News from the Case Foundation and what people are talking about this week in the world of giving, tech and everything in between.
Questions linger as Unitus ceases microfinance operationsIn an announcement that seems to have taken many people by surprise, Seattle-based microfinance firm Unitus announced late last week that it would be shutting down its operations and laying off staff around the world. As this Puget Sound Business Journal article reports, "the nonprofit said that after it fulfilled its partner commitments, its remaining resources would be re-directed into 'new early-stage poverty-focused philanthropic activities.'" According to Sean Stannard-Stockton of Tactical Philanthropy, the shutdown did not appear to be related to financial challenges, but he along with others raised questions about the sudden nature of the announcement. And on its blog, charity evaluator GiveWell encouraged Unitus to share more about its reasons for shutting down and to provide learnings to the sector. As this Chronicle of Philanthropy piece points out, both employees and donors were surprised by the announcement, and the organization has been limited in its public statements since the announcement. The article does also share more insight from the organization's founders who express their feeling that the microfinance project is "complete" and that its simply time to reorganize and move on to different priorities, which ultimately requires some tough decisions. Whatever the true story is, as Stannard-Stockton puts it so well:
If you’ve ever doubted the power of narrative, this is a case study unfolding. The way in which the Unitus story unfolds may very well have a significant impact on public perception of the overall field of microfinance.
Facebook gifts - including charity gifts - to shut down Aug. 1As Mashable reported this morning, Facebook has announced that it will wind down its Gift Shop feature effective August 1st. Some seem to be puzzled by this move, with TechCrunch noting, "It makes sense for Facebook to trim away products that are adding clutter to the site, but these are pure profit and it’s hard to imagine they were draining too many resources." The Wall Street Journal's Digits blog reports that:
There’s still the question of why the company would kill the product - considering that it consists mostly of selling goods that aren’t real for money that is. The consensus among Facebook watchers is that it has to do with Facebook’s stronger push into virtual currency.
Over at CNET News, Caroline McCarthy offers her take on the closure of Facebook Gifts, noting that "it's a step in the evolution of e-commerce on the site... Closing up shop at Facebook Gifts isn't a sign that the product was failing, but rather an indication that the company views social-network e-commerce as capable of much more."
The Gift Shop shutdown includes the closure of charity gifts, which were much talked about last summer when Facebook unveiled a test pilot of the initiative with (RED), Kiva, Tom's Shoes and the World Wildlife Fund, but largely unexplored following the initial splash.
World Cup fever provides opportunity to showcase challenges in the developing worldAs we approach the final game of the most popular sporting event in the world, it's interesting to reflect on how the FIFA World Cup has provided a platform for highlighting challenges in the developing world, and in Africa in particular. The number of news articles highlighting the World Cup-themed campaigns of charitable organizations over the past month - like this one that appeared last month in the UK's Independent about the efforts of malaria-related charities - are too numerous to list here, which makes me wonder somewhat if the public has been over-saturated with messages from a variety of organizations and causes. That said, I love what Global Giving has done here with their World Cup section, highlighting soccer-related projects around the world and blogging about World Cup related themes. The Mott Foundation is also doing something very cool by shutting down their regular blog and instead featuring contributions from Mott-funded organizations operating in South Africa. I know I'm just scratching the surface here, so please share news about the cool charitable initiatives you've seen related to the World Cup.
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MDS11: The Importance of the Next Generation with Jean Case
