Review
Economic Development
The Ambiguous Rise of Microfinance
Two recent books explore the modern prominence of the global financial-inclusion agenda and argue about how it got there.
Measurement & Evaluation
Philanthropy’s Most Important Metric
We judge philanthropic capital's impact by what it builds while it is building. We should judge by what stands, without it, after the grant has ended.
Philanthropy & Funding
Why Don’t Philanthropists Build Anymore?
The New Gilded Age: Unlike yesterday’s magnates, today’s billionaires prefer to write checks to existing organizations. They should instead build institutions that last.
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Education
Educating as if Democracy Depends on It
Preparing young people to participate and govern means moving beyond entrusting civic learning to a single course in high school or an elective on campus.
Technology
A Path Through AI Overwhelm
Many social impact leaders feel pressure to engage with AI but are overwhelmed and lack a clear starting point. Four fundamental questions can help frame early conversations.
Philanthropy & Funding
Global Health Philanthropy in the Post-Aid Era
Philanthropic capital can't fill the vacuum left by the collapse of international aid, but funders nevertheless need to move from caution to courage and accelerate their pace of giving.
Education
Her Library, Their Future
An Indian state's initiative to establish women-run community libraries is giving rural students—especially girls—a safe space to study and access career guidance.
Nonprofits & NGOs
Invest in Fundraising to End Foundation Dependency
In this funding crisis, we need to play the long game and build independent capacity for the long term.
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Advocacy
We Need to Close the Hope Gap
Successful advocacy requires not only increasing support on our issues, but inspiring people to believe that they can win. | This article is free to all readers thanks to sponsorship by BLIS Collective.
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How Can Schools Best Serve the Common Good?
A conversation with two nationally renowned school superintendents about the biggest challenges they face, the relationship between education and democracy, and the tension between innovation and equity.
Technology
SSIR Online, Summer 2026 Issue
What SSIR readers are saying about articles on artificial intelligence, charitable giving, and navigating organizational disagreement.
Social Services
Fun and Games
Inter-nursing home games in France happen regularly across the country thanks in part to financial support from the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy, an arm of the country’s social-security system.
Philanthropy & Funding
Building to Last
We all—editors, writers, and readers alike—are not just students or observers of the world around us but builders of its future.
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Impact Investing
There Is No Such Thing as Impact Investing
There is philanthropic investing, and there is commercial investing, and there is nothing in between.
Scaling
Scale Really Matters
The problems are big, the time is short, and the resources are limited.
Nonprofits & NGOs
How Will Your Nonprofit Survive?
In the face of current funding uncertainty, US nonprofits must innovate to sustain their missions.
Education
Welcome to the Era of Relational Intelligence
As AI begins to transform education, work, and social life, we need to focus on developing and expanding capacities essential for human flourishing.
Economic Development
When USAID Shut Down, Its Lessons Nearly Vanished. AI Helped Recover Them
A final sweep of 60 years of evidence reveals durable truths about how development succeeds and fails.