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FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog

August 15, 2006

Everyone an Economic Hitman

Craig's post from yesterday - the one calling out nonprofits that front corporate interests - suggests a prickly challenge for nonprofits. How does a nonprofit articulate a corporate relationship?

"Fronting", has been a reliable practice for governments and corporations. For reference see John Perkins' Confessions of An Economic Hitman and The Cultural Cold War.

From the nonprofit side, the worry is "co-option".

It seems this is a place for "transparency", but I don't know what that word means anymore.

That aside, I am interested in nonprofits that use different means to tell their story. Better yet in the first person voice of a beneficiary. The sharing can get muddied by weasel words like "engagement", but like good pizza ... you know when you taste it.

So when I read that TechSoup is helping nonprofits explore Second Life - where a representation of a Darfuri refugee camp added a new layer of concerned and activated citizens, I see a whole new world where nonprofits embrace having their story told by everyone in their area of concern.

How would you like to tell the story of the nonprofits you support?