Hacking- Don’t worry, I won’t.

After hearing about the Hacking as an act of faith current event today, I wanted to look into it a little more, (but not too much, my Dell has enough problems as it is). The term hacking has always freaked me out a little. It’s rarely if ever used in a positive light. I think that this hacking situation is a little bizarre, but I also like the fact that they are doing good with it. I always say, some of the craziest people are the smartest. They are using the “evil” term for hacking in a good way, and I think that’s really smart of them. I would be cautious when searching for these hackers though, because there are many out there who we all know are not using their hacking skills for the better. Something about the www.ihackcharities.org situation that bothers me is the fact that although they’ve found 120 hackers from around the world, how do we know all these hackers aren’t really just screwing charities over? Like I said, these guys are smart, smart enough to crack this system too. I don’t know enough about hacking (thank God), but if these guys really are ALL doing this for the better of charities, I think this is an awesome idea. I would just stay cautious, because you never know what new “company” is going to come up with a hacking for nonprofit idea, and screw a lot of people over.

Salaries

After reading my classmates blogs over this issue, I think that we mostly share the same opinion however here is a little different take. In order to stay competitive it  is very necessary that CEOs etc. get paid well and that they feel they are being rewarded for their work. If they do not, chances are a move to the for profit sector. We all want to do good and are interested in non profit for a reason, but deep down if you were in a CEOs position it would be nice to be paid that $600,000 salary every year. However, I do think that $600,000 is a little extreme. The question should be for non profit and for profit alike, “are they getting paid what they deserve and is it fair considering the amount of work they do.” We all have heard of the CEOs who don’t do anything and get paid everything, that is very bad, especially for a non profit. Non profits need the best of the best to successfully do the work that is needed. A good balance is necessary when it comes to salary and taking care of our CEOs.

A Void in Kansas

The below excerpt is from an article in Earth News. At the National Conference for The National Council of Nonprofit Associations the focus will be in part employing one in 10 Americans in the nonprofit sector. I think this is really interesting. According to http://www.nonprofitcongress.org/?q=localefforts#KS Kansas has no state coordinator or town hall meetings that would help facilitate Kansans receiving such employment. Why is this? Is Kansas inherently slow on the green movement? Would this be because we are not located on a coast and so there for the trend hasn’t fully hit? Now there are those who would say Kansas has many activities and this is just one instance where someone hasn’t stepped up yet. That may be so but I see a void here, and that’s troublesome.

The National Council of Nonprofit Associations, in conjunction with State Coordinators in 36 states and the District of Columbia, will host Town Halls throughout the country during March and April 2008. The Town Hall meetings provide a forum for local nonprofit leaders to identify challenges facing their communities and organizations, exchange ideas, and help set the agenda for the Nonprofit Congress National Meeting in Washington, DC this June. In addition, the Town Hall meetings will reveal strategies and programs developed in various states to address the three priorities identified by the Nonprofit Congress in 2006: public awareness and support of the sector; advocacy and grassroots community organizing; and nonprofit organizational effectiveness. http://www.nonprofitcongress.org/

Can the money go to a better place?

These big dollars that are going to CEO’s of the companies I do think is rediculous.  I know everyone has commented on this issue, but I believe it is one to address.  With the president of Goodwill making over $600,000, we have to ask, how much does he really do.  Does he really do that much for the company, or would the money be better going towards more and better resources?  I think that CEO’s in for-profit companies have the right to earn rediculous amounts of money because that is one of the main goals of the company: to make money.  However, when an organization such as a non-for-profit raises large amounts of money, it is usually a cause or problem that they are trying to help with or solve.  I believe the money can go to much better places, then to buy huge houses for CEO’s.

Non-Profit CEO’s salaries

I agree with the previous posters that the income for a non-profit CEO seems tremendously high. This may make some donors hesistate when making a gift to a NPO.  I believe that since a CEO is in the industry of helping others, they themselves should understand if their salaries are lower than a for-profit business that’s ok. There is no need for them to be making that much. If they are intersted in a competitive salary, then they should enter the world of a for-profit business. I also believe that they could higher the salaries of the entry or middle managers in a nonprofit by lowering the CEO’s. FYI: the  average entry level salary for a non-profit is $28,000-$32,000.

MONTESSORI: A little something different

The blog doesn’t say what we’re supposed to write about.  So instead of posing a question this week I’ve decided to do a little research and share it with everyone.  I was inspired by one of the papers we got in class.  It mentioned Dr. Montessori and I had never realized that the preschool I went to was based on her teaching methods and named after her and her philanthropy work with children.  

I began my research by going to the website http://www.montessori.edu It says this about Montessori: “Maria Montessori, born in 1870, was the first woman in Italy to receive a medical degree. In 1907 she was given the opportunity to study “normal” children, taking charge of fifty poor children of the dirty, desolate streets of the San Lorenzo slum on the outskirts of Rome. The news of the unprecedented success of her work in this Casa dei Bambini “House of Children” soon spread around the world, people coming from far and wide to see the children for themselves. Dr. Montessori was as astonished as anyone at the realized potential of these children.“

It describes the teaching method as this: “Montessori is not a system for training children in academic studies; nor is it a label to be put on educational materials. It is a revolutionary method of observing and supporting the natural development of children. Montessori educational practice helps children develop creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and time-management skills, to contribute to society and the environment, and to become fulfilled persons in their particular time and place on Earth. The basis of Montessori practice in the classroom is respected individual choice of research and work, and uninterrupted concentration rather than group lessons led by an adult. Group lessons are seldom found in a Montessori classroom, but learning abound”

I loved preschool and still remember learning to write my name, to tie my shoes, to wash dishes, and time spent with books in the “library” (a small closet-like room filled with books). I had always thought my preschool was named after a dinosaur and it wasn’t until high school, when I heard people discussing it, that a woman actually founded the way of teaching.  The teaching method is based on having the child focus in his/her relationship with the environment around them and learning through problem solving, rather than being told how to do things.  Montessori says, “ Like others I had believed that it was necessary to encourage a child by means of some exterior reward that would flatter his baser sentiments, such as gluttony, vanity, or self-love, in order to foster in him a spirit of work and peace. And I was astonished when I learned that a child who is permitted to educate himself really gives up these lower instincts. I then urged the teachers to cease handing out the ordinary prizes and punishments, which were no longer suited to our children, and to confine themselves to directing them gently in their work.”

Since this post is getting too long, I’ll cut it short.  Her work with poor children from the streets, not only helped the children to gain educations but it has benefited children for generations. Her methods are still used today and work so well that they will continue to be used for a long time.

To pay or not to pay…

I have been contemplating whether or not CEO’s of NPO’s should receive the same salaries as for-profit companies. I agree with some of my classmates when they say that NPO’s should be treated like business with a credible management system. If this is the case, I believe that NPO’s CEO’s should be getting a better a salary. I agree that the salaries of some CEO’s in the for-profit orgs is a little outlandish! I am not going to criticize too much, because hopefully one day- I’ll be making the big bucks as well. But I also want to incorporate my non-profit background into my business. I at least hope that some of these orgs realize that NPO are competitive as well as should be treated as a business market. We too are a part of the growing need for income and $$$. It is up to us to change the way people look at NPO’s. By doing this, maybe we will see a a little more money coming our way as we become the CEO’s of credible orgs.

CEOs’ Salaries

I too have read Harvey’s post which tagged an article about CEOs’ Salaries.  I certainty understand how some of those numbers seem outlandish at first glance.  A couple hundred thousands of dollars off of a few of those CEOs’ salary could go far for their respective NPOs.  However, I believe that what you must consider, and what the article leaves out, is what kind of figures those NPOs are bringing in.  How do these salaries for NPO CEOs compare to CEOs of for profit companies making similar amounts of money?  I am not saying that a CEO of a NPO should make as much as a CEO of a for profit company, but might need to be comparable to such  salary.  We have commonly discussed the need for NPOs to be ran like a business throughout class.  I believe that if you want a business professional to head your organization, you need to pay him a salary close to what he might make in the for profit realm.

Social Enterprise (Social Entrepreneurship)

I recently came across an article on-line the other day that was talking about social entrepreneurship and the non-profit sector.  I thought this quote was really interesting I found on the website :  http://www.managementhelp.org/soc_entr/soc_entr.htm, “Nonprofits have to recognize that they’re businesses, not just causes. There’s a way to combine the very best of the not-for-profit, philanthropic world with the very best of the for-profit, enterprising world. This hybrid is the wave of the future for both profit and nonprofit companies.”

I never really looked at non-profits as being a business but, I guess if they want to succeeded then that’s what they have to make themselves.   It’s hard to have a “caring” mind-set, and a business mind set at the same time. I think this could be dangerous in a way because if you want people to think you are working for a good cause and you want them to donate money, you cannot deal with that as a business transaction.

I think that Social Entrepreneurship, can help any non-profit. But, not all non-profits need their help. Sometimes I think it will hurt them in the long run.

Forces for Good

So I couldn’t help but go and read more about this new book that Harvey tagged in her last post. Forces for Good looks to me to be an invaluable resource for anyone even remotely interested in the non-profit sector. I found it shocking how those twelve NPO’s success what not based off of internal measures, but how they actually went out and worked to gain partnerships. These same partnerships proved to bring along with them a strong force of leverage that most NPO’s cannot generate from within. I think the main lesson to be learned is that the top NPO’s of this era are understanding it takes working from EVERY angle of a social/political/economic issue in order to make a difference.