Sue Robinson

Twitter Mania: New Social Citizens Use (Perhaps) the Next Big Thing in Friend and Fund-raising

Posted by Sue Robinson on March 22, 2009 in Uncategorized

Most of my blog postings have these common threads – new tactics, new media, new approaches and new technologies used for social good. These trends have particular importance to my case. The Connect Network is not a traditional nonprofit but rather is a social entrepreneurial venture that relies on technology to meet its mission.
It is an online product […]

Brandeis Bowing?: Rose Family Says University’s Plan Against Donor’s Intent

Posted by Sue Robinson on March 22, 2009 in Uncategorized

Nearly two months after Brandeis University announced its plan to close the Rose Museum and sell pieces of its valuable collection, the University appears to be readying or poised to back off the idea. No one is saying that yet, but in typical institutional fashion, a symposium was held last week on this topic. A member of […]

Social news sites tell nonprofits’ stories

Posted by Sue Robinson on March 5, 2009 in Uncategorized

One of the trends I’ve been monitoring closely involves nonprofits’ use of new media (Twitter, RSS feeds, etc.) to build their brands and communicate their missions, needs and successes to their various publics. There are many articles floating around on a range of topics related to social networking, Web 2.0 and other tools that nonprofits […]

Backtracking or spinning on the Brandeis/Rose matter; Donors weighing in too

Posted by Sue Robinson on March 2, 2009 in Uncategorized

  

From failure to transformation, ‘Four Futures’ sums up today’s (harsh) reality

Posted by Sue Robinson on February 18, 2009 in Uncategorized

The  current issue of The Nonprofit Quarterly, a magazine written for and to the nonprofit sector, puts forth a question that is at the heart of today’s funding crisis. Author Paul Light wrote: “When boiled down to its fundamentals, the question is whether nonprofits are ‘owned’ by their institutional funders (governmenal and philanthropic) or whether a broader […]

MOMA goes underground to sell memberships and position museum

Posted by Sue Robinson on February 12, 2009 in Uncategorized

Creative, even courageous, ideas surface when times are tough and I’d put this idea in that clever, creative, ready-to-be-stolen category. New York’s subway system has advertising placements throughout the underground areas and on the trains themselves. The newest advertiser—posting massive posters of Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”  and 57 other works – is the Museum of […]

What impact will ‘high-impact philanthropy’ trend have on the arts?

Posted by Sue Robinson on January 31, 2009 in Uncategorized

There’s a new buzz phrase, or at least one new to me, buzzing around: High-Impact Philanthropy. The Center for High Impact Philanthropy at The University of Pennsylvania (http://www.impact.upenn.edu/index.html) has ties to the Wharton School. That center defines its work as “defining the efficient frontier of philanthropy.” Various sources seem to commonly define “high-impact philanthropy” as something […]

Following the (Madoff) money

Posted by Sue Robinson on January 31, 2009 in Uncategorized

A New York Times columnist today posted the list of private foundations that invested all or part of their assets with Bernie Madoff. Three are 147 on the list and some of these may support organizations we are studying. http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/madoff-and-americas-poorer-foundations/?hp

Update on Brandeis bad decision

Posted by Sue Robinson on January 29, 2009 in Uncategorized

 “Unprincipled,” “bad economics,” “sets a bad precedent” and “astonishing” are some of the words being used to describe the decision by Brandeis Univesity trustees to sell its valuable art collection to pay bills.
The New York Times reported yesterday that “The Massachusetts attorney general’s office said on Tuesday that it planned to conduct a detailed review […]

Bad news from Brandeis University

Posted by Sue Robinson on January 27, 2009 in Uncategorized

Shocking news yesterday from Brandeis University could well be a harbinger of things to come but seems to be costly decision with maddening long-term consequences designed to solve a short-term problem.
With is endowment ($700 million at one point) down dramatically (although no one is saying how much), the university announced yesterday it will sell off its largest […]

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