What we’re reading

Ever wondered what your friends at NCCF are reading in their spare time to brush up on the latest news and current affairs? Then this new addition to our blog is for you! As a part of our initiative to implement continuous learning throughout our work, we’ll occasionally share a few highlights of what’s on our nightstands. Whether it’s a good old-fashioned book, newspaper article, magazine feature or link to online content, we’re excited to share with our community the latest in what we’re reading.

Articles

Jennifer Tolle Whiteside, CEO and president, forwarded The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s latest article on Online Giving Trends. This helpful guide is something we’re keeping a close eye on as we work with our affiliates across the state to increase capacity for digital development.

Beth Boney Jenkins, vice president of development, passed around this article from the Wall Street Journal on the economic state of rural America: Goodbye, George Bailey: Decline of Rural Lending Crimps Small-Town Business. Like much WSJ content, this article is behind a paywall, but is a great read if you’re a subscriber. As a part of our mission to inspire and empower rural North Carolina with philanthropy, we’re always keeping an eye on the economic outlook of our rural communities.

We’ve all perused another article from the Wall Street Journal on how donor advised funds are affected by recent changes to the tax system. We highly recommend this read, available here: Charity Funds Take Off as Tax Law Reshapes Giving. What we like about this article is that it includes benefits of community foundations, which the national mainstream media often leaves out. We believe they could have included a few more of community foundation benefits, however, but we’ll take it!

Books

Noel McLaughlin, director of marketing and communications, is reading Creating Customer Evangelists – How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, a timeless classic that is extremely applicable to our organization-wide efforts surrounding donor engagement.

Kelly Joyner Lee, regional director for the coastal plain north, is reading Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. He was a speaker in her National Society of Leadership and Success training.

Anne Sorhagen, regional director for the southeast, submitted two North Carolina books for what she’s reading. Red Clay and Vinegar by Naomi Haines Griffith and Justice by Another Name, by E. C. Hanes. Both tell important stories about the people and places that make our state unique.

What are you reading? Let us know if you come across something you believe we should share!