To remember where we’re from and whose shoulders we stand on:
Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold
“All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts. His instincts prompt him to compete for his place in the community, but his ethics prompt him also to cooperate (perhaps in order that there may be a place to compete for).
The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants and animals, or collectively: the land.”
To understand where we are going:
The Future of Ice, Gretel Ehrlich
“What follows is both ode and lament, a wild-time song and elegy, and a cry for help — not for me, but for the tern, the ice cap, the polar bear, and the lenga forest; for the river of weather and the ways it chooses to be born.”
To be a more effective organization today:
Sasha Dichter, Director of Business Development at Acumen Fund
http://sashadichter.wordpress.com
“So no, I don’t think that fundraising should be transactional, should be a one-time sale, should be about the money. But I’m not ready to go to the other extreme and say that “selling” is a dirty word, because the nonprofit sector is – technologically, tactically, strategically, in terms of execution – in the dark ages in terms of how we sell the incredibly valuable things we have on offer.”