Good News for Change and Cause Related Bloggers

Earlier this month, Beth Kanter, Shannon Whitley and Geoff Livingston launched the List of Change - a ranking of the top English-language change and cause-related blogs in the world.

Here's a recap on why they believe the List of Change could benefit the [nonprofit] sector:

1) It will provide a single point of aggregation for change blogs, allowing new and old readers alike to discover new blogs.

2) Change and cause bloggers can use the list to promote themselves to new readers. They can also use the list to benchmark their own performance against their peers.

3) We realize that some people see rankings as competitive or subjective, and don’t want to participate. The List of Change is an opt in ranking where change bloggers have to submit their URL to become part of the ranking. Only those who truly want to participate will, thus keeping a spirit of fellowship among the listed.

4) At SXSW Panel on Social Media ROI for Nonprofits - KD Paine was asked a question about metrics for blogs. KD said that she couldn’t answer that because you’d need to have some industry or nonprofit benchmark. And, if one does not exist - trade that information with your colleagues. The list helps facilitate the exchange of benchmarks. So, it isn’t about the score or the number - it gives an industry number and way to begin thinking about to improve our effort.

You can see the full post on Livingston's blog here.

The List of Change includes some of my personal favorites like Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog, Nathaniel Whittemore's Social Entrepreneurship blog at Change.org, Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog, The Edge, and Social Earth. I highly encourage you to check them out. You will undoubtedly find some useful information for your own blog, nonprofit, volunteer engagement...all things related to change!

You can view the complete list here. And as requested by the makers of the List of Change, feel free to submit your own change or cause-related blog. Together, WE CAN make social change a reality!

Happy (Change) Blogging! :)

Educational Investment, Part III: Navigating a Sea of College Debt

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I am in debt. In retrospect, my undergraduate career seems in part a veritable mission to accumulate debt. Since graduating I’ve stressed about debt, worked a couple of undesirable second jobs to repay debt, and I’ve even been known to defer debt, allowing it to simply growl beneath the bed from the back of my mind. I have nightmares where bill collectors show up at my back door with pitchforks - the only consolation being that so many of my peers are in the exact same situation.

This country is teeming with twenty and thirty-somethings struggling to manage educational debt, with a long string of people in their late-teens and early-twenties prepared to join us.

According to the Project on Student Debt, a nonprofit devoted to the issue, the portion of graduates in debt jumped from less than half in 1993 to over two-thirds in 2004. Factoring in inflation, debt levels for graduates rose 58% in that decade. The average public university graduate now finds him or herself owing over $17,000 in college debt. Students today can’t work while paying their way through college like their parents, either. Tuition and fees at public universities grew a whopping 40% between 2001 and 2006, and most students today are paying almost 200% of what their parents paid.**

However, President Obama’s budget for 2010 offers some rays of hope for reversing these trends:

Revitalizing Pell Grants
While Pell Grants have seen slight increases since 2006, rising tuition costs have softened the impact of these grants. The average Pell Grant that used to cover almost two-thirds of tuition cost now covers only one-third. The President’s budget offers to increase Pell Grants by $700 to $5,550 as well as promises to make the program mandatory as opposed to discretionary, so that all low-income families are ensured aid.

Making Perkins Loans Easy
The budget plan seeks to simplify the Perkins Loan Program, freeing up resources to increase the amount of money students are eligible to receive. Furthermore, proposed changes would discourage institutions from raising tuition or reducing grant aid.

American Opportunity Tax Credit
As part of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, college students are eligible for up to $2500 that can be put towards tuition, books, and other fees. The proposed budget for 2010 would make this credit permanent.

The budget also includes support for state efforts that improve college enrollment and completion, as well as a general commitment to streamlining the FAFSA application process, making it easier to understand.

And while none of this will do anything for my pocketbook, it does sound like things might be easier for my baby sister. Throughout this very blog, on the news, and from the political pulpit we hear that education is linked to healthier and happier lifestyles. Just think about how much you would learn, and what kind of knowledge you would seek, if given complete freedom to choose. Now, is the current price tag on that education worth it?

For more info on Default: the Student Loan Documentary, visit the website!

The Project on Student Debt's Factsheet is available in pdf format at the website.


This post was written by Allison Tritt, who lives in Wisconsin and blogs to foster global awareness and remind others that there is always a way to get involved. Please leave your comments or email Allison at ajtritt@gmail.com with any questions.

Overcrowding Our Educational System

It seems that there is always a shortage of teachers in big cities across the United States. Additionally, there seems to be overcrowding schools in these same cities. One example that I know of is in New York.

Every fall, the newspaper headlines focus on overcrowding schools in low-income communities and the shortage of teachers in those same schools. Ultimately what ends up happening is that the schools stay overcrowded, the teachers under populated, the problem moves out of the headlines and gone until the following fall, when the cycle repeats itself again. However, this year, things might be a little different.

For the first time in maybe the history of New York and public education, the poorer communities are not the only ones struggling with this problem. Upper-class New Yorkers are finding themselves being turned away from their neighborhood schools or being put on a waiting list for schools that they are zoned for.

It’s rare the problems that affect the poor also affect the rich in the same way, but in this example of public education, both groups are struggling to find affordable ways to educate their children this upcoming school year.

I am conflicted in how to feel about this situation. On one hand, I feel like this is sweet justice. For the first time, those privileged and entitled are feeling helpless and hopeless in a situation that they can’t control. They now get a sense of what life is like for the millions living below the poverty level and with little means for improving their lives, let alone the education of their children.

However, at the same time, I want to use this situation to bring people together.

The privileged parents who are finding waiting lists for their neighborhood schools have the means and know how to work within the system and can put pressure on these cities to correct this situation: whether it means building new schools, hiring qualified teachers, whatever.

My experience in the public school system comes from the vantage point of a former teacher. Working in an overcrowded school makes the experience of a teacher that much more challenging, no matter how much money the parents have. I want to think that parents, whatever their financial or political means will right this wrong that cities are doing in under-funding the public school system.

This is a great opportunity for people to come together and work towards the betterment of the public school system and the children that it serves.

I for one am in favor of supporting the children and reminding parents that in order for their children to be successful, they need to put their collective pressure on the city governments to meet their demands.

No matter how much money the parents have, the power here is in numbers and resources, which is why both groups of parents can put their support behind their children to make sure there are enough schools and teachers to educate their children, to become the future leaders of this country, and the world. What other options do we have?

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This post was written by Matthew Reid, volunteer blogger with the Literacy ‘n’ Poverty Project. A native New Yorker, Matthew now lives in Boston and works for a math curriculum development company.