The Cathedral Within

This is a classic!  I have read this book several times, and each time it is a source of deep inspiration.  Written by Bill Shore of Share Our Strength fame, he uses the metaphor of cathedral building to drive home the point that nonprofits need to think big in order to achieve a scale that is meaningful and lasting.  He provides several impressive examples of nonprofits who have done this including Pioneer Human Services out of Washington state, and The Chicago Children’s Choir to name a couple.  He vividly illustrates the kind of unrelenting drive and unflagging spirit the founders of these organizations possessed, akin to the obsessiveness that drives any Olympic athlete, which catapulted them to unprecedented size and effectiveness unheard of in the nonprofit world. 
      It seems that the really large insight that these companies had was that to achieve their staggering scales they could not depend solely on fickle donations and uncertain grants.  Instead, they developed for-profit programs designed to help fulfill their missions that often brought in millions of dollars in revenue that they then used to fund their programs.
      A truly great read.  Check it out soon!

The Cathedral Within; Bill Shore; Random House, NY; 1999

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded

This is a very thought provoking book.  It is a series of essays written by a variety of people on how influential grant giving foundations can be on determining the course of a nonprofit organization.  The bottom line is that if a nonprofit does not measure up to the agenda of the foundation, they often risk losing their funding.  The argument that runs through the essays is that any nonprofit that seeks to do something completely radical does not have much of a chance in being funded by conservative foundations.
      I found most of the essayists expectations of receiving funding from sources whom they seek to undermine a bit perplexing.  Obviously, any foundation has a set of objectives they wish to see fulfilled, so for them to not fund a nonprofit that does not fit their model seems reasonable to me.  The radical nonprofit needs to seek monies elsewhere, possibly through a grassroots campaign.
      That being said, it is a bit scary to realize just how much influence the major grant providing foundations can have on the general course of nonprofits.  Many nonprofits are so strapped for cash that they are often willing to distort themselves, conforming to the foundation’s agenda, in order to get the grant.  Thus, they lose their independence and become mere employees of the foundations.  This, obviously is not a good situation for it tends to stifle radical program ingenuity.
      There are lots of good ideas presented in this book, although beware — it is very densely and academically written — but well worth the pain.
      It is edited by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence; published by South End Press, Cambridge, MA; 2007.

Books!

We can all stand to learn more about the topics discussed on this blog.  If you have read a book that you think is either a gem or a waste of time, let us know!  A mini-review would be perfect.