I’m thrilled to announce that “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit” won the Terry McAdam Nonprofit Book Award for 2013. The Terry McAdam Book Award was established in 1989 to commemorate the life and work of New York Community Trust Vice President, Terry McAdam, who devoted his life to improving the nonprofit management field and urged the field to write about the sector to share knowledge and build the social change movement. Our book was one of four finalists, including colleague Allyson Kapin and Amy Sample Ward’s awesome book, “Social Change Anytime, Anywhere.”
This book would not have been possible with going through a wonderful collaboration for my first book, “The Networked Nonprofit” with Alison Fine. KD Paine was my co-author on the second book and we worked with a developmental editor, Bill Paarlberg, who made us write 10 drafts per chapter – and while that was painful, it made the book much better (and my own writing skills improved). The second book also features cartoons from my good friend, Rob Cottingham at Social Signal. But the secret sauce was working with a peer learning group of Packard grantees that tested the frameworks and contributed many of the case stories in the book.
The book also has a social good purpose. I am donating my royalties to support the Sharing Foundation‘s college education program for young people in Cambodia. My family is sponsoring Keo Savon, who we met this summer in Cambodia. She is second year engineering student and by supporting her education she will have better economic opportunities. By purchasing a book, you will not only help your nonprofit improve its program impact, but you will changing the lives for young people in Cambodia.
The award was presented at the annual conference of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, in Newark, New Jersey last night and I was going to attend, but opted to stay longer with my mom who is recovering from an illness in a rehab hospital.
As many readers of this blog know, my Dad, Earl Kanter, passed away in June. One of the last things I got to share with him was that the book was nominated for the Terry McAdams book award. He smiled. When KD Paine texted me a photo of the award, she said that she imagines both our Dad up there somewhere smiling and being proud of their daughters.
