George Anders

How 59 Data Points Helped Foundations Spark Elusive Change Big foundations behind a multicity project are trying to measure the intangibles of community building. In one Akron, Ohio, neighborhood, the numbers are adding up to something good.

Impact? You want impact? How an unlikely alliance in Ohio delivered big results. www.philanthropy.com/article/how-...

Visiting Ohio for a reporting trip. Is it better to stay at a perfectly normal Hilton Garden Inn? Or to be a bit more adventurous, and check into a converted NASA building just outside the Cleveland airport, that's now doing business as The Orbit hotel? I picked Option 2. No regrets at all!

Power Couple Giving: The 10-Year Journey of Steve and Connie Ballmer A yin-yang approach to philanthropy has shaped the Ballmer Group. But the husband-and-wife founders have remained focused on one goal: to improve economic mobility in the U.S.

Seattle's tech scene has created some amazing wealth -- and a lot of ambitious philanthropy. Among the names to watch: Steve and Connie Ballmer

Agree. The following weeks' letters section included some personal stories of the way gambling addictions can ruin people's lives.

Not said in the piece is the alarming way in which gung-ho gambling sours fans' engagement. Losing bettors rip into players, coaches, etc. in truly disturbing ways.

I'm betting that the screenwriters tried to hold up Walt Disney for a bit more money, and his response was: "We can make this movie without you."

As Nonprofits Hunt for Better Board Members, Can MBA Philanthropy Help? A New York financier’s $25 million of support helps create nonprofit boardroom placements for students learning the realities of foster care, immigration, health care for the elderly, and more.

What are the most popular classes for MBAs these days? Yes, "Path to Power" and "VC Finance" still pull them in. But this maverick class at @kelloggschool.bsky.social connects students with nonprofits in need. It's oversubscribed 4:1.
www.philanthropy.com/article/as-n...

Now that holiday cards are arriving, along with engaging newsletters, it's time for a favorite game.

"Husband or dog"?

The best passages about Buddy, Champ, etc. really could go either way

I've seen this tail-off, too, and here's hoping that there's a rebound coming

Love the art!

Lucid and wonderfully thought provoking. Thanks for posting this, @gfaulknerwriter.bsky.social

I just wrapped a bit of journalism that touched on the value of teaching uncertainty at business schools. It's the world we live in. +1 to anyone who can accept and embrace it

While we're at it, isn't "You Can't Always Get What You Want" just a reformulation of Pareto optimality?

Who knew!? Stanford's massive Green Library has a delightful reading room on the top floor, the Bender Room. It is graced with a fine collection of art and film books. Also lots of poster-size photos of great libraries all over the world. #books

Let the Turing Test begin!

Should we ask labor-force questions? Or 1960s band questions? Either way, I think the Guy Berger Follower Community can crack this one!

The AI Reporter That Took My Old Job Just Got Fired A local newspaper in Hawaii experimented with AI-generated presenters to engage and boost its readership. After two months, the bots have been shelved.

I'll share some stories about #AI successes another day, because they certainly do exist. But this story of TV news bots gone bad is, um, refreshing!

With House Passage of ‘Nonprofit Killer’ bill, charities fear being targeted Despite opposition from a wide range of nonprofits, lawmakers in the U.S. House passed a bill designed to give the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits...

Here is the Chronicle coverage of 9495 - @stacypalmer.bsky.social

www.philanthropy.com/article/with...

Can Lottery Winners Succeed at Philanthropy? Meet Roy Cockrum How a onetime comic actor turned $60 million of Powerball winnings into a grant-making engine that has backed ambitious theater since 2014.

What happens when a part-time actor wins $150 million in the PowerBall lottery? Here's the improbable story of how a raw beginner at big-time philanthropy pulled it off.

Sharing out a few recent essays, riffs, etc., just to provide a sense of what I'll be offering here. This is a hiking essay that I wrote earlier this year for the late Neil King Jr.'s outdoor writing site, Gotham Canoe.

Forbes might be a match. DM me for details and an intro

Want to know George Anders' Top 3 Books of 2024? George's top 3 reads of 2024 include King: A Life and two other amazing books. Discover what makes these books unmissable!

The folks at shepherd.com are collecting lists of authors' three favorite books this year. This link will take you not just to my picks, but some marvelous browsing across many other writers' lists, too shepherd.com/bboy/2024/f/...

DAF Assets: $250 Billion, and Counting While the amount held in DAFs hit new highs, both contributions to the funds and the amount of money awarded from them fell in 2023, according to a new report.

Google co-founder Larry Page does nearly all his charitable giving through a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). Should you? Should anyone? Lots of intriguing data about the $250 billion DAF realm here, via Rasheeda Childress, my colleague at the Chronicle of Philanthropy.