Emily F. Keller: Journalist

Switching from For-Profit to Nonprofit

    Imagine quitting your job to move to an organization that has fewer resources, affords you less control over the product, and offers a lower salary. Sound enticing? How about throwing into the mix more personal satisfaction, a charitable mission, and a greater sense of community? Indeed, it all adds up to a winning proposition for the many workers in the for-profit sector who are making the transition to the nonprofit world.

    Published at BusinessWeek.com. Read the story.

A Tug-of-War at Habitat for Humanity

    Two years into the job, Habitat for Humanity International Chief Executive Jonathan T.M. Reckford is priming the homebuilding charity for a growth spurt. For more than three decades, Habitat has relied on a sparse, three-page document to outline its relationship with affiliates. But now it's putting the final touches on a 26-page agreement that Reckford says will protect the Habitat brand, create uniform standards and consistency among affiliates, and assure financial accountability to donors.

    The document, expected to be released in final form next month, marks Habitat's first move toward formalizing its relationship with more than 1,600 domestic affiliates. But it has led some in the Habitat community to grumble that Reckford—a former Walt Disney, Circuit City Stores and Best Buy executive—could be constructing far more bureaucracy than homes in his quest to sharpen and expand the organization, which has become a marquee partner of corporate social-responsibility programs. In its 31 years, the nonprofit Christian organization has built more than 225,000 homes in 100 countries.

    Published at BusinessWeek.com. Read the story.

Queens Public School Celebrates New Playground

    Public School 85 in Astoria, Queens celebrated the opening of a new playground on September 19, 2007. The playground was created from a barren schoolyard with help from the non-profit Trust for Public Land. City and school officials spoke at the event and children played. Video by Emily F. Keller. Produced by Emily F. Keller and Amy Goldstein.

    Click to play the video in Quicktime.

Voices Send Out a Call For Justice: Locked Up, But Not Locked Out of Life

    The nonprofit JusticeWorks Community plans a fund-raising event at the Church of Gethsemane with a poetry reading by formerly incarcerated people, and the presentation of the 2006 Rev. Dr. Constance M. Baugh Achievement Award. Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the preview story.

Brooklyn Public Library Executives Raise Eyebrows With Plans For Far East Excursion

    Brooklyn Public Library executives canceled a $20,000 educational trip to Singapore and Hong Kong in a series of incidents that drew criticism over its financial practices. Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story.