Monthly Archives: June 2012

(Community Matters) All four of us had a blast

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(Community Matters) Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the Entrepreneurs Foundation Bay Area today announced that they will combine the corporate philanthropy services of both organizations to better serve companies that want to give back locally, regionally and around the world.
  
EFBA will be integrated into the community foundation’s business services unit to provide existing and potential corporate clients with a full range of strategic guidance about corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, and community involvement.
  
“The community foundation and EFBA have a long history of working together and we are excited that we will be now be able to work together as one,” said Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D., CEO and president of the community foundation. Carson said companies working with SVCF and EFBA will continue to receive the same customer service commitment while the integration is completed.
  
Diane Solinger, who has served as executive director of EFBA for 13 years, will join Google as the company’s new manager for employee social responsibility this month. She said today’s announcement will help take EFBA’s vision “to the next level.” (posted from my blackberry)
  

(Community Matters) Steven & I are in San Diego for a few days with Paulina & Eli

(Community Matters) Stratfor on counterinsurgency versus guerilla warfare

Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan have shown that the U.S. military is not very good at counterinsurgency. One could argue that the United States should improve its counterinsurgency capabilities, but there is little evidence that it could master such capabilities.

The alternative does not seek to win over the population but is designed to achieve very definable military objectives, from the destruction of facilities to harassing, engaging and possibly destroying enemy forces, including insurgents.

Special Operations Forces are highly useful for meeting these objectives, but we should also include other types of forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one such example.

The type of government that Afghanistan has is not a matter of national interest to the United States. What is of national interest is that terrorist attacks are not planned, practiced or launched from Afghanistan. Neither occupation nor transformation of the social structure is necessary to achieve this mission.

Military intervention should be a rare occurrence; when it does occur, it should be scaled to the size of the mission.

(Community Matters) I gotta get this one – John DeMer’s The Mysteries of Marfa

(Community Matters) Hadn’t checked in a while. Happy to see friends from around the world checking in this morning on Community Matters

United States

United Kingdom

Canada

France

Australia

Spain

Viet Nam

Germany

Brazil

Taiwan

Ireland

Italy

Sweden

Turkey

Slovakia

(Community Matters) TED talk on education . . . Sir Ken Robinson’s 2006 TED talk: Schools Kill Creativity

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” (Ken Robinson)

(Community Matters)  . . . Essential Skills for Advocates and Spokespersons.

Received a Kirkus star review in 15 May 2012 issue. Such perfect timing . . .

Stories seem to be what consumers crave, particularly if they are heartfelt and authentic; . . . The authors present many engaging techniques, such as asking advocates to describe their mission in just six words and demonstrating how to create a visual “story map” to document one’s experience. . . .

Capecci and Cage convey “the five qualities of effective advocacy stories,” discuss how to develop key messages, and explain how to craft a story and deliver powerful presentations.

(Community Matters) Lemonade Day

(Community Matters) a note from my very dear friend Reid Cramer of the New America Foundation:

I’m writing with some exciting news. Yesterday, the Department of Education (ED) announced plans to test the impact of college savings accounts on low-income children through the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).

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