Rick Cohen
After almost 8 years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), Rick Cohen became Nonprofit Quarterly as NPQ's national correspondent in 2006. Prior to joining NCRP, he was vice president of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in charge of strategic planning. He also served as vice president under Jim Rouse at the Enterprise Foundation (now Enterprise Community Partners), directing Enterprise's field programs. Rick has also worked in the public sector as Director of Jersey City's Department of Housing and Economic Development and served as a consultant to numerous government agencies and nonprofits. He began his professional career as a planner with Action for Boston Community Development, one of the nation's original anti-poverty agencies. Rick has also authored or co-authored three books and numerous articles and op-eds for professional journals and newspapers, testified at Congressional committees and roundtables, and appeared on radio and television including the CBS Evening News, the ABC Evening News, the British Broadcasting Company, Fox News (including "the O'Reilly Factor"), CNN's American Morning, the Public Broadcasting System ("Religion and Ethics"), National Public Radio ("All Things Considered", "Morning Edition", and "Marketplace"), and others. In 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, Rick was named to the NPT Power & Influence Top 50 list by The Nonprofit Times. In addition to Rick's regular columns in Nonprofit Quarterly magazine, the NPQ Newswire, and NPQ's Cohen Report (http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org), he also writes investigative pieces for the Blue Avocado (http://www.blueavocado.org/). In 2010, Rick won the gold National Azbee "news analysis/investigative" award of the American Society of Business Publication Editors (for his Youth Today article on the Promise Neighborhoods program and minOnline's Editorial and Design Award for Freelance Editorial and Design (for his Blue Avocado series on the demise of the Vanguard Public Foundation).
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a host of fallacies about how to fundraise effectively. Here are three of them, and suggestions on what nonprofits should be doing instead.
The souls of our nation’s institutes of higher education are endangered by ideological rot. Donors must step in to defend them.
If key provisions of this act are allowed to expire, untold dollars will pass from the hands of charitably minded individuals to the coffers of the federal government, stifling philanthropic giving.
Women’s economic mobility is increasing, and philanthropists can play an integral role in removing further barriers to their workplace success.
Jack Miller’s commitment to reform in American civic education sets a sterling example for donors of how to effect transformative change and uphold philanthropic values.
The history of the Knights of Columbus and that of baseball are intimately intertwined, telling a story of sportsmanship, charity, and love of the game.
Establishing a good foundations program can be daunting, but the initial investment of time and energy pays off in the long run.