Blogs I readOne of the reasons CCSR started blogging is because several of us on staff are readers of blogs. We thought CCSR could add to online content in our areas of expertise. We also admired the Kansas Leadership Center's efforts to blog and contribute to online content.
In an effort to share with readers of the CCSR blog which blogs we go to for ideas and new thinking, here is the first of posts about blogs we read. Mine are in alphabetical order, because that's how I have them organized in my Google reader.
Blogs on NP things I follow:
Bridgespan (all RSS feeds)
The Bridgespan Group is a nonprofit consulting firm out of Boston, New York, and San Francisco. The most recent article from them that I read was on Growing Global NGOs Effectively. They have a number of articles and case studies available, some for free and some for purchase.
Center for Nonprofit Management
This Center is based in Bucks County, PA, north of Philadelphia. A recent post from them on the differences between hiring a consultant and hiring a facilitator for your planning work makes an interesting distinction, one we often debate at the CCSR. We tend more towards facilitating processes than providing consultation. From a client's perspective, defining which kind of support the organization needs or wants is crucial in finding the right person to support your planning efforts.
Don Griesmann's Nonprofit Blog
I started following this blog on the recommendation of my co-worker Sarah Jolley. His posts tend to be long and informative, with quite a few links in each posts for further reading.
Linksy on Leadership
Through work with the Kansas Leadership Center, I've had the opportunity to learn from Marty Linksy. He shared with me at a training session that he, as a Harvard man, was very familiar with the route from Cambridge to Wellesley College, where I went as an undergrad. His blog on leadership takes concepts developed in his books and applies them to current events.
The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ)
The quarterly publication of ARNOVA (The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action) is a treasure trove of scholarly articles on the NP sector. I subscribe to the RSS feed, but it's possible this is only available to me because of my university access. But go here and see if you can get it too. I usually read the abstracts, then click on the link and download the article to read later.
The Nonprofit QuarterlyNot to be confused with the NVSQ, the Nonprofit Quarterly is a Boston-based publication that actually prints on paper. From what I can tell, most of the articles are available online. It looks like they might have some political biases I should be aware of. I haven't explored this blog/magazine very much.
Philantopic
I haven't explored this blog too much, because I just started following it. But it looks like it will provide articles and content from the Philanthropy News Digest, which could be useful.
Rosetta Thurman
Written by a young, DC-based African-American woman, this blog presents a perspective of a young professional who benefitted from the work of nonprofits as she was growing up in Cleveland and who now consults with nonprofits seeking social change. This post considers how young professionals in nonprofit jobs can build the brand recognition of both their organization and themselves.
TNT: The Network Thinker
Valdis Krebs does interesting research on and mapping of social networks. This blog doesn't get updated very often, but if you like infographics and find social networks interesting, this is worth a read.
Transformative Concepts
Written by Maaskelah Thomas, a leader in the Wichita community and former CCSR facilitator, this blog has a couple of thoughtful posts on what organizations should look for. This one on whether an organization should hire a grant-writer or a fund development coach makes some good points.
White Courtesy Telephone: News, Opinion and Commentary from Inside the Third Sector I don't have much information about the origins of this blog. I think I started following it on the recommendation of a co-worker. Looks like it has at least 6 contributing writers. This post on "Messing with the Poor" has some good food for thought about nonprofits and poverty prevention or alleviation.
Young Professionals of Wichita
Because I am young, a professional, and from Wichita, I follow the Young Professionals of Wichita. Are you a YP? Does your local YP group blog? Follow it.
Blogs on the arts and NPs:
Nonprofits that support or promote the arts are a particular kind of NP. I have an interest in working with arts organizations, so I follow a few blogs dedicated to these NPs.
The Kansas Arts Commission
The KAC started blogging pretty recently (their archives go back to September 2009). Their posts are useful to find out about arts-related programming, grants, and capacity-building in Kansas.
Michael Kaiser
On November 19, 2009, I attended a session on the "Arts in Crisis" with Michael Kaiser. He is currently the President of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and he has written about his experience turning around major arts organizations. I follow the blog he writes for the Huffington Post: and the one he writes for Artsmanager. There is a bit of overlap between the two, and I could probably cull one of these. But they are written for slightly different audiences and sometimes that difference adds something to one stream or the other.
What blogs do you read to get the latest on the nonprofit sector? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo Courtesy of Moriza
