Great Non-Profits.Org

Long-time readers of this blog know that part of its genesis was my desire (read: compulsive need) to write about a number of topics, including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as I witnessed with my own eyes late in 2005 and early in 2006.

Just so none of us ever forget that what we do matters, and that all of our actions, large or small, have consequences, tonight I republish this lovely "backstory" about the origin of a wonderful non-profit organization, Great Non-Profits, where I am a board member.

Its founder, the charismatic Perla Ni, wrote this piece:

Why the Voices of People Directly Served by Nonprofits Matter

When Hurricane Katrina hit, I was the publisher of the Stanford Social Innovation Review , and we wanted to write a story about how nonprofits were helping the victims. Even though we had access to far more information than the ordinary donor or volunteer, we found it difficult to find out exactly which nonprofits were doing a good job of helping those in need.

We only started to get a clearer understanding of which nonprofits were actually rising to the challenge when our former managing editor, David Weir, flew out to Biloxi, Miss., and walked up and down the streets, asking people which nonprofits had been out there helping them. The locals told him about several excellent small local nonprofits that provided supplies and help. One guy told him how he had broken his leg and had been living in his car until volunteers from a local nonprofit came and found him and took him to the doctor. The local nonprofit in that case was unknown to the larger world and received little public attention or funding. (David's article ended up being published in Salon.)

In general, there isn't a lot of media coverage for local nonprofits, and when there is, it's usually to uncover a scandal rather than to highlight nonprofits that are doing excellent work.

I've gotten to know a lot of nonprofits and most of them are honest and hardworking. And some of them do darned great work. I've known nonprofits personally as a client of their services. My family had $100 when we immigrated and countless nonprofits helped us. If you look at photos of me when I was a kid, practically everything I wore came second hand from nonprofits. My cavities got filled for free at a nonprofit community dental clinic.

So I know how much the help of a nonprofit can mean.

It struck me, as I struggled professionally to find great nonprofits for our magazine to write about, that there needed to be an online "Zagat," if you will, for nonprofits that would collect stories and reviews of people -- people like me, the victims of Katrina, and hundreds of thousands of others -- who have seen the impact of nonprofits up close, and can speak personally and firsthand about it. (An article by Bill Meehan had proposed such an idea a year ago.)

So many donors and volunteers want to know if their giving is going to make a difference. Come help others discover what a difference their involvement in a nonprofit can make.

Sincerely,

Perla

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