From the news that scientists have created a bacteria that lights up around landmines to the development of a rot-proof apple--that stays fresh for 4 months--a lot happened this week in green. A new study called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) shows that putting money into protecting wetlands, coral reefs, and forests is a better investment than gold, Lloyd visited GreenBuild 2009 in Arizona, and readers sent in photos of the one green object they just can't live without for our weekly slideshow. Find out what else happened in the world of green this week in our photo…
Social Entrepreneurship
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TreeHugger
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The Week in Pictures: Rot-Proof Apple, Surprises at GreenBuild, Bacteria Lights Up Landmines, and More
22 Nov 2009 | 3:01 pm -
How to Make Nano Solar Cells from Powdered Donuts (Video)
20 Nov 2009 | 1:01 pmIt's friday and we know you need something to keep you busy for the weekend, so here's the perfect thing. As the efficiency (and business case) for nano-based solar technology continues to ascend, isn't time you got in the game? Don't worry, it's not as easy as it sounds; in addition to powdered donuts, you'll need some Passion tea from Starbucks and a bottle of Everclear. Even if the cells don't work you've got some good provisions to keep you busy till Monday. Enjoy....Read the full story on TreeHugger -
Split Carbon Costs of Deforestation Between Producers & Consumers to Slow Felling Forests
20 Nov 2009 | 12:43 pmIt's probably no great secret to TreeHugger readers at this point that part of the reason carbon emissions in developing nations are rapidly rising is partially because manufacturing of goods for export to the developed world. In fact in China at least one-third of total emissions and about 50% of emissions growth in recent years is directly tied to goods consumer in Europe and the Uni...Read the full story on TreeHugger -
Rolls Royce Could Launch an Electric Phantom In a Year
20 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pmPhoto: Rolls Royce Does It Matter? Depends How You Look at It... Autocar reports that a source inside the company told them that Rolls Royce could have an electric version of its Phantom super-luxury car on the road by the end of 2010: "Internally it's thought that the near-silence of electric propulsion, and the fact that full torque is available from a standstill, would align perfectly with Rolls-Royce's core values. Engineers are currently hard at work making this a reality, although a running prototype has yet t...Read the full story on TreeHugger -
U.S. Military Wary About Offshore Wind Power Off Coast of Maryland
20 Nov 2009 | 12:11 pmPhoto: Wikipedia, CC Maryland Offshore Wind Development Martin O'Malley, the governor of Maryland, would like to see offshore wind power developed off the cost of his state, but the U.S. military has expressed fears that the turbines could "disrupt flight and weapon test ranges, as well as erroneously appear on radar as unidentifiable aircraft." Three military bases in the region are using that area in the Atlantic for training missions and flight tests....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Global Voices Online
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Haiti: Elections Coming
20 Nov 2009 | 4:48 pm“The new Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), reconstituted in October, has set nationwide elections for 99 deputies and 11 senators for Feb. 28, 2010″: HaitiAnalysis.com reports. -
Poland: Catholics Propose Adding Cross to National Emblem
20 Nov 2009 | 4:45 pmThe recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Soile Lautsi, who was offended by crucifixes displayed in her child's school in Italy, states: The compulsory display of a symbol of a given confession in premises used by the public authorities… restricted the right of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions. The Polish parliament, however, has decided [POL] to continue allowing handing out crosses in Polish classrooms and on other public premises. And a Polish association of Catholics, Unum Principium, has also proposed including… -
Bahamas: “F” on Crime
20 Nov 2009 | 4:45 pm“Clearly the Government has no plan to address crime, there has been no improvement in the Judicial System, and…it appears that the Government will not move forward with Capital Punishment”: Weblog Bahamas‘ Jerome Pinder gives the government a failing grade on crime. -
Barbados, Guyana: Doctor Complicit?
20 Nov 2009 | 4:41 pmBarbados Underground suggests that the doctor who examined the minor brutalised by Guyana police “was complicit in the torture…the concealment of a crime against humanity and…he possibly committed obstruction of justice.” -
Guyana: Dreaming of the Caribbean
20 Nov 2009 | 4:29 pmSignifying Guyana blogs about the Caribbean from her perspective as a member of the diaspora.
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SSIR Articles
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What Workforce Crisis?
19 Nov 2009 | 7:18 pmAmerica’s nonprofit organizations have great difficulty attracting and retaining talent—or so recent newspaper and magazine articles would lead their readers to believe. These articles cite low wages, large student debts, the limited appeal of many frontline nonprofit service jobs, restricted advancement opportunities, and inadequate benefits as causes of the workforce crisis. Yet nonprofit employment has actually been booming, growing at twice the average annual growth rate of for-profit employment between 1990 and 2006. Even during the last recession, between 2002 and 2004, nonprofits… -
Second Chances and a Third Bottom Line
19 Nov 2009 | 6:46 pmInside the steel and glass office towers of Chile’s capital, Santiago, computers, printers, and faxes hum. Out on the streets, business executives and taxi drivers chat away on some of Chile’s 14 million cellular telephones. Urbanized, well educated, and home to 17 million people, Chile is one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America. And as is the case in the United States, all its electronic gadgets are beginning to lead to a whole lot of electronic waste. The country currently discards 300,000 computers a year, and by 2020 it will be grappling with an annual pile of 1.7… -
Grassroots Concrete
19 Nov 2009 | 6:26 pmOn the morning of Jan. 26, 2001, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the western Indian state of Gujarat. More than 20,000 people were killed and 160,000 injured, many of them crushed by falling buildings. International aid agencies flocked to the scene and began reconstruction. One year later, civil engineer Elizabeth Hausler traveled to Gujarat on a Fulbright scholarship, hoping to learn how she could use her skills to build homes that withstand tectonic shifts. She found that many survivors didn’t want to live in their new, donor-built earthquake-resistant houses because they were made… -
Endowment for a Rainy Day
19 Nov 2009 | 5:54 pmJudging from media accounts, U.S. nonprofits are facing unprecedented, if not catastrophic, financial distress because of endowment losses. Hiring is being frozen, facility maintenance is being deferred, programs are being dropped, performance seasons are being shortened, and construction projects are being cut back or even halted. As the president of Harvard University, Drew Gilpin Faust, put it when defending her decision to sharply reduce expenditures following a 30 percent drop in the value of the school’s endowment, “Tinkering around the edges will not be enough.” Harvard isn’t… -
Research: Start them Younger
19 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amVOLUNTEERS Start Them Younger As wealthier nations age, nonprofits are retooling their operations to accommodate an older volunteer workforce. But they would be remiss if they didn’t also look for help at the other end of the life span, reports Charlene S. Shannon, an expert in recreation and leisure studies at the University of New Brunswick in Canada. She documents how “younger youth”— children between the ages of 8 and 12—are an energetic, useful, yet largely overlooked pool of volunteer labor. Interviewing younger youth and executive directors at Boys & Girls Clubs in…
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CSRWire
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National NeighborWoods Month Exceeds Expectations
20 Nov 2009 | 12:28 pmIn October, The Home Depot® Foundation worked with the Alliance for Community Trees to sponsor National NeighborWoods Month, a month long series of tree planting events by 24,000 volunteers in 231 cities across the country. As a result, more than 36,000 trees were planted in just one month. In addition to the NeighborWoods Month tree planting projects, volunteers also provided tree maintenance tips, training activities and educational seminars to improve urban communities. Team Depot volunteers were a critical part of National Neighborwoods Month. They led and participated in many of the… -
USAID, Walmart, TransFair USA and SEBRAE-Minas Gerais Sponsor Brazil Coffee Cupping Competition
20 Nov 2009 | 9:33 amWinners for this week's Brazilian Fair Trade Certified coffee cupping competition have been announced. Sebastiao Reguim of the producer association, Unipcafem, and Marcos Antonio Nali of the producer association, Pro-nova, won first place in the natural and semi-washed coffee categories. The competition, which is a specialized tasting process to assess quality, capped off several months of intensive quality training for farmers and was attended by high-ranking Brazilian and U.S. officials, representatives of the Brazilian coffee industry and international coffee buyers. The event was… -
CVS/pharmacy Kicks Off Annual Thanks and Giving(R) Campaign for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
20 Nov 2009 | 6:06 amCVS/pharmacy kicks off its annual in store fundraiser for the sixth year to support the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Thanks and Giving campaign, beginning this Sunday and running through December 12. CVS/pharmacy store colleagues will encourage customers to add $1 to their purchase at the register to support the lifesaving research of St. Jude, one of the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. In the first five years of the campaign, CVS/pharmacy and its customers raised more than $13 million for the… -
Universal Children's Day Commemorated With New Research: 300 Million School Children Worldwide Lack Acces To Clean, Safe Drinking Water
20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amIn recognition of Universal Children's Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly as a day to promote the protection, welfare and education of the children of the world, Global Water Challenge (GWC) today released "Clean Start: Focusing on School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene." The report identifies the challenges and solutions associated with the global water crisis and its effect on children. It identifies access to clean drinking water as one of the leading health threats to children around the world today and the cause for millions of deaths and education loss each year. -
The Levi's(R) Brand Announces charity: water as $100,000 Green Charity Winner
19 Nov 2009 | 4:56 pmThe Levi's® brand is proud to announce charity: water as the winning charity of its recent GO IV Fortune $100,000 green charity giveaway. Beginning in mid-October, GO IV Fortune players nominated hundreds of charitable organizations with a commitment to sustainability and the environment. The list was narrowed down to ten finalists and thousands of gamers voted for the charity they felt best embodied the Levi's® brand's pioneering spirit and rich legacy of promoting sustainability. Today charity: water was announced as America's choice. charity: water (www.charitywater.org) is a…
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ASHOKA
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Bill Drayton Contributes Lead Article to MIT Press's Innovations Journal
20 Nov 2009 | 8:40 amBill Drayton, board chair of the fuller employment policy group Get America Working!, and founder and CEO of Ashoka, contributes a lead article to the energy and climate change solutions special issueread more -
Innovative Health Pilot Launched in Rural India by Ashoka and Partners
28 Oct 2009 | 8:47 amAshoka launches Healthcare for All pilot in Punjab region of Indiaread more -
Ashoka Community Members to Receive Prestigious Latin Trade Bravo Business Awards
23 Oct 2009 | 1:21 pmAshoka Fellow Rebecca Villalobos and Ashoka Support Network Member Lorenzo Mendoza receive prestigious Bravo Awardsread more -
Building the Next Generation of Global Leaders—Maternal Health Task Force and Ashoka Partner
24 Sep 2009 | 5:21 amAshoka partners with the Maternal Health Task Force at EngenderHealth to create international fellowship programread more -
ExxonMobil Launches Technology Program to Support Women’s Economic Advancement at Clinton Global Initiative
23 Sep 2009 | 7:02 amAshoka's Changemakers launches partnership with ExxonMobile and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)read more
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Ashoka: Fellows in the News
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Celebrate World Toilet Day Today
19 Nov 2009 | 12:19 pmGlobal Fellow Jack Simread more -
A New Piece of the Puzzle
18 Nov 2009 | 8:10 amGuatemala Fellow Gregory Van Kirk -
City-Based Water Conservationist to Receive Jamnalal Bajaj Award
11 Nov 2009 | 1:18 pmIndia Fellow Ayyappa Masagiread more -
Math is Not Hard: A Simple Method that is Changing the World
26 Oct 2009 | 7:30 amUS Fellow John Mightonread more -
Trouble in Tribal Lands
26 Oct 2009 | 7:27 amIndia Fellow Rahul Banerjeeread more
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How to Change the World
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The 19 bloggers Inc. thinks you should read
6 Nov 2009 | 6:20 pmInc. named 19 bloggers that you should read. We’ve aggregated them all in one place: Inc19.alltop. -
How to Get Found
4 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pmThe reality is that people and technology is getting better and better a blocking out unwanted interruptions—aka, “marketing.” Brian Halligan is the CEO of HubSpot, and he explains in my post on the American Express Open Forum “how to get found.” It’s all about creating great stuff and letting Google et al do what they do: find great stuff. -
How I tweet
2 Nov 2009 | 8:47 amBy popular demand (and some complaints), I’ve done a FAQ with myself about how I tweet. Hope this helps you use Twitter for your business too. I explain how I use ghostwriters and why I repeat my tweets among other “unusual” practices. -
Current Twitter Demo Script
28 Oct 2009 | 2:26 amThis is the set of links that I used to demo Twitter by going down through this list to show why Twitter is such a valuable marketing tool. Introduction Home page Profile page Monitor Search Guy Kawasaki or Alltop Starbucks VIA introduction Search for “Prius” or “Civic” Sell Dell Outlet Kogi BBQ Support Comcast Cares Engage JetBlue Virgin America Fandango Prospect Camaro Camaro near Palo Alto Advanced searches Surfing or skateboarding (shows how to eliminate extraneous results such as “surfing the web” How I Tweet - Find Alltop MyAlltop helped me find this. -
How to Avoid Twitter Cluelessness
26 Oct 2009 | 4:24 pmOver at the American Express Open Forum blog, I explain how to not look clueless on Twitter. The first five ways are: Don’t tell other people how to tweet. Don’t tell the world that you unfollowed someone. Don’t ask people why they unfollowed you. Don’t constantly tweet mundane updates and babble. Don’t use a small picture for an avatar. To read all ten and why they impugn your intelligence, click here.
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Worldchanging: Bright Green
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Oceans’ Ability To Absorb CO2 May Be Diminishing, New Study Says
20 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pmA study of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the world’s oceans from 1765 to the present shows that as humanity pumps more CO2 into the atmosphere, the capacity of the world’s oceans to continue absorbing carbon appears to be decreasing. Researchers from Columbia University and NASA estimate that since 2000, the proportion of fossil-fuel emissions absorbed by the oceans may have declined by as much as 10 percent. In effect, researchers say that industrial activity has been producing so much C02 since 1950 that the oceans are slowly becoming saturated with the gas. “The more carbon… -
Seattle as North America's First Carbon-Neutral City
20 Nov 2009 | 11:01 amLast week, I stood on the stage at Seattle's Town Hall and called on Seattle to become North America's first carbon-neutral city, dropping its per capita climate emissions to nothing by 2030. Since then, I've gotten a whole slew of great emails and calls from people who are thinking that goal through, and have questions. Mostly, folks have been wildly supportive, generally wanting most to know how they can help build the movement to do that. I'm a writer, not an organizer, and I don't have the plan, but I can explain a little more my thinking, and share some observations about what seems to… -
Companies Increase Commitment To Tackling Climate Issues, Report Says
20 Nov 2009 | 10:58 amMajor corporations in the U.S. have shown an increased willingness to voluntarily reduce their impact on climate change despite a sluggish economy, according to a new scorecard produced by the nonprofit group Climate Counts. Eighty-one of the 90 major companies assessed saw an average increase of 22 percent from last year’s scorecard, with Nike topping the list with a score of 83 out of a possible 100 points. Scores are based on 22-criteria in four general areas: measurement of impact on global warming; reduction of impact; engagement in climate-related public policy; and transparency. In… -
A Womb of One's Own
20 Nov 2009 | 10:31 amby Anna Fahey The womb is not free of toxic pollution. This week, the Washington Toxics Coalition released a study that should raise the ire of pregnant women like me. Their findings in a nutshell: developing fetuses spend their first nine months in an environment that exposes them to a range known toxic chemicals. That environment? Their mothers’ bodies. That means my body. The first-of-its kind study analyzed blood and urine samples from nine women in Washington, Oregon, and California during their second trimester of pregnancy, to test for 23 chemicals from five chemical groups. Their… -
How Carbon Markets Work in Europe
20 Nov 2009 | 10:28 amby Eric de Place In spite of what you may have heard, Europe's carbon market is working beautifully. The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been operational since 2005 and we're now getting a good look at how it functions. It turns out, it's a remarkable success story, both environmentally and economically. Let's briefly review the major pieces of evidence. 1. European Environment Agency. A November 2009 report finds that the continent is well on its way to meeting its Kyoto targets thanks in large part to its cap-and-trade program. In fact, by 2007,14 countries had already…
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SustainAbility Latest
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Sustainable Growth
18 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pmJennifer Biringer and Virginia Terry contribute a guest column looking at enhancing value through sustainability. -
chinadialogue: The Future of Oil
10 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pmNew market dynamics created by climate change, geological and geopolitical pressures will transform our hydrocarbon economies, write John Elkington and Gary Kendall. -
chinadialogue
10 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pmGary Kendall and John Elkington look at how new market dynamics created by climate change, geological and geopolitical pressures will transform our hydrocarbon economies. -
Two Degrees is Too Much
7 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pmWith the clock ticking as we approach COP-15 in Copenhagen, Gary Kendall explains why the 2°C threshold for dangerous climate change is so important -
Our Number's Up and It's 350
7 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pmBill McKibben is the man behind 350.org, the global campaign on climate change that has declared October 24 to be International Day of Climate Action. John Elkington talked to him about the campaign—and the underlying science.
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Triple Pundit
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Doing a World of Good for Fair Trade Artisans
20 Nov 2009 | 3:38 pmThe term “fair trade handicrafts” summons images of wicker baskets and hand-dyed sarongs. But the business side of the fair trade marketplace is getting a little less old-world, thanks to World of Good, an organization that connects artisans in developing countries with mainstream retailers (including eBay and Whole Foods). The organization—comprised of a wholesale business, an [...] -
SABA Motors Vision: an Exotic Electric Sports Car for the Masses
20 Nov 2009 | 2:22 pmEver since I was a kid, when my father used give me Matchbox cars he bought on his way home from work, I’ve been crazy about cars. So I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to speak with Simon Saba of Saba Motors, whose EV vision is something any gearhead can get jazzed about: [...] -
Innovators Honored for Applying Technology To Brighten People’s Lives
20 Nov 2009 | 12:49 pmBoats outfitted with solar panels have become “floating classrooms” for children in the low-lying regions of Bangladesh, where floods have destroyed crops, schools, roads and infrastructure. They are among the more than 20 million people who became displaced last year due to climate change. In the past decade, Bangladesh has experienced 70 climate-related natural disasters. [...] -
Chrysler Pulling Plug on EV Development? Maybe Not
20 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amIt wasn’t all that long ago that Chrysler Corp. pocketed more than $12.5 billion in government bailout funds to avoid a bankruptcy filing, promising on the way to the bank to build more fuel efficient cars and produce electric vehicles by 2011. About three years later the U.S. carmaker has launched no hybrids – although plans [...] -
Paul Hawken on the State of the Markets
20 Nov 2009 | 8:48 amSustainable Industries continues to impress me. Yesterday’s SI Economic Forum featured Paul Hawken, well-known author (Ecology of Commerce, Natural Capitalism, Blessed Unrest) and sustainability guru (the mind behind Wiser Earth and a variety of other startups). And while Mr. Hawken is a big draw, the discussion panel that followed also included some real movers and [...]
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Marc Gunther
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Heroes of the meltdown
20 Nov 2009 | 3:42 pmNot many heroes emerged from the rubble of the global financial meltdown. Two are Sheila Bair, the chair of the FDIC, and Brooksley Born, the former head of the CFTC. Both warned of the crisis. Both were ignored. In a June 2008 column—written before things got really bad—Steven Pearlstein of the... > -
The green race to the top
19 Nov 2009 | 1:15 pmIf climate regulation will burden businesses or increase costs, then why are so many companies strengthening their voluntary response to the climate crisis in the midst of an economic downturn? The reason is, there’s a race to the top when it comes to sustainability, particularly among... > -
America’s worst CEO
18 Nov 2009 | 6:47 pmThe Motley Fool does a great series of podcasts–I’ve listened in recent months to interviews with James Fallows, John Mackey and Simon Johnson–and the other day I heard my friend Nell Minow of The Corporate Library talking about executive pay, boards of directors and her second... > -
Sarah Palin goes green!
18 Nov 2009 | 4:38 pmThat Sarah Palin cover on Newsweek is striking, for more reasons than the obvious one–the fact that a politician with national ambitions is being shown in a pair of short black shorts. The headline is attention-grabbing, too. “She’s bad news for the GOP–and for everybody... > -
Let’s talk (carefully) about climate and population
17 Nov 2009 | 8:47 pmHave you heard that we’re getting new neighbors? Demographers expect that the number of people living on earth—now about 6.8 billion—will grow to between 8 and 11 billion by 2050. Whether population tops out at the high or the low end of those projections will have a huge impact on climate change.... >
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Audeamus: How dare we
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Seen that? - Dealing with climate change
19 Nov 2009 | 6:19 pmDealing with climate change at Audeamus - How dare we... (Photo from the UK's Environment Agency) So far I haven't touched much on climate change and global warming, but this is an extremely important part of the future of international development. While there ... -
Seen that? - Hope for Africa?
10 Nov 2009 | 6:18 pmHope for Africa? at Audeamus - How dare we... (Photo from USAID) On Sunday I caught the tail end of a World Debate on the BBC World Service where they were talking about microfinance issues in Africa. You can find the full ... -
Seen that? - Sustainable Development for the Future
31 Oct 2009 | 6:21 pmSustainable Development for the Future at Audeamus - How dare we... (From National Curriculum) Just a round up of sustainable development news as I clean out my backlog of items here today. *PricewaterhouseCoopers has identified six trends that will drive sustainable development ... -
Seen that? - Case studies in Micro Finance #1
21 Oct 2009 | 6:18 pmCase studies in Micro Finance #1 at Audeamus - How dare we... (Photo from ID21 Insights) A very good place for finding case studies, for those not aware of it, is Case Place. The only problem with the service is that quite a ... -
Seen that? - The Audeamus Awards Round #2
11 Oct 2009 | 6:18 pmThe Audeamus Awards Round #2 at Audeamus - How dare we... (Photo from PBS) Before getting to this week's social entrepreneurship awards, it should be noted that PBS has a program out on social entrepreneurs called The New Heroes, which will air this ...
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Global Envision
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Iraq: can there be peace without jobs?
20 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pmSevere unemployment threatens security gains made in the last few years. Photo: Dogon56 (flickr)Security in Iraq is undoubtedly improving, but rising unemployment threatens to increase instability and worsen corruption, according to Iraq expert Frank Gunter. Gunter, who's done two tours in Iraq as an economics adviser, points out in a recent op-ed in the New York Times that 51 percent of the population — and an even greater percentage of young people — is either unemployed or underemployed. Almost half of the country’s labor force is paid by the government from its revenues from… -
How to Irrigate On A Shoestring
19 Nov 2009 | 3:31 pmA homemade drip-irrigation system. Photo: Care of Creation (flickr)Flood irrigation: that's how poor farmers in developing countries usually water their crops. It's wasteful and too water-intensive to work in the dry season, but until recently there haven't been other viable options — a traditional drip irrigation system could cost thousands of dollars. But social entrepreneurs like Paul Polock and the California-based company, Driptech are working to change this by helping poor farmers set up low-cost drip irrigation systems. Driptech can sell their irrigation system for $30 in places… -
Cash That Goes Back Across the Border
18 Nov 2009 | 3:28 pmUnemployment is already high in Mexico. It could be even higher if Mexican workers in the U.S. went back. Photo: Aneas (flickr) Mexican workers often come to the United States to earn money and send it to their relatives back home. But NPR reports that as the U.S. economy has gotten worse, some of these worker's families are sending them money from Mexico. It's a phenomenon that could have a positive economic impact: These reverse remittances, as they're called, allow the migrants to keep searching for higher-paying work than they could get in Mexico, explains an NPR report. These reverse… -
The World's Most Corrupt Countries
18 Nov 2009 | 1:14 pmTransparency International's 2009 Corruption Perception Index is out. Where does your country rank? Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Facebook Google Yahoo -
Global Quiz
18 Nov 2009 | 9:43 amQuestions: As the World Shrinks So Does Coverage of International News
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Hip Investor
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[HIP POV] ‘Fueling Profits in the Supply Chain’ (via SustainableLifeMedia)
17 Nov 2009 | 8:00 amPublished in Sustainable Life Media and Sustainble Brands Weekly: WHERE IS THE PROFIT IN CARBON-EFFICIENT SUPPLY CHAINS? By Thera Kalmijn of Sure Ground Consulting & R. Paul Herman of HIP Investor Inc. Would your CEO or CFO want to know if up to 117% of profits were at risk? In other words, a profitable company would erase all profits? If yes, you may want to make sure you are paying attention to Copenhagen’s meetings on climate change. The potential regulation and cap and trade systems are important issues, particularly in carbon-intensive industries where TruCost estimates carbon… -
Nov. 18, FREE Webinar, “How To Profit: Carbon-Efficient Supply Chains”
16 Nov 2009 | 1:14 pm“Cash in a Carbon Efficient Supply Chain” Wednesday, November 18, 2009 11 a.m. Pacific (12n Mountain, 1p Central, 2p Eastern) SIGN UP NOW FOR THE FREE WEBINAR The second installment in our “How to Profit from Sustainability” webinar series will look at the strategic power of supply chain carbon metrics. Join us for a discussion with Chris Erickson, CEO of Climate Earth, on why carbon accounting is the key to reducing fossil fuel dependency and increasing long-term, stable profits. The new Corporate Webinar Series, co-produced by HIP Investor Inc. and… -
How To Get Started: Measuring Impact
22 Oct 2009 | 6:21 pmMeasuring impact – whether human, social or environmental – can feel like an impossible task, but really just requires a step-by-step path. There are many frameworks that you can draw upon; the key is to start simple, pilot an approach, and then evolve. At the Opportunity Collaboration in mid-October 2009 in Mexico, organized by MicroCredit Enterprises, the topic of measuring impact was a top discussion topic and desire in many conversations. Several attendees requested that HIP Investor synthesize the core insights, tools and methodologies that we have seen so far – and how they might… -
HIP 100 Portfolio Results
6 Sep 2009 | 4:16 pmIndex Net Results As Of HIP 100 +11.34% 11/15/09 S&P 100 +10.62% 11/15/09 Net results as of 11/15/09, since HIP 100 inception date of 7/30/09. Actual net-of-fees results of the HIP 100 Portfolio and the S&P 100 index. Percentages include reinvested dividends and stock splits, and deduct fees and trading costs based on a $100,000 beginning balance. Past results are not indicative of future performance. REQUEST YOUR INVITATION HERE READ THE DISCLOSURE HERE -
[HIP POV] “The New Fundamentals of Investing”
31 Aug 2009 | 3:30 pmHIP Commentary: “The New Fundamentals of Investing” What are 10 indicators to evaluate for your portfolio when seeking Human Impact + Profit? Read HIP CEO R. Paul Herman’s commentary in Sustainable Industries’ Money Issue. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FEATURE
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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society
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Accessibility and ACTA
15 Nov 2009 | 6:33 pmBrief Comments on Accessibility Concerns on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)The disability community should be concerned about ACTA for two reasons:1. At its core it’s an anti-piracy agreement. The digital measures designed to defeat piracy usually end up equating accessibility with piracy.2. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is being negotiated in secret. We don’t know if it’s benign or hostile to accessibility.Accessibility of digital media has been repeatedly and systematically denied because of digital measures to “protect” content. People with… -
Eulogy for my father
14 Nov 2009 | 12:08 pmThree weeks ago was my Dad's memorial service. A few times a year, I share something outside of the tech enterprise field on the Beneblog.The Definition of a GentlemanEulogy for James R. Fruchterman, Sr.When my brother Bill was leaving to join the Army, our father took him aside and asked him to write down a quotation. Ever resourceful, Bill grabbed one of dad’s business cards and wrote out the following quotation:It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain. Cardinal Newman.Bill still has that business card.Newman’s message, and Dad’s, was that a… -
Disabled Students Need Accessible Books: On Huffpo!
13 Nov 2009 | 8:18 amThe Huffington Post recently invited me to become a guest blogger, based on a connection to Arianna Huffington from the Craigslist Nonprofit Boot Camp. HuffPo recently published my first post, Disabled Students Need Accessible Books. It's great to be able to bring this kind of attention to our work at Bookshare helping students with print disabilities. -
Training Human Rights Defenders in the DRC
11 Nov 2009 | 9:57 amA Guest Beneblog by Vijaya Tripathi, Vijaya.T at Benetech.orgIn my job as outreach coordinator for Martus, Benetech’s free and open source information management technology, I teach human rights workers in many countries how to secure their data. I have just completed two 2-day trainings of human rights NGOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. During my visit, I also had an opportunity to meet staff members at the United Nations Mission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).The Benetech Human Rights Program was invited to conduct these trainings by the International Center for… -
BYU ESR conference on Social Entrepreneurship
9 Nov 2009 | 6:51 amI just got back from the Economic Self-Reliance Conference at Brigham Young University in Utah. When I attend conferences to give a keynote, I usually try to stick around for more of the conference and listen in to the other presenters. This practice was especially awarded at the ESR conference. David Wiley's keynote was on the social returns from a new venture he helped create, Flat World Knowledge. His projection was that students were going to save more money on textbooks after three semesters of Flat World operations than investors had put into it. Not the typical SROI calculation, but…
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Change.org: Social Entrepreneurship
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Three Important Ideas from Real Time CrunchUp
20 Nov 2009 | 10:37 amI'm at the TechCrunch sponsored Real Time CrunchUp. The event is all about the real time stream of information and sharing that is increasingly what the internet is about. There are a few key conversations. 1. Determining What's Important. Facebook product bro Chris Cox was just sharing some background on how FB is thinking about the difference between Live Feed and News Feed. Basically, they want to be able to use better information about context to help figure out which parts of the stream of information and friend updates you might actually care about. Angel Investor supreme-o Ron Conway… -
Harnessing The Social Data Stream For Good
20 Nov 2009 | 7:55 amThe web tech world is alive with conversation about the "stream." The stream is the fire hose of social information that Twitter, Facebook, music sharing tools, video tools, and just about everything else these days is pumping into the collective ether. I'm attending the TechCrunch Real Time CrunchUp today in San Francisco, and all day I'll be thinking and blogging about how we harness the social data stream for good. We've already begun to see examples of people using services like Twitter and Facebook to more effectively leverage their communities - particularly for donations. Epic Change's… -
What a Startup Ecosystem Looks Like
19 Nov 2009 | 7:11 pmI'm a recent transplant to San Francisco. Before that, I was working just outside of Chicago, and before that, I was growing up in Maine. After even just a few months here, the difference in the nature of the startup ecosystem is unbelievable. So what does that mean? The first element of an ecosystem - perhaps the most important - is a critical mass of people who are in the same position. San Francisco and the larger Bay Area is sort of ground zero for startups - social and technology based particularly. In about a month, Assetmap will be hosting a mixer for startup-type people just based in… -
Failing With Humility
19 Nov 2009 | 10:04 amOne of the things that is inherent in risky endeavors like venture capital is a tolerance for (or at least familiarity with) failure. Sometimes it's not graceful, but it's a part of the game, and learning to succeed often means learning to fail fast, and fail well. Yesterday, VC Fred Destin of Atlas Ventures wrote a post on Silicon Alley Insider called "Why I Sent You A One-Sentence VC Rejection." The point of the post was basically to say that most deals get sourced because of trusted connections who introduce investors to new projects. Cold emailing a business plan doesn't create the sort… -
The Most Interesting Startups in the World
18 Nov 2009 | 1:11 pmOf all of the fun lists that BusinessWeek puts together, their recent "World's Most Intriguing Startups" is my favorite. The idea of being intriguing is less about whether a startup is a hit yet, and more about what it understands intuitively about changing economies. While their list is pretty good, there are a few more I might include. Their list is, perhaps unsurprisingly, filled with green companies. BioFuel Box reuses waste products to create fuel, BrightSource Energy is trying to do solar on a massive scale. ChargePoint is a network of electric car rechargers rolled out in a couple…
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Environmental Leader
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Ontario May Follow California’s Lead on TV Energy Efficiency
20 Nov 2009 | 9:16 amFollowing California’s decision earlier this week to require elevated energy efficiency standards for TVs, the Canadian province of Ontario is considering a similar move. On Nov. 18, California became the first state in the country to institute its own standards on energy efficiency of televisions sold within its borders. New TVs sold there must show reduced [...] -
EPA Is One Step Closer to New Ship Emissions Standards
20 Nov 2009 | 8:26 amThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delivered draft rules for new engine and fuel standards for the largest ocean-bound ships to the White House for review, reports the New York Times. The draft rule (PDF) requires vessels with large diesel engines to significantly cut their nitrogen-oxide and sulfur-dioxide emissions, reports the New York Times. Short-term standards [...] -
European Paper Industry Cuts CO2 Emissions by 42% since 1990
20 Nov 2009 | 8:23 amThe European paper industry has reduced CO2 emissions per ton of paper produced by 42 percent since 1990, according to the Confederation of European Paper Industries’ (CEPI) fourth Sustainability Report (PDF). The paper industry was the only industrial sector to reduce emissions under the EU Emissions Trading System in 2008 compared to 2007, according to CEPI. [...] -
CDP Launches Water Disclosure Project
20 Nov 2009 | 7:41 amThe Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has launched a global water disclosure project to help businesses and institutional investors understand the risks and opportunities associated with water scarcity and other water-related issues, including greater demand for water, shrinking glaciers and changing precipitation patterns that are likely to result in drought and flooding. The organization also released [...] -
Whirlpool Cuts Water Use by Nearly 22% from 2004 to 2008
20 Nov 2009 | 7:34 amWhirlpool Corp. is on track to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 6.6 percent by 2012, according to the company’s first global sustainability report. The company also cut water use by 21.5 percent and overall waste generated per unit decreased by nearly 4 percent from 2004 to 2008. The appliance maker also recycled 90 [...]
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Have Fun Do Good
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Record Your Grandma's Stories: StoryCorps' National Day of Listening is Nov. 27
20 Nov 2009 | 2:13 pmWill you be spending Thanksgiving with friends who tell great stories, a relative who has wonderful tales from "back in the day," or just someone special whose life you'd like to celebrate? Why not record their story in honor of StoryCorps' National Day of Listening the day after Thanksgiving (November 27th).StoryCorps provides a free, downloadable Do-It-Yourself Instruction Guide, as well as an Education Toolkit to use in a classroom or library, and a Community Service Toolkit to use in, "veteran’s hospitals, senior centers, homeless shelters, and other community centers."I also like their… -
Have Fun Do Good Day: 29-Day Giving Challenge
20 Nov 2009 | 9:08 amLong time readers of Have Fun Do Good probably already know about the 29 Day Giving Challenge created by my friend, Cami Walker.During the 29 Day Giving Challenge, you give away one thing each day for 29 days. It can be anything: time, money, something you already have, something you buy, a smile, a compliment, or a kind word.What you might not know is that since I first wrote about the Challenge in April 2008, Cami has published a New York Times bestselling book, 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life, and has appeared on the TODAY Show! Pretty cool, huh?I've completed the… -
Have Fun Do Good Day: Stretch!
19 Nov 2009 | 11:51 amDo-gooders need to take care of themselves, as well as others, and that includes taking care of their bodies.If I can make time to do yoga in the morning, I know it's going to be a good day. Sometimes I do it for 10 minutes, sometimes for 30 minutes, and sometimes I have the luxury of going to a 60-90 minute class. Either way, every little bit makes a difference.If yoga sounds intimidating to you, just think of it as stretching with a lot of breathing (:Above is a 4-minute video of the Six Movements of the Spine by Kimberly Wilson (who interviewed me recently) that you could probably do right… -
Vote Today, Watch on Thanksgiving: 2009 CNN Heroes
18 Nov 2009 | 1:52 pmIt's your last chance to vote for your favorite 2009 CNN Hero!A "Blue Ribbon Panel" selected the 2009 Top Ten CNN Heroes out of 9,000 nominations, and now you can choose the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year from their Top Ten. Voting ends Thursday, November 19 at 6 AM ET. The Top Ten Heroes are an incredibly inspiring group. You can watch videos about each hero, and learn more about their stories on the 2009 CNN Heroes voting page. Give their organizations a click below:Brad Blauser, Wheelchairs forIraqi Kids (One Person Can Make a Difference blog)Roy Foster, Stand DownDoc Hendley, Wine to… -
Have Fun Do Good Day: Do Something Nice for an Animal
18 Nov 2009 | 9:11 amI've been thinking a lot about animals lately, as I've mentioned in a couple recent posts, Midlife Food Crisis: What's Your Food Story?, and Love Animals? 9 Animal Rights Organization Blogs for Your Weekend Reading. What better way to have fun while doing good then doing something nice for an animal!We have an adorable, but needy cat, who gets very sad when we go out of town. She is still recovering from our being away last week, so early this morning I gave her a special treat, cuddle time in bed when it was still dark out (she usually isn't allowed in till we are awake). Oh, the purrs!
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Ecopreneurist
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#SmallBizChat—Twitter at its Best
19 Nov 2009 | 5:59 pmI had the pleasure of being the guest on a (the?) twitter #SmallBizChat last night. The brain child of up and coming small biz powerhouse Melinda Emerson (a.k.a. @smallbizlady), #SmallBizChat happens every Wednesday night from 8-9PM EST. Melinda, along with her co-host Cathy Larkin (@CathyWebSavvyPR) run a great event that is worth checking into as a listener/participant but also as a guest. The whole evening is topped off with a PDF transcript of the event made available within in minutes courtesy of Sonia Schenker (@yourjobmyoffice). Last night’s topic was, obviously, greening… -
Is the Green Economy the New Dot Com Bubble?
12 Nov 2009 | 9:39 pmBryan Welch, publisher of Utne Reader, Mother Earth News, and Natural Home Magazine, gave the keynote address at Green America’s Green Business Conference in San Francisco. (Take a look at TriplePundit for my 5 articles over the last few days on the hot topics of the conference). His guidelines for a sustainable future are simple and beautiful. As was his slideshow of his goats he raises in a humane manner on his Rancho Cappuchino (a tongue-in-cheek reference to being called a Cappuchino Cowboy by a more traditional rancher) in Kansas. But one particular question in the Q&A… -
Preventing Identity Theft: Registering Your Business Trademark or Servicemark
11 Nov 2009 | 2:31 pmIt’s hard to believe that it’s already been a decade since my wife and I opened our doors of Inn Serendipity in southwestern Wisconsin. Our marketing background at a large advertising agency in Chicago taught us the value in protecting your company name and brand by trademarking your logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).For Inn Serendipity, we did so from the very start.Now, it’s time to renew based on the USPTO’s ten year renewal cycle. From our perspective, we found that we didn’t have to be an attorney (or a genius) to use their straightforward Trademark… -
Simple Earth Media Announces Formation of Major New Environmental Media Network
10 Nov 2009 | 9:31 amA group of the Web’s leading environmental blogs, podcasts, and social media outposts today announced that they have combined to form a single environmental publishing and social media powerhouse. The resulting new entity, Simple Earth Media, includes top environmental media and publishing entities such as Green Living Ideas, Blue Living Ideas, Twilight Earth, GreenTalk Radio, EcoTech Daily and Natural Papa. The brainchild of co-founders Sean Daily, CEO, and my friend Adam Shake, Editor-In-Chief and founder of Twilight Earth, Simple Earth Media is a new media and social media company… -
44 oz. BPA Free Geyser Collection From Glass America
9 Nov 2009 | 8:34 amThis is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Simonetta Freelance, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry. Glass America has launched their new 44oz BPA free stainless steel Geyser collection. These huge stainless steel reusable bottles have an EQP of $6.99 with single color imprint. Although all Geyser bodies are finished stainless steel in color, the top accents are available in Black, Purple, Blue, Orange and Green. At 44oz these are some of the largest…
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NextBillion.net
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Vittana: Student Loans and a New Generation of Microfinance
20 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pmAuthored by: Manuel BuenoMicrofinance is widely touted as a major private sector success in tackling development. According to the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2009, microfinance now reaches more than 100 million people through more than 3,500 organizations. Nonetheless, like many forms of financing, microfinance is a coarse tool to lift people out of poverty insofar as it usually lends to people who may be willing to invest in the development of fixed assets, traditionally in farming or small businesses. More recently, microfinance products have tried to sharpen their… -
Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009
20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amAuthored by: Diana HollmannIt's Friday in the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Week! 20,000 events involving 5 million people around the globe are taking place this week lasting from November 16-22.On Monday, here in Washington, IFC held a one-day conference addressing the issue of achieving scale in entrepreneurship. The conference featured representatives from IFC and World Bank, the White House, the US Department of State, Kauffman Foundation as well as entrepreneurs. Michael Fairbanks from the OTF Group and Iqbal Quadir, founder of GrameenPhone and the MIT Legatum Center, were… -
Investor Management
20 Nov 2009 | 12:39 amOrganization: New Ventures IndiaLocation: Hyderabad, INNew Ventures India is a joint initiative between CII GBC and World Resources Institute aimed at developing the ecosystem for green SMEs and, in particular, facilitating capital transfer to green enterprises. New Ventures. The New Ventures program of the World Resources Institute runs in six countries: India, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Columbia. New Ventures reaches out to the green SMEs and entrepreneurs through a variety of outreach programs, identifies promising enterprises by engaging with them in a constructive dialogue and… -
Enterprise Management
20 Nov 2009 | 12:39 amOrganization: New Ventures IndiaLocation: Hyderabad, INNew Ventures India is a joint initiative between CII GBC and World Resources Institute aimed at developing the ecosystem for green SMEs and, in particular, facilitating capital transfer to green enterprises. New Ventures. The New Ventures program of the World Resources Institute runs in six countries: India, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Columbia. New Ventures reaches out to the green SMEs and entrepreneurs through a variety of outreach programs, identifies promising enterprises by engaging with them in a constructive dialogue and… -
Net Impact 2009: A Wrap-Up
19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pmAuthored by: Diana Hollmann2 days, 2600 participants and over 350 speakers on more than 100 panels - those are some of the stats of this year’s Net Impact conference. One thing is for sure: It was an intense and inspiring conference!Clean Technology at the Base of the PyramidOne of the two keynotes on the second day focused on clean technology at the Base of the Pyramid and featured Stuart Hart from Cornell University. He argued that there is still not enough attention paid to the commercialization and distribution of clean technology products and services for low-income…
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The Edge
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The 2009 Purpose Prize
26 Oct 2009 | 6:05 amThis year’s winners of The Purpose Prize, a $100,000 award for social innovators in their encore careers, are ordinary people using a new stage of life to do extraordinary things. They include:* A former telecom executive who helped wire an Appalachian county and brought laid-off factory workers back to profitable farming;* A professor who invented a way to transform toxic fly ash into green bricks;* A psychiatrist who helps saves soldiers’ lives by offering free mental health treatment;* A former NASA exec who works to treat alcoholism in Native American communities by reviving… -
SXSW panels
19 Oct 2009 | 9:15 amHere are 20 topics that caught my eye... 2009 Iran Election: Women's Revolution? Twitter Revolution? (Mona Kasra, UT at Dallas) The Art & Science of Seductive Interactions (Stephen Anderson, PoetPainter) Blah Blah Blah: Why Words Won't Work (Dan Roam, Author) Crowd Sourcing Innovative Social Change (Beth Kanter, Beth's Blog) Digital's Emerging Role In Unconsumption (Nita Rollins, Resource Interactive) Exploiting Chaos -- How to Spark Innovation During Times of Change (Jeremy Gutsche, TrendHunter.com) Future of Context (Matt Thompson, Newsless.org) How to Teach Entrepreneurialism Globally… -
ANDE New Grants
7 Oct 2009 | 7:00 amFifteen international economic development organizations have received grants in support of their work to expand small and growing businesses in developing countries. The grants, which total US $447,000, were the first awarded as part of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) Capacity Development Fund, a US $1million effort to increase the productivity and effectiveness of organizations that provide investment, training and other resources to small and growing businesses in developing countries. Funding for the grants was provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The… -
BBC World Challenge 2009
29 Sep 2009 | 3:31 pmOur friend Bunker Roy at Barefoot College just found out that out of 1,000 entries in the BBC World Challenge 2009, the Barefoot Women Solar Engineers of Africa were selected as one of the 12 finalists.Help them win by voting today! -
Gains & Gaps at SoCap ReCap: Post 3 of 3: Gaps
15 Sep 2009 | 11:20 amAs we look forward to the SoCap10, let's hope in the coming year we can make progress on greater collaboration and sharing of data. As we seek to hold social enterprises to higher standards, we will need to work together to hold all companies to higher standards, to increase knowledge and awareness among donors and investors alike, and to achieve much greater transparency of data in order to enhance efficiency of the social entrepreneurship sector. Here are the gaps aka opportunities for the coming year:For-profit SROI metrics Much has been said about the heavy metrics focus of…
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Greenbang
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Insects have farmed monocultures longer than we have
20 Nov 2009 | 7:43 amModern agriculture’s dependence on monoculture crops — vast fields of nothing but corn, wheat or soybeans — has been widely criticised lately for being unsustainable. However, a new study reports on how farming ants and termites have successfully used monoculture techniques far longer than we have. While humans have developed agriculture only in the past 10,000 years or so, certain insects have had tens of millions of years to evolve their fungus farming techniques, a team of researchers writes this week in the journal Science. By all appearances, those techniques are stable… -
Short-term targets key to preventing ‘intolerable’ warming
20 Nov 2009 | 7:14 amSetting long-term emissions reductions targets to curb climate change is the wrong way to go, as it “gives the impression that there is time to delay,” according to scientists from the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) in Oslo, Norway. “Failure to start curbing emissions soon comes with substantial risks, however,” the research team writes in the journal Nature. “It would inevitably require more substantial mitigation in later decades, which could prove to be technologically or politically unfeasible. It could also result in… -
Tech conference to feature seminar on ‘Greenovation’
19 Nov 2009 | 10:32 amGreenbang and Low Carbon South West will be among those on hand at this year’s TechnologyWorld09 conference and exhibition, scheduled for 23 – 24 November at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. During the conference, Low Carbon South West will be hosting a special seminar on “Greenovation: using technology innovation to meet the challenge of climate change.” The seminar will bring together experts from research, business and the media to debate how we can accelerate the development and take-up of the new technology solutions that a low-carbon economy demands. Chaired by Simon… -
Huge, liquid-metal battery could revolutionise the grid
19 Nov 2009 | 9:59 amA new type of battery being developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could eliminate the biggest barrier to renewable energy: the fact that the sun doesn’t always shine, the wind doesn’t always blow and the waves don’t always roll. An efficient, cost-effective and scalable battery that could store energy from those sources could “could revolutionize the way electricity is used and produced on the grid,” according to ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency, Energy), the US agency that recently granted almost $7 million for MIT professor… -
Cleantech Connect Awards recognise fast-growing innovators
19 Nov 2009 | 8:47 amFour fast-growing and innovative firms last night won recognition last night at the inaugural Cleantech Connect 2009 awards ceremony. Held in London’s St James’, the event was organised by GP Bullhound with Schroders Private Banking as a premium sponsor. A 150-strong crowd of entrepreneurs and investors from Europe’s cleantech sector was on hand to see the award-winning companies announced. US vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors was also present to showcase it latest Tesla Roadster fuel-efficient car. Winners of the Cleantech Connect 2009 Awards included: Fastest Growing…
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Global Giving Blog
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Do You Believe in Life After Love (and War)?
16 Nov 2009 | 3:08 pmIn her 1998 worldwide number one hit iconic superstar Cher asks, “Do you believe in life after love?” But these days that memorable line could be amended to add “…and war?” For years Cher has been a visible and unabashed advocate for ensuring that women and men who serve our country are honored through policies and programs that lift up their heroism and ensure their dignity, both during deployment and after they return from combat. She has demonstrated this commitment by supporting organizations from Operation Helmet to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, and… -
For Profit, and More…
13 Nov 2009 | 6:14 pmThere has been growing interest over the past few years in the concept of socially-oriented businesses. This interest has been manifested in many different ways. More and more mainstream companies are trying to do business in what they describe as a more ethical or socially conscious way. Increasingly, they do this because it makes good business sense — it results in better products, happier employees, and more satisfied customers. There is a movement to brand certain companies as “B Corporations” if they meet certain social and environmental performance standards. … -
Breakfast Event, Internet Salvation and Project Leader Honored
29 Oct 2009 | 4:02 pmEarlier this month, I was invited to the Center for Nonprofit Advancement’s Annual Meeting and 30th Anniversary Celebration, which was held this morning. I was invited through YNPNdc, not as an attendee or an honoree - but to Tweet the event. The Center has been making progress to reach more people, more networks and evolve, just like all of their partner nonprofits. So they recruited a small group of us to attend and do what we do - tweet. It didn’t occur to me until I arrived that I was, in some respects, more of the media than an attendee of the event. It was my job to talk… -
Transparency on Trial?
22 Oct 2009 | 6:47 pm[Reposted from the Huffington Post, 10/22/09] A number of commenters have asked me to weigh in on the lively debate that emerged from David Roodman’s Microfinance Open Book Blog about transparency–not only on Kiva, but really about all attempts to make philanthropy more direct, starting with the pioneering efforts of Save the Children in 1940. I’ve hesitated about weighing in–mostly because we have shared war stories, best practices, and worst moments with our friends at Kiva. We know that they are classy folks who know how to work constructively with feedback. And no… -
International Day of Climate Action
20 Oct 2009 | 11:05 amAs you may have heard, this Saturday is the International Day of Climate Action. Thousands of imaginative activities are planned in the U.S. and over 100 countries around the world. There will be a huge rally in Washington D.C., tracing of the new waterline given a 1 meter rise in sea levels in Santa Cruz, tree plantings in Ghana and much more. Check 350.org for activities near you. Getting creative in the streets is one way to show your solidarity with people all over the world for global action on climate change. Another important approach is supporting projects in communities around the…
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Global Giving Projects
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Providing education for children with HIV in Nepal
19 Nov 2009 | 2:33 pm$16 — School outfit for one child; two uniforms, shoes and socks.$30 — Table for homework and games$45 — Mattress for one childSummaryPunarbal Shikshya Sadan is a first-of-its-kind day and boarding school for children with HIV, orphans and victims of poverty and civil war in Nepal.Project Needs and BeneficiariesHIV is a great taboo in Nepal, and infected individuals face stigma and discrimination everyday. Children are expelled from public schools and don't receive any education. Often they come from poor families, have lost one or both parents,… -
Getting Connected at Finca Salvaje, Costa Rica
18 Nov 2009 | 10:39 am$12 — 3 living fence posts$25 — 50 native, tropical trees for wildlife to enjoy$25 — 50 meters of protective fencingSummaryA 12 hectare (30 acre) native, tree corridor connecting two river forests full of birds, animals and native plant life that will allow increased flow of all life forms.Project Needs and BeneficiariesFinca Salvaje, is 1 mile from the famous Los Cusingos, near the city of San Isidro del General, where naturalist Alexander Skutch observed and wrote about the birds of Costa Rica. Forests have been fragmented for agriculture and… -
Sudan Community Health Center
18 Nov 2009 | 7:05 am$60 — Office Supplies for one month$80 — Equipment maintenance for one month $150 — Center Utilities/monthSummaryA community of 40,000 refugees from Sudan's civil war will receive primary medical care, free vaccination, family planning, child nutrition, and maternity care thanks to the creation of Health Center.Project Needs and BeneficiariesFor the 40,000 displaced by Sudan's civil war living in the Dar Es-Salaam settlement, 35 Km from Khartoum, access to public utilities and health facilities is alarmingly lacking. Residents must travel 15 Km… -
Stand with Afghan Women Fighting for Their Rights
16 Nov 2009 | 7:06 pm$15 — pays for emergency local transportation$30 — buys a cell phone to enable a woman under threat to reach out for help $180 — provides emergency medical careSummaryMADRE created the Afghan Women’s Survival Fund to enable women who are threatened with violence by the Taliban and other ultra-conservatives to escape to safety.Project Needs and BeneficiariesAs the US has escalated the war in Afghanistan, Afghan women continue to endure epidemic levels of violence and are routinely denied basic human rights, including education, healthcare… -
At Meyer smile is a part of the therapy
13 Nov 2009 | 3:07 pm$30 — We can purchase a small musical instrument$55 — We can guarantee a day of smiles, jokes, games$140 — We can realize two days of music in the wardSummaryThis project allows the little patient of the Pediatric Hospital Meyer to go on playing, smiling, listening and playing music.Project Needs and BeneficiariesThe project creates continuity between the stay and the regular life of the children, reduces the stress arisen from contact with hospital and helps them to get over the most critical phases. The activities of musicotheraphy, clownerie,…
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Cleantech Blog
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Why Can't Tom Friedman Find Cleantech?
20 Nov 2009 | 11:39 amThomas Friedman, one of my favorite authors, had an editorial this week entitled, "America must lead in energy technology". As with most of his recent writings and speeches, it's targeted around the thesis of his Hot, Flat and Crowded book, which basically argues that a combination of climate change, globalization, and population growth are creating a crisis point in energy and resource use that must be dealt with by utilizing a shift of technologies to cleaner and more sustainable economic practices (some of us call that cleantech). Not a new idea, but as usual Tom Friedman articulates it… -
PG&E to Smart Charge 219,000 Electric Vehicles
17 Nov 2009 | 7:45 amBy John Addison (originally published in the Clean Fleet ReportBy 2020, 219,000 customers of PG&E (NYSE: PCG) may say goodbye to those trips to the gas station. No more spinning dials at the pump – $20.00, $40.00, $80.00, etc. Instead drivers will conveniently plug-in their electric cars at home or work. The fill-up will be electrons, not gasoline. Across the country, electric utilities are preparing to offer smart charging boxes for the garage and charging stations for work and downtown locations. For a fraction of gasoline cost, you will be able to charge plug-in vehicles. Pacific Gas… -
Reinventing Desalination
16 Nov 2009 | 4:27 amby Richard T. StuebiMany informed observers consider the inadequacy of clean drinking water to be one of the world’s most serious problems. By some estimates, 20% of the human population lacks access to good water supplies.That’s not to say that these people live nowhere near water: indeed, most of humankind lives fairly close to an ocean. However, seawater is saline, and desalination is required to render it usable as drinking water. Desalination is no theoretical pipe-dream: two desalination approaches have long existed to remove salt from water, distillation and reverse-osmosis. -
2010 Hybrid Cars with Best MPG
10 Nov 2009 | 8:16 amBy John Addison (11/10/09, original post Clean Fleet Report)The new 2010 model hybrid cars offered in the U.S. are destined to sell with gasoline prices rising. Toyota (TM) dominates the list including new models from Lexus. There are also impressive offerings from Honda (HMC), Ford (F), Nissan (NSANY), and Chevrolet (GMGMQ.PK). Your top 10 choices include hatchbacks that start at under $20,000 and stretch to roomy premium SUVs that cost over $40,000.Toyota Prius continues to lead the field in fuel economy and lowest lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. This perennial favorite midsize 4-door… -
Biofuel Beatdown
9 Nov 2009 | 10:25 amby Richard T. StuebiA few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal ran an article entitled "U.S. Biofuel Boom Running on Empty", which presented a blistering across-the-board slam on biofuels. Perhaps more interesting than the WSJ article itself was an email reaction I received from a prominent energy tech venture capitalist with keen visibility into the transportation fuel space (whom I will keep anonymous), who said:"The article makes the common mistake of using the broad term 'biofuel' when they should be focusing down to 'biodiesel' and 'corn-based ethanol'....Renewable diesel and 'green'…
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Echoing Green Blog
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Be Bold Podcast - Episode 18 now live!
13 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pmIn the second edition of the Jobs for Change partnership, Britt Bravo interviews Anne Marie Ashburn, the Program Assistant for NOI, working closely with the entire NOI team to develop their organizing, technology, social change and movement building projects. In this episode, they discuss the following questions: If someone would like to become an online organizer for a nonprofit or political campaign, what skills do they need to have? What are the best resources, conferences, and networks for people to learn how to use social media and professional development in general? Don't forget that… -
Ensaaf In The News
4 Nov 2009 | 4:32 pmLast Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of India's anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Over 3,000 Sikhs were killed and many families were torn apart during four days following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. According to an Ensaaf press release, "survivors are still waiting for justice." Founded in 2006 by Fellows Sukhman Dhami and Jaskaran Kaur, Ensaaf continuously works to end impunity and achieve justice for mass state crimes in Punjab--a predominately Sikh state. In the October 28th Time Magazine article entitled "India's 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Waiting for… -
Guest Post: Disasters in the Philippines, Natural and Manmade
4 Nov 2009 | 3:11 pmThe following post was written by 2007 Echoing Green Fellows Kevin Lee and Gemma Bulos in response to the recent typhoons in the Philippines. September 26th 2009, Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) made landfall in Luzon dumping over 12” of rain in 6 hrs on Manila and other parts of the National Capital Region. This caused massive urban flooding, 280+ deaths, destroyed homes and shelters of millions of people. Five days later, typhoon Pepeng (Parma) made landfall in northern Luzon, devastating agriculture in the Cagayan Valley. It then hung around the north west coast making landfall two more… -
Thirty Days to Apply: Our Tweet Challenge Is On!
2 Nov 2009 | 12:53 pmEven though it's only Monday, today is an exciting milestone for two reasons: a) We just zoomed past 100,000 followers on Twitter. Wow! b) There are only thirty days left to apply for the 2010 Echoing Green Fellowship! Last week, we were approached by a terrific supporter and member of Echoing Green's Social Investment Council, Kathryn Corro, with a terrific challenge idea. For every Tweet about the Echoing Green Fellowship deadline that includes the tag #EG2010, Kathryn will donate $1 to our operating fund (up to $1000)! We’re looking high and low for this year’s BEST ideas for… -
Echoing Green Partners with Jobs for Change on new Be Bold Podcast
29 Oct 2009 | 1:46 pmWe’re excited today to take the wraps off an exciting partnership to grow and expand our career-focused Be Bold Podcast. Last October, when we launched the Be Bold Podcast, we never imagined that it would touch so many people interested in developing careers with meaningful impact. The first sixteen episodes have been downloaded thousands of times in over thirty countries, and we have been thrilled with the steady stream of terrific listener questions. To accelerate the growth and impact on the sector, we’ve partnered with the fine people at Jobs for Change. Over the next several…
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GreenBiz.com
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Kraft Trims Millions of Shipping Miles Through Smarter Logistics
20 Nov 2009 | 1:50 pmA focused effort on making its distribution network more efficient has allowed Kraft Foods to save more than 50 million miles since 2005. -
How Silver Can Bring a New Element to Green Chemistry
20 Nov 2009 | 11:54 amA number of innovative bio-technologies are on the market today that offer highly effective alternatives to traditional chemical formulas, proving that products don't need to be toxic to be effective. Case in point are silver-based technologies. -
Wells Fargo Expands Green Financing with Cleantech Practice
20 Nov 2009 | 10:37 amThe banking giant's new commercial banking group focused on clean technology firms will add to the $600 million the company has already dedicated to the market. -
Climate Counts and the Green Race to the Top
20 Nov 2009 | 9:17 amIf climate regulation will burden businesses or increase costs, then why are so many companies strengthening their voluntary response to the climate crisis in the midst of an economic downturn? -
New, Green 'Safe Spoon' Goes Where Normal Utensils Can't
20 Nov 2009 | 9:12 amSpoonLidz has developed a new, paperboard spoon touted as an alternative to plastic or bio-based spoons and which cannot be used to cause harm.
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Afrigadget
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Solution for Nairobi Blackouts
8 Nov 2009 | 11:33 pmIt’s no secret that Kenya’s rivers are running dry as a result of forest destruction and environmental degradation which has led to a season of blackouts in the capital city Nairobi. Typical of the ingenious people of Nairobi one street vendor has cashed in on the crisis with this wonderful gadget which he markets as “Perfect for Nairobi black out” As you can see I could actually read by the light of this lamp which is made from a used tin can, some pieces of wire to make the connections And the battery compartment is ingeniously crafted from a circle cut from a… -
Win a Copy of William Kamkwamba’s Book!
14 Oct 2009 | 1:56 pmIf you’ve been reading AfriGadget for a while, you know of a name that keeps popping up over and over – William Kamkwamba. He was first written about by another blogger friend Mike McKay and then subsequently covered here on AfriGadget a good 3 years ago. His windmills and the story behind it are an inspiration for many. There is now a book, a documentary and a foundation all set up around the inspired story of windmills from Malawi. Win a copy of “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” As luck would have it, I have 2 extra copies of William’s new book. I’d like… -
RoboCon Kenya 2009 Nairobi Regional
3 Oct 2009 | 1:21 amFirst Peaks The Ministry of Higher Education and Technology has organized a Robot Contest (RoboCon), between Kenyan Universities and middle level colleges. The regional competition is taking place today at the Kenya Polytechnic. Here are the first looks at the Robots from institutions taking part in the competition. University of Nairobi Robot Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology Robot Nairobi Technical Trainin Institute Robot Kenya Technical Training Institute Robot, The Winner Machakos Institute of Technology (MIT) Robot Some video will come soon… For more information on RoboCon… -
Killer Snares turned into artful message
30 Sep 2009 | 6:08 amI’ve been meaning to write this post for some time to recognize the amazing work being done by Dipesh Pabari at the Kenya Coast. When he told me he was turning snares set to kill wildlife into art I didn’t imagine it would look quite like this. Then he embarked on turning pollution in the ocean into another work of art. This whale shark is the outcome of his labor of love, it’s beautiful and meaningful. Hopefully we all get the message ‘stop killing wildlife and stop polluting the natural environment”. The project is getting a quite some attention. Last summer as part of their Ocean… -
Re-using plastic containers in Kenya
23 Sep 2009 | 9:48 amWhile hiking in the rift valley recently I came across a cow wearing this plastic gadget on his nose. It’s made from an old plastic container …..the local herdsmen said it was to stop him from suckling his mother – which is especially critical due to the severe drought in the region. Simple and effective I’d say! And here’s another one from Dominic Wanjihia – he calls it his vertical shamba and it’s water efficient and space conserving… perfect for a tiny yard. Here’s another clever use of plastic water bottles – bird feeders are…
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Timbuktu Chronicles
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Bijagós Guinea-Bissau
20 Nov 2009 | 4:38 amThe NYTimes reports on a largely unspoiled tourist destination:The Bijagós, with their rich, abundant and untroubled flora and fauna, are classified a United Nations World Heritage Biosphere Reserve: apart from the remarkable hippos, there are 155 species of fish, making the islands a premier though rarely frequented destination for adventurous sport fishermen; and there are dolphins, manatees, crocodiles, monkeys and striped antelopes. Of the world’s eight species of tortoise, the World Heritage Center says, five are found there.More herephoto courtesy of the NYTimes -
Juju Films
19 Nov 2009 | 4:11 amFrom the website:Juju Film's vision is a result of our passion in film, music, quality delivery and meeting the needs to provide an outlet for uniquely talented artists. As a global recording and multimedia venture we offer a broad array of local and international artists, as well as an impressive catalog of documentaries, short films, and rare footage. In all areas of our services our audience receive an additional benefit of gaining insight into socioeconomic and cultural awareness in Africa and its Diaspora. -
Mofaya-A musical
18 Nov 2009 | 5:39 amIn Haiya, Eric Wainaina’s traveling musical Mofaya:...is based on a ghetto story. The musical play which was showcased in New York City during the New York Musical Theatre Festival, run for almost two weeks featuring singers Valerie Kimani, Dan Aceda, Joshua Mwai, actress Mumbi Kaigwa and actor Peter King among others.HT Ory! -
Solution for Nairobi(or Lagos) Blackouts
17 Nov 2009 | 5:23 amIn Afrigadget:I love my juakali lamp and everyone that I know in Nairobi needs one of these lamps. Everything about it is so true to the juakali spirit – hand crafted using colourful recycled tins, and designed for a real purpose with a handle so you can move it around from room to room or hang it up.More here -
Health Tourism opens up-Holy Trinity Spa & Health Farm
16 Nov 2009 | 6:17 amGadling reports:...health tourism involves more than recharging your batteries on some serene beach. It's a chance to get medical treatment while getting away from it all. One place to do that in Ghana is the Holy Trinity Spa & Health Farm. Set along the Volta River, it's a cross between a resort hotel, ranch, and hospital, where you can take a dip in the pool, ride horses across African countryside, and have a physiotherapy session all in one day.More here
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Startup Africa
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Upcoming events in Johannesburg
6 Nov 2009 | 1:59 amGeekMeat Chow – 10 November 2009 So at the last barcamp jozi, we conceptualized a regular geek get together for all things geeky, the first Geek Meat (Gerrit?) will be held on the 10 November. Come have a bite and listen to some interesting talks. We are planning 3 talks for the evening. One on deep IT technology, another on Web 2.x/Soft Skills and another suprise geeky fun talk. Date: 10 November 2009 Time: 19:00 Venue: Picola Pizza Restaurant (Cnr 4th & 8st, Linden Square Shopping Centre, Linden) GPS Coordinates: X: 27°59`35“ Y:-26°8`27“ Cost: Pay for your meal Tel… -
The last few days in Finland
1 Nov 2009 | 1:51 amOn Thursday i arranged a bunch of private meeting, Some of the companies were: http://www.prewise.com http://www.greyarealabs.com/ https://www.scred.com/ On Friday morning we all headed to the Helsinki Living Lab which also has the Arabia factory. They are known for their design with the brand Ittala. Mika told me about Barcamp Helsinki, so decided to head there on saturday and hang with a few Finn geeks. Interestingly, i found some of the same challenges faced in South Africa for startups are faced in Finland, just like in South Africa, failure is not an option and if you have failed it is… -
Day 3 Finland – Nokia & Design Factory
29 Oct 2009 | 3:27 amYesterday on our knowledge exchange visit, we visited a small little company that was founded here in Finland called Nokia, the company was founded in 1865 as Finnish rubber works, and they have done many different things from forestry to mining boots. Today they are currently a mobile device manufacturer and Nokia is in the process of another transformation from just manufacturing of devices to providing solutions and services as well. They currently employ over 125,000 people around the world, with an R & D presence in 16 countries. What struck me however is their how they deal with… -
Day 2 in Finland – Tekes & Tieke
29 Oct 2009 | 2:23 amThe last few days on this trip have been really hectic, with events and meetings the entire day with little time left over to blog. On Tuesday we visited Tekes a public funding organization for research, development and innovation. Some of the elements for Finnish innovation are: High investment in R & D High Quality Research & Innovation Entrepreneurship Funding of Research One of the programmes run by Tekes is vigo, which is a startup accelerator and provides funding and coaching to startups to fast track their progress. From Tekes, we headed to Tieke is the Finish information… -
GeoProp – SA Property Listing Startup
28 Oct 2009 | 2:39 amToday a quick touch base with Mike Kroger yet again. SA Internet Entrepreneur based in Pretoria South Africa. We featured his Plak Startup earlier this year. Now he is in property listing… Why GeoProp Mike? “After someone saw Plak they suggested I do the same thing for the property market… Mainly because most real estate web sites have horrible confusing search interfaces.” Is it free? “Yes, Google Ads to cover the cost of providing a free service.” When did you launch and how did it take you? “Well, not long at all, basically a copy of Plak. I…
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Generating blueEnergy
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The link to energy
16 Nov 2009 | 9:45 amAll of these pieces of the human development puzzle feed into the Human Development Index (or HDI), a metric developed by the United Nations to measure the overall wellbeing of human populations. More than just a measure of accumulation of physical assets, the Human Development Index takes into account life expectancy, education, and standard of living (through per capita income). This is important, as human development is about the ability to pursue individual choices resulting in productive, creative lives through increased longevity and health, enriched by knowledge and higher… -
Kiva que?
10 Nov 2009 | 9:59 pmBut today, I have the same feeling. You can read the article here and Matt's much more intelligent response here. Are people really so naive as to think you can lend DIRECTLY to people in some of the poorest, least developed areas in the world? And by directly, I mean with no intermediaries facilitating the money flow and providing the due diligence to ensure the money goes to where it should and that the people soliciting it are who they say they are. It is unbeleivable to me that the people that demand the most transparency and integrity are also the ones shocked that you… -
The return!
20 Oct 2009 | 9:05 amLast week, on October 15th, Lâl rejoined blueEnergy Nicaragua for a 2-year post to help blueEnergy strengthen its presence in the Capital of Managua. Lâl will be working in many areas including strengthening the movement to support renewable energy in Nicaragua and growing key relationships with the national government, foreign embassies, international development agencies, and other nonprofit and for profit organizations. He has an uncanny ability in this area - see here.Lâl is joined by his wife Anne-Sophie and their lovely new baby boy, Niels, who after just a few short days… -
blueEnergy’s quiet impact
9 Sep 2009 | 12:50 pmOne example of an often unnoticed impact blueEnergy has had has been in the realm of micro-finance. Micro-finance is an integral part of the development eco-system but is outside of blueEnergy’s expertise and areas of focus. blueEnergy’s solution was to help the local micro-finance institution, ADEPHCA, get registered with Kiva as a field partner in 2007. You can read more about ADEPHCA here and here. The intention was to immediately use this channel as a funding mechanism for blueEnergy community energy projects, but getting all the ducks lined up took longer than… -
Processes as the foundation for scaling
1 Sep 2009 | 11:03 pmThe GSBI leadership team added this subject to the curriculum to help graduates bridge the intense experience of the GSBI to the reality of the environment they return to. The GSBI only accepts one person from each organization and there is a big task to carry the learnings to the greater leadership team. There is also the task of translating big vision into operational plans, budgets and the processes that serve as the bedrock of day-to-day activities. As one GSBI founder put it, paraphrasing, “the GSBI gives you the vision of where you want to go, but you still have to…
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Let There D.light!
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D.light Kiran S10
13 Nov 2009 | 5:07 amI hope you have heard about D.light’s new product we launched in October! Ned and I started this company to design and distribute low cost solar solutions to those without electricity. At Rs. 499 ($10) we have released a product that will directly replace kerosene lanterns. It opens up an entirely new market segment – getting closer to those we really want to serve. And the initial feedback is looking great with distributors and partners purchasing volumes that we can all be excited about.If you are a villager that has 2 kerosene lanterns (Rs. 150 or $3 each) and… -
International Business Development Fellow
30 Oct 2009 | 5:45 amOur fabulous BD fellow in China is moving on to be with his wife-to-be. Apply to join our team and help us at this critical time of growth. As our BD Fellow in India, Anay Shah, told me "the beauty of this fellowship is that at D.light if you have a good idea and the bandwidth to execute, you can literally shape the future of the off-grid lighting market around the world!"D.light Design Fellows ProgramD.light Design is seeking passionate and talented professionals to contribute to one of the world’s leading social enterprises through 6-month+ fellowship. As a… -
Vote for Kiran – D.light's new ultra-affordable solar lantern
19 Oct 2009 | 7:35 amAs part of National Design Week, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is sponsoring a competition in which good design is chosen by the public.The D.light Kiran is currently in the top 5 out of 170 entries! Check out the description and if you like the design give us your vote! http://peoplesdesignaward.cooperhewitt.org/2009/nominee/2165At $10, the Kiran (‘Ray of Light’ in Hindi) replaces 2 kerosene lanterns, provides 8 hours of light on one day’s charge and pays for itself in just 4 months. But it all begins with good design!Thanks for your support! … -
The Moment of Truth
27 Sep 2009 | 1:13 amCustomers are behind everything we do – particularly new product design. But every time we go out to our consumers, the voices speak loud ... we need to reduce cost. To go deeper we've got to become leaner, innovate and stretch ourselves to get to the people who really, really need our product solutions.Usually, it's about getting to the next, higher, level. But not for social enterprises working at the BOP. We're looking to go the next, lower level, and this coming month we will do just that.The D.light design team just returned from researching a new consumer… -
D.light in TIME Magazine (and more)
14 Sep 2009 | 9:56 pmOne year after the Lehman Bros. collapse, TIME has issued an interesting special on responsibility and service in business: how companies big and small, old and new — and consumers too — are changing the world. D.light is featured as one of their 25 Responsibility Pioneers.The past few weeks D.light has also been featured in a number of different publications. Check out:o Outlook Business: Lighting Up Lives. 50 people are featured in this great round-up of social entrepreneurs in India.o Financial Express: D.light is one of three firms in India on the Global…
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Untangled
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Working like it's 2001
17 Nov 2009 | 9:04 amStanley Kubrik's 2001: A Space Odyssey is a quaint vision of what the future will be. Back in 2001 I video taped it when it was playing on basic cable. VHS was still a seemingly viable technology back then. I had been meaning to watch it since I was a kid. It seemed important somehow. So I hit play, sat back, watched the movie and fast forwarded through the commercials.It is possibly the longest movie of all time. Okay, at 141 minutes, it isn't even close, but it sure felt like it. Maybe it was the minimal dialogue. I love that movies from this era played with the expectations of their… -
In App Purchases
10 Nov 2009 | 12:27 pmiPhone apps have evolved, as have Apple's rules about how developers can make their wares available. Originally, of course, the only apps were the ones Apple put on there, and web apps were the only way that developers could put there wares into iPhone users' hands. Then came regular apps, be they apps that people paid for free apps. A lot of the free apps were supported via advertising.I'm guessing that these ad-supported apps were fairly successful. Otherwise, Google buying AdMob for $750M wouldn't have made much sense.From an end user perspective the prospect of downloading a free app to… -
Equal Access For All
3 Nov 2009 | 10:31 amThe latest New York Review of Books has two prison related articles, one by Peter Mathiessen on Leonard Peltier, and another on the state of the U.S. prison system. Depressing stuff.Peltier is considered by many to be a political prisoner, and there are obvious and extensive problems with his conviction. He was denied parole in July and won't be eligible again for 15 years, when he's 80. How one incident can be viewed so differently by the same court system is a mystery to me. The other two people who were tried in the case were found not guilty on the grounds of self-defense.Whether or not… -
Why do web communities end?
27 Oct 2009 | 10:10 amYesterday may not have been the day the music died, but it was the day that GeoCities closed its doors. Or had them shut by Yahoo! who once paid around $3,000,000,000 for the privilege of being caretaker to this dotcom era dead weight.Once upon a time, when Under Construction banners still seemed as cool as digital watches once were, GeoCities was a bustling little neighborhood. Sure, the sites were god-awful ugly, but they were user generated and they were plentiful. Then MySpace came along and took the really ugly user generated web site business away from them. Why? Because GeoCities never… -
How about showing me some well formed code instead?
20 Oct 2009 | 10:40 amThis week we're talking about Global Dignity. I'm reminded that around the world, women have a harder time gaining respect than men do simply because they are women. You would think that the high tech industry, being a relatively new marketplace, could have escaped the old patriarchal trappings and moved forward in a more egalitarian way. But alas, that is simply not the case.If you haven't read Leila's take on her Tech Crunch 50 experience, I'd recommend giving it a go. Two different problems here come to mind. First, the fact that women at a tech conference were assumed to be 'booth babes'…
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PSD: The World Bank Group
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Weekend Reading
20 Nov 2009 | 12:52 pmRegulatory failure, special interests, and financial sector lobbying: European Union edition. Negative interest rates on T-bills: This time is different. "The fact that oil is trading at $80 a barrel in this climate should tell you that it is trading more as a financial asset than on supply/demand imbalances". California is doing its part in the fight against deflation, one university at a time. The recession is having quite an impact on migration trends in the United States. Plus, our People Move blog looks at new remittance data. Tyler Cowen describes these two posts from Paul… -
The Curious Indian Entrepreneur
20 Nov 2009 | 8:20 amI attended a session from yesterday's Entrepreneurship and Growth Conference on "Indian Entrepreneurial Success in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom". RAND corporation's Krishna B Kumar attempted to explain the extraordinary successes of Indian expatriate entrepreneurs in these three countries, arguing that much can be attributed to observable differences such as education, family ties, and choice of sector. In the United States, the typical Indian entrepreneur has an average business income that is… -
Today in Capital Controls
19 Nov 2009 | 9:12 amYesterday I suggested that emerging market economies, rather than the United States, were better poised to criticize China's currency policy. It looks like, rather than criticizing China's policy, many are simply trying replicate it. Brazil and Taiwan are leading the way: Asian currencies came under pressure on Thursday as a move from Brazil to further curb foreign inflows sparked fears that other countries would follow suit. Brazil moved overnight to close a loophole that had allowed investors to avoid a 2 per cent tax on foreign investment in equities and bonds announced… -
In search of PSD’s “holy grail”
19 Nov 2009 | 7:44 amThe “holy grail” for those working in PSD is the scalable and sustainable business model that engages the poor while delivering social and developmental outcomes. Finding the PSD grail will potentially empower large numbers of poor men and women to find their own way out of poverty as well as generating, on a commercial basis, socially desirable goods and services. But there have been many false trails in the quest for the PSD grail. Among them are supply chain development initiatives that remain external to the economic lives of the poor, and heavily subsidized models… -
Is the US the appropriate renminbi critic?
18 Nov 2009 | 1:23 pmFree Exchange has observed over the past few days that the blogosphere, financial press, and political punditry have put forth a plethora of opinions about Chinese economic policy. Let's take a look at some of the latest: Bill Owens argues for closer cooperation in just about everything: The US-China relationship is a vital interest for the two countries and the world. Throughout history, great powers have tended to become adversaries. Now, for a few years, we have a chance to break that cycle. It will take strong and enduring commitment on both sides. But a new and…
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Creating a World without Poverty
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PPI Shows Fonkoze that Clients Are Moving Out of Poverty
18 Nov 2009 | 1:50 pmWhen you read about organizations that help the poor, do you wonder how they know they are making a difference? We’re seeing positive results in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Fonkoze, the largest microfinance institution (MFI) in Haiti, is demonstrating that their programs help clients move out of poverty. For Fonkoze, the mission is clear: target the poor and ultra-poor, mainly women in rural areas, and provide services to meet their special needs. In 2006, Fonkoze—working with Grameen Foundation–introduced the Progress out of Poverty Index™ (PPI™)… -
Another Wall to Fall (cont)
10 Nov 2009 | 1:14 pmAlex Counts is President and CEO of Grameen Foundation, and the author of “Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance are Changing the World” (John Wiley & Sons, 2008). Below is Part Two of this journey to assess the state of microfinance with Grameen Foundation partners worldwide. Once my Grameen colleagues and I had visited with the village phone operators, we travelled to a tea plantation that was also a modest retreat facility about two hours outside of Jakarta. The assembled GF staff huddled there together to review our progress in 2009 and… -
Another Wall to Fall
9 Nov 2009 | 8:37 amAlex Counts is President and CEO of Grameen Foundation, and the author of “Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance are Changing the World” (John Wiley & Sons, 2008). Below, he recounts his visits to assess the state of microfinance with Grameen Foundation partners worldwide. Alex Counts I am coming to the end of my longest fall trip – it’s been a whirlwind and culminates in an emotional climax tonight. Today, there will be a massive event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The theme for many will be… -
The Greatest Anti-Poverty Program in History
29 Oct 2009 | 11:51 amWill Marre is the co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), CEO of the REALeadership Alliance, and the author of “Save the World and Still Be Home for Dinner” (Capital Books, 2009). The following is from a Tuesday, Oct 27 entry on his blog, Thought Rocket. Today the Grameen Foundation is launching $27 on the 27th. This is to commemorate Dr. Mohammed Yunus’ first micro-loan back in 1976. He loaned $27 to a group of impoverished women in Bangladesh who were living on less than $1 a day while working their hearts out. The… -
Help us Celebrate 27 on the 27th Today
27 Oct 2009 | 9:04 amToday, Grameen Foundation is launching the Ingenuity Fund, our new fundraising effort that aims to create a village – or grameen – of online advocates and funders. You can support the launch of the Ingenuity Fund by participating in our first initiative, “$27 on the 27th.” In 1976, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus planted the seed that created Grameen Bank by making a loan of $27 to a group of 42 Bangladeshi stool makers out of his own pocket. Professor Yunus’ simple, yet ingenious action has revolutionized the way in which we combat poverty around the world and offers…
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Social ROI
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Online Giving
13 Nov 2009 | 4:56 pmCharities are tracking their users in social networks, virtual realms and other corners of the online universe to raise money by mixing the efficiency of life online with opportunities to promote brands and have a bit of fun. No one is certain how online giving will evolve, but some campaigns are reporting sizable fund-raising and a deeper and continuing connection with donors. Continue reading… -
Robin Hood: Targeting Poverty In New York City
9 Nov 2009 | 10:06 pmFour million New York City residents — half of the city — experience difficulty affording food. That’s twice the level in 2003. And that’s why Robin Hood is partnering with FreshDirect to deliver Food for Good: 15,000 meals to feed 120,000 New Yorkers who might otherwise go hungry this holiday season. Continued… -
MIT Legatum Center Accepting Applications for 2010-2011 Fellowship
7 Nov 2009 | 9:29 amThe Legatum Center is now accepting applications for the 2010-2011 Fellowship, with a deadline of February 10, 2010. Led by Professor Iqbal Quadir, the Center administers a competitive fellowship program for incoming and current MIT graduate students, across all academic and professional disciplines, who demonstrate the potential to create innovative, sustainable, for-profit enterprises that promote prosperity in low-income countries. The Fellowship provides financial assistance, business plan coaching, specialized seminars, and opportunities to engage with some of the world’s… -
Feed the Needy From the Comfort of Your Phone (via grubstreet)
2 Nov 2009 | 3:08 pmA couple of nonprofits are using technology to make foodie philanthropy easier this holiday season. First, for every $50 you donate via Fresh Direct’s website, Robin Hood will deliver a turkey and fixings to a food organization such as the Food Bank For New York City (Robin Hood is the bank’s largest supplier). Second, City Harvest has released its annual Great Food, Good Hearts guide of restaurants that support the organization. This year, you can search the 160 venues via your cell phone, by texting “city harvest” and any address to 69866 (you’ll then get a text back listing the… -
Can the world’s richest man feed the planet?
17 Oct 2009 | 6:21 pmInteresting article on Bill Gates: “Three-quarters of the world’s poorest people get their food and income by farming small plots of land,” Gates said. “So if we can make smallholder farming more productive and more profitable, we can have a massive impact on hunger and nutrition and poverty.” That’s exactly what the first Green Revolution accomplished in the Latin America and Asia. “But it didn’t go far enough,” Gates said. “It didn’t go to Africa.” Continue reading…
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The School for Social Entrepreneurs
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Why Jedward are social entrepreneurs: fact
20 Nov 2009 | 6:43 amOn the way back from a full day of Social Enterprise Day events (which I'll round up next week), was delighted and amused to read an article in the Evening Standard, by the CEO of Blastbeat (which you should check... -
Social Enterprise Day: from the Black Country to Downing St
19 Nov 2009 | 3:11 amHappy Social Enterprise Day everyone. It's been a busy Global Entrepreneurship Week already, with SSE at the British Library launch event, a Westminster briefing event, our own Sydney-London video-conference event (check out the write-up for top 10 networking tips for... -
Networking advice + tips for (and from) social entrepreneurs
18 Nov 2009 | 8:19 amSo it's Global Entrepreneurship Week this week. And it's a week chock full of events, press releases, statistics and more. Our own contribution came this morning with a live videoconference between SSE students in London and Sydney, using CISCO's Telepresence... -
Scaling social entrepreneurship (or why many molehills make a mountain)
17 Nov 2009 | 3:06 am[This post was written for the UnLtdWorld Shout Out for Social Enterprise series] There are big problems in the UK and in the rest of the world: social and environmental needs and challenges that are not currently being met adequately... -
Video-tastic: social entrepreneurs in Melbourne + New York
1 Nov 2009 | 8:20 amWhilst SSE's focus has been resolutely on the UK over the past 6 months (hello Cornwall, Yorkshire, Devon, Hampshire to the growing franchise), there's also been a bit of international expansion and work going on as well. By all accounts...
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Duncan Green: From Poverty to Power
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How archaeology holds the key to climate change adaptation in Bolivia
20 Nov 2009 | 12:25 amClimate Change is giving Bolivia a rough ride. One of the poorest, most unequal, and most biodiverse countries in Latin America, it has been buffeted by ‘natural’ disasters in recent years and is home to 20% of the world’s tropical glaciers, which are melting faster than most experts thought possible. Bolivia is also home to an exciting change process under the country’s first ever indigenous president, Evo Morales – will climate change unravel any progress?. A new Oxfam report gives chapter and verse (and some amazing photos) on the impacts and responses to climate change in… -
What can the BRICS teach us about reducing poverty?
19 Nov 2009 | 12:09 amAn excellent new paper from the prolific Martin Ravallion, head of the World Bank’s research department, compares the successes in poverty reduction in three of the biggest beasts of the developing world: China, India and Brazil. Between them, these countries are home to a bit less than half the world’s poor people, but it used to be a lot more. Each has combined market-oriented reforms with different kinds of social policy, producing different combinations of growth, inequality and poverty reduction that hold lessons for each other, and for other developing countries seeking their own… -
Has the IMF really changed? Academic arm-wrestling from Washington…..
17 Nov 2009 | 11:26 pmA new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington DC tries to work out whether the IMF has really changed its thinking in response to the global economic crisis and the general perception that countercyclical responses (rather than belt-tightening austerity) are the right way to go in a recession. After a (fairly polite) public row with Fund staff at a panel on the crisis (which you can watch on the 50 minute youtube below), the CEPR team went back and analysed IMF agreements with 41 countries. (For Fund geeks, these include Stand-By Arrangements (SBA), Poverty… -
Ripples from the future; realtime climate change; food prices; throwing rocks; seduced by stories and why does she always guess right? Links I liked
17 Nov 2009 | 1:08 am‘Scientists at the £3.6bn Large Hadron Collider (LHC) found their plans to emulate the big bang postponed this week when a passing bird dropped a “bit of baguette” into the machine, causing it to overheat’ records the Guardian. But there’s a much more sinister explanation from the whackier frontiers of theoretical physics: ‘ripples from the future are travelling back in time to stop the Switzerland-based particle accelerator working.’ Now that’s what I call a conspiracy theory. Not sure if we’re allowed to use the word ‘funky interactive video’ when… -
Ha-Joon Chang uncovers what’s worked in the history of agricultural policy
16 Nov 2009 | 12:58 amI vividly remember the impact of Ha-Joon Chang’s 2002 book ‘Kicking Away the Ladder’. At the time I was an NGO lobbyist on the WTO’s Doha round of trade talks, and Ha-Joon’s book showed how when they were still poor, today’s rich countries had systematically used the industrial policies and other forms of state management of the economy that they were now urging the WTO to outlaw. Within months the book’s expose of northern double standards was being quoted extensively by developing country delegates at the talks. Now, he’s turned his historical attention to agriculture, in a…
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Futureshifters: Blog Posts
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Upcycling Clothes to make HOMES?!
Jin Hong, Sebastian Brauer, Ji In Sun, and Jackie Starker, four students at the University of the Arts in Philly, have come up with a line of "Wearable Shelter" clothing: "Three durable, watertight, and wind-resistant garments that are lightweight enough for everyday wear yet easily convertible into tents or sleeping bags that can brave the elements." Although the clothes, which are made from used sleeping bags, workout clothing and performance jackets, were designed for post-disaster scenarios, I can't help but think these would be perfect for the homeless. Interested parties can contact… -
Use Your Gifts!
For so many people, the thought of dental insurance or any kind of dental plan is not given a second of thought because its unrealistic. I was reminded of this as I read Erik Winn's story, a dentist from Sycamore, IL who recently traveled to Haiti with a group to provide dental care to anyone in Haiti who could benefit from it. It's great to see people recognizing that we are blessed, that we have been given gifts and talents that we don't have to always profit from, we can use these to bless others. It seems like examples of this are emerging more often, one example would be Help-Portrait, a… -
I-Dev International- Market-Based Sustainable Development
I-DEV designs and builds economically-viable, market-based businesses and industries at the base of the pyramid. We do this by aligning the interests of corporations and local communities to create bottom line value for both. I-DEV combines business savvy & entrepreneurship with grassroots development expertise to provide professional CSR & development project design and management. We empower local communities to permanently work themselves out of poverty, eliminating the ongoing need for international development aid. -
UpCycling? How to take non-recyclable trash and make it funtional
The Bus Shelter is made from 3 old school buses, years: 62, 72 and 77. The seat is from one of Atlanta's decommissioned city buses. Check out how they made it here: http://www.cfennell.org/pages/bs2.html Pretty cool! Check out this page for more information: http://www.spaceinvading.com/entry/project_id/West_Broad_and_Alps_Bus_Stop200910281256773626 -
School for Social Entrepreneurs opens in Melbourne
(by Chrisanthi Giotis via Social Enterprise Live) The School for Social Entrepreneurs continues its worldwide expansion with a second Australian school, this time based in Melbourne. SSE Australia CEO Benny Callaghan says it is a challenge to keep up with demand. He is pictured at last week's Social Enterprise World Forum in Melbourne. The new school is currently recruiting students and will launch in March 2010. There are plans to run one 12-month programme with a cohort of 20 students in 2010 and two programmes each year from 2011. CEO of the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) Australia…
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CIPE Development Blog
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The Pillars of Society
18 Nov 2009 | 1:46 pmThe United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) estimates that women perform 66 percent of the world’s work and produce fifty percent of its food, thus it is fitting that women in Haiti call themselves poto mitan, or “the pillars of society.” However, it can be said that the foundations supporting our societies are precarious, because despite their contributions women only earn ten percent of the world’s income, own just one percent of global assets, and make up seventy percent of those living in poverty. Still the women at the base of Haitian society, the factory workers… -
Kyiv Conference: Highlights of Day 1
16 Nov 2009 | 8:11 pmDespite the H1N1 fears, the majority of those that registered for the conference were in Kyiv today. We were very glad to welcome about 70 people from 20 countries this morning. Today was quite exciting with three panels engaged in very lively discussions on lessons from successful and unsuccessful transition, anti-corruption strategies, and corporate governance. John Sullivan, CIPE executive director, set the tone for the two days with the remark that each country travels its own path; it is important that the reform process is built up from the grassroots to identify issues that are… -
Countdown to Kyiv Conference
13 Nov 2009 | 2:07 pmThree more days till CIPE’s Kyiv conference marking 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall! While many around the world have commemorated the fall of the Wall this week by looking back at the economic and political developments during the transition, this conference will focus on the future of reform across the region. A key constraint to consolidating democracy and market economies in the post-communist countries is a lack of knowledge about effective strategies for reform. At this two-day conference, CIPE and about 70 past and current partners will be cataloging first-hand lessons… -
Silencing the Masses: the False Hope of China’s Petition System
13 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amThe Chinese communist party has grudgingly preserved China’s centuries-old petition system, providing citizens with a direct channel to the central government to air their grievances against local officials and promote a more harmonious society. While more myth than reality, this petition system of last resort is highly popular among the masses: citizens filed more than 10 million cases in 2004 alone. Fearing an inability to satisfy the growing demand, Beijing readjusted its internal security strategy in 2004. Rather than improving the capacity of the petition system, it instead implemented… -
Greatest Failures of Transitions
12 Nov 2009 | 2:26 pmWe are continuing to reflect on the fall of the Berlin Wall – for previous posts, read here, here, and here. Next Question: What do you think have been the greatest failures of transitions? John Sullivan: Across the board, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe faced the challenges of building functioning political systems and market economies. For most of the Central European countries strong national systems were built, albeit with significant challenges. To this day, Hungary faces considerable difficulty in creating transparent budgets and strong governments. However, it was the…
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The Dreambank Blog
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Spotlight on “Do Good” Businesses for the New Economy: Borrowing, Lending and Renting vs. Owning
16 Nov 2009 | 1:04 pmWe’d like to highlight business models and concepts that are “doing good” in some way. We’re seeing new trends shaping the way we think about consumption, and the internet seems to be the most common vehicle for them. With that in mind, this is our first post in a new regular segment we’re launching, the “Spotlight on “Do Good” Businesses for the New Economy” Concept: Borrowing/Lending/Renting vs. Owning You always hear about the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – but the least employed one is “Reduce”. Many… -
Tips On Cutting The Waste Out Of Gift Giving
15 Oct 2009 | 2:34 pmHere at DreamBank we’re all about gift giving that helps reduce the impact on the environment. We know we’re biased in saying that DreamBank is one of the best ways to do this , but we are also always looking for helpful tips about reducing waste and being environmentally aware even if you’re not using DreamBank! So we thought we’d post a few tips on how to reduce the waste gifts create. The holiday season is just around the corner, so hopefully some of these tips will be useful to those of you preparing for your festive celebrations! A. Give Waste-Free Gifts. -
Where Do Lost Gifts Go?
6 Oct 2009 | 3:33 pmWe were talking here at DreamBank HQ about the gifts that get lost in the mail, and what happens to them. Surprisingly, despite the amount of information available on the internet, I had quite a bit of trouble finding anything that could point me in the direction of the lost gift booty. I found that there aren’t any available statistics about how many gifts are lost in transit, or stolen upon arrival at their destination. A little disappointing, much like the great sock-disappearing-in-laundry-machine mystery, though maybe that means not many get lost/stolen! A little digging into where… -
Chasing Your Dreams Against All Odds
24 Sep 2009 | 2:11 pmWe’re all about chasing your dreams here at DreamBank. If Dawn hadn’t done so, we wouldn’t be here! So when I saw this post on Zenhabits.net, I knew I wanted to share it with our dreamers. For anyone who is still umming and arring about whether or not their dream is worth chasing – this one’s for you. Cross-posted from www.ZenHabits.net, check them out, they have tons of great advice! How to Doggedly Pursue Your Dreams in the Face of Naysayers Photo by WTL photos What do you do if you have a dream, but everyone around you keeps telling you to be more realistic… -
Back To School Special – 3 Cheers For The Oldest Students In The World!
4 Sep 2009 | 4:06 pmWith September comes that mad rush to get all your pencils sharpened, your lunchboxes cleaned and your cool new school supplies ready for another year of the grind. Some approach this with excitement- the thrill of starting fresh, of learning, of moving on in life- while others are more hesitant, holding on to the last days of summer bliss and dreading the bells that call them to their studies. For those of you heading back to sweet academia, we’re proud of you! If you’re feeling like you want to drag your heels a little, maybe these two individuals will inspire you: 1. Meet Chao…
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Overseas Development Institute
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Can a hedge stop us falling into a ditch? Food security, high food prices and risk management
12 Nov 2009 | 8:38 amThe food price spike in 2007-8 and low food production is one of the reasons that an estimated 1 billion people in developing countries still go hungry. This blog examines how hedging tools can be applied to risk management in agriculture and food security to have an impact on hunger....(read more) -
The EU climate finance deal: what are the implications?
4 Nov 2009 | 7:35 amIn an effort to ‘drive momentum towards Copenhagen’ the European Union has just agreed that measures to tackle climate change will need €100 billion a year by 2020. In the short-term, the leaders agreed that up to €7 billion a year would be needed from January 2010 for three years for ‘fast-track’ funding in the developing world. This news raises some significant questions and potential concerns regarding how finance will be raised....(read more) -
Aid workers under fire
30 Oct 2009 | 5:02 amIn the aftermath of the bombing of a UN guest house in Kabul, this blog examines the rising violence against aid workers worldwide. ...(read more) -
The global financial crisis: identifying the chronically poor in low income countries
16 Oct 2009 | 4:52 amTo mark International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, this blog urges a stronger focus on those most vulnerable to the impact of the global financial crisis: children, youth and women....(read more) -
Fighting hunger: the endless plight of pastoralists in the Horn of Africa
16 Oct 2009 | 1:47 amOn World Food Day, Sara Pavenello looks at the plight of pastoralists in northern Kenya. ...(read more)
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Zerodivide
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Youth Institute - Changing Technology Policy
18 Nov 2009 | 10:02 amA group of entrepreneurs, academics and others gathered in Long Beach to talk about the digital convergence reshaping human activities all over the world. Not just talk about it but create some opportunities that could reshape Long Beach. ZeroDivide Community partner, Bob Cabeza, was highlighted in a Press Telegram editorial.read more -
New Media Helps us Support the Troops!
11 Nov 2009 | 4:26 pmIn recognition of Veteran's Day, the documentary "The Way We Get By" will be shown nationally tonight on PBS's Point of View (POV). It tells the story of three seniors in Maine who greet troop daily who are departing for or returning from Iraq. In addition to documenting the unique service these senior perform to support our troops it also tells a story of aging, loss, and loneliness.read more -
A Woman's Nation Changes Everything
9 Nov 2009 | 10:05 amIn The Shriver Report, a Study by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality) was asked to arrange the “Latina Focus” group to help inform the report’s findings.read more -
ZFellow Marc Levine Elected to San Rafael City Council
4 Nov 2009 | 11:31 amCongratulations to ZFellow Marc Levine who won election to the City Council in his home town of San Rafael, California yesterday. He was elected to one of two open seats on the Council with 27% of the vote. Marc was a member of Class II of the ZeroDivide Fellowship and currently serves as Executive Director of ABDF.org, an on-the-ground relief provider for Tsunami victims in war-torn Sri Lanka. As part of the ZeroDivide Fellowship, Marc worked on a Strategic Impact Project which supported the development and innovative use of Web 2.0 tools and technology by students from underserveread… -
Dinner, Discussion, and Disability Access at the San Francisco Zoo
29 Oct 2009 | 12:31 pmTonight, ZeroDivide will conduct the fourth in its ongoing series of Salon dinners. These Salons bring together policy experts, advocates, and donors in a small group, intimate setting to discuss innovative ideas for addressing cutting edge topcis. This evening's Salon turns the spotlight on disability and accessibility. It will feature Kathy Martinez, President Obama's newly appointed Assistant Secretary for Disabilty Employment Policy at the US Department of Labor. Assistant Secretary Martinez will lead the evening's discussion, which will focus on the intersections between accread…
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Sustainable Industries
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Green affordable housing made to order
Green Light cooperative turns development model upside down. -
Urban Flight
Green building experts bring EcoDistricts to the West Coast. -
Paul Hawken responds
Paul Hawken answers audience questions from our Economic Forums. -
Bellingham joins list of energy retrofit programs
A $2.8 million grant will train contractors and assist property owners in retrofits. -
NASA embarks on Sustainability Base
NASA hoping to create a test bed of cleantech and green building innovation.
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Creating the Future
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Management Support Organizations - Catalysts for Community Potential
10 Nov 2009 | 7:53 pm(This is Part 3 of a 4-part article. Head here to start with Part 1.) What would it look like in practice if Management Support Organizations were catalysts for Community Potential? Here is just some of what that might be: • The board and leadership of Management Support Organizations would see the organization’s purpose as being a catalyst for community wellness, vibrance, resilience - and their decisions would all aim towards those results. • The Management Support Organization’s annual planning would aim at building community strength and “client” organizational… -
The Mission & Work of Management Support Organizations
9 Nov 2009 | 7:08 pm(This is Part 2 of a 4-part article. Head here to start with Part 1.) One thing is clear in speaking with leaders of Management Support Organizations of all kinds; they may have the potential to be catalysts for building extraordinary communities, but that is not how they are currently operating. As we consider the complex role of Management Support Organizations, let’s first examine the workings of a simpler organization - one with which almost all of us are familiar. Let’s consider a hypothetical Food Bank. The XYZ Food Bank’s programs and mission are traditional and very narrowly… -
Management Support Organizations - Their Highest Potential
8 Nov 2009 | 7:31 pmManagement Support Organizations come in all shapes and sizes. Depending on the community, the list might include these and others who provide some form of management support for Community Benefit Organizations: • Nonprofit Resource Center • Volunteer Center • Leadership Organization • Coalitions, Federations, Associations • Neighborhood Empowerment / Community Organizing Organization • Community Convening Organization • Community Foundation • United Way This web of groups makes up the infrastructure that supports the many faces of the Community Benefit Sector. Ask someone… -
What Does It Mean to “Be the Change We Want to See?”
4 Nov 2009 | 10:09 amFive consultants from across the US walked into our class last Monday as “consultants to community benefit organizations.” They left on Friday as facilitators of their communities’ highest potential for being amazing places to live. As it is with each of our Consultant Immersion Courses, the focus began far beyond the question “What do I have to do to effect change in my community?” Instead the class began where we begin each time, asking, “What does it mean to be the change I want to see in my community?” I hope that begins to answer why conversations here at… -
Armchair Change Agents
20 Oct 2009 | 9:25 amThis week I get to indulge in one of the most energizing parts of my work. In preparing for next week’s immersion course in Pollyanna Principled Consulting, I get to speak one-on-one with the participants, to find out what difference they want the class to make for them. I get to hear their dreams and their frustrations, knowing how different they will feel when the week is done. In these conversations, people consistently share this: I have been consulting to community benefit organizations for a long time. And I have been frustrated for a long time. I am really good at what I do, yet I…
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ThinkChange India
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Developing sustainable businesses for social change
16 Nov 2009 | 3:36 amThink about the last time you had an idea about solving a community issue in your area! A thousand questions might have hit you – Whether the problem is real? Is the idea feasible? Will people buy it? Who will support me to implement this idea? Where will I get funding and mentorship from? Is there a community out there who supports this? Well, if you are a student and studying at one of the universities enlisted below, here is what you have been looking for – an institute, which creates sustainable businesses for social change. The Acara Institute is a non-profit organization, does this… -
EdelGive Social Innovation Honours
12 Nov 2009 | 1:01 pmThe objective for the EdelGive Social Innovation Honours 2010 is to identify and reward organisations that are innovating to empower women in India. This year’s award categories are as follows: • Health and well being: Awarding an innovation which promotes women’s health and overall well-being • Education: Awarding an innovation which provides women with access to education and /or improved quality of education • Livelihoods: Awarding an innovation which helps women increase their income, and / or provides them with employment opportunities. • Social and Cultural rights: Awarding… -
StartingBloc Fellowship for Social Innovation
8 Nov 2009 | 11:02 pmThe StartingBloc Institute for Social Innovation educates, inspires and connects emerging leaders to create new solutions to global challenges. Through the program, StartingBloc unite social innovators across sectors to change the world in sustainable ways. You can read about about my StartingBloc experience from the Boston 2009 fellowship. There are three parts to the StartingBloc Fellowship: 1. Institute for Social Innovation 2. Building Bloc Programs 3. Global StartingBloc Community of Social Innovators The Fellowship begins with the Institute for Social Innovation, a five-day… -
TC-I’s Shital in Hyderabad
5 Nov 2009 | 7:02 amOne of ThinkChange India’s Managing Editors, Shital Shah, is in Hyderabad for the next few months. If you are in the city and want to meet up, want TC-I to cover your event or organization, have feedback about the site, or just want to talk more about Indian social enterprises in general, please get in touch by sending an email to shital [at] thinkchangeindia.org. She looks forward to meeting you in person! -
[TC-I Call to Action]: Ideas India 2009 Essay Competition
3 Nov 2009 | 3:57 pmAspen Institute India wants to hear your big idea that will define India in the 21st century! The Ideas India 2009 Essay Competition is soliciting entries to contribute to the annual “conversations” forum that will be held December 17-19, 2009 in New Delhi. The prompt is broad: Do you have ideas that could address some India’s problems? Can you suggest ways that India can live up to its true potential? Do you want to become part of the debate? If you do, send us your thoughts in the form of a 500-word essay on the topic “The 1 Big Idea that will Define India in the 21st…
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Truck and Barter
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Dinar And Discussion November, December 09 & January 10
1 Nov 2009 | 3:53 amThis is the Dinar And Discussion Page for November and December 09 & January 2010... -
Dinar And Discussion August Sept Oct 09
4 Aug 2009 | 12:51 pmThis is the Dinar And Discussion Page for August, September and October 2009... -
Random thoughts on Electronic Medical Records
16 Jul 2009 | 6:41 amRegardless of the lawsuit implications, I am not so sure of the benefits of EMRs. I would be all in favor of a private and complete electronic medical history for each person, but the EMRs I have seen are neither private nor complete, and tend to reinforce formulaic medical practice, as opposed to discovery, discussion, and intelligent understanding. Broadly, my concerns with EMRs: First, GIGO. I was enthusiastic about Kaiser-Permanente's electronic medical records until I saw garbage being put into the system by well intentioned folks. This translated into outputs that incommensurable over… -
Dinar and Discussion May, June & July 2009
30 Apr 2009 | 11:15 pmDinar and Discussion for May, June & July 2009... -
Trust
9 Mar 2009 | 10:08 amReading Craig and Russ: Some top notch economists insist we have a crisis of trust. True enough. Yet it seems to me that the market is trying to fire quite a number of the poor-judging risk-takers in the financial sector -- basically, those that we cannot trust. However, Mr. Obama and Mr. Geithner appear to be doing a damn fine job keeping them there, I think partly because of successful lobbying, but also because they cannot envision the market and political orders that would ensue should AIG, Citi, BoA, and a host of other international conglomerates suddenly disappear....
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PHILANTHROPY 2173
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Experimenting around expertise
19 Nov 2009 | 8:52 am(photo by Joe Shlabotnik, Flickr, Creative Commons)All the experimentation about crowdsourcing is, in my mind, really a discussion about how to organize around expertise.Time was, an organization needed to have certain skills and knowledge in-house to get things done. So, for example, John D. Rockefeller built a foundation in 1913 and hired the people he thought had the expertise to guide his giving. Those folks, in turn, used the foundation's resources to support the work of other organizations where other experts could further the goals of public health access. Large institutional… -
"What Capital When" An online conversation about social capital
19 Nov 2009 | 2:12 amMy colleagues and I at Blueprint Research & Design are launching a new experiment (for us) - a blog hosted conversation about what types of philanthropic/social capital make sense and when. This is not new territory - there are lots of experts, lots of experience, lots of resources, and some great advice out there. We hope they and you will engage in this discussion. What else are we hoping to accomplish and why are we trying it this way? A few things:First, much of the expertise around capital allocation is held by financial professionals at foundations and the financial intermediaries… -
Top 2010 trend? Using twitter to ask what the top 2010 trend will be
17 Nov 2009 | 3:42 pm(photo by pdsphil, Creative Commons, Flickr)I think the trend of crowdsourcing trends has just jumped the shark.OK - that's it. I'm done asking others to identify trends for me. Now that we have a wiki to identify fundraising scenarios for 2020, a twitter hashtag on 2010 nonprofit trends, and my own September contribution about 2010 trends - I'm done. Clearly the most pervasive trend is using these tools to ask about trends. As we approach December and the list making frenzy of "top 10s" that marks that month, let us all take a deep breath and perhaps even do some of our our own thinking.As… -
More data platforms for philanthropy
12 Nov 2009 | 9:39 am(Photo by Andrew Roddewig, New Clarion Media,http://burnhamplan100.uchicago.edu/multimedia/image_gallery/detail/2256)Data are getting their moment in the sun. Data visualization (also known as infographics) like this unemployment map from The New York Times, may be part of the reason reading newspapers on the web can be so much more fun than reading them on paper. It may also be part of the business model solution for news sites, as people might just pay to see these data.This CNN slide show offers some beautiful examples of how data can be the basis of art as well as science.Two new data… -
Open organizations
5 Nov 2009 | 7:08 am(Photo from Boboroshi, Flickr, Creative Commons)Thanks to an email from Martin Kaminer I just read about PresenTense's open source efforts over at Community Organizer 2.0. According to the post, PresenTense, an organization focused on building the Jewish community's next generation of pioneers and innovators, open sources much of its programming and advisory roles. Community Organizer 2.0 quotes PresenTense's founder @ArielBeery as saying:"The PresenTense Group calls itself an “open source organization." Co-founder Ariel Beery defines an Open Source Organization as one that “enables all…
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Social Business Blog
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ClearlySo Expands Internationally: First Stop, Canada
18 Nov 2009 | 8:27 amNow ClearlySo is truly the “first global marketplace for social business & enterprise, commerce and investment”, with a non-UK local presence. Since launching ClearlySo in March, we have received numerous enquiries from parties all over the world expressing interest in working together. These have come to fruition this week, as Julie McDowell, CEO of ClearlySo Canada, will be making the formal announcement at the Third Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise sponsored by the Social Enterprise Council of Canada. Two questions readers could ask. First, why go global–is… -
The Breadth and Diversity of the Social Business and Enterprise Sector is the Key
15 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pmLast week we held our Fourth Annual Social Business Conference at Mary Ward House in London. Attendance was 30% up on last year and more than three times the size of our first conference in 2006. More important than the numbers attending, however, was the growing realisation, on the part of all of us, of how diverse the sector was becoming. Some observers seem uncomfortable with this diversity and urge the disparate sector to “get its act together”, by which they seem normally to mean that the sector should get aligned around one view on what social enterprise/business is, and to… -
The Simple Yet Effective Approach of NEIW, UKSIF and Timms
10 Nov 2009 | 3:43 pmEarlier tonight I attended the official reception at the House of Commons to celebrate National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW). Hosted by Hugh Bayley MP, organised by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) and sponsored by four financial institutions (Aviva, Coop, CCLA and Henderson), the evening called attention to this second, now annual, NEIW and the impact it has had begun to have on public consciousness. Listening to the speakers I began to consider how marvellously effective simple events such as these are–and how much better value-for-money they are… -
The ClearlySo Marketplace Surpasses Several Milestones
9 Nov 2009 | 9:56 amLast week I had lunch with a friend who told me, essentially, that “no man lives by pontification alone”. Rather, according to him, the tangible things we were doing at ClearlySo would reinforce the issues-oriented posts commonly published in this blog. In this spirit, I would like to tell you about four important milestones we have surpassed; in web traffic, in social businesses & enterprises (SBEs) on the site, at our upcoming conference and by virtue of our upcoming announcement to expand ClearlySo into North America. For those of you not familiar with ClearlySo, it is the… -
The Banks: State Aid versus Public Support (or RBS/Lloyds vs. Triodos)
5 Nov 2009 | 1:52 pmEarlier this week it was announced that RBS and Lloyds were due to receive another £30+ billion in support from the UK Government. We have become so inured to such injections, that many commentators hailed this as a positive restructuring and applauded the fact that RBS and Lloyds were being dealt with severely; bonuses to be restricted or deferred and certain businesses to be sold. The unexpectedly harsh treatment from Brussels prompted RBS’s CEO Stephen Hester to say he felt “bruised”, regarding the measures imposed. I may be alone, but this saga and the muted reaction to…
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Acumen Fund Blog
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Melissa Richer at New York for Acumen Fund (NYfA)
20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amAs part of its ongoing series of informal chats, New York for Acumen Fund (NYfA) recently welcomed to our group Melissa Richer, founder of the Ayllu initiative. Envisioned as a series of small gatherings to discuss and highlight specific approaches to tackling global poverty,the series provides participants the opportunity to engage directly with thought leaders, innovators, and practitioners in the field of social entrepreneurship. Melissa gave an overview of the history of the Ayllu Initiative, its model, and the ways in which it aims to achieve its goals. Ayllu, she explained, will serve… -
Bargaining power: why the poor are still losing out in the market system
18 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amThere are two key drivers of the welfare of small dairy farmers: milk productivity of their cattle and the price per liter of milk that they can fetch. While the productivity of cattle can be enhanced by improving the gene pool of cattle through artificial insemination, providing better quality feed and improving the farm management practices, increasing the revenue per liter of milk sold would require relatively more radical changes in the value chain of the dairy industry. With the price for milk, small farmers face a daunting challenge. They own less than 5 heads of cattle individually and… -
Things Fall Apart and the African Leadership Academy
11 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amIn the mid 1950s, Chinua Achebe, then a mid level employee of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS), began work on an epic and in many ways unprecedented novel, the story of several generations of Nigerian men. The idea for the work, which would later be condensed into the single, sharply propulsive narrative of the noble though hubristic Okonkwo, came to Achebe while still enrolled at the University of Ibadan. Then pursuing a degree in English literature as part of that school’s first class of students, Achebe had been chosen for admission to the new institution based on the exceptional… -
Cohort Experiment (9 of 9): Alumni Development
6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amAnd so the cohort experiment continues, though with this blog post reaches its online conclusion. In the penultimate post in the series, Nicole discussed the critical variables involved in designing leadership programs, in a discussion that we hope was helpful in considering the development of your own leadership programs. As we reach the end of this series, on the nature and the role of cohorts in leadership programs, we find ourselves confronting the after or extended life of our programs. In other words, what do you do once the program finishes? Needless to say, this question demands a… -
PVRI and UHEAL: Announcing New Eye Care Investments in Kenya and India
5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amAcumen Fund is excited to announce two new investments, both in the field of eye care. PVRI (Pushpagiri Vitreo Retina Institute) based outside Hyderabad, India, and UHEAL (Upper Hill Eye and Laster Centre), in Kenya, both focus on specific forms of preventable ocular damage. With similar business models and parallel aims, through our investment in these complementary enterprises, Acumen Fund seeks to identify and and share best practices across continents, while building an effective model for delivering eye care to the poor. Loss of eye sight has a tremendous economic and social impact on…
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Oxfam News Blog
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Gazan farmers unable to work their land in ‘buffer zone’
20 Nov 2009 | 7:25 amGazans don’t want to rely on aid. They want to work on their land, reports Catherine Weibel. Driving along the buffer zone, a military no-go area that extends along the entire perimeter of Gaza and borders Israel, is an eerie experience. A long, horizontal brownish strip of earth runs along the Wall that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel. The desolate landscape is only dotted with the ruins of destroyed buildings, while a large, silver observation balloon, fully equipped with video cameras by the Israeli army, floats slowly by in the sky. What used to be a green, fertile area of rich… -
Meet your representatives online
20 Nov 2009 | 3:40 amHave you noticed recently that more and more politicians are using live webchats as a means to talk directly to voters? Just yesterday, Greg Clark, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, was answering questions on the Guardian Environment blog at almost the exact time that David Cameron was on mumsnet. I’m not a member of mumsnet so couldn’t get on to ask a question, but I did manage to post a question directly to Greg Clark. What surprised me was that there were only a few of us that bothered to post something, which meant that Greg Clark actually saw my… -
Your voice counts- make sure you get to the Wave!
20 Nov 2009 | 1:59 amPresident Obama’s announcement this week that a binding global deal isn’t realistic at December’s Copenhagen climate change talks felt like a real blow. I was on my way to South Shields, Foreign Secretary David Miliband MP’s constituency, when I read the story. The Age of Stupid movie was being screened at the Customs House in Shields and I was on the discussion panel. A movie concerned with our near extinction from climate catastrophe on the same day that politics drags its feet toward a solution. What feels frustrating is that we’re only days from the Conference and yet it already… -
Queen’s speech to parliament: some shiny nuggets for aid and climate change?
19 Nov 2009 | 9:36 amOutside the UK parliament. Credit: Olivier Bruchez When I think about the Queen’s speech - which in truth I don’t do very often - I think of Christmas and feeling sleepy on the couch, while she chats away about what the kids have been up to. Most people don’t think of her annual pilgrimage to open parliament for a truly British ceremony. It starts with the Yeoman searching the basement to make sure Guy Fawkes isn’t there, guards stand round with shiny swords and the Queen holds someone hostage at her palace. You couldn’t make it up. It’s a brilliantly British scene of first class… -
Helena Christensen shows what is at stake in photographic climate change exhibition for Oxfam
19 Nov 2009 | 4:18 amAn exhibition of photographs taken by Helena Christensen documenting the threats of climate change on people living in Peru opened in London today. The photographs are a selection taken by Helena while travelling to her mother’s native country with Oxfam earlier this year. During the trip she saw people suffering from food and water scarcity in the face of rising temperatures, changing seasons and melting glaciers. The exhibition, Meltdown, is at Proud Gallery, Charing Cross, from 19-29 November. It is timed just two weeks before The Wave demonstration, on December 5 in London and…
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Mercy Corp Women Features
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Mama na come
19 Nov 2009 | 5:07 amLiberians have lots of great expressions, and I've enjoyed learning some of them as we traveled the country. I've shared a few of them here on my blog — how da body, tryin' small, a fish cup of rice. My ear got used to the patois after we'd been here a few days, and I was happy to be able to rely less and less on our translators. I found myself slipping into Liberian English enough so that I could understand what people were telling me. I even was able to adapt my own spoken English with a touch of patois so that they could better understand me. It was fun and satisfying to connect with… -
Thirty years ago today...
19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amThirty years ago, the Cambodian refugee crisis was the catalyst for a relief effort that would later become Mercy Corps. Photo: Jon Warren for Mercy Corps A friend recently shook my hand vigorously saying, "Congratulations on celebrating Mercy Corps' 30th anniversary!" I thanked him and went on to say that I would phrase his comment a bit differently. But I'll get back to that later in the story. As the decade of the 1970s came to a close, a horrifying slaughter swept the country of Cambodia capturing the rapt attention of the world in what would come to be known as the "killing fields." The… -
Six days on the road
18 Nov 2009 | 8:47 pmI'm both exhausted and exhilarated by my six-day journey through the red clay rocky back-roads of Tajikistan's border area with Kyrgyzstan in the Rasht Valley. Moving village to village to meet with women who have been patiently awaiting my arrival for six months, I feel humbled by their expression of enthusiasm upon seeing me. They greet me with near-celebrity status, and are utterly unaware of how much I am awed by them, completely inspired by them. Photo: Janice Setser/Mercy Corps These women, who have somewhere between a third and seventh grade education, live with their large families in… -
Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon 2010
13 Nov 2009 | 6:26 amStart: 07/10/2010 Start: 07/10/2010 A warm welcome to all of those taking part in the 2010 Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon, Mercy Corps is delighted once again be the beneficiary charity for this fantastic event! The Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon is recognised as arguably Scotland’s toughest one day event. Participants must swim one mile across Loch Tay, walk/run 15 miles over 7 Munros, kayak for 8 miles before finally finishing the challenging event with a 34 mile cycle around the entire loch. The 2009 event was a huge success and has so far raised over £165,000 for Mercy… -
Lasting change
7 Nov 2009 | 11:59 amGunanto is a vendor who sells healthy snacks for children in one of Jakarta's poorest neighborhoods. Mercy Corps staff visit vendors of their healthy street food project, KeBal, several times each week to monitor them and ensure proper hygiene and nutrition standards are met. Photo: Greg Briggs for Mercy Corps Behavior is hard to change. I know. I’ve tried. Even with support, it’s still extraordinarily difficult to change. To learn new skills. To give up character flaws. To be a better person. The last program I visited in Jakarta is a Healthy Street Foods Project called KeBal,…
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Vital Voices Blog
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First Woman High Representative of EU Appointed
20 Nov 2009 | 8:22 amOn Thursday, November 19th, 2009 the European Union chose the leaders who would represent the EU to the rest of the world. In a great feat for women, Baroness Cathy Ashton, a former UK Labour Party member in the House of Lords, was chosen as the European Union’s Foreign Minister and the Vice President of [...] -
Chouchou Namegabe Honored at DVF Studio
19 Nov 2009 | 7:41 amOn November 17, Diane von Furstenberg hosted a luncheon at her studio in New York for Chouchou Namegabe, honoree of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award. Using her radio program, Chouchou has worked to give a voice to women who have been victims of human rights crimes in order to educate the public [...] -
From Congo to Westport: a Voice for Women -Westport Now
18 Nov 2009 | 1:58 pmVital Voices honoree Chouchou Namegabe of the Democratic Republic of Congo spoke at the Westport Arts Center in Connecticut on November 17. Photos and a summary of the evening are featured in WestportNow.com -
UN Population Fund: Impoverished Women ‘Bear Climate Burden’
18 Nov 2009 | 1:02 pmNovember 18- BBC News reports today on a publication issued by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which warns that the challenges posed by the climate change crisis will fall on the backs of the world’s poor women. A disproportionate burden is said to land on women, who are responsible for a majority of agricultural [...] -
Raise Your Voice for Beijing +15
17 Nov 2009 | 11:18 amIn preparation for the Beijing +15 conference, the United Nations is facilitating an online discussion forum to spread ideas and opinions on women’s rights. The conference serves to complete a 15-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, a plan that includes the promotion of equal rights and the advancement of [...]
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Women's World Banking - Investing in Women, Transforming Lives
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New Publication: Microinsurance that Works for Women: Making Microinsurance Programs Gender-Sensitive
16 Nov 2009 | 9:01 am“Microinsurance that Works for Women: Making Microinsurance Programs Gender-Sensitive” introduces the ground-breaking work that Women’s World Banking has done on developing microinsurance programs tailored to the unique needs of women. read more -
Women's World Banking attends the Women's Conference in Long Beach, CA on October 26-27, 2009
3 Nov 2009 | 11:07 amOver the past year, WWB has been very successful in building our presence in the US through our headquarters office in New York City. We are planning in 2010 to expand our voice, vision and mission to the West Coast. read more -
NYU Stern’s Citi Leadership and Ethics Program Dedicates Year to Microfinance and Chooses Head of Women’s World Banking, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, as Program’s Distinguished Fellow
30 Oct 2009 | 6:54 amConsidering market-based approaches to tackle the world’s most intractable social problems is exactly the type of study NYU Stern’s Citi Leadership and Ethics Program was created to explore. read more -
HSBC and Women’s World Banking Partner to Provide Financing to Rural China
15 Oct 2009 | 1:32 pmThe partnership will develop financial products and services designed to expand HSBC’s financing capabilities to China’s rural communities. Read Press Release read more -
President Obama Honors His Mother's Legacy at Women's World Banking
23 Sep 2009 | 10:49 amSpeaking at the opening session of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York last evening, President Obama lauded President Clinton and the attendees for their commitment to public service. He then spoke about how he has been shaped by that same spirit of service by his mother, "an anthropologist who dedicated her life to understanding and improving the lives of the rural poor.." He went on to cite the places where his mother had worked, including "...Women's World Banking here in New York, [where] she championed the cause of women's welfare and helped pioneer the micro loans that have helped…
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Adventures in Hope: Stories of DiscoverHope
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Spirit of Season
19 Nov 2009 | 2:23 pmI always remember that Christmas marketing season always comes too soon in the U.S.. The malls are filled with red and green and Santa Clause before Thanksgiving. Well, in Peru the same thing happens. And, I was part of it this week. Peruvians are mostly Catholic and heavily celebrate Christmas. They make all kinds of crafts to prepare for the holiday. We made one of those crafts yesterday, a Mama Noel made out a re-used plastic bottle. The women loved it although they continually burned themselves with the silicon glue gun. Our new craft was a great way to re-use plastic bottles and create a… -
Some Bumps in the Road and a "Cleaning"
15 Nov 2009 | 6:30 amI thought last week was tough with wedding planning problems - things proved to be even more difficult this week. I will spare you a play by play of my week, but give you a highlight of the tough things. 1. Almost got robbed in the bus. Two very shady guys sandwiched me in the crowd and showed me their pocket, as if they had a gun. I fell on the floor. Screamed a little. They got off the bus. Too close for comfort.2. My internet modem, that hardly works anyway, fell on the floor with my personal computer and broke. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So now I am really without internet at… -
Jewelry lingering
12 Nov 2009 | 11:55 amYesterday DHF held what I think will be the last jewelry class this year. We are in our last month of classes for the year, as I get ready to compile 2009 information to report out to our DHF family. This jewelry class was held in Banos de Inca and we filled up the patio of one of our loan recipients. This month's model was very simple, so the women finished early. Although the women finished their jewelry, they stayed around to make more jewelry, knit, crochet, and just chat. The lingering around for me equals joy, success and growth. It is proof that women enjoy the company, their teacher,… -
Holiday of Hope Thurs Nov 12! Holiday Shop for 40% of market prices...
9 Nov 2009 | 8:02 amDear DHF Family,We hope you will join us this Thursday Nov 12 at our final event of 2009, Holiday of Hope!Your $15 ticket treats you to fabulous food served by Thistle Cafe, Latin music by Acoustic Jungle, and free garage parking downtown!Your ticket also gives you entry into our silent auction party where you will be able to bid on incredible silent auction items for outrageous prices such as:A pair of tickets to the Big 12 Championship game starting at $80A pair of choice tickets to the Dallas Cowboys game starting at $130A night at the Long Center for two and Eddie V's dinner starting at… -
Literacy End
7 Nov 2009 | 9:35 amJust a little taste of what my weekend looks like:Our two literacy circle with the village banks Jehova es Mi Pastor and La Perlita finished their 7 month literacy courses at the end of October. Between the two groups they completed a total of 107 literacy sessions and 15 individual tutoring sessions. The two groups surprised me by making huge improvements on their post-literacy test (compared with their pre-test in April). We have women that can write their name and national ID number now. Women that can add and subtract. Write letters. Write descriptive text. Even multiply and divide. Huge,…
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UNIFEM: Latest News
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10th Anniversary Statement on the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Statement)
19 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pmStatement by Inés Alberdi, UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 10th Anniversary, 25 November 2009 -
Global Media Monitoring Project Scrutinizes the Representation of Gender in the News (News)
9 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pmGender equality in the news media came under scrutiny by the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) in some 127 countries around the world today. UNIFEM supports the project, recognizing the importance of fairness and balance in the representation of gender in the news. The International Federation of Journalists and ... -
UNIFEM Launches Global Action Platform to End Violence against Women (Press Release)
5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pmUnited Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) today launched the global advocacy initiative Say NO - UNiTE to End Violence against Women, which will stimulate, count and showcase actions on ending violence against women. The innovative platform will spotlight global efforts and demonstrate the groundswell of support and actions ... -
UNDP Provides Grant to Empower Women and Girls Living with HIV & AIDS in Rwanda (News)
4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pmA project, run by UNIFEM in collaboration with UNAIDS and UNDP in Rwanda, has been selected for a grant of US$140,000 from a UNDP funding window on protecting women and girls against violence and restoring justice to vulnerable women, including survivors of violence and those living with HIV and AIDS. The ... -
UNIFEM Executive Director Visits India (News)
4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pmDuring her first official visit to India on 2-4 November, UNIFEM Executive Director Ines Alberdi met with representatives from national and local government and the national women's machinery, visited NGO partners and signed a partnership agreement on a new programme on women and governance. Executive Director Alberdi met with Krishna Tirath, Minister ...
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(Blog) RED
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Even More Love from Starbucks (PRODUCT) RED
17 Nov 2009 | 3:04 pmStarting today our friends at Starbucks will contribute $1 US to help fight AIDS in Africa & give you an exclusive holiday gift – the Starbucks & (RED) CD ‘All You Need Is Love’ - when you spend $15 or more. You’ll get exclusive tracks from Playing for Change, U2, Dave Matthews Band & John Legend. Available at participating Starbucks in US & Canada. Limited supplies – so get yours quick!Find out more at www.StarbucksLoveProject.com. Create a ‘Love Drawing’ and Starbucks will make an additional 5 cents contribution to fighting AIDS in Africa (up to 1 million… -
Thank you. $140 million to Africa So Far.
17 Nov 2009 | 2:07 pmThe latest numbers are in. (RED) partners and events have contributed $140 million to date to the Global Fund to fund HIV/AIDS programs in Africa.Because of you, (RED) funds have supported programs that have reached more than 4 million people with testing, counseling and medication.And to quote our CEO Susan Smith Ellis, the impact that you have when you buy (RED) ‘truly transforms lives as people gain access to medicine, regain strength and can return to being active children, parents, workers and community leaders.’Here’s to the next $140 million…. -
WORLD AIDS DAY 2009. Giving More: Starbucks, Dell, Gap
17 Nov 2009 | 1:52 pmWorld AIDS Day is Dec 1 and this year, (RED) partners including Starbucks, Gap and Dell will make special increased contributions to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.STARBUCKS: Will contribute 5 cents/5p for every handcrafted beverage bought in US, Canada, UK & Ireland on Dec 1GAP: Will contribute 1% of all revenue at participating US and Canada stores on Dec 1DELL: Will be doubling their contributions on DELL (PRODUCT) RED™ products in US and Europe, Middle East, and Asia for the full week of Nov 26 to Dec 2And as always Bugaboo will be contributing 1% of their total… -
(RED) Pop Up Shops Opening on World AIDS Day
17 Nov 2009 | 10:48 amReady to shop (RED) TM for the holidays? In addition to finding (RED) at all of our great partner retailers this holiday season, this December you can find an array of (PRODUCT) RED TM branded products under one roof at the (RED) pop up shops in London, Tokyo, San Francisco and New York. Stop by and pick up great gifts that give back from (RED) partners including Apple, Bugaboo, Converse, Dell, Emporio Armani, Gap, Hallmark, Starbucks and special editions Solange Azagury-Partridge, Girl Skateboard, Channel Islands Surfboards and Timbuk2. (Selection will vary by location). Hope to see you… -
(STARBUCKS) RED launch in the U.K. & Ireland: Watch the video.
6 Nov 2009 | 10:49 amWe love this video! It’s for the announcement of our (STARBUCKS) RED launch in the U.K & Ireland that happened this week. The (STARBUCKS) RED Card lets you turn ALL your purchases at Starbucks (RED). Every time you use your (STARBUCKS) RED Card in the U.K. and Ireland until 31st December 2010, Starbucks will contribute 5p/5 cents to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.The (STARBUCKS) RED range in the U.K. & Ireland:(STARBUCKS)RED CardUse your card to turn ALL your purchases at Starbucks (RED). Until 31st December 2010 Starbucks with contribute 5p/5c to the Global…
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ONE
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Where Do ONE’s T-shirts Come From?
20 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pmWe’ve just wrapped up ONE’s Next Top T-shirt Challenge and are very excited about the winning design submitted by ONE member Valerie Strecker. We hope these T-shirts can play a part in spreading the word about ONE and the great work ONE members are doing to fight poverty and disease. A few of you have asked [...] -
“So many positives” in Cape Verde
20 Nov 2009 | 2:31 pmThe US Ambassador to Cape Verde, Marianne M. Myles, has a piece in the Providence Journal reporting on the many positives coming out of the country. She attributes this to country’s willingness to “put policies and programs in place that deliver for its people and their prosperity” and practicing “good governance with a stable [...] -
Sub-Saharan Africa still faces corruption
20 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pmOn Tuesday, Transparency International (TI) released their 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), revealing that many sub-Saharan African countries remain among the most corrupt world-wide. The annually-released index ranks how corrupt governments are perceived to be, according to international institutions such as the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The 2009 CPI [...] -
World Food Summit Wraps
20 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pmWednesday wrapped up the World Summit on Food Security in Rome. Just to recap in case you missed the last post, the Summit was intended to bring together heads of state and food security institutions, like the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP), to further the global agenda on [...] -
The Designer Behind the T-shirt
20 Nov 2009 | 11:30 amValerie Strecker, the winner of ONE’s Next Top T-shirt Challenge, was nice enough to tell us a little bit more about herself and her design philosophy in the email below. You can also learn more about Valerie’s work on her website: http://www.flyingfishart.com and become a fan on her Facebook page. I grew up in Louisiana enjoying [...]
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Changed by Design
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The Project H Redesign of Hippo water transport
28 Oct 2009 | 6:06 pmIn a recent interview with Hippo Water founder Cynthia Koenig, we learned a bit more about the recent re-design of the Hippo Roller. It was a dream experience for this blog. The challenge In third-world countries, women and children must haul water over long distances in order to supply their communities with clean, safe water. Alternative sources like wells are only functional 6-8 months of the year, and well pumps are unreliable or fuel to power them can be difficult to obtain The first version of the Hippo Roller multiplied the hauling capacity of a single person but the cost of… -
Hippo Water: Smarter and ready to go further
14 Oct 2009 | 1:14 pmWe’ve had the fortune of interviewing Cynthia Koenig, founder of Hippo Water International, to learn more about their recent re-design and their latest plans to spread Hippo technology to more communities outside South Africa. Before we dig in, Hippo most urgently needs your vote for a much-needed scouting trip in India to exchange ideas and advice with other social entrepreneurs and establish critical distribution partners. The contest is hosted by JustMeans, offering an India Social Entrepreneurship Journey with Journeys for Change, for which Hippo Water is currently in the Top 5… -
Chicken a la Carte
22 Jul 2009 | 1:33 amSometimes, a well-told story can do just as much good for a problem as a well-designed solution. This principle attracted me to switch careers from engineering to advertising years ago…I’m still so far from becoming like the storytellers I so admire. This short film makes Ferdinand Dimadura one such storyteller. I won’t spoil it by telling you what’s in it, but I will say that people have been inspired to share this video so much that it has been viewed nearly 10 million times. In fact, I found this from my aunt who forwarded it to my entire extended family! View this… -
Three mobile solutions to development challenges
30 Jun 2009 | 8:00 amTwo thirds of the world’s 3.3 billion mobile phones are owned in developing countries. Social changemakers recognize this opportunity to reach those in need with information, tips, and resources that would otherwise be inaccessible at large scale. Here, we profile three innovative uses of mobile technology to combat developing world challenges. A Twitter tip informed me of Project Masiluleke in South Africa. Due to the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, individuals avoid getting tested and 90% of those infected are not getting treatment. In the KwaZulu Natal province, >40%… -
The Great Darfur Smokeout
1 May 2009 | 1:52 amThe Acumen Fund blog this week posted a call for solutions to the energy challenges posed by wood-burning stoves responsible for much of the black carbon causing 18 percent of global warming, according to the New York Times. Much of the third world uses wood as fuel because it is widely available and free, but the stoves they use to burn the wood are inefficient and produce large amounts of smoke and soot, causing major health and pollution problems. Acumen Fund’s main criticisms of alternative stoves like rocket stoves and solar cookers are as follows: There are lots of stove…
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Jolkona Foundation Blog
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Women Farmers in Sudan are Shaping Their Communities’ Futures
18 Nov 2009 | 8:07 amThis guest post was written by Yifat, on behalf of Madre, a Jolkona Foundation partner. Fatima Ahmed, the president of the Sudanese women’s organization Zenab for Women in Development, recently stopped by the MADRE office with exciting news. The ground-breaking women farmers union led by her organization had harvested a successful crop-and the results are changing [...] -
Nominate Jolkona Foundation for Open Web Awards
16 Nov 2009 | 5:32 amWe invite all of you to nominate Jolkona Foundation for Open Web Awards in “Best Non-Profit Use of Social Media” category. Help us spread the word through your Twitter, Facebook, Blog, etc. -
7 Ways to Change the World
12 Nov 2009 | 8:46 amMicrosoft announced a contest inviting non-profits to submit videos about 7 ways that PCs are changing the world. We thought we would be a great fit, except there was one catch. It needed to be made by folks outside of Microsoft. We were lucky enough to have enthusiastic supporters who came together to put together this video in [...] -
Jolkona Foundation’s View on Transparency
10 Nov 2009 | 4:19 amLast month, David Roodman, a research fellow at the Center for Global Development, set off a storm with a post on Kiva’s model. His post received tons of comments, a reply blog post from Matt Flannery (Kiva CEO), and a revision of the Kiva website. Couple of days ago, even the New York Times published [...] -
Providing a Clean, Reliable and Affordable Sources of Light and Energy to the Residents of Rural Ecuador
9 Nov 2009 | 1:34 pmThis guest post was written by Derya Rose, on behalf of Yachana Foundation, a Jolkona Foundation partner. Evenings in rural Ecuador are often filled with the familiar whirring of diesel generators, providing a little bit of power to communities off the country’s main electricity grid. When these machines are off, the soft glow of candles fills [...]
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BradleyWill - Empowering Young Entrepreneurs
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Gary Vaynerchuk Interview: “Stop Watching and Start Hustling”
2 Nov 2009 | 1:20 pmShare and Enjoy: -
The Hottest TV Show for Young Entrepreneurs
21 Oct 2009 | 8:40 amLast week I was featured on The Rise To The Top, the hottest TV show for young entrepreneurs. What an honor. I was actually a huge fan before I came on the show and my friend David Garland (who I met in St. Louis for the first time on the Go-Giver Tour) does a tremendous [...] -
How to Create Geo-Targeted Facebook Events
10 Oct 2009 | 4:38 pmShare and Enjoy: -
Sick of Making Mistakes 3 Times Over?
21 Sep 2009 | 8:03 amEntrepreneurship is a hard game to play by yourself. Actually, there is no game by yourself. Crack out your Monopoly board game, pick your favorite shiny piece and roll the dice. See how much fun you will have playing by yourself. Business is a game just like Monopoly. You have to learn how to play [...] -
10 Reasons Young Entrepreneurs Fail
8 Sep 2009 | 11:02 amWe hear all too much about what you have to do to become successful. I have discovered one proven way to become successful…Fail often. How do I know this? Well, we won’t get into that right now. I have come to terms with distinct character traits that hold back young entrepreneurs and when repeated, will definitely [...]
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What Do You Stand For?
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Breaking Through Holiday Clutter with Value
17 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmThe following originally appeared in Cones inConetext quarterly newsletter. To read current or past issues, visit our Web site. Holiday-themed cause marketing programs have long been a staple for retailers to drive differentiation, loyalty and sales during a cluttered shopping season. This year, major retailers are raising the stakes by creating programs bigger and glitzier than years past. Weve already begun to see full-scale efforts launched by Macys, JCPenny and Walmart that push the needle on innovation and integration. Recently, providing consumers with value has been… -
The Giving Climate Unveiled
12 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmWith all the chatter about the ups and downs of charitable giving during the down economy, its refreshing to hear some definitive - and positive - news. According to the 2009 Giving in Numbers Report, released this week by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), corporate giving was actually up during 2007-2008, despite worries that corporations would back down from charitable commitments as the economic turmoil raged in the second half of the year. Whats more, the data show that companies got creative when the economy started to sink, opting for pro bono work and… -
Best Practices for Celebrity Engagement with a Cause
11 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmBrands and, increasingly, causes have been tapping celebrity supporters for years, and its become a tried-and-true promotional tactic. But its important for organizations to understand what theyll be getting and not getting when they bring a celebrity on board. The ripped from the headlines best practices below can help guide cause-celebrity relationships in todays environment. 1. Know your budgetIn many cases, even when a cause is involved, celebrities dont come cheap. Be realistic about your budget and crunch the numbers beforehand to make sure youre covering costs and meeting… -
Warming Up to Causes Online
5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmTemperatures are dropping and the holiday season is approaching, causing an outbreak of the warm and fuzzies. Yes, the giving season is upon us, and this year is already proving to be the most digitally driven to-date. Nearly every holiday cause campaign underway has an online component, thanks, in part, to growing consumer comfort interacting with brands via new media up 32 percent from 2008.Despite all the glittery online promotions, its important to recognize consumers are still hesitant to donate online. The 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study showed some American new media users are… -
The Power of Positivity
29 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pmThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is taking a results-driven approach to promoting American investments in global health efforts by releasing an advertisement centered on impact. The video, part of the Living Proof Project, will strike a chord with policy-makers, philanthropists and citizens alike not by centering on unmet need, but by highlighting true and measureable change: Polio cases reduced by 99%; Mother-to-child HIV prevention in 16 million pregnancies; Malaria cases down 50% in 29 countries. This approach instills confidence that funding saves lives. Aimed at…
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A Volunteer's Guide to Changing the World
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Priority and dependencies of social media campaigns
18 Nov 2009 | 11:15 amChris Brogan just wrote a GREAT post on Prioritizing Social Media Efforts. I liked it so much I put it into a visual.Social media is a great way to build trust and provide value, and prioritizing your efforts will help you be more successful in accomplish both! -
I wish there was more mobile giving
17 Nov 2009 | 4:28 pmSometimes, people only need to be reminded or asked in order to give.Mobile couponing is an emerging trends that kindly reminds people to make purchases, and even provides discounts for doing so. In exchange for the coupon, the coupon recipient usually provides and email or phone number for ongoing communication from the provider. Recently, Sprint launched this campaign:Sprint Launches Movie Theater Mobile CouponsSprint has unveiled its new mobile coupon offering that will enable Sprint customers to receive special concession-stand savings at 500 participating movie theaters.The move… -
You Are Influential
11 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pmMy friend J.D. forwarded me a GREAT article called Leading a Life of Intentional Influence by John C. Maxwell. I highly recommend you read it, I have copied it below for your convenience:Leading a Life of Intentional InfluenceBy John C. MaxwellIn the classic Christmas film, It's a Wonderful Life, George Bailey is given a tremendous gift: the opportunity to see what life would be like without him. As he wanders through a world that has no memory of his existence, George is dismayed by the plight of his friends and family. Devoid of his influence, their lives lack the warmth and richness he is… -
Are you really reaching THAT many people?!
5 Nov 2009 | 3:53 pmHoly cow: 8% of internet users account for 85% of all clicks! -
4 Great How-to Web sites
4 Nov 2009 | 4:19 pmNext time you need help with something, try finding the answers at one of these great sites:Instructables.comInstructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with othersHowcast.comHowcast engages consumers to watch and share free, useful how-to videos and guides produced in-house at Howcast Studios, as well as by innovative media partners, trusted brands, and individual contributorseHow.comeHow.com is an online community dedicated to providing visitors like you the ability to research, share, and…
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Kiva Stories from the Field
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Zooming in and out on microfinance
20 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pmBy Thomas Gold, KF9 Dominican Republic For English version, click on “(more…)”, then scroll down. Après un mois passé dans la succursale de Samanà de mon institution de microfinance Esperanza, me voici, de retour à la capitale Santo Domingo, après une journée entière de voyage. Samanà ne se trouve qu’à un peu moins de 250km de la capitale, mais le manque d’infrastructures routières et le fait qu’une seule compagnie œuvre dans le transport de voyageurs, rendent un voyage des plus banals dans le monde occidental en une épopée d’une journée en République… -
The Passing of a Kiva Borrower
19 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pmSaahkem Dorothy Muyang. 1954 - 2009. By Dennis A. Espinoza, KF9, Grounded and Holistic Approach for People’s Empowerment (GHAPE) in Bamenda, Cameroon I was working at my desk when Kenneth, my roommate and GHAPE loan officer, answered his phone and heard that ten year GHAPE member and Kiva borrower, Saahkem Dorothy Muyang, had passed away after a bout with diabetes. Just glancing at Dorothy’s picture and noticing her beaming smile gives you an impression of who she was. She had a big heart, a deep love for her family and was very involved in her community. Needless to say, her… -
‘Tis Someone’s Season To Be Jolly
19 Nov 2009 | 11:58 amBy Victoria Kabak, KF9, Nicaragua As the holiday season fast approaches, I imagine many of you back at home are starting to make lists (checking them twice?) of presents or of people you’re going to buy presents for or even of presents you hope someone else gets you. It’s no secret that businesses in the United States – and in other countries – experience a significant uptick in sales in December. But I’ve learned in the past few weeks that this phenomenon isn’t unique to the United States or to developed countries. Many of the borrowers I’ve met with recently have expressed to… -
Coffee: A Love Affair
18 Nov 2009 | 7:04 amBy Karl Baumgarten, KF9, Costa Rica 4,000,0000 cups per year. 10,958,904 cups per day. 42 beans per cup. 460,273,968 beans per day. And they all have to be picked one by one by one. My fingers hurt just thinking about it. Every cup we make is the culmination of an incredibly involved process that we all should appreciate. Below is a video of the coffee process at AsoProLa, an organic coffee company which processes coffee from small scale farmers in Altamira, many of whom have micro-loans with FUDECOSUR Music by: JPMounier Introduction video: Coffee Insitute (1961) Last week, I had the… -
Connecting through prayers
18 Nov 2009 | 5:55 amBy Jeremy Lapedis, KF9, Guatemala I’m Jewish, but, before every meal at Manuel’s hous,e we say a prayer thanking Jesus Christ. Manuel is the director of FAPE, the MFI where I work in Guatemala, and I have been staying with him since arriving. He is also a pastor at a Baptist church. So I was surprised Thursday night when lifting my head, just after our prayer, I spotted a menorah on display. What is this doing here? Manual caught my gaze. “Oh, a friend gave me that. Do you know what it used for?” he queried. I attempted to impart what knowledge I had of the…
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Change Your Life | The Change Blog
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7 Keys to Successful Public Speaking
20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amThe year was 2001. I was asked to give a “toast” at my sister’s wedding; I reluctantly agreed to do so. The wedding day came and the wedding ceremony seemed to go by in a flash. Before I knew it, I was the next person to speak. My arm pits began to sweat profusely. I felt a cold chill run down my spine. I began to think of the thousands of the things that could go wrong. My heart started to pump blood as if my life was in imminent danger. I thought: “Why am I so nervous!” Have you ever felt this way? There was a time when I would literally “recoil” at the thought of speaking in… -
Want to Change? Stop Setting Goals.
18 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amImage courtesy of Jesse Millan One of the most widespread ideas in the world of personal development is SMART goal-setting – it seems to have seeped into every self-help, business development and corporate training program out there. Just in case you’ve somehow managed to avoid attending these workshops – or more likely slept through them – SMART is an acronym for a set of criteria that people are encouraged to use to get really clear on the outcome they’re aiming for when they’re setting goals, because this increase your success in achieving your goals. The SMART… -
10 Steps to Creative Career Changes
16 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amImage courtesy of Tiago Ribeiro A percussionist has a way of creating music out of a couple twigs and an iron pot. A dancer can turn an empty room into a mosaic of movement. Why not use your own inherent creative capacities to be the artist of your own life? We often feel trapped; unable to change directions while on the roads we travel. But just as a writer can overcome creative blocks when staring at a blank sheet of paper, we can all overcome the blocks that prevent us from seeing creative possibilities for our lives. I was an electrical engineer for over a decade before I decided to make… -
A Story of Change: The Slothful Genius
13 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amImage courtesy of MadMolecule I was (ok I’ll admit it, still am) a quite disorganized guy. In addition, I have a reputation for outstanding achievements at different competitions in the domains of physics, sociology, languages, chemistry, and so on. Due to this quite bizarre combination I was known as the slothful genius of the school. Now, regarding being a sloth – I admit my bad ways and do my best to improve. Regarding being a genius – oh boy, I don’t like to call myself one. Oscar Wilde, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi – they are the geniuses. I might earn… -
The Limits of Our Freedom
11 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amImage courtesy of h.koppdelaney Viktor Fankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning, ‘Between stimulus and response there is a space, and in that space lies all our freedom.’ In the most extreme conditions of privation imaginable, Frankl discovered that he was, remarkably, free to choose his response to any situation. I love this quote because it sums up the essence of my philosophy. I believe it is the cornerstone of a happy and effective life. A real, experiential understanding of this radical freedom is life changing, liberating and…
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Change.org's Sustainable Food Blog
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More GE Crops, More Pesticides
20 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amA new report by Charles Benbrook, chief scientist at the Organic Center, says that genetically engineered crops are forcing use of pesticides rapidly upwards. The report, titled "Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use: The First Thirteen Years" and principally informed by data from the USDA, finds that GE crops have caused an increase in the use of herbicide in the US of 383 million pounds over the 13 years GE crops have been used commercially. But what about all that talk of GE corn and cotton driving the use of insecticides to celebrated lows? According to the report, the… -
WTF Obama! Get Big Ag Players Out of Government
19 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amThe fact that there's a revolving door between government and industry will come as news to no one. What is surprising (though hardly, says the cynical devil on my shoulder) is that President Obama continues to spin it around. What ever happened to "No political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years" (as stated in Obama's ethics rules)? Whatever happened to "We'll tell ConAgra that it's not the Department of Agribusiness. It's the Department of Agriculture. -
Ag in Africa: Foreign 'Feudal Lords' and 'Diabolical' Seed Companies
18 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amIn looking at the world leaders gathered at this week's World Summit on Food Security in Rome, one does not except to see the eccentric Muammar Gaddafi as a beacon of logic in the storm. The unusual ruler, after all, spent part of his weekend in Italy's capital trying to convert 500 women he hired from an escort service to Islam — after, that is, he arrived in a white limo to speak to them, reports the UK's Mail Online. He might not have persuaded very many of his female quarry to convert — "I thought we were going to a party - we didn't even get a glass of water or some salty snack," one… -
Kellogg Foundation Funds Local Food
17 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amWhen you think of local food, Kellogg is not the first name that springs to mind. No, instead it's sugary cereals (okay, and some non-sugary ones), which are some of the most iconic products of our industrial, processed food system. So it may come as somewhat of a surprise to hear that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a foundation started by cereal maven Will Keith Kellogg in 1930 and still funded by an endowment formed by his money in 1934, has announced $32.5 million in grants to support local food systems, according to the Washington Post. This news points to the fact that the conversation on… -
World Summit on Food Security Set to Disappoint
16 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amToday begins the World Summit on Food Security, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and scheduled to run through Wednesday in Rome, Italy. The FAO estimates that 1.02 billion people are undernourished in 2009, and with a world population set to reach 9 billion by 2050, the ranks of the hungry are sure to balloon unless aggressive action is taken on an international level. Reuters reports, however, that the summit's progress will be no more than a token; there will be no deadlines or commitments to action despite the FAO's hope of gaining pledges of…
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Social Work/Social Action
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"It's Shaking us to the Core"
19 Nov 2009 | 7:53 am -
Two Smart Talks
18 Nov 2009 | 7:57 amAnd Rick Perlstein, if the wonky video continues to refuse to be embedded below. -
"Welfare and the Poorest of the Poor"
17 Nov 2009 | 8:21 amPeter Edelman on TANF -- must reading, I think, for those of you in SWK 6201. An excerpt:. . . Nonetheless, the main message was to downsize the rolls, and downsize they did. The palpable result thirteen years later is the virtual disappearance in many states of cash assistance for low-income mothers with children, with caseloads going down by well over 90 percent. Overall, the rolls shrank from 14.3 million mothers (and a few fathers) and children in 1994 to under four million in 2007. In 1995, nine million of the 14.5 million children then poor were in families that received welfare. By… -
17 Million Households, 49 Million People
17 Nov 2009 | 5:06 amWASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2009 - USDA's Economic Research Service's (ERS) today released its annual report on Household Food Security in the U.S., which revealed that in 2008, 17 million households, or 14.6 percent, were food insecure and families had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year. This is an increase from 13 million households, or 11.1 percent, in 2007. The 2008 figures represent the highest level observed since nationally representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995. The full study is available at… -
An Inconvenient Truth
13 Nov 2009 | 8:16 pmAn Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore @ Yahoo! Video
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SocialEarth
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Creative Career Surgery’s New DVD Kit Teaches Social Entrepreneurship in School
20 Nov 2009 | 4:10 amSchool just got cooler thanks to 25 year old Shivani Mair. Her super savvy Creative Careers Surgery website, geared towards helping young people find meaningful careers, just put out one of the first ever social enterprise learning tools for use in schools across the UK. The “Create Yourself – Create Change” DVD Kit includes a [...] -
Quality Health Care is Saving the Rain Forest
19 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amAbout three weeks ago, I was flipping through the channels and landed on PBS. If you know me, I spend about an average of 1 hour per week by the television, and it’s usually to catch the most recent episode of The Office. However, this particular night, PBS caught my attention. What I saw on [...] -
BetterTheWorld Contest! Earn $4,000 for Charity, $2,000 for Your School
19 Nov 2009 | 2:38 amIf you haven’t joined the hottest online community for social change, now is a better time than ever. BetterTheWorld.com, a Web site/community that allows users to donate to nonprofits by surfing the Web, recently launched their Final 4 Contest where members can earn $4,000 for their choice charity and an extra $2,000 for their school. For [...] -
The Brave New Information Ecosystem
18 Nov 2009 | 2:40 amAs the news profession increasingly (and justifiably) frets about its future, the blogosphere/Tweetdom/listserve conversation typically boils down to this question: How will we save newspapers? (Often, more specifically, it’s How will we save The New York Times?) That’s a myopic and typically self-serving question, but it implies a bigger one: How will we sustain quality [...] -
Sustainability Setbacks: What Can We Do?
17 Nov 2009 | 4:16 amOur primary focus here at Social Earth is to deliver you good news about people and organizations who are dedicated to improving our world, but it would be unrealistic if every once and awhile we did not share our frustrations. For me and everyone else with an environmental conscience, this week was a particularly discouraging [...]
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Andrew Wolk
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Response to comments on my Michelle Rhee post
14 Nov 2009 | 9:58 amThanks for your comments; it’s clear that you are very passionate about the state of education in Washington, D.C. I welcome this kind of dialogue on the blog, and am glad that you have contributed. While I absolutely hear your points, I remain committed to my claim that Ms. Rhee is a public innovator. The D.C. public schools are notorious for failing to prepare their students for success. The study that Richard cited in his comment notes that D.C. students scored lower than students in most other urban districts on a nationally administered test; in addition, D.C. students have… -
Michelle Rhee, Public Innovator
12 Nov 2009 | 12:04 pmAs many of you know, one of my main focuses at the moment is on enabling government to become more actively engaged with on-the-ground, community-based solutions. So from time to time on this blog I plan to highlight what I call public innovators – those who work at the city, state or federal levels of government and exemplify an ‘invest in what works’ state of mind. I recently read Tom Friedman’s op ed piece entitled “The New Untouchables,” which inspired me to start off with Michelle Rhee, the Chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools. Before I tell you a bit about why I… -
Performance Measurement – It’s Now or Never!
4 Nov 2009 | 8:20 amNonprofit performance measurement (also known by the names evaluation, metrics, outcomes, and logic models, among others) seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongues these days. The ‘measurement movement’ is not new – some might say it started well over a decade ago when the logic model came into fashion. What’s new today is that many different stakeholders are simultaneously bringing their perspectives, models, and ideas for requirements to the table. And so, while in the past it may have theoretically been possible to determine the right decisions “by gut” and to raise… -
The Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund
30 Oct 2009 | 1:02 pmOne of the most exciting examples of government applying the principles of social innovation for accelerated social impact is the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Investing in Innovation, or i3, Fund (formerly known as the “What Works” fund). As the name suggests, the fund exists to identify and “support local efforts to start or expand research-based innovative programs that help close the achievement gap and improve outcomes for students.” If you haven’t had a chance to read up on it, see the DOE’s fact sheet, check out this great post by Learning Point Associates that… -
Does Measurement = Randomized Control Trials?
27 Oct 2009 | 2:44 pmThere is a debate going on about how to identify and invest in the highest-performing nonprofits – with a great emphasis on randomized control trial (RCT) studies. The RCT, a research methodology that involves randomly selecting subjects from a larger test group to receive an experimental product or service, is undoubtedly a rigorous way of determining whether a cause and effect relationship exists between a given service and a desired outcome. The current interest in RCTs is an encouraging sign of the growing momentum for linking nonprofit funding to proven results and investing in what…
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Fuel for the Field
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Changing the game
2 Nov 2009 | 11:06 amThe Huffington Post recently released their list of top ten “game-changers” in philanthropy – you can vote for one “ultimate game changer” – who are using new media as a foundation to create real change. The list includes blogger and inspirational thought leader, Lucy Bernholz. Among many hot topics she has raised, her suggestion for a “Philanthropy Policy Project” recently galvanized a whole new conversation. It also includes Perla Ni, the mastermind behind greatnonprofits.org, a website that makes the nonprofit world more transparent so that people and institutions can… -
MBA Student, Interrupted – Guest Post by Stephen McCann
13 Oct 2009 | 2:54 pmIntroduction by Carla I. Javits Outstanding leadership is a central factor that distinguishes any successful enterprise; this is certainly true in the social sector. REDF started its signature Farber Program a decade ago to provide hands-on experience in job-creation social enterprises for MBA students and graduates who want to contribute and learn through summer internships and one year fellowships in the social sector. More than one hundred people have now participated in REDF’s selective Farber Program. It combines the excitement of project-planning and product development for social… -
Seizing the opportunity for real innovation
21 Sep 2009 | 4:30 pmSonal Shah, President Obama’s inaugural Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation, was here in the heartland of innovation for a whirlwind trip beginning with her appearance at SoCAP 2009 at Ft. Mason, and then meeting with a REDF-assembled group of leaders from REDF’s board and advisory council, social enterprise, business, foundations, and government who shared with her the role and value of social enterprise in job creation. The next day Tessie Guillermo, the visionary leader of ZeroDivide gathered local foundations and nonprofits to offer her suggestions to improve… -
Reflections on SOCAP 2009
10 Sep 2009 | 1:01 pmWhile it would have been in the category of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” a few years ago – there is now a White House Office of Social Innovation led by the savvy Sonal Shah, who recently moved to D.C. after working at Google right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The dictionary definition of innovation is a ‘new method, custom, or device’ – all badly needed to stop the degradation of the planet’s environment, and the way we’ve squandered productivity in this most optimistic and productive of nations (and around the world) by limiting the opportunities of too many… -
Job creation is the name of the game
3 Sep 2009 | 12:06 pmThe end of summer is always hot in more ways than one. Questions about the future hang in the humid air. Will unemployment get unstuck from the stratosphere? Will spines be strong enough to pass health care reform? Will policymakers keep fantasizing that private philanthropy will bail out slashed public budgets? Will the social sector be creative and courageous enough to examine and improve what we do in the face of change and uncertainty? Harbingers of the future can be found in an unlikely place – the current issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Community Development…
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Social Velocity
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A New Social Innovation Project Comes to Texas
20 Nov 2009 | 8:55 amThere is something underway in Texas that I’m pretty excited about. The OneStar Foundation, the Texas state office of nonprofit capacity building and social innovation and administrator of the state’s AmeriCorps grant, has just launched a new project called the Texas Social Innovation Initiative (TSI). TSI is a partnership with Root Cause, a national organization supporting social innovation and headquartered in Boston. The TSI creates an opportunity and a marketplace for socially innovative nonprofit organizations to present a compelling case for support to scale their… -
Thoughts on Social Innovation
11 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pmLast month I attended the Social Venture Partners International conference in Dallas. It was a great gathering of an organization that is helping to lead the movement for social innovation. In 25 chapters in the US, Canada and Japan, 2,000 social venture partners contribute time, money and expertise to the nonprofits in their communities. The goal is two-fold: 1) to create communities of lifelong, informed and inspired philanthropists, and 2) to make strategic investments that build long-term capacity for nonprofits. Theirs is an innovative model for creating engaged philanthropists who… -
But Change We Must
10 Nov 2009 | 11:53 amThe social sector, or perhaps more appropriately, those writing about the social sector, seem particularly analytical and reflective this past week. Perhaps its the looming end to a horrible year for the general economy, and nonprofits in particular. Whatever the reason, the nonprofit sector and the philanthropy that funds it are at an important crossroads. First, the picture for the current state of the social sector continues to be bleak. A recent Foundation Center advisory reports that foundation giving will decline 10% this year and more next year. And a new survey by Opportunity Knocks… -
Why Do People Give?
6 Nov 2009 | 10:34 amThere is a great discussion going on at the Tactical Philanthropy blog centered around the new book The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets a Business Plan by Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey Solomon who argue that philanthropists (big and small) should take a more strategic approach to giving. The discussion that has followed the three posts so far gives fascinating insight into the reasons that people give. Katya Andresen at Network for Good, nicely summarizes the two broad reasons that people give: 1) for personal return on investment (recognition, feels good, status, increase in network)… -
Philanthropy Drives Arts Education Forward in Austin
3 Nov 2009 | 10:55 amThe kick-off of Austin’s MindPop collaboration was this morning. MindPop, which I’ve written about before, is a collaboration of a handful of leading Austin philanthropists hoping to improve access to arts education for all Austin children. They want to understand what is holding our kids back from learning about and experiencing the arts and what needs to change in the infrastructure of the city in order to fill those gaps. The project has 3 phases: Gap Analysis to determine what is missing in the arts education ecosystem in Austin Creation of 4 bold goals to solve those gaps…
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SSIR Articles
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What Workforce Crisis?
19 Nov 2009 | 7:18 pmAmerica’s nonprofit organizations have great difficulty attracting and retaining talent—or so recent newspaper and magazine articles would lead their readers to believe. These articles cite low wages, large student debts, the limited appeal of many frontline nonprofit service jobs, restricted advancement opportunities, and inadequate benefits as causes of the workforce crisis. Yet nonprofit employment has actually been booming, growing at twice the average annual growth rate of for-profit employment between 1990 and 2006. Even during the last recession, between 2002 and 2004, nonprofits… -
Second Chances and a Third Bottom Line
19 Nov 2009 | 6:46 pmInside the steel and glass office towers of Chile’s capital, Santiago, computers, printers, and faxes hum. Out on the streets, business executives and taxi drivers chat away on some of Chile’s 14 million cellular telephones. Urbanized, well educated, and home to 17 million people, Chile is one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America. And as is the case in the United States, all its electronic gadgets are beginning to lead to a whole lot of electronic waste. The country currently discards 300,000 computers a year, and by 2020 it will be grappling with an annual pile of 1.7… -
Grassroots Concrete
19 Nov 2009 | 6:26 pmOn the morning of Jan. 26, 2001, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the western Indian state of Gujarat. More than 20,000 people were killed and 160,000 injured, many of them crushed by falling buildings. International aid agencies flocked to the scene and began reconstruction. One year later, civil engineer Elizabeth Hausler traveled to Gujarat on a Fulbright scholarship, hoping to learn how she could use her skills to build homes that withstand tectonic shifts. She found that many survivors didn’t want to live in their new, donor-built earthquake-resistant houses because they were made… -
Endowment for a Rainy Day
19 Nov 2009 | 5:54 pmJudging from media accounts, U.S. nonprofits are facing unprecedented, if not catastrophic, financial distress because of endowment losses. Hiring is being frozen, facility maintenance is being deferred, programs are being dropped, performance seasons are being shortened, and construction projects are being cut back or even halted. As the president of Harvard University, Drew Gilpin Faust, put it when defending her decision to sharply reduce expenditures following a 30 percent drop in the value of the school’s endowment, “Tinkering around the edges will not be enough.” Harvard isn’t… -
Research: Start them Younger
19 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amVOLUNTEERS Start Them Younger As wealthier nations age, nonprofits are retooling their operations to accommodate an older volunteer workforce. But they would be remiss if they didn’t also look for help at the other end of the life span, reports Charlene S. Shannon, an expert in recreation and leisure studies at the University of New Brunswick in Canada. She documents how “younger youth”— children between the ages of 8 and 12—are an energetic, useful, yet largely overlooked pool of volunteer labor. Interviewing younger youth and executive directors at Boys & Girls Clubs in…
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America Forward
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The New York Times Covers “A Plan for Nonprofits, with a Nod to Innovators”
12 Nov 2009 | 6:54 pmYesterday, The New York Times featured an article on the Social Innovation Fund, covering the lively discussion taking place in the philanthropic, social, and public sectors on the Fund’s potential to change the way we solve social problems in America. The article featured many opinions from leaders across sectors on the goals of the fund, the way in which it will be executed, and its capacity to provide critical support for organizations looking to scale in this economically challenging environment. Concerning fund grantees, Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, said,… -
Audio available from CNCS briefing call on the Social Innovation Fund
19 Oct 2009 | 7:34 amLast week the Corporation for National and Community Service hosted a briefing call on the Social Innovation Fund. Marta Urquilla, Senior Adviser for Social Innovation, and Bob Grimm, Director of Research and Policy Development, represented the Corporation on the call, reviewing the Fund’s structure as outlined in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and answering questions that had been submitted in advance by listeners. If you were unable to participate last week, an audio recording is available for download on the CNCS website. -
President announces his intent to nominate CNCS CEO
2 Oct 2009 | 3:08 pmWe are pleased to share that President Obama has announced his intention to nominate Patrick Corvington for the position of Chief Executive Officer at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Patrick is a recognized leader and expert on nonprofit sector leadership and capacity issues, new and emerging philanthropy, evaluation and performance measurement, and volunteerism. He possesses the skills, experience, and networks to capitalize on the opportunity before us—to more strategically direct resources, both human and financial, toward proven solutions and promising new… -
America Forward and the Service Community Salute Senator Tom Harkin
9 Sep 2009 | 11:50 amLast week, America Forward partnered with ServiceNation and Voices for National Service to recognize Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) at an event in his home state of Iowa for his commitment to national service and social innovation. Senator Harkin is a true champion, and his leadership—especially in the appropriations process for the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and the Social Innovation Fund—has been critical in the effort to expand service opportunities and foster innovation and impact in the social sector. The event brought together more than 200 citizens involved in service in… -
President Obama on the Passing of Senator Ted Kennedy
27 Aug 2009 | 8:18 amYou need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
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Innovate2Uplift.net
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The courage to create
18 Nov 2009 | 5:02 am“Pick something that you love and do it like a bad habit for ten years, and someone will want a piece of it.” TEDx Columbus wasted no time throwing down the gauntlet. The challenge above was posed by Matt Slaybaugh, the first of eight live presenters at last month’s TEDx Columbus event. The array of topics at [...] -
Green is Profitable. Green is Healthy.
15 Oct 2009 | 8:55 pmToday, I am joining with bloggers from 11,512 other blogs (and counting) to write about climate change for Blog Action Day 2009. I chose to write about green buildings and sustainable practices as one key element to fighting climate change. Last week, I attended a session at the Council on Foundations Fall Conference of Community Foundations [...] -
Making Room for Movement Building
12 Oct 2009 | 8:23 pmThis is a repost of an October 6 entry in the Council on Foundations, Fall Conference of Community Foundations blog. In his book, Tribes, bestselling author, speaker, and entrepreneur Seth Godin argues that lasting and substantive change begins with a group of people connected to each other, to a leader, and to an idea. A close look at [...] -
Changemakers Table: Social Innovators I follow (8.28.09)
28 Aug 2009 | 6:48 pmSince I created my first blog post in January 2009 , I’ve been blessed to meet the most awesome, brilliant, engaging, and inspiring people. Spend a few minutes of conversation with them and you’ll be amazed at the instantaneous boost of inspiration and energy you receive. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to [...] -
Raising the Buzz: At the table with Pilar Stella
9 Aug 2009 | 5:24 pm“Comfort” is momentary and only accessible by some. “Peace” endures and is accessible by all. Spend a few moments with Pilar Stella (@PilarStella) and the conversation will inevitably illuminate the existential difference between the words “peace” and “comfort.” She has found “peace” with her life’s quest to make the world a better place by creating [...]
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Not Only for Profit
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Riding the wave of someone else’s failure can mean startup success
19 Nov 2009 | 10:37 amImage by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife Entrepreneurship involves an odd mix of bullheadedness, good timing, luck and a bunch of other things. And one company’s failure can spell a huge opportunity for a determined entrepreneur, green or otherwise. That seems to be the moral of a story in today’s New York Times Business of Green, about Green Foam Blanks. The one-year-old San Clemente, Cal., startup makes environmentally friendly surfboard blanks, which are what form the foam core of surfboards. The blanks are largely made from recycled polyurethane. The traditional ingredient… -
Lloyd Blankfein’s mea culpa means $500 million for small business
18 Nov 2009 | 12:24 pmImage by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife Seems Lloyd Blankfein has finally realized that, not only is Goldman Sachs not doing God’s work, but the public hates them–really really hates them–and he’d better do some more image control. As it happens, that’s turning out to be a good thing for small business. Thus, Goldman Sachs just announced that it’s working with Warren Buffett, the Mensch of Omaha, to provide $500 million in funding for 10,000 small companies. Buffett, of course, paid $5 billion last September to buy Goldman preferred stock and also got… -
More hatcheries for social entrepreneurship
17 Nov 2009 | 2:32 pmLooks like we’re starting to see a bumper crop of business incubators, venture accelerators or whatever you want to call them for social enterprise. The latest is called The Unreasonable Institute, a three- month boot camp in Boulder for social entrepreneurs. To be launched next summer, it differs from Y Combinator-style programs in a few ways. First, of course, is that it’s aimed at social ventures, for-profit and non-profit. Also, it’s primarily for people 20-30 years old. And, there’s a definite global emphasis to the program. Also, there’s the way… -
Ambitious Chicago news site to become an L3C
13 Nov 2009 | 2:27 pmImage via Wikipedia One solution for saving journalism from the precipice is for news organizations to become nonprofits. But a soon- to- be- launched web site is taking a slightly different approach by assuming an L3C structure. Called The Chicago News Cooperative, the site’s founder is Jim O’Shea, a former Los Angeles Times editor and Chicago Tribune managing editor. His plan is to launch Nov. 20 as a nonprofit. But, in January, the site will become an L3C, or low-profit, limited liability company, a hybrid model mixing elements of for- profit and nonprofit in one structure. … -
Serial entrepreneurs launch new approach to VC finance
11 Nov 2009 | 3:41 pmThere’s lots of talk these days about the need for venture capitalists to make 1) smaller investments and 2) invest in earlier stage enterprises. The latest innovative firm to stake a spot in this turf is the Founder Collective. Just officially launched this week, it’s founded by seven serial entrepreneurs who intend to invest their small, $40 million fund only in seed-stage ventures. And they have a pretty unusual approach. To that end, writes co-founder Chris Dixon in his blog: “Seed investments are our entire business–they are not options on future…
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Social Goodies - Where Business & Evolution Intersect
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Can a One-Person Business Really Make a Difference?
2 Nov 2009 | 8:02 amIt seems that when the phrase “social responsibility” is used in connection with business, it usually has the word “corporate” in front of it. If your enterprise isn’t a corporation, this can make socially responsible businesses seem like an exclusive club, where the one-person business isn’t welcome. Related posts:Doing Good versus Doing Well Check out the radio interview I just completed with co-authors...Socially Strategic Enterprise: Doing Well While You Do Good Did you ever see the Academy Award-winning movie “A Beautiful...Muhammad Who? (And What’s a Social… -
Climate Change: An Example of How Marketing Messages Spread
15 Oct 2009 | 2:00 amWord-of-Mouth is the most powerful marketing tool we have at our disposal. And businesses are not the only ones who can leverage this to their benefit. We all spread messages. Sometimes our own. But most of the time, the messages belong to someone else. Usually we're spreading those messages because of good intentions. Because we believe them to be true. And because we want to help those we love live better, make better choices, and gain a better understanding of the world. Related posts:5 Marketing Tips for Businesses that want to Change the World If I only had a nickle for every time… -
What Color is Your Business? (or, 9 Steps to Creating a Greener Workplace)
6 Oct 2009 | 10:45 amSo where do you start? Follow this 9-Step Plan to create something that’s perfect for your office... No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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Entrepinoy Bank
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East-West Seed Company Horticultural Training Service Guidelines
19 Nov 2009 | 11:08 pmEast-West Seed Company is not only providing high quality hybrid seeds but also providing horticultural trainings for Filipino farmers/entrepreneurs wanting to become successful in high-value vegetable farming. Training Service Schemes: 1. Center-based Training – conducted regularly at the head office of East-West Seed Company-Philippines 2. Onsite Training – conducted in different locations in the country Center-Based Training General course: 1. Off-season Vegetable Production Specialized course: (Development in progress for 2010 offering) 1. Building healthy and productive soils for… -
Farm-Ready High Quality Seedlings You Can Buy at East-West Seed Company
18 Nov 2009 | 11:08 pmReady to plant high quality seedlings are great additions to most-sought high-quality seeds East-West Seed Company offered to Filipino farmer-entrepreneur. Certainly, it’s the company’s mission to provide innovative product and services that will help increase farmers’ income and promote growth and quality of the vegetable farming industry. Farm-ready seedling varieties: Ornamental Seedlings General features 40-45 days old/ flowering stage Ready to plant Different colors Packaging: small plastic pots Variety: Vinca, Celosia, Dianthus, Zinnia, Marigold, Pentas Hybrid Papaya General… -
Free Seminars on Health and Wellness and Gift Wrapping
17 Nov 2009 | 11:08 pmAttend great free seminars on the last week of November offered by CHINESE FILIPINO BUSINESS CLUB, INC. and utilize spare space and earn extra income. November 26, 2009 Thursday 1:30-5:00PM “Don’t Let Stroke Steal Your Life” By: Dr. LEE KHENG HIN - Consultant Neurosurgeon of PARKWAYHEALTH’s Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore ParkwayHealth Patient Assistance Center Manila Representative Office Unit 1507 Medical Plaza Makati, Amorsolo cor. Dela Rosa Sts., Legaspi Vill. Makati City Tel. 02-7518225; Telefax: 02-7518227 Mobile # 0917 8232729 (Yvonne) Gift Wrapping November 27, 2009 Friday… -
Value-Added Products From Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) for Business
17 Nov 2009 | 3:58 pmTilapia is one of the many aqua products that will earn you money especially if you know how to make value-added products. But you have a problem. You don’t know what value-added products to make from tilapia. Don’t worry. Here are simple skills and easy to follow steps you can try today. Read on… How to Make Breaded Tilapia Ingredients *Fish *Breadcrumbs *Salt *Cooking oil *Batter mix *Brine solution Procedures: 1. Soak sticks in a 10% brine solution for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 2. Coat with batter mix and roll in breadcrumbs. 3. Deep fry until light brown. 4. Cool. 5. Pack in… -
World Entrepreneur Business Expo 2009: An Exclusive Market Place for Business
15 Nov 2009 | 11:08 pmWhat: World Entrepreneur Business Expo 2009 When: November 19-22, 2009 (Thursday to Sunday) Where: SMX Convention, Seashell Drive, Mall of Asia Complex Pasay City, Philippines The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCII) is exclusively endorsing the WORLD ENTREPRENEUR BUSINESS EXPO 2009, an exhibition by Global-Link MP designed to create business opportunities and uplift the business communities in the Philippines to higher level. The event will focus on several investment areas such as Construction and Hardware, Consumer Products and Lifestyle, Machinery and…
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Kevin Asuncion's Blog - Push the World Forward
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Be the Change Series: Face to Face not Facebook to Facebook
12 Nov 2009 | 11:15 amPlease check out my guest post on Akhila Kolisetty’s Blog “Justice For All” Face to Face not Facebook to Facebook, an opinion piece on online activism. Akhila is a Northwestern University undergrad studying Political Science and Economics. She is passionate about international human rights law and in the long run, hopes to be armed with a JD and work on access to justice and rule of law initiatives in developing countries. She loves writing and blogging of all sorts, traveling across the globe, burying herself in books, writing poetry, and keeping up with art and fashion. On her… -
Catch me on Alltop!
3 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pmI was just recently added to Alltop, the social media site that aggregates the top blogs on a plethora of topics. Catch me on the Social Entrepreneurship & Good channels! -
Social Entrepreneurship: A Growing Trend on Campus
30 Oct 2009 | 3:47 pmA story published last week by the Wall Street Journal documents the growing trend of top flight business schools offering instruction in the discipline of social entrepreneurship. According to the article, business school administrators offer up two possible explanations on why social entrepreneurship is gaining more ground on campus. Some administrators believe that the rise is attributable to a generational progression of business students who were nurtured to be socially responsible, while other prominent pundits argue that a lack of traditional jobs has spurred an interest in… -
Scalability is not the Answer
30 Oct 2009 | 3:47 pmIn a recent post by Nextbillion.net Emily Pittlon, PopTech! Social Innovation Fellow, asserted in response to questions of scalability, “I truly believe scalability is not the inescapable answer. I believe it’s more important to move a million people to do one thing than make one thing and copy it a million times.” I think she’s on to something. Often times, when vetting potential sustainable solutions to development, the question of scalability reigns. But I think the bigger question to be asked is how do potential solutions build local capacity to lead systemic change. In… -
Mobilizing Idle Assets for the Greater Good
30 Oct 2009 | 3:46 pmIn the nearby city of Montclair, CA, a vacant lot sits idle. For years the lot was a vibrant place of commerce and activity, but the plaza closed down in 1996. Thirteen years later, the lot remains idle as ever. Whenever I drive by Montclair I always bemoan the lot’s inactivity, but always find myself envisioning what it could be. Due to the recent recession, cities around the United States are full of these very same vacant lots, unused buildings, and underutilized community assets. It’s sad see things with so much potential go to waste, but the point here is not so much about…
