A private label card is a credit card offered by a retailer to be used exclusively at its stores. The cards are usually managed by a financial institution and not by the retailer. It’s like your favorite store stamped its logo on one of your credit cards – it’s still a credit card, it just has a different design (…and you can only use it in one place).
Archive for the ‘Daily Definition’ Category
A Private Label Card is…
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011A Grant Proposal is…
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011A grant proposal is a detailed description of the nonprofit organizaton’s work (usually several pages) that is submitted to a grantmaker when being considered for funding.
A Foundation is…
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011A foundation is a nonprofit organization created with the express purpose to give away money to individuals or charitable organizations.
Genetically Engineered is…
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011Genetically engineered (GE) is a way of describing an organism into which scientists have introduced a new trait that the organism didn’t already have.
Genetic engineering is a very targeted approach to breeding – the organism in question actually gets some new DNA as part of the deal. GE organisms contain an rDNA (or recombinant DNA, itself created in a lab) construct that produces the new trait.
For example…
GE crops are more resistant to pests. GE baking aids make that cake you’re making a little fluffier. GE animals grow twice as fast.
An Impact Evaluation is…
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011An impact evaluation is basically a check-up. It measures the effects of a venture and whether or not it reached its goals.
Evaluators use scenarios such as “with versus without” and “before versus after” to gauge impact. For example, a treatment group gets the flu vaccine and a comparison group doesn’t. Who gets sick will make it clear whether the vaccine works.
An impact evaluation also helps answer the question “What next?” If a company’s new mosquito nets are clearly connected to lower levels of malaria in an African village, then scale up the project! But if the evaluation demonstrates that the nets are still faulty, it’s back to the drawing board.
A Credit Crunch is…
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011A credit crunch is a period when lenders are unwilling to provide loans to borrowers. Generally a lender will extend credit to a borrower under the assumption they will be paid back with interest. But when the economy is bad, lenders become hesitant to make loans for fear of losing their money.
Econometrics is…
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011Econometrics is the use of mathematics and computing to analyze economic questions. Someone who does econometrics is called an “econometrician.” Yup.
Econometricians use models (like linear regression) to achieve a number of goals. These include:
- generating economic data
- answering a particular question
- testing a theory
- discovering an economic relationship
Embezzlement is…
Monday, July 25th, 2011Embezzlement is taking something for personal gain that you’re supposed to be looking after for someone else.
It often happens in small amounts over time, and can sometimes go undetected for years. This is why accounting is so important – and why we need watchdogs like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to growl at offenders.
Examples of embezzlement include someone in charge of a trust or an investment fund snagging some of the money in their care, or those at the head of a nonprofit tweaking the books so that everything looks normal… while dollars secretly slip out the back door.