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The Board of Canvassers met at 8:00 a.m. to canvass the votes of the 2014 General Election held on November 4, 2014 they completed the canvass at 9:45 a.m. The Board of Marshall County Commissioners met in regular adjourned session with Thomas K. Holle Chairman; Robert S. Connell member and Sonya L. Stohs, County Clerk present. The meeting was called ...Read More »
Richardson To Be Honored By The Marysville American Legion; Public Invited
The Marysville American Legion will honor Caleb Richardson of Marysville as the Post Boy Scout of the Year Wednesday evening, with a 7 p.m. ceremony open to the public. This is among a statewide effort to honor at least one youth in each community where the American Legion has a post.Read More »
City of Washington Announces Christmas Lighting Contest
The City of Washington has announced plans for their annual Christmas Lighting Contest. Displays will be judged by December 20th, with the winner to be credited for free electricity for the month of December. A $50 credit for second place and $25 credit for third place will also be awarded. At their recent meeting, the Washington City Council consented to staff assisting with encouraging ...Read More »
MHS Alum To Be Guest Speaker For Veteran's Day Service At MHS
A 1980 Marysville High School Graduate, Duane Blaske, will be guest speaker Tuesday for Veteran's Day service at the Marysville High School Auditorium. The program at 10:15 a.m. is open to the public. Blaske served in the U.S. Army 1986–2002.Read More »
Former Greenleaf School Building To Reopen As Daycare
Recent activities in the Greenleaf community include plans to reopen the former school building as a daycare center. Jesse Uffman of Greenleaf, and Julie Ohlde of Linn purchased the building at auction, and hope to open early 2015. The facility had previously served Washington County Head Start and a preschool. Also in Greenleaf, the city tennis courts were removed, with plans to replace ...Read More »
USDA Announces $70,000 In Funding For New Wymore Ambulance
USDA Rural Development recently announced $70,000 funding will be available to the City of Wymore to assist with purchasing a new ambulance. Wymore E.M.S. serves Wymore, Blue Springs, Barneston, and Liberty, and will provide the balance of funding, amounting to a total of nearly $200,000 for the unit, which will serve as primary ambulance, with the ten year old current ...Read More »
Phillipi Nominated For International Director For Lions Clubs International
Bill Phillipi of Marysville was recently nominated as a candidate for International Director with the Lions Clubs International.Read More »
Votor Turnout "Good" For Marshall & Washington Counties
Voter turnout was reported good for the General Election Tuesday, with 58% of Marshall County voters, and 59% of Washington County voters casting ballots.Read More »
Board of Riley County Commissioners Meeting Minutes – Nov. 3
The Board of Riley County Commissioners met in regular session on November 3rd. Read the full minutes of the meeting below. Board of Riley County Commissioners Minutes – Nov. 3rdRead More »
Marysville Chamber Sponsoring A Gingerbread House Contest
The Marysville Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring their 3rd Annual Gingerbread House Contest at A "Merry"sville Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend. The Contest is open to the public (amateurs only please), open to all ages, and can be an individual or a group. Judging will be in 3 categories: Youth (11 & under), Teen (12-17) and adult (18 & up). "Be ...Read More »


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Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Please note that the Immigration and Refugee Board's web content reflects legislation and IRB policies and procedures as of July 23, 2015. In light of a recent Federal Court Decision concerning the right to appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD), the IRB is in the process of reviewing its full web content in order to thoroughly identify information requiring removal from the site or updating where applicable.
Individuals consulting the IRB website are advised that the date a Web page was last modified (found in the lower right hand of the Web page) does not indicate when affected content was last updated.
For claims made before December 15, 2012, please refer to the legacy claims page.
All eligible claims for protection made in Canada on or after December 15, 2012, are referred to the IRB for a hearing by the Refugee Protection Division.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) collaborates with several non-governmental organizations (NGO) to help refugee claimants prepare for their upcoming hearings through Ready Tours.
These tours are free of charge and are held in our Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal offices to inform refugee claimants about:
For more information, please contact the NGO who is organizing the Ready Tours in your region.
The IRB Claimant's Kit provides important information regarding the refugee claim process:

subset: commoncrawl


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Red Sox manager Terry Francona suggested that he felt compelled to shake up the lineup after his team struggled deeply in recent days. With his club having scored just nine runs in its last five games (all losses), Francona moved Dustin Pedroia into the third spot in the batting order, with J.D. Drew moving to the second slot, and Victor Martinez (fifth), David Ortiz (sixth) and Adrian Beltre (seventh) all moving down.
"I think I said on Opening Day, if we were making changes, something isn't going right. I do believe in being very patient. I think that is what helps players. At the same time, what we were doing wasn't working," said Francona. "Our hitting with runners in scoring position right now is zero. You can hit them anywhere you want. We just need to do better."
Francona said that he believes that the Sox have a chance to define themselves by virtue of how they respond to adversity. Certainly, this represents one such moment.
"We're very results oriented. The results have been horrendous. Hopefully the results will start getting better," said Francona. "This is a chance for us to try to stand tall. We talked to the players the very first meeting, how a lot of our season will be defined by how we handle frustration. Are we going to be tough? Are we going to dig ourselves out of it? Are we going to make excuses? We'll find out. This is a time for us to show what we're made of. I believe that."
For more pre-game notes, click here.
FOXBORO — WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia and Chris Price discuss the return of LeGarrette Blount to Patriots training camp on Saturday, the first day of full pads practice for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Dickerson and Price discuss the RB position and who will get a majority of the workload. They also talk about missing Revis and the CB position. The boys also get into more Deflategate discussions with callers.
Dickerson and Price are live from Fenway today and kick off NFL Sunday discussing some of the events at Pats training camp this week. Then they get into the court battle between Brady and Goodell and where we go from here? The guys give their predictions on just how many games Brady will in fact sit out. They get into the Chris Mortenson situation after he backed out of the D&C interview. Finally, Trags (Mike Petraglia) of WEEI.com joins the boys live from training camp.
Jay King of Masslive.com joins the show to break down the performance of the Celtics during the NBA Summer League. Then Ben and Sam discuss the exciting possibility of a Space Jam sequel.
Michael joins Ben and Sam to discuss the wild NBA Free Agency period and the upcoming Celtics season.
How long will this rebuild take? How much money will it take to keep Bae Crowder? Are Draft Picks even worth anything? With the Danny Ainge not landing any big names in the draft, and unable to lure any big names in free agency, Sam and Ben discussed if the Celtics are doomed moving forward.
Joe & Dave talked to the Sox rookie, who had four hits, hit two home runs, and scored five runs in the win over the Rays at Fenway
Joe and Dave are joined by Pedro who was at the game and had his number 45 retired by the Red Sox in a very touching pregame ceremony. Pedro talks about going into the Hall of Fame, his time in Boston and love for the game of baseball.
Joe & Dave talked to the Sox designated hitter, who hit two home runs and drove in seven runs in the win over the Tigers.
Don Sweeney, who was hired as the Bruins general manager yesterday speaks with Dale and Holley about his new position and where the Bruins go from here.
The awesomely knowledgeable Fluto Shinzawa calls DJ, Naoko and Pete to talk about his thoughts on the future of the B's. He discusses his column from earlier this week on Cam Neely wanting to give Claude the ax earlier in the season but not getting the ok. Fluto shares his thoughts on Chiarelli's firing, the future for Claude and where the Bruins should go from here. He also gives his opinion on potential moves the team can make, who would fit in here, his thoughts on the NHL playoffs so far and more.
In the final hour of the "midseason finale" as DJ likes to call it, the crew discuss more about the future of the Bruins franchise, the possible power struggle in the front office and who should be the head coach going forward. They talk to intelligent and talented Fluto Shinzawa about all of these thing and more in an excellent interview, and finally, DJ says THANK YOU!
We know the leak to ESPN on deflate gate.
Beverly Scott hired by Obama.
ESPN's reporter ducked the show.
Josh Beckett is in the news but not for a baseball reason, the guys discuss his possible romantic run-in with country star, Miranda Lambert.
Greg and Lou discuss Chris Mortensen bailing on his interview with Dennis & Callahan.
Buster Olney, of ESPN, gives the guys the latest scoop on any potential deals regarding the Red Sox on MLB Trade Deadline Day.
Exactly what it
The title says it all
Dale, Michael and Jerry Thornton talk about all things Patriots, including the challenges on the field and the drama off the field as 2015 training camp opens today in Foxborough.
Mikey Adams lets the Red Sox have it and welcomes callers who do the same. The Red Sox (stink)!
Mikey Adams and Lenny Megliola get 36 glorious minutes between games of a Monday doubleheader, and after an 11-1 Red Sox loss, to vent about the declining state of the team.
Mikey Adams and Lenny Megliola talk to #RedSox great Bill Lee, The Spaceman, about the current version of the Sox as only The Spaceman can describe things.
Intern extraordinaire Lucy joins Jerry once again to discuss the most vexing questions in the history of mankind: can men and women coexist? What are the differences between how men and women think? And how mean can women really be?
If you play Fantasy Football then you know there are several "Elephants in the Room!" And nobody is talking about them. Are they afraid? We're not! The Dallas Running game, Leveon Bell, Demarco Murray & Ryan Matthews in the Philly backfield, the Saints offense and so much more. Right here, WEEI's own Jim Hackett and Pete Davidson cover all of the main "Elephants in the Room" to help you get the edge for your upcoming drafts. Enjoy!
Russ & Alex discuss Andrea Pirlo's MLS debut, Didier Drogba signing with Montreal and debate which team has had the best transfer window so far.
We know the leak to ESPN on deflate gate.More from this show
ESPN's reporter ducked the show.More from this show
Adam Schefter joined us to discuss the latest on deflategate and Chris Mortensen's false PSI report.More from this show
Dale, Michael and Jerry Thornton talk about all things Patriots, including the challenges on the field and the drama off the field as 2015 training camp opens today in Foxborough.More from this show
Greg and Lou discuss Chris Mortensen bailing on his interview with Dennis & Callahan.More from this show


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Free Agent Frenzy Part VI: The Nick Rash edition (Fedotenko signs w/ Philly)
View Single Post
Henrik & Pop
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Suburban Phoenix
Posts: 5,247
vCash: 500
Originally Posted by
Blueshirt Believer
So most likely they are staying in Phoenix for the time being?
It would appear that next year is a yes although management is still being cautious. They have started filling and upgrading some key positions in the organization. If the referendum peters out, it would appear they are here for good, or at least until someone wants to pay the nine figure out clause in the new lease.
Originally Posted by
Barbara Underhill
Portzline's window for a trade 2nd-5th is rapidly closing. He'll just extend it again.
The three guys having the worst summer right now are Holmgren, Holland and Portzline.
Originally Posted by
If Shea Weber pushes for a trade do the Rangers have any assets to offer besides Dubi?
Signing him would probably cost Suter numbers so I guess the Rangers would only sign him if they could steal him (giving up few assets) ? Are my assumptions valid?
If Shea Weber is available, Sather would pay the price and empty the cupboard. We're talking about a 30 minute a game shutdown defenseman, right handed and the mastermind of the best power play in the league. 2nd in Norris (I believe) last two years. Suetr and Weber have been a great combination but make no mistake, Weber is the star attraction. After losing Suter and Hamhuis, if Nashville can't be sure they are keeping Weber, he will be traded this summer.
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Is your resume in need of a little disruption?
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making things work better.
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Department: Sales Reports To: Director of Sales, US & North America ? BST Services Supervises: None Status: Exempt Incumbent: The statements below reflect the general details considered necessary to describe the major responsibilities of the identified position and are not to be6/14/2015 San Francisco, CA Save This Job
Webroot is currently seeking an experienced Product Manager to blend business and technical savvy, a big-picture vision, and the drive to make that vision a reality. In this role, your proven track record of driving new product capabilities from initial concept to successful6/9/2015 Broomfield, CO Save This Job
Description The Manager of Sales Operations (MSO) is responsible for the development and oversight of the processes, tools & resources to drive continuous improvement in effectiveness and efficiency across the Sales Organization for Invincea. The MSO will serve as the primary6/2/2015 Fairfax, VA Save This Job
Account Manager - Content SolutionsLocated in Santa Monica, CAThe Account Manager will work on the Content Solutions Team, which provides original content solutions to brands, publishers and retailers. In this role, you will serve as the main point of contact for our6/24/2015 Santa Monica, CA Save This Job
Location Massachusetts-Corporate - Franklin, MA 2038 US (Primary) Education Bachelor's Degree Category Sales/Marketing Shift Type Standard Business Hours Employee Type Full-time Willingness to Travel 10-25% Interactions is changing the way leading companies communicate with7/30/2015 Franklin, MA Save This Job
This product manager will be driving the detailed product definition and working with the cross-functional team to create an innovative consumer user experience that drives deep customer engagement and satisfaction. In addition to User Experience and Interface Design expertise,7/29/2015 San Francisco, CA Save This Job
San Mateo, CAFull-time Company Description DNN provides a suite of solutions that make designing, building and managing feature-rich sites and communities fast, easy and cost-effective. The DNN Platform CMS is the foundation for over 800,000 websites worldwide and powers Evoq7/21/2015 San Mateo, CA Save This Job
San Mateo, CAFull-time Company Description DNN provides a suite of solutions that make designing, building and managing feature-rich sites and communities fast, easy and cost-effective. The DNN Platform CMS is the foundation for over 800,000 websites worldwide and powers Evoq7/21/2015 San Mateo, CA Save This Job
Job Id: 127 Visually is in search of a Customer Success Manager or Sr. Manager to join our growing Customer Success Team. You will act as the quarterback and key point of contact for your book of accounts, bringing every resource available to you to ensure the client gets what7/13/2015 San Francisco, CA Save This Job
Your career goals embrace empowering customer success while developing long-lasting client relationships as a Customer Engagement Manager with a great company. If this sentence describes you, bring your track record of comparable service to Webroot in this key contributor role at7/9/2015 Broomfield, CO Save This Job
Job ID 2015-3078 Job Location US-TX-Austin Category Marketing Type Full-Time More information about this job About Bazaarvoice Bazaarvoice is a network that connects brands and retailers to the authentic voices of people where they shop. Each month, more than 500 million7/6/2015 Austin, TX Save This Job
Job ID 2015-3082 Job Location US-TX-Austin Category Marketing Type Full-Time More information about this job About Bazaarvoice Bazaarvoice is a network that connects brands and retailers to the authentic voices of people where they shop. Each month, more than 500 million7/6/2015 Austin, TX Save This Job
Nominum, the leading provider of digital marketing solutions for Telecom Service Providers, is seeking a Director/Sr. Manager of Content Strategy and Marketing to join our expanding marketing team and build a world-class content practice that educates, engages, and converts our6/30/2015 Redwood City, CA Save This Job
Product Manager At LegalZoom our growing Product Team is a building products to give every citizen access to the law. We are developing cutting edge products and services to fulfill our customer?s needs. It?s also a strategy hub where innovative minds come together to build6/29/2015 Glendale, CA Save This Job
Job Description The Manager of Financial Reporting is responsible for the management and preparation of various financial reports. Prepares SEC filings and other external facing financial information; utilizes technical understanding of GAAP/SEC/PCOAB/IRS rules to research and6/29/2015 Brookfield, WI Save This Job
Summary Based in San Diego, CA, BioNano Genomics is an early commercial-phase start-up that has delivered an altogether better way of gaining a fully informed understanding of genomes. With our revolutionary new genome mapping platform, Irys, researchers can conduct unique6/28/2015 San Diego, CA Save This Job
LOCATION: Redwood Shores, CA ABOUT ZYME Zyme is the global leader in the emerging channel data management (CDM) solution space, delivering the intelligence global companies need to accelerate channel sales and improve incentive program ROI. Zyme's flexible, cloud-based6/24/2015 Redwood Shores, CA Save This Job
TubeMogul is seeking a Training Manager to spearhead, execute and grow our global external training program. Responsible for constantly improving and evolving all external training initiatives to meet the ever-changing demands of the business and market. Directly managing a team6/23/2015 Emeryville, CA Save This Job
Description Recently ranked by Healthcare Informatics as one of the Top 100 Healthcare IT companies, SourceMedical provides outpatient information solutions and services for ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals, practices, and rehabilitation clinics nationwide. With a6/14/2015 Birmingham, AL Save This Job
Location:Redwood City, CA Department:PROD - ENTERPRISE - BUSINESS Description What we are looking for: We?re passionate about building simple and elegant products that our customers love. We?re looking for an Outbound Product Manager to help build, manage and grow our6/13/2015 Redwood City, CA Save This Job


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Wrap the World in Peace Tote
Roll over image to zoom in
Carry hope with these organic tote bags handmade by women rescued from human trafficking in Kolkata, India. Each tote tells the story of the journey to freedom. The women of Freeset gain dignity by earning a living wage and becoming literate. They lead by example, becoming role models for their daughters and breaking the cycle of prostitution and poverty. By purchasing this tote, you help wrap the world in peace as you help these women along their journey to economical and spiritual freedom.
- 100% organic cotton
- 15.5" W x 14" H x 4.5" D (39.4 x 35.5 x 11.4 cm)
- Handmade in and fairly traded from India
Shop Green!
Created to help women worldwide gain economic security for themselves and their families by earning fair wages for their handiwork, Global Girlfriend sources women-made, fair-trade imported, eco-friendly products. By supporting long-term partnerships with the artisans, it fosters equal employment opportunities, healthy and safe working conditions, technical assistance, and development strategies to help reduce poverty, one community at a time. Become a "Global Girlfriend" and help build a brighter future for girlfriends around the globe!
For bulk pricing on these and other items, please contact our Customer Service department at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Recent reviews:
January 19, 2013 - I asked my brother what he wanted for Christmas, he said peace on earth. So this is what I came up with. He said he really liked it, living in San Francisco you need your own shopping bags, and he liked the looks of this bag.
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5070 Appian Way
El Sobrante, CA 94803-0948
El Sobrante, CA 94803-0948
Tel: (510)223-2242
The vision of El Sobrante Christian School is to impact the community by producing individuals whose lives exemplify Biblical insight, moral integrity, and academic excellence.
School Overview
|School Membership(s)School Assoc.
|Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
|Religious Affiliation
|Assembly of God
|Grades Offered
|Grades Kindergarten - 12
|Year Founded
Student Body
|Total Students
|302 students
|Student Body Type
|% Students of Color
State avg.: 45%
|Students by Grade
Academics and Faculty
|Total Classroom Teachers
|19 teachers
|Student : Teacher Ratio
National avg.: 13:1
|% Faculty w/Advanced Degree
|Average Class Size
|20 students
|Number of AP Courses
|2 courses
Finances and Admission
|Admission Deadline
|None / Rolling
|Tuition Notes
|Tuition varies by grade level. Call for current rates.
|Admissions Director
|Kathy Ruiz
|Admissions Associate
|Diane Bymaster
|Total Sports Offered
|6 sports
|Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Softball, Track and Field, VolleyballBaseball, Basketball,
Cross Country, Softball,
Track and Field, Volleyball,
School Notes:
- College Prep High School
- ACSI & WASC Accredited
- CIF Sports
- Character Development in a Caring Environment
Profile last updated: 09/02/2014
Nearby Schools:
All Schools | High Schools | Elementary Schools | Preschools | Public Schools
Show me:
- School Location Miles Grades Students
El Sobrante431 Rincon Rd
El Sobrante, CA 94803
(510)223-9550(Baptist)0.3 mi | Gr. KG-12 | 63 students
El Sobrante4555 Hilltop Dr
El Sobrante, CA 94803
(510)222-6011Montessori School (Non-sectarian)0.7 mi | Gr. NS-K | 44 students
El Sobrante3800 Clark Road
El Sobrante, CA 94803
(510)223-3570Special Program Emphasis1.1 mi | Gr. PK-8 | 186 students
El Sobrante4892 San Pablo Dam Rd
El Sobrante, CA 94803
(510)222-1700(Pentecostal)1.2 mi | Gr. PK-12 | 56 students
Pinole1961 Plum St
Pinole, CA 94564
(510)724-0242(Roman Catholic)1.6 mi | Gr. KG-8 | 309 students
School Reviews
Area Statistics
Rental Market Monitor
Recent Articles
Updated July 12, 2015
Many parents tend to dismiss the idea of sending their children to private school without exploring it in depth. We explore this and several more related subjects.
When it comes to choosing a private school, there are so many choices to consider that the project can be a huge challenge to most of us. We offer some help and advice to help you get started.
Sending your child to a foreign language school makes good sense when you have been posted to this country from abroad and in other circumstances as well.


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Free printable mini envelope template. I make mine out of old calendars. You can just eyeball it because you have to adjust to get the prettiest part of the picture where you want it.
Paper treat boxes to make from cardstock scrapbook paper. So simple! Good as well for small gifts or party favors.
ice cream cone favors- made these cones by dipping the opening of the cone 1/2 way in a color melting wafers. then dip the rim with sprinkles.. filled the cone with color malted milk balls and wrapped in cello bags and tied bow around bag.
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How to print on paper napkins. Easy tutorial! - pinning now, reading later. might come in handy in the future.
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CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan doctor who forecast President Hugo Chavez would die of cancer within two years said on Friday he had left the country with his family after colleagues reported police visiting his consultancy.
Salvador Navarrete, who attended Chavez a decade ago and is in touch with some relatives and members of his medical team, caused uproar in Venezuela with comments last weekend that the president had a serious cancer -- sarcoma -- in the pelvis.
Chavez allies accused him of "morbid" motives and "necrophilia". Then his version was directly contradicted by Chavez, who returned from tests in Cuba on Thursday declaring he was free of malignant cells.
Medical personnel say police visited Navarrete's office earlier this week at Caracas's Avila Clinic, checking files and computers, while the doctor was not present.
In an open letter published by local media, Navarrete said he wanted to "show his face" and have a public discussion about Chavez's health but had felt obliged to leave to an undisclosed location given the furor.
"Events forced me to leave the country abruptly, something I neither wanted nor had planned to do," Navarrete wrote.
Chavez's health is the all-consuming issue for the South American OPEC member nation of 29 million people one year ahead of a presidential election where he wants to be re-elected.
In his letter, Navarrete said the interview with Mexico's Milenio Semanal magazine was intended to combat official secrecy over Chavez's condition.
"I'm worried that the president and those around him do not know the full magnitude of his illness given it has been handled with complete secrecy," he said.
"The consequences of a fatal outcome, and the importance of informing both those who support him and those who oppose him, were the reasons that led me to tackle this delicate subject."
The flamboyant socialist leader's assurance he is fit and ready to begin his election campaign has met with skepticism from doctors, who say no cancer patient can be considered free from danger until at least two years after treatment.
Analysts, too, have seen an element of classic Chavez political theater in his fanfare homecoming from medical tests in Cuba followed by an open-top caravan to a regional Catholic shrine where he prayed and gave thanks for his recovery.
Supporters, though, are thrilled at the return of their "Comandante", who declared his improvement was a "miracle."
Navarrete ratified his original prognosis of Chavez.
"His physical disappearance right now could be more traumatic than politicians realize," he added in the letter.
(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne and Marianna Parraga; Editing by Kieran Murray)
UK Conservative: The Magna Carta is the 'Most Important Bargain Struck' in Human History | Daniel Doherty
Unreal: Gun Used in Terror Attack on Mohammed Cartoon Contest Sold Through Operation Fast and Furious | Katie Pavlich
WH Totally Supports What Planned Parenthood Is Doing, Notes Its 'High Ethical Standard' | Leah Barkoukis


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America. The Beautiful.
Starts Aug 9 at 7pm |6c
Bizarre Foods Delicious Destinations
Mon 9pm | 8c
An Idiot Abroad
Tues 9pm | 8c
The Dead Files: Amy See's Dead People 02:02
Delicious Destinations: Pink's Hot Dogs in LA 03:10
Niagara Falls
Jack shares his favorite moments from filming in the Netherlands.
Biking Under the Influence 02:51
Jack's Top 5: Netherlands 02:06
Shane O Dines in Amsterdam 01:55
Queen's Day in Amsterdam 03:57
Amsterdam's Red Light District 03:10
Dutch Artists in Amerstdam 03:25
Stay in a Dutch Houseboat 04:06
Enjoy Amsterdam's Tulips 02:52


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SALT LAKE CITY — Singers aren't the only ones who should worry about taking care of their voices.
Experts say losing your voice can have a profound effect on your physical and emotional well-being, particularly for those whose livelihoods depend on their vocal cords.
People can experience short-term injury to the voice from yelling at an athletic event or from a cold or sore throat. Those types of injuries should recover within a month.
"It's when there's repetitive injury that some tissue damage can result," said Dr. Marshall E. Smith at the University of Utah's Voice Disorders Center. "Most problems with the voice can be treated without surgery but with medical management and therapy."
Surgery was what injured Unified police officer Paul Burnett's vocal folds or cords, and he needed further surgery in addition to therapy to restore their full use.
Twelve years ago, Burnett had parathyroid surgery that paralyzed his vocal cords and damaged the nerves. It's a common complication of any type of neck surgery, Smith said.
The right side of Burnett's vocal folds were paralyzed in an open position, which not only affected Burnett's voice, but his breathing as well.
"When the vocal fold is paralyzed, one side isn't moving and the vocal folds cannot close," said Smith. "And there's a gap or a space in between them."
Smith said that gap limited Burnett's duties as a police officer and activities when off-duty.
"If I were to go sprint somewhere as fast as I could, I'd be out of breath," said Burnett. "Not in the sense that my lungs couldn't take the air, it was that I couldn't get the air to my lungs."
He switched from a patrol car to a desk job. The paralysis on his vocal cords took a toll on Burnett's family, social and professional life.
"For the longest time I couldn't speak into the next room. People would have to know that they'd have to come up close to me to hear me. Or if we'd go on a camping trip or something down by the stream or (somewhere with) loud noises," said Burnett. "Now it's not quite that severe. But out of doors is still much more difficult than inside an office to speak."
Smith said going through voice therapy will help strengthen Burnett's voice muscles.
"Just like the athlete who develops a limp, or a strain, or a muscle pull needs to go to a physical therapist to get the muscles re-balanced and get moving again, speech pathologists who work with us in our voice clinic get patients' voices moving again," Smith said.
Doctors at the Voice Disorders Center are also trying new surgical techniques on some patients to better heal voice disorders.
"We graft in a nerve from another nerve in the neck to the paralyzed nerve to give it more tone," said Smith. "And that procedure is giving good results."
Sitting in a chair at the Voice Disorders Center, Burnett holds a microphone to his left neck and mimics sounds to Smith's. Simple "eeks" during therapy sessions are considered progress.
While the right side of his vocal folds is damaged, therapy on the left side allows the voice to reverberate to the sound and cause vibrations to the paralyzed right side, stimulating it.
Smith said Burnett is healing "as well as we can hope for given the condition that he has."
Burnett has learned that even simple things like cold weather and acid reflux can do some damage to vocal cords.
"I can usually speak better in the warm weather," he said.
For the acid reflux, Burnett eats a few hours before bedtime and watches what he eats to avoid potential problems.
Smith said that's excellent advice for any patient, since many voice disorders are caused by inflammation, muscle tension in the neck and allergies. Smith also recommends taking medications and elevating your bed for patients with acid reflux.
These days, Burnett's smooth baritone voice is a little more gravely than he'd like. So he warns others not to take their instrument for granted.
"I had no control over my voice condition but there are a lot of things such as smoking that can affect your voice, yelling too much.," said Burnett. "If you think you have a problem such as acid reflux that affects not just your throat but your voice, situations you might have the ability to control, I would strongly suggest you have it looked at."
Preventing voice disorders
• Avoid smoking
• Drink plenty of water
• Use a microphone to talk to large groups or when speaking frequently
• Warm up the voice before speaking/singing
• Practice breathing techniques
• Avoid screaming or yelling
Appointments at the Voice Disorders Center are available by calling 801-587-3549.
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Key West and Vallarta airports and terminals
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Key West International (EYW)
Distance from City Center: 2.9 miles
Miami International Airport (MIA)
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Airports in Vallarta , MX
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Gustavo Diaz Ordaz Intl Airport (PVR)
Distance from City Center: 4.8 miles
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Taxis and shuttles are two of the most popular ways to get to and from the Key West International Airport. It usually costs $8 to take a cab to the airport from town. Keys Shuttle is a popular shuttle service that provides door-to-door service. You also have the option of booking a rental car when you make your Orbitz.com reservation. The rental car agencies are located right outside the terminal.
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The airport is small, so there aren't a lot of dining options. If you have time before a flight, you could grab a coffee at one of the kiosks. The Conch Flyer Restaurant is the airport's main eating facility, but it may not be open if you have a very early flight. Don't forget to use Orbitz.com to book your cheap flights from Key West, so you can stay within your travel budget.
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Retief Goosen
By imobile
Open iTunes to buy and download apps.
Welcome to the official Retief Goosen application. it will provide up to date information on Retief such as news, schedule and also a game to help pass the time !
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- Developer: Imobile applications ltd
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Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.


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General Warehouse Associate
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Gas and Supply is a privately owned industrial distributor of welding equipment and supplies, gases, safety products, and MRO supplies. Come join our successful team for the career of a lifetime!
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50 Cent the MC Vs. 50 Cent the Actor
50 Cent may have graced the cover of Vibe magazine along with his Righteous Kill co-star, Robert DeNiro in March 2008, but as an actor, the jury was still out on 50 Cent. The MC first made his acting debut in the 2005 autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin', but he was really just playing himself. It wouldn't be until the 2011 flick All Things Fall Apart that Curtis Jackson would make Hollywood take notice of his commitment to the craft. He lost a significant amount of weight for a role atypical of a rapper-turned-actor. But in true 50 fashion, he even got into a bit of a beef with author Chinua Achebe over the title, orginally the same as Achebe's famed book, Things Fall Apart.
The Winner: 50 Cent the MC (Photo: Vibe Magazine)
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How do we talk honestly about the issue of male-perpetrated violence without casting masculinity as the cause? Because we know that the vast, vast majority of men are good citizens who are adding to the goodness of the world.
How do we talk honestly about the issue of male-perpetrated violence without casting masculinity as the cause? Because we know that the vast, vast majority of men are good citizens who are adding to the goodness of the world.
Unlike background checks or weapons bans, properly treating mental illness can prevent problems before a potential killer tries to buy a gun.
In case of a violent attack, J. A. Drew Diaz says that it's time to embrace the corollary to the Boy Scout motto: be prepared to fight back.
School counselor Mark Vander Ley sees the issue of gun control as a broader societal issue of individuals taking responsibility for oneself
Could it be that men are socially conditioned to defend our manhood, with violence if necessary? Could it be that mass murder is the unfortunate and rare offshoot of that same masculine defensiveness taken to it's extreme end?
With his kids, Carter Gaddis straddles a line between regulating imaginative gun play and banning it
In the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., people want answers and some think they may be locked away in Adam Lanza's genes.
In the face of the nation's worst school shooting, JP Rennquist finds comfort in his faith and urges us to find comprehensive ways of ending gun violence.
"There's some foundational myth that adversity makes you better or stronger or whatever. That's a nice thought, but it's wrong."
Are we, as a society, feeding into what may have been Holmes' ultimate plan – to become The Joker and gain notoriety?
This is a comment by Quadruple A and Mike Conway on the post "Mass Shooting in Aurora, Colorado – Tell Me Why We Don't Need Gun Control Again?"
As the great Andalusian summer heat builds, the once vibrantly alive Spring meadows turn to straw and dust.
How did we become so hypocritical that violent images are OK, but pictures of mothers breastfeeding their children are outlawed?
Alone at 57, a man makes new rules for living a positive, fulfilling life.
When animals wander we call them free range. But when minds wander we call it ADD?
Dr. Steven Hanley on "Stand by Me" and male friendship.
If the next five years of your life are the same as the last five years, will you be okay with that? — That question grabbed my attention so tightly I nearly choked on my[Read More…]
"Would I have it in me to be the kind of mother that didn't degrade or diminish his masculinity, but teach him that it can be a powerful tool for positivity, change and equality?"
Aaron Tang writes the rules for virtual relationships.
In a bid to get children to eat healthier, 'The Cook At Home Dad' shares tips and recipes he creates for and with his kids.
Dr. Andrew Smiler discusses the oddity of a pop song that describes a man refusing a hookup.
John Wineland speaks on advanced topics like jealousy, declaring desire, and creating communities of open hearted men all over the world.
Resistance is the bane of any organizational change effort—or is it?
Why what we are doing here is so important.
Spiral slice your way to smiles.
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Guest Post: Data Is Not Changing The World
Note: As I mentioned earlier, I am taking a few weeks away from the blog to relax and reconnect with the world outside of social change. But I am leaving you in the incredibly capable hands of a rockstar set of guest bloggers. First up is David Henderson, Director of Analytics for Family Independence Initiative, a national nonprofit which leverages the power of information to illuminate and accelerate the initiative low-income families take to improve their lives. David also writes his own blog, Full Contact Philanthropy, which is amazing. Here is his guest post…
In early June I was invited to be on a data mining panel at the Stanford Social Innovation Review Data on Purpose conference. The conference was full of nonprofit executives interested in tapping the big data revolution for social good. Naturally, the panel moderator asked us panelist to weigh in on if, and how, data was changing the social sector. Characteristically, I turned a feel-good question into a critique of the state of analytics in the social sector, which I've written about elsewhere and will expand on here.
Data is not changing the social sector. I would argue it's not changing the world either. While it is very likely that data is changing your world, I do not believe data is changing the world.
For all the talk about how data is revolutionizing the world and that software is eating everyone's lunch, the fact is that for the over two billion people who have no lunch to eat (literally and figuratively), the impact of the data revolution is muted, if nonexistent all together. Changing the world indeed.
Data Exhaust
The corporate data revolution has largely been fueled by data exhaust. Data exhaust is comprised of the various digital breadcrumbs you and I leave all over the Internet but that we might not think about as data in a traditional sense. For example, companies like Facebook and Amazon don't simply log data when you click "submit", they track your every movement around the Internet, logging every click and clack, allowing unprecedented marketing optimization. All these additional metrics are data exhaust, as consumers are almost passively generating data marketers can capture and monetize for almost nothing.
On the social sector data conference circuit, countless data-wonk hopefuls mindlessly espouse all the incredible things nonprofits can do now that data acquisition costs have been driven almost to zero. This is nonsense, as the social sector has no such data exhaust analogue, which is why the social sector doesn't truly have big data.
Nonprofits often work with populations with a number of barriers, which drives up the cost of data acquisition relative to for-profit counterparts. Just some of the data collection barriers nonprofits grapple with include working with populations with low levels of literacy or limited to no access to technology. How exactly is one going to generate digital exhaust without any digital possessions in the first place, or while working three jobs to support her family?
Obviously, you don't. The barriers too many people face in this world are exactly why nonprofits are in the business of social change in the first place. But it is also why we are so poorly poised to capitalize on the alleged data ubiquity, as that revolution is not permeating class boundaries to the extent technology evangelists would have us believe.
Analytical Capacity
Another reason why data is not changing the world, or rather, why the social sector is failing to change the world with data, is that by and large we simply are not investing in the necessary capacity to turn data into insights.
While a new "data for the social sector" company with an unfortunate misspelling of a common word seems to pop up every day, there are very few companies actually building the tools the sector needs to put data in to action. Meanwhile, our technological overlords in Silicon Valley are depressingly stuck on the assumption that innovation in the social sector means fundraising software. Sigh.
If we want to use data to change the world, we need to think beyond software tools and simple (if colorful) data visualizations. Nonprofits need to invest in building their own analytical capacity, both by hiring analysts and also by investing in the entire staff's ability to be intelligent consumers of data analysis.
Illusion of Insight
Everyone loves the idea of being data driven, but very few organizations actually want to make the investment. My employer, the Family Independence Initiative (FII), did make that investment. In turn, FII is now able to not only run regressions and build decision tree models, but can continuously learn from its data, augmenting every level of the organization from Chief Executive to line staff.
That investment is not cheap. Worse yet, like any good analyst, I can be a major buzz-kill. Much of my time is spent explaining why a particular regression coefficient doesn't necessarily mean we are super awesome. In fact, a good analyst can make you less sure of your social impact.
But facing the tough reality paves the way to real impact. We cannot collectively do more without exactingly quantifying how little we've accomplished. These are tough truths, and most nonprofits would rather assume the hypothesis of their greatness, leaving no room for data's insights.
The Path Forward
Just because data is not changing the world does not mean data cannot change the world. I believe it can, which is why I do what I do. While by and large nonprofits fail to invest in rigorous analysis, organizations like GiveDirectly are leading by example, showing what is possible when fact is paramount to fundraising.
Ultimately, being data driven is less about statistical techniques and more about a relentless commitment to the truth. The truth is that data is not changing the world. But if we, as a sector, can elevate the truth above all else, then we might just be able to change the world after all.
Building Demand For Impact Measurement: An Interview with Tris Lumley
In today's Social Velocity interview, I'm talking with Tris Lumley.
Tris is Director of Development for New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), a U.K. think tank and consultancy that works with both nonprofits and funders. Tris focuses on both the demand and supply sides of innovation around social impact. His particular interest is putting impact at the heart of the social sector, including shared measurement, open data and systems thinking. He helped initiate, and now coordinates, the Inspiring Impact program which aims to embed impact measurement across the UK charity sector by 2022. He is also a trustee of the Social Impact Analysts Association, a member of the EU GECES subgroup on impact measurement in social enterprise, and the Leap of Reason Ambassadors Community.
Nell: A big focus of your work at NPC is making impact measurement ubiquitous in the UK's nonprofit sector. How far is there to go and how does the UK compare to the US in impact measurement being a norm?
Tris: There's undoubtedly been significant progress over the last decade on impact measurement in the UK, and NPC has been at the heart of that. There are several ways in which that progress is visible, as well as in the sector level surveys NPC has done to track change. For example, most charities say that they have invested more in impact measurement in the last five years, and as a result we see that it is increasingly the norm for charities to have a defined theory of change, a role within the organisation to lead on impact measurement, and to talk about their impact measurement efforts in their public reporting. Most institutional funders also say that they look for evidence of charities' impact measurement efforts in their funding decisions. Demand for measurement advice is growing, and the impact measurement industry is growing in response – there are more consultants offering services in this area.
The growth of social (or impact) investing has also driven greater interest in impact measurement. The industry as a whole acknowledges the centrality of impact measurement and the need for social returns to be as well evidenced as financial returns. There have been a number of key developments to move the field forward here, from Big Society Capital's outcomes matrix to the G8 Social Impact Investment Taskforce and European GECES reports and guidance on impact measurement – all of which NPC has helped to deliver.
What's not as clear is how much progress there's been on the use of impact measurement, rather than its mere existence. When NPC repeats our field level state of the sector research in 2016, we'll be asking a number of questions to tease out whether impact measurement activity is leading to use of impact evidence in decision-making – whether it's becoming embedded in practice.
My concern is that we don't see the signs that impact measurement is driving learning, improvement, decision-making or wholesale shifts in allocating resources towards higher impact interventions, programmes and organisations. It feels like impact measurement is something that everyone acknowledges we need to do, but few have worked out how to use. With the result that it's bolted on to the reality of organisations delivering services and raising funding, but not embedded at the core.
A few examples of what I mean: if impact measurement were driving learning, I'd expect to see lots of organisations sharing their insights on success and failure, and learning from each other. I'd expect to see common measurement frameworks which allow organisations to understand their relative performance. These are still very rare. I'd also expect to see investment by funders and investors in the infrastructure that we know is needed for learning – journals, online forums and repositories and practitioner networks. There are some emerging examples of these, like the What Works Centres, but they're still mostly just getting off the drawing board.
Most importantly I'd expect to see charities adjusting strategies and programmes in response to their learning. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but the examples I do see are the exception, not the norm.
When it comes to comparing the UK and US, it's really hard. We don't have comparable field-level studies, and we need to work together more closely on these if we want robust insights. For example, if you compare the findings in NPC's 2012 paper with a recent US study it looks like nonprofits are more likely to say the main purpose of impact measurement is learning and improvement. But actually we don't know if this is the result of the questions we asked and how we asked them.
In both the US and the UK, it's clear that the rhetoric on impact measurement has advanced over the last decade. What's not yet clear is how the reality underlying that has shifted.
Nell: While there are many similarities between the US and UK nonprofit sectors there are some fundamental differences, in particular views about how much government (vs. private charity) should do for public welfare. How does the UK's view of government's role help or hurt the capacity building efforts of nonprofits?
Tris: The UK government has taken on a leading role in the social investment space, and it's here that efforts to build capacity are most visible. Investment readiness programmes have been introduced over the past few years to build general capacity to access social investment. More recently, impact readiness programmes have arrived to do the same for impact measurement capacity. NPC has been working within these programmes to help a number of charities, and cohorts of charities, and it's clear that they can play a major role in helping the sector to improve. But capacity-building in general has felt the effects of austerity just as much as any other area of government funding. Perhaps more so, as limited funds are increasingly focused on service delivery, not on efforts to improve services.
When NPC repeats its survey of the field, I am certain that we'll find that limited funding to develop impact measurement capacity is still the major barrier cited by charities. It doesn't look like anything's going to change that any time soon.
Nell: NPC works at the nexus between nonprofits and funders, helping the two groups to understand and adopt impact measurement. In the US few funders will fund impact measurement systems, even though they want the data. How does NPC work to convince funders of the need for investments in measurement (among other capacity building investments)? What progress have you seen and what's necessary for similar progress to happen in the US?
Tris: While a proportion of funders have for a long time supported evaluation, the majority still don't. We've worked through programmes like Inspiring Impact (a sector-level collaborative programme to help embed impact measurement) with a group of funders to develop principles, and help them to embed support for impact measurement in their practice. These efforts can help those who already see the benefit of capacity-building to advance their work, but it's tough to engage those who aren't already thinking in this way. I think that the leap we need to make is to selling impact measurement through its benefits, by showing how organisations improve, and their impact increases, as a result. And because impact measurement isn't yet typically embedded in organisations, those benefits aren't as evident as they should be.
What does seem to work well is trying to get funders and charities to work together in a specific outcome area to make progress, rather than making a general case for impact measurement. Cohort capacity-building programmes, learning forums and shared measurement initiatives are all part of this. The key thing here is that then the funder is committed to the outcomes everyone's working towards, and impact measurement becomes a tool for everyone to achieve those outcomes together.
Nell: You are part of the Leap Ambassador Community that recently released the Performance Imperative. Have you seen similar interest groups forming around these issues in the UK? And what role do you think interest groups like these play in a norm shift for the sector?
I have been privileged to be part of this amazing community of leaders, and one of a minority initially from outside the US. I'm convinced we need a similar movement here in the UK, and globally and have been discussing whether and how to approach this with the group from the start. And as co-Chair of Social Value International – a network of those working in the social impact field, I'm part of an effort to do this at the practitioner level too.
The Leap Ambassadors Community brings a human face to what is often seen as a technical subject. After 11 years of working in the social impact field, I am convinced that we cannot sell impact measurement just by increasing the supply of good technical solutions. We need a movement to build the demand for those solutions. We need the right frameworks to measure impact and manage performance. But we need the leaders to demand them, and to harness them to hold themselves accountable, learn and improve, and share what they find.
Photo Credit: NPC
10 Great Social Innovation Reads: June 2015
June was an amazing month in the world of social change.
Most notably, the long fight for marriage equality was won with the Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. It is moments like these where the long, arduous road towards social change makes sense. But that wasn't all that was going on in the busy month of June. From "new" tech philanthropy, to the orthodoxies of philanthropy, to the oversight of philanthropy, it was all up for debate. Add to that some fascinating new ideas for museums, new data on how Millennials get their news, and a fabulous new blog about the history of philanthropy. It was a whirlwind.
Below are my picks on the 10 best reads in the world of social change in June. But let me know what I missed. And if you want a longer list, follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+.
And if you want to see past 10 Great Reads lists go here.
- The biggest news by far in June was the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges making gay marriage legal. In the ruling opinion Justice Kennedy writes: "As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death…Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right." While this is a huge win for equality, I think the two really interesting parts of the story are 1) how relatively quickly gay marriage went from banned to law and 2) the various actors that made that social change happen. Some argue that Andrew Sullivan's 1989 landmark essay in New Republic started the intellectual case for gay marriage. This New York Times interactive map shows how gay marriage went from banned to legalized state by state over time. And Evan Wolfson, founder of Freedom to Marry, describes the decades long struggle of nonprofit reformers and their donors, including the Haas Fund in San Francisco, to make marriage equality happen.
- A new blog, the HistPhil blog, launched in June to much acclaim. There is an enormous need for a historical perspective as we work to make nonprofits and the philanthropy that funds them more effective. HistPhil has already begun to provide that in spades with excellent posts on the Supreme Court ruling, among many other topics you will see below.
- Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster and founding president of Facebook, launched a new foundation and wrote a controversial piece in the Wall Street Journal about his "new" vision for philanthropy. Some found his ideas full of hubris, while others found him to be "an articulate evangelist for tech philanthropy."
- And if that wasn't enough philanthropic controversy for you, there were two other debates waging in June. First was the response to David Callahan's New York Times piece, "Who Will Watch the Charities?" where he argued that we need greater oversight on nonprofits and their funders. Phil Buchanan of the Center for Effective Philanthropy quickly shot back that while Callahan raised some important questions, he ignored the complexity of the sector and reform efforts already under way. And then the two got into an interesting back and forth. Finally, Callahan wrote a follow up piece for Inside Philanthropy. Good stuff!
- Along the same lines, the other point of debate in June centered around a Stanford Social Innovation Review article where Gabriel Kasper & Jess Ausinheiler attempted to challenge the underlying assumptions in philanthropy. But now that we have a new expert on the history of philanthropy on the block, Benjamin Soskis from the HistPhil blog gave us a more accurate historical perspective about just what is and isn't philanthropic orthodoxy.
- Michael O'Hare, professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, wrote a great long form piece in the Democracy Journal arguing that museums could become much more relevant and financially sustainable if, among other things, they began selling their stored artwork. Crazy controversial, but fascinating, ideas.
- Writing in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Matthew Scharpnick cofounder of Elefint Designs, argued that recent ProPublica investigations of the American Red Cross uncovered our double standard for nonprofits. As he writes: "We are asking organizations to meet competing demands—many of which are at odds with how they are funded. We want nonprofits and NGOs to solve problems as effectively as private-sector organizations, and we want them to do it without any of the advantages and with far more constraints."
- The Ford Foundation announced a sweeping overhaul in their grantmaking strategy. They will now focus solely on financial, gender, racial and other inequalities, and double their unrestricted giving. Larry Kramer, president of the Hewlett Foundation, described how he is closely watching this historic move. And Brad Smith, president of the Foundation Center, offered a view of how philanthropy has approached inequality.
- The Hewlett Foundation's Kelly Born provided some interesting thoughts about what a new Pew Research Center report about how Millennials get their news means for civic engagement.
- And finally, on an inspirational note, Steven Pressfield articulated how "artists," or really anyone hoping to bring something new into the world (a painting, a novel, a solution to a social challenge), should think: "As artists, [we believe]…that the universe has a gift that it is holding specifically for us (and specifically for us to pass on to others) and that, if we can learn to make ourselves available to it, it will deliver this gift into our hands." Yes.
Social Velocity Summer 2015 Guest Bloggers
As I mentioned earlier, it is so important to take time away to rejuvenate and reconnect with your passions, family and friends. So I am taking my own advice and taking some time off later this summer to connect with the world outside of social change.
And so for the second summer in a row I've asked a group of social change thought leaders to write guest blog posts in my absence (you can read last summer's guest blog posts here).
I am so excited about this year's group of amazing social change thinkers. They are experts in social change finance, philanthropy, political reform, outcomes data, organizational effectiveness and much, much more. They are smart, thoughtful, engaged and visionary leaders. And they are all helping to move social change forward in big ways.
Below is the lineup of guest bloggers with background information on each of them. Their posts will begin in late July. Enjoy!
Antony Bugg-Levine
Antony is the CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a national nonprofit and financial intermediary where he oversees more than $340 million of investment capital and works with philanthropic, private sector and government partners to develop and implement innovative approaches to financing social change. NFF also creates the annual State of the Sector Survey. Antony writes and speaks on the evolution of the social sector and the emergence of the global impact investing industry. Prior to leading NFF he was Managing Director at the Rockefeller Foundation. He is the founding board chair of the Global Impact Investing Network and convened the 2007 meeting that coined the phrase "impact investing." You can read my past interview with Antony here.
Kelly Born
Kelly is a program officer at the Hewlett Foundation working on their Madison Initiative, which focuses on reducing today's politically polarized environment. Before joining Hewlett, Kelly worked as a strategy consultant with the Monitor Institute, a nonprofit consulting firm, where she supported a range of foundations' strategic planning efforts. In addition to her experience as a strategy consultant, Kelly has worked with various nonprofit and multilateral organizations including Ashoka in Peru, the World Bank's microfinance group CGAP in Paris, Technoserve in East Africa, and both The Asia Foundation and Rubicon National Social Innovation in the Bay Area. Kelly guest lectures on impact investing at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and often writes for the always thoughtful Hewlett Foundation blog.
Phil Buchanan
Phil is President of the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), a nonprofit that is the leading provider of data and insight on foundation effectiveness. CEP helps bring the voice of grantees and other stakeholders into the foundation boardroom and encourages foundations to set clear goals, and coherent strategies, be disciplined in implementation, and use relevant performance indicators. Phil writes and speaks extensively about nonprofits and philanthropy and rarely pulls punches when he does. He is a columnist for The Chronicle of Philanthropy and a frequent blogger for the excellent CEP Blog. He was named to the 2007, 2008 and 2014 "Power and Influence Top 50" list in The Nonprofit Times. You can read my past interview with Phil here.
Kathy Reich
Kathy is Organizational Effectiveness and Philanthropy Director at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation where she helps grantees around the world improve their strategy, leadership, and impact. Her team makes grants on a broad range of organizational development issues, from business planning to social media strategy to network effectiveness. She also manages the Packard Foundation's grantmaking to support the philanthropic sector. Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked in a non-profit, on Capitol Hill, and in state and local government in California. Kathy serves on the board of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and on the advisory committee for the Center for Effective Philanthropy. You can read my past interview with her here.
David Henderson
I asked David to be a guest blogger again this summer because he is so insightful and often points out things that few others in the sector are willing to acknowledge. He is Director of Analytics for Family Independence Initiative, a national nonprofit which leverages the power of information to illuminate and accelerate the initiative low-income families take to improve their lives. David is also the former founder of Idealistics, a social sector consulting firm that helped organizations increase outcomes, demonstrate results, and organize information. He writes his own blog, Full Contact Philanthropy, which is amazing. You can read his past guest blog post here and my interview with him here.
The Social Innovation Fund Six Years On
There is an interesting report out today on the effectiveness of the Social Innovation Fund (SIF). Authored by the Social Innovation Research Center (SIRC), a nonpartisan nonprofit research organization, the new report details what has worked and what hasn't in the six year history of the SIF.
Launched by the Obama administration in 2009, the SIF — a program within the Corporation for National and Community Service — provides significant funding to foundations that follow a venture philanthropy model by regranting that growth capital, along with technical assistance, to evidence-based nonprofits in "youth development, economic opportunity, and healthy futures" areas. In 2014, SIF expanded its efforts to include a portfolio of Pay for Success (social impact bond) grantees.
Now, 6 years on it is interesting to take a look back to understand what, if any, effect SIF has had on the nonprofit sector. The effect of the SIF is also critical given that, as of right now, the House and Senate have both defunded SIF in their respective funding bills.
To date, the SIF portfolio is made up of $241 million of federal investments and $516 million in private matching funds, which was invested in 35 intermediary grantees and 189 subgrantee nonprofits working in 37 states and D.C.
The SIRC report focuses on the current progress of SIF grants made during the first three years of the program (2010-2012). The report finds two clear positive results for the SIF so far. The SIF has:
- Added to the nonprofit sector's evidence base about which programs work, and
- Built the capacity of nonprofit subgrantees, especially in the areas of "performance management systems, evaluations, financial management, regulatory compliance systems, and experience with replicating evidence-based models."
On the negative side, however, the report finds that the SIF put real burdens on funders and nonprofits with its fundraising match requirements and the federal regulatory requirements. The report also finds that the SIF has had little effect on the sector as a whole because the SIF has not very broadly communicated their learnings so far.
To me, of course, most interesting are the report's finding about capacity building at nonprofit subgrantees. There is such a need for nonprofit capacity building in the sector, and this was a clear goal of the SIF.
The SIF is one of few funders that do more than pay lip service to performance management by actually investing in building the capacity of nonprofits to do it. However, the SIF has been criticized for mostly selecting nonprofits that already had strong capacity. And indeed, the SIRC report finds that the SIF was most successful among those nonprofits that already had high capacity (in performance management, fundraising function, etc.) prior to SIF funding. Indeed, the report found that "poorly-resourced intermediaries working with less well-resourced community based organizations have been at a disadvantage."
One SIF grantee in particular, The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, really struggled to build the capacity of their subgrantees whose starting capacity was so low. As they put it:
During the course of participation, it became clear that…[SIF] was really better suited for replicating existing programs or, at a minimum, investing in well-established programs that had some level of sophistication around organization systems and evaluation.
This mirrors earlier criticism of the SIF that it was set up to grow only those nonprofits that were already doing well, while those nonprofits that struggled with basic capacity issues were left out. The SIF has struggled to determine whether it is funding innovation (new solutions with limited capacity), or proven solutions (with a long track record and the corresponding capacity). It seems the two are mutually exclusive.
What the SIF is trying to do is such tricky business. To identify, fund and and scale solutions that work is really the holy grail in the social change sector. Certainly there are hurdles and missteps, but I think it's exciting when government gets in the social change game in a big way. Six years is really too soon to tell. So I hope that this brief SIF experiment is allowed to continue, and we can see what a social change public/private partnership of this scale can really do.
To read the full SIRC report go here.
Photo Credit: Obama signs the Serve America Act in 2009, Corporation for National and Community Service
Nonprofit Leaders, Take a Breath
Earlier this month, after much effort, I finally convinced a worn out nonprofit leader to take some time off to rejuvenate. But it was a battle.
Because they are often incredibly driven by ambitious social change visions, tremendous empathy for the plight of their clients, and an overly developed gratitude to their board and donors, nonprofit leaders push themselves extremely hard.
In fact, nonprofit leaders are really quite excellent at self-denial. I see this all the time in my coaching practice.
But nonprofit leaders you must give yourselves permission to breathe. And I don't mean an afternoon off, or a weekend without checking email.
I mean a real break. A break where you start to find yourself again.
Not yourself as a nonprofit leader, but yourself as a human being with interests, connections, and passions outside of your organization. Someone who explores the world around you. Someone who realizes that you are on this earth for a very short time and while your role in social change is absolutely necessary, it is not your only contribution, nor is it the only place you can (or should) find meaning.
Because let's be honest, the only way a pace like yours ends is in complete social change burnout. By existing only on the unending treadmill of work, work, work and ignoring your very human need to reconnect with your passions, your spirit, your family and friends you are setting yourself up for eventual breakdown. And make no mistake, without you as leader at the helm, your nonprofit's work will grind to a halt.
So during these summer months when things are perhaps a bit slower, give yourself permission to take an extended period of time away.
And I mean really away.
Turn off your phone and your email. Step back from social media (believe me it will still be there when you get back).
Without the constant deluge of information and demands on your time assailing you, you are free to hike the mountains, get a massage, take in an art exhibit, watch your children or your grandchildren play (and join them!), explore your hobbies, read an amazing book. It really doesn't matter what you do, just that you do something different and meaningful. Embrace the parts of yourself outside of your social change job, those things that make you fully human.
You may even consider taking it further, as philanthropic thought leader Lucy Bernholz did recently with a "digital sabbatical" where she went offline (no email or social media) for six weeks. She found the experience incredibly rejuvenating: "Without the addictive stimulation and distractions of digital life it feels like my brain grew three sizes."
As the daily glut of information continues to increase, it becomes more important than ever to take a breather, to embrace the quiet. There is tremendous value in reconnecting with what makes us human, not machine.
And let me assure you that I am giving myself this same advice. I know how hard it is to step away from the email and social media beasts. I'm as concerned as you are with letting people down or not making enough progress.
But I am slowly coming to realize that sometimes progress is found in the quiet. And sometimes it is enough — more than enough — to just be. To sit and watch the world in all its beauty float by and have absolutely no effect on it other than to appreciate it.
If you need help finding the space to do this, check out the Coaching I offer nonprofit leaders.
Photo Credit: pixabay
7 Things Funders Don't Get About Fundraising
In the nonprofit world there is often a disconnect between funders of nonprofits and their understanding of the fundraising activity necessary to secure their gifts. Funders (and board members) rarely understand how critical fundraising is, how it works, and what's required to do it well.
But in the hope that greater understanding leads to better actions, I'd like to offer 7 of the most important things funders (and really the sector as a whole) should understand about fundraising:
- Nonprofits Must Fundraise or Perish
It seems so obvious, but so many in the nonprofit sector act as if fundraising can be ignored or shuffled to the side. Board members hate to do it, and foundations refuse to fund it. But let's be clear. Without a strategic, sophisticated mechanism for bringing regular revenue in the door there is no organization and certainly no social change. Fundraising must happen, and it must happen effectively in order for a nonprofit to survive and thrive. So funders (and board members) do not have the luxury of saying they don't want to talk about, think about, or fund fundraising efforts.
- There is a Sector-wide Lack of Fundraising Knowledge
Because fundraising has for so long been ignored or sidelined, most nonprofit leaders and their board members don't have sufficient fundraising experience or training. And neither do funders. There hasn't been enough research into the fundraising discipline broadly and little investment in educating nonprofit leaders about how to do it well. The end result is that few people know how to crack the fundraising nut.
- Every Nonprofit Has Two Customers
Part of the solution to cracking that nut is understanding that unlike for-profit entities, nonprofits have two (not just one) set of customers. Nonprofits provide products and/or services to the first customer ("Clients"), but "sell" those services to the second customer ("Funders"). Therefore "sales" in the nonprofit world is much more complex than it is in the for-profit world. Yet for-profit businesses can spend much more money on their sales and marketing staff, training, systems and materials than a nonprofit is allowed to spend on fundraising.
- It Takes Money to Make Money
So in order to do fundraising well nonprofits must invest in their fundraising function (planning, staff, training, systems, materials). Those nonprofits that develop a strategic financial model that is fully integrated with their mission and core competencies will be more sustainable and more effective at creating social change. So nonprofit leaders must start asking for the money necessary to build effective financial models.
- Sustainability is a Funder's Problem Too
And funders must start providing it. Funders often want a nonprofit to demonstrate financial sustainability, but those same funders won't invest in the capacity necessary to create that sustainability. Instead of just pointing out the sustainability problem, funders must become part of the solution. Funders should step up to the plate to help nonprofits create a capacity building plan and then provide capacity capital (along with other fellow funders) to build a more sustainable organization that will survive once a funder is gone.
- Earned Income is Not a Solution
But a more sustainable organization does not mean one based on earned income, or selling a product or service. Nonprofits will always be subsidized, at least in part, by private and/or public contributions. By definition, nonprofits exist to address a failing in the market economy (i.e. not enough food or jobs). Thus, those failings will never be overcome purely by market forces. So while earned income is something every nonprofit should explore, it is not right for every organization and will never become 100% of a nonprofit's revenue model. So don't confuse sustainability, which means a longterm financial model, with earned income.
- Nonprofit Leaders Fear Funders
Let's just be honest. A funder is providing much needed resources to a nonprofit and that automatically creates a power imbalance. Until we figure out a way around that inherent dynamic, funders must limit the hurdles they put in the way of nonprofit leaders and instead give them the financial runway to make their social change vision happen.
Let's face it, without money there is no social change. But the knowledge, experience and infrastructure necessary to generate enough money is woefully short in the nonprofit sector. That could change if funders lead the way toward more investment in strategic, sustainable financial models.
Photo Credit: 401K Calculator
Does Sexism Hold the Nonprofit Sector Back?
There was a great post on the Stanford Social Innovation Review blog last week that clearly articulates a dysfunction in the nonprofit sector and when recognized by nonprofit leaders and their funders could reshape the sector.
Just like the Overhead Myth and other myths that hold the nonprofit sector back, the historic sexism the sector operates under is equally destructive and must be acknowledged so we can move past it.
In the SSIR, veteran nonprofit leader Kristen Joiner argues that because 86% of Fortune 500 leaders are men and 70% of nonprofit workers are women "gender dynamics" often cripple the nonprofit sector:
Like the provider of old, heading off to the office for a day of work, the private sector is focused on money and profit. The nonprofit sector, as the nurturing caretaker, is charged with caring for the young, the sick, the elderly, and the poor…This creates a have-and-have-not situation, where one side holds the money and power, and the other side asks for an allowance to do their "good work," trying to get traction but more often getting stuck in a rut created by this dysfunctional dynamic…Investors in the social sector make it difficult for nonprofits to gather the resources to measure and pivot as necessary for success. They are looking for the proverbial "good girl"—an organization that doesn't rock the status quo, that gives them a credential to show they "care" or "contribute."
Joiner's argument is not a new one, in fact Robert Egger voiced it in a 2008 Chronicle of Philanthropy article, where he described how the modern nonprofit sector was born out of the gender biases of the mid-20th century:
[In the 1970s and 80s] the number of nonprofits in the U.S. exploded…[led by] tens of thousands of college-educated, stay-at-home mothers…Many of these "founding mothers" brought with them an internalized understanding of their "role"…As long as these new organizations limited their work to nurturing, feminized charity work…they were humored, and even honored. [And foundations were] often dominated by men who were charged with dispensing money made by other men. Foundations rarely awarded money that fostered independence for grantees…In these formative years, and even today, grants are primarily made to submissive organizations — those willing to jump through countless hoops, those that would not push back when confronted with short-sighted policies, and those that would make do with much less than they knew was needed to do the job right…The rules that govern our sector — indeed, the very nature of our how we view ourselves — is rooted in systemic sexism.
Although I have worked in the nonprofit sector for 20 years, this "systemic sexism" never occurred to me until I read Egger's article a few years ago. But now I see it often. And while I don't think sexism should become a shorthand for everything that ails the nonprofit sector, I do think nonprofit leaders, board members and funders must be more aware of the underlying forces at play, so that we can all work to overcome them.
There are several key areas where this systemic sexism results in an uneven playing field for nonprofits:
- Less Access to Capital. Businesses have access to various forms of capital (startup, mezzanine, risk), whereas nonprofits struggle to attract day-to-day revenue, let alone the capacity and growth capital they so desperately need.
- Inadequate Sales Function. In the for-profit sector, sales and marketing are a much researched, supported and heralded part of a business model because it is well understood that without sales there is no business. But in the nonprofit world, sales — called "fundraising"– is misunderstood, under-supported, and sometimes ignored by nonprofit leaders, board members and funders.
- Tighter Limits on Overhead. Although this is starting to change, nonprofits are often encouraged to spend only a small amount of money on infrastructure, administration and fundraising (overhead expenses), but for-profit companies can spend whatever it takes.
- Less Investment in Leadership. Business leaders are encouraged to invest in professional development, training, and leadership coaching, but a nonprofit leader often must figure it all out on her own.
- A Restricted Role in Politics
While businesses can spend millions on lobbying and supporting political candidates, nonprofit political action is much more restrictive.
And the list goes on. Many of the dysfunctions present in the nonprofit sector are rooted in years and years of sector inequality. If we hope to make social change more effective and sustainable, we must free the sector of these shackles.
Photo Credit: Campbell's Soup
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