Microfinance is bringing the world's poor the kind of service that used to be reserved for bank customers in developed countries. Drawing on the work and philosophy of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, Alex Counts talks in this audio lecture about microfinance's social and financial impact to an audience of Stanford MBA students.
How CitiStat’s hard data and straight talk saved Baltimore.
How is California, home of the technology revolution, preparing the next generation of students to lead the charge of innovation? In this University podcast, Senator Joe Simitian and Professor Michael Kirst argue that school financing in California is neither adequate, efficient, nor equitable. Speaking at the Stanford School of Education, they discuss the challenges of financing California's K-12 schools in a rapidly changing environment with diffuse accountability and dilute authority.
In 2005, Wal-Mart's CEO announced a corporation-wide environmental sustainability initiative to go green. The company would take drastic measures to cut down on waste, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions, thus generating savings that would be passed on to the customer. Andrew Ruben, who spearheads the effort supported by consultant Jib Ellison, explains to a Stanford MBA audience in this University podcast why Wal-Mart is engaging in sustainability.
How Lutherans are transforming their love of coffee into global good.
In the world of social enterprise, why do some ideas survive and others die? Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Chip Heath reveals the secret in this audio lecture. He provides frameworks and advice to help social innovators launch their endeavors.
A Chilean firewood certification program spares both the air and indigenous business.
When nonprofits set out to look for funding they usually start with a PowerPoint presentation and hard-to-articulate data about the issue they are trying to address. In this audio lecture, Andy Goodman argues that all they have to do is tell a story. Goodman addresses social innovators over the age of 60. His ambition is nothing less than to inspire the generation of baby boomers to contribute their experience to a better world.
Can businesses deliver strong returns to shareholders while also promoting the health of people and the planet? In this audio lecture recorded at Bridging the Gap, the 2005 Stanford Net Impact conference, Gary Hirshberg, the phenomenally successful pioneer of the organic foods industry, utters a resounding yes.
Why should a grantee invest $50,000 in computing infrastructure and add staff to comply with the reporting requirements of a $16,000 grant? The inherent tensions between the high resource costs of evaluation and the demands of service delivery are a challenge for nonprofits and foundations alike. In this audio lecture, Denise Gammal presents the results from Stanford Center for Social Innovation's large-scale study on nonprofit management to foundation professionals.
