Well this is it, my final blog post for PPPM 280. This is weird that is all is coming to end. It feels like the term has just flown by, which I’m not complaining about, but at the same time a little unsure about. So for my final post, I’m going to talk a little bit about what stood out to me in class for the past two weeks and then just kind of reflect on the past ten weeks in the wonderful world of nonprofits.
So the main thing that really stuck out to me, over the past two weeks, was when we had the young guy from Peace Players come and talk to us about this nonprofit for which he worked. Peace Players is a nonprofit organization that brings basketball into countries around the world that are either separated by conflict or just need to have unity built into a community someway. The example this speaker, who I cannot remember his name for the life of me, is the example of the first Peace Players community in South Africa. He talked about how members of the organization went down to South Africa gathered a group of kids, improved basketball courts, brought the balls and started like a basketball tournament in the not so nice areas of the country. Eventually kids from all the over the country, nice parts included, became a part of this Peace Players organization and had the opportunity to play with kids from the poorer areas. This allowed the upper class kids and lower class kids to be able to interact with each other when in any other setting they would not. The Peace Players created ‘peace’ in these areas and really brought the area and entire country unity through a little game of basketball. The organization even went on to win an ESPY, ESPN’s version of the Oscars, for their work in South Africa, using basketball as a way of creating community and unity. The organization has now expanded to countries all over the world. The great thing about the man who came in to class to speak to us, was how much passion he had for Peace Players. He was an amazing public speaker and I engaged the whole time he was talking. He was one of those people where you want to listen to what they are saying and sometimes you get lost in the words because you are so engaged. This organization I think is such a creative way to bring two completely different things, basketball and nonprofits, and use them together to create such a great result. It made me want to know more about the organization and try and think of different ways this basic concept could be used today.
So like I said before it is weird this term is coming to an end. It has been a fun ride on the Team 280 bus. A little turbulent at times, we hit a big bump in the road but got through it. I truly feel like a gained such a large respect for nonprofits and the people that choose to commit themselves to something that they truly love. I am still not sure if nonprofits are the right thing for me, but I hope to continue to learn more about them, maybe even take another nonprofit class during my final two years at the UO. I loved coming to class and really looked forward to each day, so I will miss the overall atmosphere of the class but I hope to find that again. I want to thank both Bob and Sarah for all that they do and thank those of your who read this, if that is anybody ☺. So here I would end by saying, until next time, but for now there is no next time, so I will end by saying, and that’s the end of my story.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Eye-opener.
Oh hey blogging friends. I back a little earlier than usual but this has just been a week couple of weeks in 280, so I guess all I can say is, go with it. So last week we discussed environmental nonprofits and let me tell you, after doing the readings, listening to lecture and watching a very informative and eye opening video, I could not feel more naïve and honestly oblivious to all that environmental nonprofits are trying to solve. Now I knew some of the things I am going to discuss are happening, but I truly take my life for granted a lot of the time and try not to think about all that is going on and why I continue to have nice things, why I continue to be healthy and fed, why I have a roof over my head, this sector and learning about it made me truly appreciate what I have more than I ever did.
“The Story of Stuff Project” is a documentary/advocating group of videos looking at the hidden side to producing and consuming in today’s society. The statistics that were presented in this piece really blew me away and was sort of the tipping point for me in this discussion; here are some of the statistics and facts that stood out to me the most. First discussed was how the Earth is running out of resources. Now they say this time and time again, conserve, conserve, conserve, but I truly believe that now this is not a joke. The world’s population is going to continue to grow and grow and we as an entire group of people are aware of this, but still really see nothing wrong with using what we have and not considering that by wasting and not conserving we are putting the world in a worse position. I know this is something that I take for granted everyday. I know I am constantly wasting, food, electricity, and basic resources. Essential resources to survive like water, but that is all that I know and that is how I was raised. Not necessarily to waste, but use it because you have it. Not the greatest mentality, but something that these discussions have opened my eyes too. Speaking of water, the documentary, one of the statistics that stood out was forty percent of the waterways in the world are undrinkable. Forty percent. Considering that a very large majority of the Earth is made up of water, forty percent is a lot. Billions of people live on this Earth and one of the things that one must have to survive is water and without we will die, so this stat stood out to me because it can be assumed that, that number will only increase and we will probably eventually run out of water. I can only hope that doesn’t happen in my life time, but thinking about this today, made me take a shorter shower, use less water when washing my dishes, do things that I usually would have had taken for granted a little less, because I considered the affect my choices were making.
Other staggering statistic, which stood out to me, was two thousand trees a minute are being cut down in the Amazon. A minute!! I cannot even wrap my head around that. Now I know the Amazon rainforest is a large forest with thousands upon thousands of trees, but really two thousand a minute?!? How is there any rainforest left? Is this truly the sacrifice I need to make to have a wood roof over my head at night? To have wooden floors, desks, chairs? I cannot completely say that I would choose to make that sacrifice. It just blows my mind and I wish I knew how to honestly express my thoughts on it but it is hard and I’m not sure I entirely can.
Finally, the real standout fact from this documentary that stood was how breast milk, has the highest dose of toxic materials in it. How you may ask? Well when companies manufacture goods, in large plants, or whatever it may be, toxins are released into the air and as a result into our bodies, because of our dependence on oxygen. The toxins usually do not stay with us for long, but with a pregnant woman, the toxins can actually stay with her longer in her breast milk. The part that blew my mind when learning this, was that babies who are breast fed are directly receive the toxins from their mother’s breast mile because of the high dose of toxins in it. So indirectly, the companies and corporations that have released the toxins in the air are not only affecting the people who are surrounded by the toxins, but the newborns and babies that are just doing what they need to survive, drink their mother’s breast milk. This is one of those things that you just would never even consider or think about when thinking about the effects companies have on the environment, but this is such a huge part of the effects they are having. This, just like the other fact stated above, is one that I cannot fully wrap my head around. Essentially poisoning innocent newborns and babies with toxins from manufacturing plants. Wow. That’s all I can really say is wow.
This documentary/advocacy piece was extremely creative and opened my eyes more than I expected it too. I have now chosen to be much more aware of my surrounds and not as much as I can to not take too much for granted. I will live a great life and I want to make sure many generations after me can say the same thing. So until next time….
“The Story of Stuff Project” is a documentary/advocating group of videos looking at the hidden side to producing and consuming in today’s society. The statistics that were presented in this piece really blew me away and was sort of the tipping point for me in this discussion; here are some of the statistics and facts that stood out to me the most. First discussed was how the Earth is running out of resources. Now they say this time and time again, conserve, conserve, conserve, but I truly believe that now this is not a joke. The world’s population is going to continue to grow and grow and we as an entire group of people are aware of this, but still really see nothing wrong with using what we have and not considering that by wasting and not conserving we are putting the world in a worse position. I know this is something that I take for granted everyday. I know I am constantly wasting, food, electricity, and basic resources. Essential resources to survive like water, but that is all that I know and that is how I was raised. Not necessarily to waste, but use it because you have it. Not the greatest mentality, but something that these discussions have opened my eyes too. Speaking of water, the documentary, one of the statistics that stood out was forty percent of the waterways in the world are undrinkable. Forty percent. Considering that a very large majority of the Earth is made up of water, forty percent is a lot. Billions of people live on this Earth and one of the things that one must have to survive is water and without we will die, so this stat stood out to me because it can be assumed that, that number will only increase and we will probably eventually run out of water. I can only hope that doesn’t happen in my life time, but thinking about this today, made me take a shorter shower, use less water when washing my dishes, do things that I usually would have had taken for granted a little less, because I considered the affect my choices were making.
Other staggering statistic, which stood out to me, was two thousand trees a minute are being cut down in the Amazon. A minute!! I cannot even wrap my head around that. Now I know the Amazon rainforest is a large forest with thousands upon thousands of trees, but really two thousand a minute?!? How is there any rainforest left? Is this truly the sacrifice I need to make to have a wood roof over my head at night? To have wooden floors, desks, chairs? I cannot completely say that I would choose to make that sacrifice. It just blows my mind and I wish I knew how to honestly express my thoughts on it but it is hard and I’m not sure I entirely can.
Finally, the real standout fact from this documentary that stood was how breast milk, has the highest dose of toxic materials in it. How you may ask? Well when companies manufacture goods, in large plants, or whatever it may be, toxins are released into the air and as a result into our bodies, because of our dependence on oxygen. The toxins usually do not stay with us for long, but with a pregnant woman, the toxins can actually stay with her longer in her breast milk. The part that blew my mind when learning this, was that babies who are breast fed are directly receive the toxins from their mother’s breast mile because of the high dose of toxins in it. So indirectly, the companies and corporations that have released the toxins in the air are not only affecting the people who are surrounded by the toxins, but the newborns and babies that are just doing what they need to survive, drink their mother’s breast milk. This is one of those things that you just would never even consider or think about when thinking about the effects companies have on the environment, but this is such a huge part of the effects they are having. This, just like the other fact stated above, is one that I cannot fully wrap my head around. Essentially poisoning innocent newborns and babies with toxins from manufacturing plants. Wow. That’s all I can really say is wow.
This documentary/advocacy piece was extremely creative and opened my eyes more than I expected it too. I have now chosen to be much more aware of my surrounds and not as much as I can to not take too much for granted. I will live a great life and I want to make sure many generations after me can say the same thing. So until next time….
Friday, May 14, 2010
Creative, Innovative and Unique
Hello blogging friends. I’m back. A little later than usual but no fear I am here. This has been quite the week, in class especially, but just in life in general. So many things going on, so stuff to do, the end of the term could not come any sooner. But until then I am still here to blog about all my new adventures and learnings from this last week’s class.
So this past week in class we discussed the nonprofit sectors of advocacy and arts and culture. I’ve decided I wanted to focus on the arts and culture discussion for this blog, so here you go.
Arts and culture is one of the smallest parts of the nonprofit sector, but I think one of the sectors that a majority of people take part in, in some way shape or form. Everyone in their life time goes to a museum, sees a play, buys a piece of art, goes to a historical site, etc. By doing this, these everyone is contributing to the success of the arts in the nonprofit sector, because the arts rely heavily, almost entirely, on donations, admissions fees, contributions and very little comes from any other funds. This sector would not survive without the support from everyday people, who have no idea how important/have much of an impact they truly are having on this sector.
One thing that stood out to me in the readings was this idea of the distinction between, “art” and “entertainment”. The book claims that the, “practical difference often lies in what makes money versus what does not.” Entertainment are for-profit, while the arts are nonprofit. Now while this may be true, I honestly believe that entertainment, like movies, concerts, games, CDs, are all art. I personally do not see just a large distinction between “art” and entertainment”. I believe that entertainment is a form of art. Producing art is being creative, innovative, unique, and believe that entertain is all of those things. In order to sing/make a CD you must be creative, have the right beat, be different than the next person. To make a movie, you must as well be creative, innovative, and create a piece of art that others will enjoy just as much as you did putting it together. I think that most things in the world are art and even though some are for-profit and some are nonprofit, this difference does not need to remain or dictate what is art and what is entertainment. Art is what you make it and if you are entertained by it then great and if you are entertained by something and you think that is a piece of art, then that is great too.
It was also very interesting to read and learn how so many “artists” do art because it is what they love to do and what they know how to do, even though they know that they could be making a lot more money doing something else. I think a great thing about this sector is that is truly is the move unique and different sector, than any other that we have learned about. In no other sector, do you really have people doing the work because it is just what they love to do and sometimes it is all they know how. This sector is like a piece of art/entertainment it self; creative, innovative and unique. Until next time….
So this past week in class we discussed the nonprofit sectors of advocacy and arts and culture. I’ve decided I wanted to focus on the arts and culture discussion for this blog, so here you go.
Arts and culture is one of the smallest parts of the nonprofit sector, but I think one of the sectors that a majority of people take part in, in some way shape or form. Everyone in their life time goes to a museum, sees a play, buys a piece of art, goes to a historical site, etc. By doing this, these everyone is contributing to the success of the arts in the nonprofit sector, because the arts rely heavily, almost entirely, on donations, admissions fees, contributions and very little comes from any other funds. This sector would not survive without the support from everyday people, who have no idea how important/have much of an impact they truly are having on this sector.
One thing that stood out to me in the readings was this idea of the distinction between, “art” and “entertainment”. The book claims that the, “practical difference often lies in what makes money versus what does not.” Entertainment are for-profit, while the arts are nonprofit. Now while this may be true, I honestly believe that entertainment, like movies, concerts, games, CDs, are all art. I personally do not see just a large distinction between “art” and entertainment”. I believe that entertainment is a form of art. Producing art is being creative, innovative, unique, and believe that entertain is all of those things. In order to sing/make a CD you must be creative, have the right beat, be different than the next person. To make a movie, you must as well be creative, innovative, and create a piece of art that others will enjoy just as much as you did putting it together. I think that most things in the world are art and even though some are for-profit and some are nonprofit, this difference does not need to remain or dictate what is art and what is entertainment. Art is what you make it and if you are entertained by it then great and if you are entertained by something and you think that is a piece of art, then that is great too.
It was also very interesting to read and learn how so many “artists” do art because it is what they love to do and what they know how to do, even though they know that they could be making a lot more money doing something else. I think a great thing about this sector is that is truly is the move unique and different sector, than any other that we have learned about. In no other sector, do you really have people doing the work because it is just what they love to do and sometimes it is all they know how. This sector is like a piece of art/entertainment it self; creative, innovative and unique. Until next time….
Creative, Innovative and Unique
Hello blogging friends. I’m back. A little later than usual but no fear I am here. This has been quite the week, in class especially, but just in life in general. So many things going on, so stuff to do, the end of the term could not come any sooner. But until then I am still here to blog about all my new adventures and learnings from this last week’s class.
So this past week in class we discussed the nonprofit sectors of advocacy and arts and culture. I’ve decided I wanted to focus on the arts and culture discussion for this blog, so here you go.
Arts and culture is one of the smallest parts of the nonprofit sector, but I think one of the sectors that a majority of people take part in, in some way shape or form. Everyone in their life time goes to a museum, sees a play, buys a piece of art, goes to a historical site, etc. By doing this, these everyone is contributing to the success of the arts in the nonprofit sector, because the arts rely heavily, almost entirely, on donations, admissions fees, contributions and very little comes from any other funds. This sector would not survive without the support from everyday people, who have no idea how important/have much of an impact they truly are having on this sector.
One thing that stood out to me in the readings was this idea of the distinction between, “art” and “entertainment”. The book claims that the, “practical difference often lies in what makes money versus what does not.” Entertainment are for-profit, while the arts are nonprofit. Now while this may be true, I honestly believe that entertainment, like movies, concerts, games, CDs, are all art. I personally do not see just a large distinction between “art” and entertainment”. I believe that entertainment is a form of art. Producing art is being creative, innovative, unique, and believe that entertain is all of those things. In order to sing/make a CD you must be creative, have the right beat, be different than the next person. To make a movie, you must as well be creative, innovative, and create a piece of art that others will enjoy just as much as you did putting it together. I think that most things in the world are art and even though some are for-profit and some are nonprofit, this difference does not need to remain or dictate what is art and what is entertainment. Art is what you make it and if you are entertained by it then great and if you are entertained by something and you think that is a piece of art, then that is great too.
It was also very interesting to read and learn how so many “artists” do art because it is what they love to do and what they know how to do, even though they know that they could be making a lot more money doing something else. I think a great thing about this sector is that is truly is the move unique and different sector, than any other that we have learned about. In no other sector, do you really have people doing the work because it is just what they love to do and sometimes it is all they know how. This sector is like a piece of art/entertainment it self; creative, innovative and unique. Until next time….
So this past week in class we discussed the nonprofit sectors of advocacy and arts and culture. I’ve decided I wanted to focus on the arts and culture discussion for this blog, so here you go.
Arts and culture is one of the smallest parts of the nonprofit sector, but I think one of the sectors that a majority of people take part in, in some way shape or form. Everyone in their life time goes to a museum, sees a play, buys a piece of art, goes to a historical site, etc. By doing this, these everyone is contributing to the success of the arts in the nonprofit sector, because the arts rely heavily, almost entirely, on donations, admissions fees, contributions and very little comes from any other funds. This sector would not survive without the support from everyday people, who have no idea how important/have much of an impact they truly are having on this sector.
One thing that stood out to me in the readings was this idea of the distinction between, “art” and “entertainment”. The book claims that the, “practical difference often lies in what makes money versus what does not.” Entertainment are for-profit, while the arts are nonprofit. Now while this may be true, I honestly believe that entertainment, like movies, concerts, games, CDs, are all art. I personally do not see just a large distinction between “art” and entertainment”. I believe that entertainment is a form of art. Producing art is being creative, innovative, unique, and believe that entertain is all of those things. In order to sing/make a CD you must be creative, have the right beat, be different than the next person. To make a movie, you must as well be creative, innovative, and create a piece of art that others will enjoy just as much as you did putting it together. I think that most things in the world are art and even though some are for-profit and some are nonprofit, this difference does not need to remain or dictate what is art and what is entertainment. Art is what you make it and if you are entertained by it then great and if you are entertained by something and you think that is a piece of art, then that is great too.
It was also very interesting to read and learn how so many “artists” do art because it is what they love to do and what they know how to do, even though they know that they could be making a lot more money doing something else. I think a great thing about this sector is that is truly is the move unique and different sector, than any other that we have learned about. In no other sector, do you really have people doing the work because it is just what they love to do and sometimes it is all they know how. This sector is like a piece of art/entertainment it self; creative, innovative and unique. Until next time….
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Final Paper Idea
How is the nonprofit sector coping with the current recession?
This is the question that I have decided to research for my final paper. I chose this question because as I have said many times before this entire class is a huge learning experience for me and I feel like I know very little about the recession, other than that we are in one, and I want to not only learn more about the nonprofit sector but also the recession. I hope through this paper I gain a better understanding of the recession, as well as learn about the true effects it is having on our society and different sectors like the nonprofit. Also, when beginning a little bit of the research with this question, I read some articles and they really caught my attention and I was really interested in the topics they were discussing. This topic also seems very easily relatable to my everyday life and I excited to add some of my own personal insight and experiences with this, once I gain some more knowledge of the subject and have a true understanding of how the recession and nonprofit sector 'relate'.
Sources:
www.ccss.jhu.edu/pdfs/LP_Communiques/LP_Communique_14.pdf
www.mvgazette.com/article.php?21806
ww.bridgespan.org/outrun-the-recession-for-nonprofits.aspx
http://www.examiner.com/x-7241-Boston-Nonprofit-Business-Examiner~y2009m4d30-Nonprofits-make-changes-to-weather-the-recession
This is the question that I have decided to research for my final paper. I chose this question because as I have said many times before this entire class is a huge learning experience for me and I feel like I know very little about the recession, other than that we are in one, and I want to not only learn more about the nonprofit sector but also the recession. I hope through this paper I gain a better understanding of the recession, as well as learn about the true effects it is having on our society and different sectors like the nonprofit. Also, when beginning a little bit of the research with this question, I read some articles and they really caught my attention and I was really interested in the topics they were discussing. This topic also seems very easily relatable to my everyday life and I excited to add some of my own personal insight and experiences with this, once I gain some more knowledge of the subject and have a true understanding of how the recession and nonprofit sector 'relate'.
Sources:
www.ccss.jhu.edu/pdfs/LP_Communiques/LP_Communique_14.pdf
www.mvgazette.com/article.php?21806
ww.bridgespan.org/outrun-the-recession-for-nonprofits.aspx
http://www.examiner.com/x-7241-Boston-Nonprofit-Business-Examiner~y2009m4d30-Nonprofits-make-changes-to-weather-the-recession
Monday, May 3, 2010
Week 5 - Health Care
Hey everyone. I’m back with more thoughts on my favorite class! Now this may shock some you who read this, if any besides you Sarah and Bob, but I was not as surprised or shocked by this week by the lectures or readings like I usually am. Now there were some things I shocked and surprised by, but overall I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of this topic before this week. Oh, you are probably wondering what the topic is right? Well because you asked, this week’s topic was health care. A sensitive subject to some and a very interesting subject to others, like myself.
First lets talk about the lecture this week. We had two lectures, but I’m going to focus on the first lecture last Monday about health care and not the one Sarah did on Wednesday. I’ll be honest that lecture was so confusing and there were so many side discussions and debates going on I was lost, so I’m just going to put that lecture to the back burner now and not even attempt to tackle it in this post. Now I know I say this every time but I honestly had no idea that health care was a part of the nonprofit sector. I assumed that it was some sort of government agency or own separate entity that was always for profit. Maybe I thought that because it costs you an arm and a leg, no pun intended, to have almost any medical procedure done that I just thought that someone was just swimming in money. It was interesting to learn that half of all nonprofit revenue and employment is in the health care sector of nonprofits. Considering how many nonprofit organizations and sectors there are, half just for one sector seems like a lot! $385 billion in revenue and $461 billion in assets, that is a lot for one sector, but another way to think about it is that is essentially the most important sector, because without it other sectors probably would not be around because there would no one healthy enough to keep them around. One of those interesting thoughts.
It was kind of ironic to also learn that 15% of the US population has no health insurance, considering the fact that all US citizens are now required by law to have health insurance, through President Obama’s health care bill. Now I do not want to get all political here but I just have a few things to say about this bill. I was totally for it and truly believe that everyone should have the right to health care and be treated equally when it comes to your health, but when I heard some of the logistics of the bill, like people are going to be forced to buy health insurance that the government provides, I just did not really understand that. Now I can see the government providing health insurance to those who want it, but tell citizens that they have to buy it, even it maybe they do not want it does not really make sense to me. I’m not sure I understand how you can force someone to buy something that they may not want. Now I do understand that most people are going to want health insurance and will buy it, but what about the people who truly cannot afford it? Are they going to be stuck without insurance and without care if they need it? I have just decided, as of right now, that I am going to read the bill, or as much as I can to come to a better understanding of it. I know that my facts or assumptions may be wrong but I just want to make it clear that I am only commenting on what I have heard or seen. But it will be interesting to see what happens to the 15% number in terms of whether it really will decrease, you would assume it would, but stranger things have happened.
Also in the lecture it was interesting to learn that we spend more money people 65 and older, $14,797, than we do on children, $2,650 or working-age people, $4,511. Now I understand it and see why this is, because more people aged 65 and older are declining in health and need for health assistance, but it got me thinking after thinking about Michele Obama’s plan to fight childhood obesity and watching TV shows about fighting childhood obesity and learning to eat healthy, this whole new craze that is pretty much taking over, on whether the priorities, in terms of who spends more money would change. Will the focus of health care be more focused on children now as childhood obesity and eating healthy becomes a huge part of the adolescent years or will the focus stay on 65 and older? Now we can assume that people 65 and older will decline in health no matter how older they get but it is an interesting thought to think that children’s health and money spent on that could be more as the years goes on. Only time will tell.
I decided I’m going to go over readings this week because they were pretty self-explanatory and just kind of restated what the lecture was about. But there you have it, five successful weeks in PPPM 280 and 5 left. On to another week of wonderful learning about the nonprofit sector. Until next time…..
First lets talk about the lecture this week. We had two lectures, but I’m going to focus on the first lecture last Monday about health care and not the one Sarah did on Wednesday. I’ll be honest that lecture was so confusing and there were so many side discussions and debates going on I was lost, so I’m just going to put that lecture to the back burner now and not even attempt to tackle it in this post. Now I know I say this every time but I honestly had no idea that health care was a part of the nonprofit sector. I assumed that it was some sort of government agency or own separate entity that was always for profit. Maybe I thought that because it costs you an arm and a leg, no pun intended, to have almost any medical procedure done that I just thought that someone was just swimming in money. It was interesting to learn that half of all nonprofit revenue and employment is in the health care sector of nonprofits. Considering how many nonprofit organizations and sectors there are, half just for one sector seems like a lot! $385 billion in revenue and $461 billion in assets, that is a lot for one sector, but another way to think about it is that is essentially the most important sector, because without it other sectors probably would not be around because there would no one healthy enough to keep them around. One of those interesting thoughts.
It was kind of ironic to also learn that 15% of the US population has no health insurance, considering the fact that all US citizens are now required by law to have health insurance, through President Obama’s health care bill. Now I do not want to get all political here but I just have a few things to say about this bill. I was totally for it and truly believe that everyone should have the right to health care and be treated equally when it comes to your health, but when I heard some of the logistics of the bill, like people are going to be forced to buy health insurance that the government provides, I just did not really understand that. Now I can see the government providing health insurance to those who want it, but tell citizens that they have to buy it, even it maybe they do not want it does not really make sense to me. I’m not sure I understand how you can force someone to buy something that they may not want. Now I do understand that most people are going to want health insurance and will buy it, but what about the people who truly cannot afford it? Are they going to be stuck without insurance and without care if they need it? I have just decided, as of right now, that I am going to read the bill, or as much as I can to come to a better understanding of it. I know that my facts or assumptions may be wrong but I just want to make it clear that I am only commenting on what I have heard or seen. But it will be interesting to see what happens to the 15% number in terms of whether it really will decrease, you would assume it would, but stranger things have happened.
Also in the lecture it was interesting to learn that we spend more money people 65 and older, $14,797, than we do on children, $2,650 or working-age people, $4,511. Now I understand it and see why this is, because more people aged 65 and older are declining in health and need for health assistance, but it got me thinking after thinking about Michele Obama’s plan to fight childhood obesity and watching TV shows about fighting childhood obesity and learning to eat healthy, this whole new craze that is pretty much taking over, on whether the priorities, in terms of who spends more money would change. Will the focus of health care be more focused on children now as childhood obesity and eating healthy becomes a huge part of the adolescent years or will the focus stay on 65 and older? Now we can assume that people 65 and older will decline in health no matter how older they get but it is an interesting thought to think that children’s health and money spent on that could be more as the years goes on. Only time will tell.
I decided I’m going to go over readings this week because they were pretty self-explanatory and just kind of restated what the lecture was about. But there you have it, five successful weeks in PPPM 280 and 5 left. On to another week of wonderful learning about the nonprofit sector. Until next time…..
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Week 4 - Education
Hello again everyone! After a week away for another project, I’m back with more blogging about my experiences in the class that I truly am starting to fall in love with!! I can’t explain why it really has become my favorite class this term, maybe even my entire college experience so far but I really just love going to every class and learning something new and learning things that are so relevant to today’s society and learning things that I can easily see happening all around me. The nonprofit sector is everywhere and this class is showing me that each and every class.
The topic we focused on in class and readings this week was education. Now I know I say this every time, but especially with this area of the sector, I was completely shocked to learn that private schools, K-12 and college/universities are all about of the nonprofit sector! When I think education, the last thing I think is nonprofit. I always just assumed all schools/institutions were just their own separate entity that got money from the government to run and stay active. It honestly never occurred to me, even though I knew you had to pay to go to private K-12 schools and pay more to go to a private college or university that, that made it a nonprofit, but now it all makes sense.
Now let’s discuss the lecture a little bit. Some interesting things that I found/learned during the lecture were that only 20% of American students attend private college or universities, considering there are 1,700 institutions. For some reason that percentage seems so low seeing how many institutions there are, but then as I am thinking most private colleges or universities have low enrollments/populations so that number seems about right. Just from my experiences I perceive there to be more private college and universities and so I expected the percentage and number of institutions to be higher. It was also interesting to learn why private institutions are so much more expensive then public and the main reason I found was, decline of government aid. This is just something that I never had thought about before but it makes complete sense now. The public institutions have to get their money from somewhere and if the government is not helping then costs have to rise and donors have to prevalent. I’m honestly kind of surprised that private institutions have been able to survive without government funding and how willing some people are to pay for a private school rather than a public, because the assumption seems to be you will get a better education. It was also surprising to learn that salaries in private schools are typically pretty low. You would think that because of the high costs of the school salaries would be pretty high and institutions would want the best of the best in terms of instructors and they would pay them more to stay with the school.
Onto to the reading now, it was pretty straight forward, but some things really stuck out to me. First, it was interesting to learn how the education and religious nonprofit sectors interact. Learning that religious education was the primary focus of private institutions with Catholic being the largest provider of private education (110) was not all too appealing to me. I do not want to get all political on here, but I am so against church/religion having any part of education what so ever, that to hear that religion is such a large part of the private education nonprofit sector is something that just irks me the wrong way. I don’t want to rant but I just completely disagree with the whole thing. On the other hand I was surprised to learn that private schools are found heavily in urban areas (111). Maybe it is just were I’m from, but I always assumed that urban schools were public and private schools you only found in some limited urban areas but mostly in suburbs. This is interesting considering the fact that private schools are so expensive and it can be assumed that urban areas are not as affluent as suburban areas so this seems that would be a problem to me. Finally, before reading I had no idea what a “charter school” was, even though I had heard the term multiple times but it was nice to finally find out what they were. It was interesting though however to learn that charter schools are more focused on student performance rather than regulation of teachers and other things a public or private school would be focused on. They want results, which I think is weird because don’t all schools want results? I just found that interesting. I would love to research charter schools a little more and find out more about them and why they do what they do.
This class continues to amaze and confuse me but I love it! I can’t wait for Monday to be amazed and confused even more. Until next week……
The topic we focused on in class and readings this week was education. Now I know I say this every time, but especially with this area of the sector, I was completely shocked to learn that private schools, K-12 and college/universities are all about of the nonprofit sector! When I think education, the last thing I think is nonprofit. I always just assumed all schools/institutions were just their own separate entity that got money from the government to run and stay active. It honestly never occurred to me, even though I knew you had to pay to go to private K-12 schools and pay more to go to a private college or university that, that made it a nonprofit, but now it all makes sense.
Now let’s discuss the lecture a little bit. Some interesting things that I found/learned during the lecture were that only 20% of American students attend private college or universities, considering there are 1,700 institutions. For some reason that percentage seems so low seeing how many institutions there are, but then as I am thinking most private colleges or universities have low enrollments/populations so that number seems about right. Just from my experiences I perceive there to be more private college and universities and so I expected the percentage and number of institutions to be higher. It was also interesting to learn why private institutions are so much more expensive then public and the main reason I found was, decline of government aid. This is just something that I never had thought about before but it makes complete sense now. The public institutions have to get their money from somewhere and if the government is not helping then costs have to rise and donors have to prevalent. I’m honestly kind of surprised that private institutions have been able to survive without government funding and how willing some people are to pay for a private school rather than a public, because the assumption seems to be you will get a better education. It was also surprising to learn that salaries in private schools are typically pretty low. You would think that because of the high costs of the school salaries would be pretty high and institutions would want the best of the best in terms of instructors and they would pay them more to stay with the school.
Onto to the reading now, it was pretty straight forward, but some things really stuck out to me. First, it was interesting to learn how the education and religious nonprofit sectors interact. Learning that religious education was the primary focus of private institutions with Catholic being the largest provider of private education (110) was not all too appealing to me. I do not want to get all political on here, but I am so against church/religion having any part of education what so ever, that to hear that religion is such a large part of the private education nonprofit sector is something that just irks me the wrong way. I don’t want to rant but I just completely disagree with the whole thing. On the other hand I was surprised to learn that private schools are found heavily in urban areas (111). Maybe it is just were I’m from, but I always assumed that urban schools were public and private schools you only found in some limited urban areas but mostly in suburbs. This is interesting considering the fact that private schools are so expensive and it can be assumed that urban areas are not as affluent as suburban areas so this seems that would be a problem to me. Finally, before reading I had no idea what a “charter school” was, even though I had heard the term multiple times but it was nice to finally find out what they were. It was interesting though however to learn that charter schools are more focused on student performance rather than regulation of teachers and other things a public or private school would be focused on. They want results, which I think is weird because don’t all schools want results? I just found that interesting. I would love to research charter schools a little more and find out more about them and why they do what they do.
This class continues to amaze and confuse me but I love it! I can’t wait for Monday to be amazed and confused even more. Until next week……
Monday, April 12, 2010
Websites, religion, and social service.
Hi again everyone. So last week was a huge learning experience for me again in class. The entire class went to the library and there we learned about all the websites that are great links to nonprofit organizations. It is amazing to me, even after learning of the magnitude of the sector, that there are entire websites devoted to this whole sector. I probably could find anything I ever wanted to know about any nonprofit that interested me and even read there IRS 990 forms. I’m actually really looking forward to using these websites more in depth in our first assignment, coming up here in the next week. So that was class and reading was a whole other learning experience this week. The first chapter I read was about religion and its’ role in the nonprofit sector. Now I am going to be completely honest, I was kind of shocked to learn that religious organizations, churches, synagogues, temples, congregations, were all a part of the nonprofit sector. I would have always assumed that they were there own separate thing all together and not only that they are the largest part of the sector! Now one thing I do disagree with is that religious organizations do not have to register or file reports/paperwork with the IRS. My question is why not? Are they not a part of the nonprofit sector? And don’t a majority, if not all, of nonprofits have to register or file reports? Now I might learn this I continue further in the class but I just do not understand why this is. Anyways, I was also kind of shocked to learn that $85 billion dollars was approximately estimated to the given to religion, through donations, in 2000. This really made me think about how that number today is significantly higher and how religion really does have such an impact on the lives of so many and even though America does not try to make a big deal about religion, it is still one thing, especially through this sector, that keeps this country the they it is. My favorite part of the reading was reading about how much of a societal impact religion has. Now there was a lot that I wanted to disagree with, but I had to agree with. There were also things that if I had the power to change I would. For example, how much religion does play a huge role in politics, education and activism. Overall I think religion almost plays too big of a role in the nonprofit sector. Now that may be a biased response just based on my own beliefs but I think that it has more power and uses it to its’ full extent. I also read about the nonprofit sector in relation to social services. There was a quote in the book that said that nonprofit social service agencies are generally small and this kind of caught me a little off guard. I personally see this aspect of the sector as having the largest impact and being the biggest but I guess I was wrong. When I think of social service agencies, like Red-Cross, Meals on Wheels, the YMCA, I think of those to be huge agencies that help so many and effect so much of American society that it was interesting to learn, that they might not be as big as they appear to be. I think this truly is the greatest aspect of the nonprofit sector and the aspect I am really interested in and want to get to know more about. This is a continuing to be a huge learning experience that will only continue to grow. So, so long for now and see you talk to you all in a couple of weeks.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A little about me.
Hi everyone. My name is Jacob Rahn and I am a sophomore at the University of Oregon. This term I am enrolled in 'PPPM (Planning, Public Policy and Management) 280: Intro to the Nonprofit Sector' and I have been assigned to reactions to our reading of the book Nonprofit Nation: A New Look at the Third America by Michael O’Neill. I am taking this course as a requirement for my PPPM minor, but I am very excited to learn all about nonprofit organizations. I know almost nothing about the nonprofit sector, including what makes an organization nonprofit or how the nonprofit sector effects society. I feel very intrigued by this subject and look forward to learning more about this huge part of the world society. I hope to come to a better understanding of this sector and take my knowledge of it and hopefully use it in my everyday life.
I am going to be begin my blogging reacting to what we have learned and read during this week in class. In class and the readings we did this week all focused on the nonprofit sector itself and some history that went along with it, as well as, the federal laws and coding that nonprofit organizations receive. After doing the reading and listening to lecture, I found it so unbelievable how large a part of the entire society nonprofits take up. It was interesting to learn how organizations of philanthropy began way back in the 1600s and because of John Harvard creating a library in 1638; this whole new part of the world society was created. I was surprised, while learning about when various nonprofits were established how many I never took the time to think about how long they had actually been around, including the Salvation Army, YMCA, ASPCA, just to name a few. This showed to me that nonprofit organizations will only continue to grow and the support for them will increase tremendously. The second half of lecture was focused on federal laws and IRS coding for nonprofits. This was very interesting to me because I had no idea that there was actual large set of laws and coding that defined and classified various nonprofits. I still am a little confused on some of the laws and coding, as well as, when a donation is tax deductable and all those other things, but I think as I get further into the class I will hopefully come to a more clear understanding.
Now getting into the reading, it was interesting to read about the charity of nonprofits and how that truly is one of the main focuses of the sector. Before this class, I had not made the distinction between nonprofits and charity and so by reading this I understand that they are essentially the same thing. It was amazing to read that most charitable giving goes to religion. The book states that in 2000 $74 billion went to religion, which is equivalent to 37 percent of all giving that year. This shows to me that, at least in America, we are very focused and take our religion very seriously. I personally do not agree with the fact that most of our charitable donations should go to religion, but the great thing about having millions of nonprofit/charitable organizations in this country is that I don’t have to give my money to a religious organization, even though most individuals are. I was also a little surprised when I read that single women gave to nonprofit organizations more so than did single men. I can see how this may be true, but I can also see this being dependent on the organization. If I had a list of all the nonprofits that one could donate too, it would be interesting to consider how many nonprofits are more focused towards men and how many are more focused towards women. Another thing I found very interesting and something I never really thought about before, was how nonprofits change depending on where they are located. Meaning, a nonprofit food bank would not be found in an upper middle class area because a food bank would not generally be needed there. This makes the nonprofits almost diverse in there work and it is now interesting to think about nonprofits as things that change based on their location, because before I had not thought about them in that sense. In conclusion, the book states that the nonprofit sector is “large, diverse, and powerful,” and not until now have I seen this statement to be nothing but the truth. I am truly excited and eager to learn more about this huge sector of the American life.
I am going to be begin my blogging reacting to what we have learned and read during this week in class. In class and the readings we did this week all focused on the nonprofit sector itself and some history that went along with it, as well as, the federal laws and coding that nonprofit organizations receive. After doing the reading and listening to lecture, I found it so unbelievable how large a part of the entire society nonprofits take up. It was interesting to learn how organizations of philanthropy began way back in the 1600s and because of John Harvard creating a library in 1638; this whole new part of the world society was created. I was surprised, while learning about when various nonprofits were established how many I never took the time to think about how long they had actually been around, including the Salvation Army, YMCA, ASPCA, just to name a few. This showed to me that nonprofit organizations will only continue to grow and the support for them will increase tremendously. The second half of lecture was focused on federal laws and IRS coding for nonprofits. This was very interesting to me because I had no idea that there was actual large set of laws and coding that defined and classified various nonprofits. I still am a little confused on some of the laws and coding, as well as, when a donation is tax deductable and all those other things, but I think as I get further into the class I will hopefully come to a more clear understanding.
Now getting into the reading, it was interesting to read about the charity of nonprofits and how that truly is one of the main focuses of the sector. Before this class, I had not made the distinction between nonprofits and charity and so by reading this I understand that they are essentially the same thing. It was amazing to read that most charitable giving goes to religion. The book states that in 2000 $74 billion went to religion, which is equivalent to 37 percent of all giving that year. This shows to me that, at least in America, we are very focused and take our religion very seriously. I personally do not agree with the fact that most of our charitable donations should go to religion, but the great thing about having millions of nonprofit/charitable organizations in this country is that I don’t have to give my money to a religious organization, even though most individuals are. I was also a little surprised when I read that single women gave to nonprofit organizations more so than did single men. I can see how this may be true, but I can also see this being dependent on the organization. If I had a list of all the nonprofits that one could donate too, it would be interesting to consider how many nonprofits are more focused towards men and how many are more focused towards women. Another thing I found very interesting and something I never really thought about before, was how nonprofits change depending on where they are located. Meaning, a nonprofit food bank would not be found in an upper middle class area because a food bank would not generally be needed there. This makes the nonprofits almost diverse in there work and it is now interesting to think about nonprofits as things that change based on their location, because before I had not thought about them in that sense. In conclusion, the book states that the nonprofit sector is “large, diverse, and powerful,” and not until now have I seen this statement to be nothing but the truth. I am truly excited and eager to learn more about this huge sector of the American life.
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