A colleague recently wrote us and noted that we rarely cover the American Indian community in this blog. She was correct. We confess that our oversight is probably a reflection of a broader cultural blindness to Native American social issues in general. Perhaps this numbed sensitivity comes from the fact that Native Americans do not make as much noise as other underprivileged minorities. It seems to be part of their native dignity to suffer in silence without complaint and, unfortunately, in American social justice “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”.

Teacher strikes are spreading across the country. In states where they are still woefully underpaid like Oklahoma and Arizona it is amazing that teachers can afford to go to work at all. But teachers in California and New York, on the other hand, are not striking strictly for pay increases. They are demanding more funding for education in general and are striking on behalf of their students who, they say, are being under-served in aging buildings without up-to-date technology, proper textbooks, or fundamental teaching aides. In other words, teachers are revolting against a perennial lack of proper funding for education across the country. How can the wealthiest country in the world fail to prioritize the education of its youth, when it is that very educational system that made it the wealthiest country in the world?

The Jewish Federations of North America brings together a network of 148 local federations which collectively raise and allocate more than $3 billion annually for social welfare, social services, and educational needs. The JFNA has spent three decades in an effort to create an ongoing mechanism that would productively connect local federations to a group of national Jewish organizations. Its mission was “to bring together seven national Jewish agencies and the Jewish federation network into a common space, promoting deeper relationships and creating synergy among them.”

The Family First Act has become law! This is a very big deal for our caseworker colleagues who work in teen pregnancy and parenting. It represents the biggest change to the structure of federal child welfare finance since the establishment of the Title IV-E entitlement in 1980.

Do you ask your donors discovery questions?

I’m certain you do. But, you may not be asking them in the most effective way. Rachel Muir has some great tips and examples on how to ask donors questions.

This week's Movie Monday's fundraising tip is in from the folks at Movie Mondays.

Would you like to raise more money with your newsletters, website, annual report, direct mail, and your other donor communications?

Nonprofit's Role

There are 640,000 students currently registered in the Los Angeles Unified School District and 480,000 (75%) of them are Latinos. The LA. School Report reminds us that this past March 1st was the 50th anniversary of the big “blowout” when “thousands of young Latinos marched out of their East Los Angeles classrooms…for their right to be educated.”

As Health Care Becomes More Complex

Health care delivery models increasingly rely on social workers and social worker case managers because of their specialization in identifying and meeting the needs of patients, post-discharge.  Social workers are also healers...

The US Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a "pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner". The definition adds that domestic violence "can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender" and can take many forms.

This weeks Moview Monday's Fundraising video is in.  In this video, you’ll learn one of the “Rules” that will be an indicator of your campaign’s success or failure.