Leslie Crutchfield

Business book (short takeaways at the end of each chapter, case studies, etc.) with the titular twist. My takeaways: creating positive, engaging experiences for volunteers beyond donation is vital; ideological purity diminishes immediate impact (but I think the book understates the indirect importance of radicals making the middle-of-the-roaders look more plausible); the Environmental Defense Fund used to have the motto “Sue the Bastards” (awesome!); building links outside the show more organization, with other nonprofits and institutions, pays off in the long term more than internal development; the most effective organizations combine providing services to constituents with policy advocacy; these last two points work together: some level of internal management is necessary, though messiness can be tolerated, but lack of external engagement is fatal—high impact nonprofits build “good enough” management and then spend their energies on programs and policy advocacy. show less

The non profits used to illustrate the principles taught lost my interest. Although they are all worthy causes, they were all US based organizations. I bought this book hoping that it would spotlight international organizations working in the developing world. I did lots of skimming just to finish the book.