Blog of the Week: SelfishGiving

Joe Waters has opinions and he doesn't keep them to himself. Waters is director of Cause & Event Marketing for a Boston-based nonprofit, but on his blog he's a pure reformer. There's much about the philanthropy sector that gets under Joe's skin, mainly anything that skirts open hypocrisy - and that's what makes SelfishGiving such a good read. Joe believes in being open about cause and effect, about corporate involvement in charity and what's expected in return.

Those who like code words for "doing well while doing good" without the bottom-line consideration won't go for SelfishGiving, but they'll be missing out on some terrific advice from someone on the front lines. This excerpt could serve as the blog's manifesto:

You're right, of course, that consumers expect companies to be cause-oriented and that philanthropy, like Internet shopping and four dollar lattes, has become an inescapable part of American life.  But as a business owner how do I--ahem--profit from this?"  Good question. That's why I'm here.

Besides the advice and opinion - and the occasional rant - SelfishGiving is also a great source for links to news stories and other philanthropy blogs. So it's our Blog of the Week.