Comments on: New Philanthropy Blogs http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:00:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Mark Petersen http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs#comment-202 Mark Petersen Sat, 28 Apr 2007 02:01:43 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/24/new-philanthropy-blogs/#comment-202 Sean ... thanks for encouraging me to get in the discussion. I've had a crazy week due to our innovation awards and all that goes along with that. See my blog for the news release that gives a few details. Will get back in the game soon. I still have a huge printout from Holden's blog that I have read, but that still remains to be commented on. Sean … thanks for encouraging me to get in the discussion. I’ve had a crazy week due to our innovation awards and all that goes along with that. See my blog for the news release that gives a few details. Will get back in the game soon.

I still have a huge printout from Holden’s blog that I have read, but that still remains to be commented on.

]]> By: Mark Petersen http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs#comment-201 Mark Petersen Sat, 28 Apr 2007 01:59:32 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/24/new-philanthropy-blogs/#comment-201 Ahhh, the elusive M. If we want to meet her, we need to show up at the workshop! :-) I totally respect your decision re remaining anonymous. Of course, it is great if one is able to divulge identity but in many cases it is not. In my cases, I am not at risk for being turfed out of my role as I am also a family member of the founder. Thus, I can afford to be transparent in many ways that an employee can not. Ahhh, the elusive M. If we want to meet her, we need to show up at the workshop! :-)
I totally respect your decision re remaining anonymous. Of course, it is great if one is able to divulge identity but in many cases it is not.

In my cases, I am not at risk for being turfed out of my role as I am also a family member of the founder. Thus, I can afford to be transparent in many ways that an employee can not.

]]> By: M http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs#comment-200 M Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:40:22 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/24/new-philanthropy-blogs/#comment-200 Thanks Sean, I'll keep an eye out for you. Thanks Sean, I’ll keep an eye out for you.

]]> By: Sean Stannard-Stockton http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs#comment-199 Sean Stannard-Stockton Wed, 25 Apr 2007 19:15:02 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/24/new-philanthropy-blogs/#comment-199 M, I'll be live blogging the conference and will be attending the session you mention. If you run across me and want to introduce yourself it would be fun to meet and I'll respect your anonymity. M, I’ll be live blogging the conference and will be attending the session you mention. If you run across me and want to introduce yourself it would be fun to meet and I’ll respect your anonymity.

]]> By: M http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs#comment-198 M Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:58:40 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/24/new-philanthropy-blogs/#comment-198 Sean, Thank you for noticing my blog! I am the author of "Inside Foundations." Back in the days when I was a fundraiser I made the mistake of mixing my work into my personal blogging. I was not disparaging my employer or anything like that. Just having *my* name and *my* views associated with *their* name simply because I worked for them (which was written in my profile) got me in trouble. Luckily just a smack on the hand and a request to remove their name from my profile, not anything worse. I learned my lesson and do not want to endanger my career like that again. I'd love to sign my name to my writing, and I am proud of who I work for, but I am not sure they would see it that way, especially since I haven't even been here a year yet. I think the foundation world is too conservative in their views on technology, on how transparent they should be, on how much they should engage with the world at large and their grantees, and maybe a bit too elitist to fully participate in the blogosphere. My organization is going through some changes so I hope one day to be able to be myself online, not just "M'". I am heading to my first CoF conference this weekend and made sure to add the "Foundations and the Morphing Media" session to the list of things to attend. I really want to hear the views of blogging amongst the foundation world. Maybe it will sway my decision to remain nameless. Sean,

Thank you for noticing my blog! I am the author of “Inside Foundations.”

Back in the days when I was a fundraiser I made the mistake of mixing my work into my personal blogging. I was not disparaging my employer or anything like that. Just having *my* name and *my* views associated with *their* name simply because I worked for them (which was written in my profile) got me in trouble. Luckily just a smack on the hand and a request to remove their name from my profile, not anything worse. I learned my lesson and do not want to endanger my career like that again.

I’d love to sign my name to my writing, and I am proud of who I work for, but I am not sure they would see it that way, especially since I haven’t even been here a year yet.

I think the foundation world is too conservative in their views on technology, on how transparent they should be, on how much they should engage with the world at large and their grantees, and maybe a bit too elitist to fully participate in the blogosphere.

My organization is going through some changes so I hope one day to be able to be myself online, not just “M’”.

I am heading to my first CoF conference this weekend and made sure to add the “Foundations and the Morphing Media” session to the list of things to attend. I really want to hear the views of blogging amongst the foundation world. Maybe it will sway my decision to remain nameless.

]]> By: Trista Harris http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs#comment-197 Trista Harris Tue, 24 Apr 2007 20:46:15 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/24/new-philanthropy-blogs/#comment-197 Sean, I'm the author of the New Voices of Philanthropy blog and am so excited that you have featured it on your blog. I haven't listed the name of my foundation because I think there is a distinct difference between my opinions on generational issues in philanthropy and portraying my opinions on those issues as my foundation's stance on those issues. I think it is too easy for Program Officer's to blur the line between the foundation's interests and their own interests and I don't want to slip down that slope. I enjoy reading your opinions ion the quickly changing field of philanthropy. Trista Sean,
I’m the author of the New Voices of Philanthropy blog and am so excited that you have featured it on your blog. I haven’t listed the name of my foundation because I think there is a distinct difference between my opinions on generational issues in philanthropy and portraying my opinions on those issues as my foundation’s stance on those issues. I think it is too easy for Program Officer’s to blur the line between the foundation’s interests and their own interests and I don’t want to slip down that slope.

I enjoy reading your opinions ion the quickly changing field of philanthropy.
Trista

]]> By: Bruce Trachtenberg http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs#comment-196 Bruce Trachtenberg Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:48:50 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/24/new-philanthropy-blogs/#comment-196 Sean, I think you have to be careful not to mistake personal blogs written by employees as part of their foundations' formal "communications" programs, Instead these are their own comments, viewpoints, and expressions about foundation work and what they see going on inside their organizations. There are some instances of foundations that have offical blogs...like the president of Teagle, Bob Connor http://teaglefoundation.org/liblog/default.aspx. And I agree, we need more. But for now, I think we should welcome and encourage those who are willing to share -- even anonymously. If it were a perfect world, people would be free to speak their minds, talk about whatever issues they think merit attention, and hopefully they could do it without risk. But, as someone I know who blogs has said doing that under your real name can be a career-limiting move. Sean,
I think you have to be careful not to mistake personal blogs written by employees as part of their foundations’ formal “communications” programs, Instead these are their own comments, viewpoints, and expressions about foundation work and what they see going on inside their organizations.

There are some instances of foundations that have offical blogs…like the president of Teagle, Bob Connor http://teaglefoundation.org/liblog/default.aspx. And I agree, we need more. But for now, I think we should welcome and encourage those who are willing to share — even anonymously.

If it were a perfect world, people would be free to speak their minds, talk about whatever issues they think merit attention, and hopefully they could do it without risk. But, as someone I know who blogs has said doing that under your real name can be a career-limiting move.

]]> By: Don http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/new-philanthropy-blogs#comment-195 Don Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:16:03 +0000 http://tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/04/24/new-philanthropy-blogs/#comment-195 For my part, as a program officer at a family foundation, I prefer to be anonymous because I don't have the authority to be speaking on behalf of the foundation on many of the issues being discussed in the blogosphere. My position, as it's structured now, is to execute the wishes articulated by our trustees and as operationalized in our executive director's policies. I still have lots of ideas and thoughts and questions (which we discuss internally all the time), but it seems prudent to me to avoid the risk of being perceived in the community as being a decision-maker at the foundation. Just my two-cents. Don For my part, as a program officer at a family foundation, I prefer to be anonymous because I don’t have the authority to be speaking on behalf of the foundation on many of the issues being discussed in the blogosphere. My position, as it’s structured now, is to execute the wishes articulated by our trustees and as operationalized in our executive director’s policies.

I still have lots of ideas and thoughts and questions (which we discuss internally all the time), but it seems prudent to me to avoid the risk of being perceived in the community as being a decision-maker at the foundation.

Just my two-cents.

Don

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