There’s no way around this: we are in summer. And summer is hot. We knew this, but we had forgotten. Three days of 100-degree heat here in Los Angeles have reminded us, and made us very grateful for air conditioning. Not to worry, though; the Friday Five will cool you down (metaphorically) with these brisk, bracing entries that bring with them the cool air of reason.
So long as your air conditioning’s on.
1) Our top entry, from the Nonprofit Law Prof blog, comes with a cautionary “Don’t Panic” note about the headline, which doesn’t refer to a Department of Labor regulation; it refers to a position the Department of Labor is arguing in a court case that has yet to be decided. The case, Perez v. Cathedral Buffet, is a dispute between the federal government and controversial Ohio televangelist Ernest Angley who encourages his parishioners to volunteer… at a for-profit restaurant directly owned by his church. Despite the headline, the article is a worthy overview of the pending court case, and the case’s outcome could have far-reaching implications:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/2016/06/dept-of-labor-volunteers-who-provide-a-benefit-to-organization-are-employees-must-be-paid-minimum-wa.html
(Angley, it should be noted, has—how can we put this politely—an eyebrow raising past. He’s on recording as stating that God can cure AIDS—and that he has evidence. And then there’s a controversy that’s too bizarre to go into here: )
2) Matt de la Pena’s Newbery Award speech. (The Newbery Award is administered by the American Library Association). Some thoughts:
This speech will make you cry. This speech is about having a seat at the table, and how you pass that on—how you tell others they have that seat. This speech contains one of our new favorite real-life librarians. And, most impressively, De la Pena’s book is a picture book, which typically would receive the Caldecott medal (also awarded by the ALA), so for it to win the Newbery, traditionally given to chapter books without illustrations, is a huge deal. See what de la Pena has to say:
http://www.hbook.com/2016/06/news/awards/2016-newbery-acceptance-by-matt-de-la-pena/?platform=hootsuite
3) Andrew Taylor, a tenured professor at American University’s Arts Management Program blogs as The Artful Manager. In his newest post, the Artful Manager points out that the much-hyped “creative economy” may not be all it’s cracked up to be. To find out why, and what pennies have to do with it, you’ll have to check out his post:
http://www.artsjournal.com/artfulmanager/main/shock-and-eh.php
4) If you’re a millennial, you may be following the Presidential election fairly closely, which means you may want to send money to the candidate of your choice. But will that make you more likely to donate to other causes? Or less? At Philantopic, the Philanthropy News Digest’s blog, Derrick Feldmann breaks down the data into manageable chunks and highlights the key details:
http://pndblog.typepad.com/pndblog/2016/06/millennials-and-the-presidential-election-cycle-does-cause-engagement-change-in-an-election-year.html
5) And finally, because we like to end things on an upbeat note, Nonprofit Quarterly has an entry on Charity Charge, a new public benefit corporation that lets credit card holders automatically donate 1% of cash-back rewards towards causes of their choice—it’s just like earning miles. Even better, there’s no annual fee. That might be something worth signing up for. Read more:
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2016/06/29/new-credit-card-lets-users-charge-forward-purchase/
The nonprofit world doesn’t stop for summer, and neither do we: the Friday Five will continue to monitor and highlight the best of the nonprofit web. Got something you think we should highlight in this space? Send it our way at info@b-alaw.com. Until then, we’ll see you on the internet.