found interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Permanente. I know that Kaiser is a much bigger organization than Detroit Medical Center, but it is still interesting to see how other people in the same field do things. I think the most surprising part of this article was that the company that bought the medical center has no experience in running a medical center. That seems more scary to me than turning it into a for profit organization. Although I do wonder that if it is just like running any corporation, but by the sound of it they had a hard time with Chrysler so who knows what could happen. I just don't think that if your previous business venture was a car company that you should be jumping into a medical center who prides themselves on the way they handle impoverished patients and people in need of their services. Promising to maintain the mission is one thing, but following through on that promise is another.

The whole concept of people using drugs to manage their children has always made me sad. I feel as if it is the easier way out, and that it really does not benefit the child. So to read to read that drug companies are encouraging self-diagnosis by appealing directly to consumers is very disturbing to me. It makes me think of the restless legs syndrome commercials that used to be on television all the time. I remember going to school and people talking about how they thought they had RLS because the commercials made the symptoms so vague that one could easily have it. The same goes with ADD there are many people in the world that have ADD tendencies, but not all live with the disorder, and by an ad making them think they have it is very disturbing. Here is a Strattera, the one discussed in the article, ad.

For some reason this ad really bothers me. Good thing this woman is taking medication because it is so tough for her to be a mom! Sorry this is so cynical.

The chapter from the book was very helpful. Sitting in class last week I was very impressed by how well informed people in are when it comes to Health Care and I do not feel like I am. I was glad that it put a lot of stuff into perspective for me and I liked all the statistics and charts. Health care right now is a very controversial issue and I am not envious of the position of many policy makers when it comes down to making a decision on where the future of this large part of the nonprofit sector is going to go. A trillion dollars is A LOT of money, a very overwhelming amount especially since none of us can really put that into perspective. I think I have probably only seen a trillion grains of sand when it comes to things being grouped into trillion, so when it comes to that much money dealing with Health Care it is hard for me to wrap my head around. I look forward to seeing what you all think about this part of the sector in your blogs!

I wanted to end my blog today with the article on the Green Bay Packers since the Superbowl is approaching! I really enjoy fun facts especially sports fun facts so this article is right up my alley. I knew that the Packers fans were truly passionate people and now I see why. They own the team! I think that more football teams should follow in their footsteps and do the same. There has been such a push to make everything about profits in our society when there is really so much more to life. I was already rooting for the Packers this weekend but this makes me like them even more!

Week 5

So far I think that this weeks readings have been the most relevant. Health Care currently in the US is such a big topic and I think its crazy that we still don’t have universal health care for everyone in our country. To me health care is one of the basic needs that as society we all should have, along with food, clean water, and access to education. Yet while some bills just seem to fly through Congress, some of the most important bills concerning health are delayed, argued about, and repealed. As the wealthiest nation, it just doesn’t make sense to me why we pay the most for health care systems than other countries and yet we don’t even have universal coverage and many people either don’t have access to medical help or go bankrupt trying to pay for all of their medical bills. I found a video and also a short summary on PBS (PBS Video) of various countries that not only spend less on health care as we do but also have all of their citizens covered. They’re not perfect systems but it still displays their strengths and weaknesses, and I think provide a basic model that we can try to match in creating an even better system. Yet I do still have doubts whether it will even be possible in this country to create systems similar, because we are so against anything labeled socialist or even close to being a socialist policy even though they already exist in our country, and corporations have too much power and they obviously would not want to be regulated on how much they can sell their drugs and medications to the population. This ties in to the reading on how many US adults are thought to be suffering from ADD. I think its crazy how much our society has become dependent on these medications that many people don’t actually need and many that have harmful side effects. The US spends so much on these medications, many of which we could probably live fairly well without, and yet there’s still millions of people out there that cant even afford medication to cure TB, prevent AIDS, and many other diseases that here in the US are not even considered dangerous.

Its unfortunate that some hospitals, that are nonprofits, are unable to get enough funding to pay the daily expenses and upgrade their machines; and instead are looking to be bought by a for-profit hospital. While I don’t think all are horrible businesses that are solely out for money and don’t care what happens for their patients, I do think its unfortunate that with these mergers taking place some people, especially those in poorer urban areas, will lose a place where they can receive health care even without insurance.

A little off from the health care topic but from the reading on the Packers, I thought it was interesting that the NFL has since written into its bylaws that no team can now become a nonprofit and community owned entity. From reading the article it seemed like a really good idea to, at least from the communities perspective, however from big corporations business it makes sense that they would want to profit as much as possible from football, especially when the revenues from TV viewings and advertisements is worth so much. Yet I think this rule should be taken out of the bylaws of the NFL, because it’s the community members that are paying such high prices to enjoy the games and it only seems fair for the Packers to return a portion of the earnings back to community projects.

Also while watching TV last night, The Daily Show, had Bill Gates as a guest and Jon Stewart interviewed him about the Gates Foundation. It fits well with this weeks topic, because Gates talks abut his foundations work internationally in health related issues, particularly the eradication of polio. Daily Show Video

Week 5

I love the fact that the Green Bay Pakers are a public owned not for profit organization. Now everyone can have a slice of that Wisconsin cheddar! Sports team ownership is very expensive and I am very impressed by the model of this organization. I think that this must create such a great sports community and with cheaper beer and a deeply vested fan base what is there to criticize? I suppose that this model would not work for all teams, but I wish that we could find a way to cater it to more teams because it is a really wonderful idea.

I am always surprised to hear what a critical role the non-profit sector plays in healthcare. The chapter in the book used an overwhelming amount of statistics to display the importance of the nonprofit sector to society. These numbers never fail to amaze and sadden me, not because I do not think that  non-profits do a good job, but because the enormity of their work is a reflection of the giant social problem our culture is faced with.   Healthcare is sort of an ethical cluster fuck , to arrive at a decision of what best meets the public good requires sifting through the endless amounts of different interests that relate to the issue. This aspect can result in a sort of gridlock of ideas, similar to what happened in class last week when we attempted to discuss social services and then spent an hour debating about healthcare.  The article about the value of public healthcare pointed out an important point. The fact that you don’t necessarily want healthcare to be controlled by the government but you don’t want it controlled by the private sector either. Health is a very delicate entity; it is something that is very venerable and I think this is why we feel most comfortable with the concept of non-profit healthcare as opposed to government or for-profit. I think that the general feeling is that non-profits are least likely to take advantage of our venerability for their own interests and to me this is why they have had such an effective influence in healthcare. 

I loved this weeks article about the rise of adult add and the potential profit to be made from this growing disease.  60 minutes did a similar story a few months back about the large spread use of adderall, in the story they fallowed college students and professionals who used neuro enhancements. The story poised the question; does adderall give students an unfair advantage? And how do users feel about the long-term effects of the drug on their body?  Neuro-enhancement drugs are becoming more and more a part of the college culture, I thought it was interesting to examine where college students stand on the growing popularity of this new trend. Here is the link for the video, I had some trouble uploading it so you will have to copy and paste it into your browser. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6430949n

It seems that nonprofits are increasingly beginning to pilot themselves using for-profit management principles. I think that this is a very progressive idea.  Business can be done ethically, although it is easy to be skeptical of the motivations of for-profit business and corporations, many of them have business models that are both ethical, profitable and very effective in creating positive social change. I think one aspect of business that would be immensely enlightening to the nonprofit sector is their presence. Business has an intense almost annoying presence in our daily lives and I think that if the nonprofit sector could mimic this in a less irritating way it could lead to great growth. For many nonprofits using business management principles is the key to propelling their organizations to the stature where they affecting enormous change and enriching lots of lives. It is saddening that for profit hospitals are having to buy out nonprofit hospitals, however I think that if a nonprofit hospital had done the same thing it could potentially be really successful. I think that nonprofits would benefit from this in the same way for profits do. When I think of a merger I think of a big evil company devouring up little mom and pop shops. However, here it makes a lot of sense to me for two organizations, one on the brink if failure and one looking to expand to join together to fulfill there shared goals.  I think this an aspect of business that almost functions better in the non-profit sector when there is a greater concern with collective achievement as opposed to competition. I propose that instead of getting bought out by for profit business, nonprofit beat them to the punch, because I think there is a greater chance of maintaing and achieving a mission this way, if this makes sense. I know I find a way to right about this every week but I really think that non profits have to be a little fiercer and claim their presence in the world market so they can be taken more seriously and attract people who are serious about achieving their missions.  I think that they have to team up and toughen up so that the private sector will butt out!