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NONPROFIT QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER
Featuring Innovative Thinking in the Nonprofit Sector
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April 2004, Issue 32

Dear Colleagues:

How many times have we heard an organization's founder referred
to as a problem? On the one hand we love and admire the drive and
passion of our founders and on the other hand they sometimes make
life so hard for those around them. Little wonder. In their paper
entitled Practical People, Noble Causes, Stephen Thake and Simon
Zadek describe entrepreneurs, or those we might normally think of
as founders:

"Entrepreneurs are analytical in that they can identify
deficiencies in systems. They are eclectic and borrow concepts
from other disciplines to devise solutions. They are no
respecters of the status quo. They are often seen as irritants
and trouble-makers, for they are typically magpies, drawing ideas
and practices from one part of society into another, remoulding
society in new and imaginative ways in the process. At times of
change they are seen as catalysts with an independent existence."

There is no surprise that some of these characters might spell
trouble within a growing organization.

I was also recently struck by a research paper entitled "Social
Entrepreneurship and Social Transformation: An Exploratory Study"
produced by the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at
Harvard University. They looked at seven very high impact
projects projects that had produced significant political,
economic, or cultural change in their environments and the
founders had stayed involved over extended periods - in one case
for 50 years.

Founders are clearly very important to nonprofits, just as
entrepreneurs are to the business sector. For this reason, I am
glad to pass along a wonderful article called "Founders and Other
Gods," by Deborah Linnell, from the Spring issue of the Nonprofit
Quarterly http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/490.html . It
is one of the best discussions of the ups and downs of founders I
have yet read.

We would, as always, love to hear what you think about this
article. How much of it rings true and what would you add or
argue with? We'd love, especially to hear from founders,
themselves.

Your Friend,

Ruth

To let us know what you think of this article, write us back at
feedback@...


********** TABLE OF CONTENTS ******************************

1.    Feature Article: "Founders and Other Gods" by Deborah
Linnell.

2.    Recommended Resources

--------------------
FEATURE ARTICLE
--------------------

*** "Founders and Other Gods" by Deborah Linnell.  The nonprofit
sector has a love / hate relationship with founders. This article
helps us look at founders and the situations they face more
productively. http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/490.html

-------------------------
2. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
-------------------------
*** "Practical People, Noble Causes", by Stephen Thake and Simon
Zadek, 1997, New Economics Foundation.
http://www.zadek.net/practical_people.pdf

*** Hauser Center Working Paper No. 15: Social Entrepreneurship
and Social Transformation, by Sarah H. Alvord, L. David Brown,
and Christine W. Letts (November 2002)
http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/hauser/active_backup/PDF_XLS/workingpaper_15.pdf

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********* NONPROFIT QUARTERLY CURRENT EDITION ***************

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get a full year starting with this issue:

NONPROFIT SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: THE TIES THAT BIND US
Spring 2004; Volume 11, Issue 1

FEATURES

Welcome

Letters to the Editor.

Founders and Other Gods, by Deborah Linnell
http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/490.html

A Case of Arrested Development: The Grantee/Funder Relationship,
by the editors

The Evolution of An Innovation: An Interview with Ami Dar of
Idealist.org, by the editors

Defending Defensiveness, by Sandra Janoff

Nonprofit Diversity: An Asset We Can No Longer Afford to Ignore,
by Henry A. J. Ramos

The Future of the Nonprofit Infrastructure, by Jon Pratt

Building Sustainable Communities Through Social Network
Development, by Valdis Krebs and June Holley


DEPARTMENTS
Planning and Evaluation
Participatory Evaluation: How it Can Enhance Effectiveness and
Credibility of Nonprofit Work, by Susan Saegert, Lymari Benitez,
Efrat Eizenberg, Tsai-shiou Hsieh, and Mike Lamb

Philanthropy
The Challenge of Challenge Grants, by Angel Braestrup

Spirit of Our Work
"Making a Way Out of No Way": Bridging the Gap in Rural North
Carolina, by the editors.

Technology
Spam: More than Just a Nuisance for Nonprofits,by Marnie Webb

Learning Center

Classifieds


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