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A Conversation with Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps, and Katherine Cheng, Head of Global Corporate Citizenship and Community Relations at Expedia

An audience of close to 450 gathered at the 2013 GlobalWA conference to hear the always-engaging Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps, talk with Katherine Cheng, Head of Global Corporate Citizenship and Community Relations for Bellevue-based Expedia.

The conversation began with talk of the recent destruction in the Philippines.

“I know everyone here has been following the news.  What’s really important now, and for people to understand is that there is going to be fog and chaos.  The infrastructure is destroyed and some areas have not been reached yet,” said Keny-Guyer.  “The hope is to restore some of the transportation infrastructure which is critical.  We are down on the ground with other organizations and this is where it really is all about collective impact” said Keny-Guyer, referencing the theme of this year’s conference, Catalyzing Collective Impact. Continue Reading

Closing Keynote: Ken Berger, CEO of Charity Navigator

In the conference’s closing keynote titled “The Battle for the Soul of the Nonprofit Sector,” Charity Navigator CEO Ken Berger spoke on a wide variety of issues influencing monitoring and evaluation of nonprofits in the United States. Berger was forthright and honest about the potential divisiveness of his speech, and presented a number of interesting points for debate. His address was essentially divided into two sections; first, he addressed the existing problems with monitoring, evaluation, and reporting in the nonprofit sector and enumerated many of the problems that nonprofit staff face when applying for and soliciting funding. Second, Berger offered solutions to some of these issues, and emphasized that nonprofits must provide meaningful information in their reports. Meaningful information is key for internal and external reports, and allows potential donors and foundation grantmakers to assess the value and impact of an organization they might wish to fund. Continue Reading

GlobalWA Urges Help for the Philippines

Global Washington sent out a press release today announcing the work that organizations in Washington State are doing in the Philippines after the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, the strongest ever to make landfall on the planet.

Organizations such as Oxfam America, Mercy Corps, UNICEF, World Vision, Save the Children, Peace Winds America, International Rescue Committee, and OFFERS-Panay are looking for much-needed donations to provide aid to those affected by the typhoon.  According to the UN, around 11.3 million people have been affected by Haiyan, with over 670,000 people displaced.  USAID states that the official death toll is at 1,774 as of November 11, 2013, with some projections estimating up to 10,000. Continue Reading