Our Summer Reading List is here!

It’s not every day that someone puts out a list of recommended reading that applies to the nonprofit sector. Bill Gates puts out a list each year, encouraging readers to dive into topics of interest like healthcare, climate change and world hunger. We thought we’d round up all the resources that keep us updated with the latest trends and developments related to the nonprofit sector across the world.

Publications covering India:

• The Better India: Looking for stories of hope and inspiration? Look no further than The Better India (TBI). TBI looks to cover positive stories of hope and change from across the country, and has brought recognition many change makers in the process.
• The People’s Archive of Rural India: This initiative set up by revered journalist P Sainath documents the stories of India’s invisible and unheard millions. As Sainath says, “There’s a continent within our subcontinent, …and that’s the 833 million people of rural India who speak 780 languages… there isn’t a single platform today that captures this incredible diversity. PARI is a wonderful resource on stories that mainstream media misses out on.
• Accountability Initiative Blog: AI was set up to monitor and research government spending on citizens. They also present the results of their work in reader friendly formats like the 4-page easy to read Budget Briefs series. If you’re game for some serious reading, do check out their website and blog for analysis of budgetary allocation and spending on various social sector schemes. Those looking for light reading should check out the RaghuBytes blog, a tongue–in-cheek look at India’s policy landscape written by a retired Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

Videos:

• TED Talks: Presentations by TED speakers can be an efficient way to get a grasp of a new topic. Speakers cover a range of issues spanning theories of social change, human behavior, domestic violence, educational reform and more. We recommend The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong, Dan Pallotta’s powerful but polarizing call for a shakeup of the nonprofit world. Bookmark their site for uninterrupted viewing!

Publications:

• Keep up with scholarly discourse: Not sure about the difference between impact and outcome? If funders frequently quiz you on incomprehensible metrics, the Stanford Social Innovation Review is the place for you. Their blog features detailed articles and explanations of technical terms from the nonprofit sector, case studies, and success stories from across the globe. We’ve been following Kevin Starr, former surgeon and active philanthropist who writes evocatively on all things nonprofit. He’s got tips for donors (Just Give ‘Em the Money: The Power and Pleasure of Unrestricted Funding) and nonprofits (The Trouble With Impact Investing), they’re worth a read.

In the future, we’d like to present a list of must-read newspaper columnists too! For the present, we’d recommend looking out for Naren Karunakaran, who covers the philanthropy space in detail. Anurag Behar of the Azim Premji Foundation has a bi-weekly column in Mint that covers education and livelihood related issues with some wonderful insights.

That’s our list! Let us know about your favourite reads and who you’d recommend!