What's new in Philanthropy

Articles of interest in philanthropy and nonprofits published in the last 10 days:

1. Increasing transparency to galvanize impact; Huffington Post, September 23,2011
Brief Introduction: Through the efforts of the Global Corporate Citizenship Program, BCLC will be launching a new tool to dramatically change the way we learn from each other and work together across sectors. At the 2011 Adding Value in Emerging Markets and Local Communities Conference, BCLC will be launching the Business for Good Map. This online, interactive map will catalog our members' work in communities based on geography and sector. Whether you're looking for education initiatives in Brazil, HIV programs in South Africa, or water programs in South East Asia, you'll be able to view all of these programs on one application.

2. Melinda Gates goes from 0 to 17,000+ Twitter followers in a day; The Seattle Times, September 22, 2011
Brief Introduction: Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Gates Foundation, joined Twitter Wednesday ("Excited to be joining the conversation on @twitter," she said) and, in some 24 hours, has gained more than 17,000 followers.

3. Health IT key to patient engagement; iHealthBeat.org, September 19,2011
Brief Introduction: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have teamed up on a new initiative aimed at boosting patient engagement in an effort to improve the quality of health care in the U.S. Health care experts argue that patient empowerment is key to driving health care improvements.

4. White House targets innovative education technologies; Information Week, September 19, 2011
Brief Introduction: The White House has formed a nonprofit organization aimed at creating innovative learning technologies to transform education in the United States. The National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, aka Digital Promise, will engage exclusively in research and development (R&D) to use the most advanced technology to improve learning at all educational levels.

The Department of Education, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation are providing startup funds and support for the nonprofit, which brings together a coalition of business leaders and educators.