The following, written by Knight’s Vice President of Strategy and Assessment Mayur Patel, is cross-posted from the Global Forum for Media Development. Above: Finding a Foothold: How Nonprofit News Ventures Seek Sustainability from Knight Foundation. Basic numbers tell an incomplete story about the effects of journalism, according to Mayur Patel, the Knight Foundation’s vice president of strategy and assessment. If […]
Article · December 19, 2013 by Mayur Patel
WDET’s Crossing the Lines: Esteban’s Story via YouTube Community-driven journalism is rapidly changing the newsgathering process. Media organizations now routinely invite readers to share their thoughts on issues, report on breaking news and uncover stories. But it’s often unclear if reader involvement leads to better journalism. The Public Insight Network, a project of American Public […]
Article · December 2, 2013 by Mayur Patel
Knight Foundation has supported nearly a dozen open contests, reviewed almost 25,000 applications and chosen more than 400 winning ideas. We’ve learned a lot from this experience about how good contests work, what they can do, and what the challenges are. We’ve captured this in an array of materials that share these lessons. […]
Article · July 22, 2013 by Mayur Patel
Measuring What Matters from Knight Foundation on Slideshare In his 2012 annual letter to grantees, Bill Gates stressed the value of measurement as a critical tool for delivering social impact – in classrooms, clinics and cities. “Setting clear goals and finding measures that will mark progress toward them can improve the human condition,” he said. It’s a familiar […]
Article · May 22, 2013 by Mayur Patel
As social media tools have become ubiquitous, foundations have used them in a variety of ways to expand their networks, gather insights and build new relationships. As a result, there’s a growing interest in developing better ways to measure the impact of their online efforts. Today, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the largest funder of […]
Article · April 25, 2013 by Mayur Patel
It’s almost time for our sixth annual Media Learning Seminar, where community and place-based foundations will gather to discuss how to create informed, engaged communities. This year, we’ll give them something new to consider – a case study of how foundations have been able to put together their community information projects. RELATED LINKS Case Studies: “How Four […]
Article · February 6, 2013 by Mayur Patel
Guidestar, the leading source of information on U.S. nonprofits, has developed into an impressive database with over 1.3 billion pieces of data and 10 million users. Many talented individuals worked committedly to build its operation into what it is today. When Jacob Harold took over recently as CEO, he inherited an organization that has a […]
Article · December 19, 2012 by Mayur Patel
Last month I spoke with Rachel Botsman, founder of the Collaborative Fund and author of What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. Botsman’s work explains how our traditional relationships of mutual assistance – things like sharing, trading and renting – have been entirely reinvented and scaled with the help of new network technologies. […]
Article · July 11, 2012 by Mayur Patel
The prevalence of games in people’s lives is undeniable. Nearly three-quarters of all American families play computer and video games. Increasingly, businesses, nonprofits, funders and governments are tapping into this trend, experimenting with games to unlock existing social challenges. Yet, what are games good for and when are they most effective? Last month, we completed […]
Article · June 19, 2012 by Mayur Patel
Three years ago, Knight Foundation set out to find ways to bridge the digital divide in Detroit, a formidable task in a city where less than 40 percent of households have broadband access. We approached the challenge by focusing on three, high poverty neighborhoods, and set out to fund a broadband network there in addition […]
Article · April 5, 2012 by Mayur Patel
Last week, I was invited to speak to some of South Florida’s top nonprofit leaders in education, community development, the arts and public health as part of the Philanthropy Miami conference. The (impossible) task: to do an overview on measuring social impact – in 60 minutes. I think I’ve sat through workshops like that before. […]
Article · March 28, 2012 by Mayur Patel