|
Home
: Karoff Corner : Listen to the Voices
Listen to the Voices
Listen to the Voices
What are the conditions precedent for inspired, creative, artful and powerful philanthropy? The inspired listener, observer, reader is one, and an open attitude is another. One of the great listeners in the world was Studs Terkel who for 40 years collected the stories of workers of all stripes and shared with us the on-the-ground sociology of our time and place. In this section, listening and hearing is a first step in building bridges of trust.
Listen to the Voices (PDF)
Peter Karoff writes about the donor as listener in this essay on philanthropy. He asks what are the conditions precedent for philanthropy, for inspired, creative, artful, and powerful, philanthropy? The inspired listener, observer, reader, is one, and an open attitude is another.
Each Day (PDF)
In philanthropy the relevant voices, those that are important, are often not easily found — they may lie around the corner out of sight, they may in fact be just below the surface. This essay explores that concept.
The Hard Way (PDF)
To Do No Harm (PDF)
There is a rule in life, one that is also the first rule of philanthropy, which is to do no harm. There is another related rule, the rule of unintended consequences. In this essay Peter Karoff reminds us that as in all things, it is important to ask the right questions and crucial to listen carefully to the answers.
Listening & Learning (PDF)
In this essay Peter Karoff describes the lesson that there are many ways to learn, but the closer one gets to real situations, real people, and real life, the more relevant and useful it is.
Thank you, thank you.. (PDF)
As a donor you may not wish to be thanked, you may want results, but a thank you nonetheless is issued. Peter Karoff explores the many different ways that donors receive gratitude for their philanthropic contributions in this essay.
Trust and Accountability (PDF)
This essay explores how being open and accessible, and communicating clearly has become a new and unfamiliar imperative for all philanthropic organizations.
|