Solutions - Articles

The Volunteer Boom

By Alana Conner

Nonprofits will soon have more volunteers than they can handle.

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Platforms for Collaboration

By Satish Nambisan

Some of the brightest ideas for social change grow in the spaces between organizations and sectors. Yet few organizations have systems that make collaboration happen. To foster innovation, organizations need to develop places where they can come together and work creatively—that is, platforms for collaboration. In this article, a management expert identifies three kinds of collaboration platforms—exploration, experimentation, and execution—and then outlines what organizations can do to put these platforms to work for them.

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Ethics and Nonprofits

By Deborah L. Rhode & Amanda K. Packel 30

Unethical behavior remains a persistent problem in nonprofits and for-profits alike. To help organizations solve that problem, the authors examine the factors that influence moral conduct, the ethical issues that arise specifically in charitable organizations, and the best ways to promote ethical behavior within organizations.

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Q & A: Judith Rodin

By Eric Nee 2

The Rockefeller Foundation is staying at the forefront of new and big ideas, funding new innovation processes like crowdsourcing and collaborative competitions.

John Podesta - Responding to Climate Change

To support environmental sustainability and reduce or even stop the threat of global warming, the first line of defense is to avoid using fossil fuels in the first place. In this university podcast followed by questions from the audience, John Podesta suggests that this can be done by focusing on greater energy efficiency—both at personal and policy levels.

Neal Denton - Nonprofit Collaborations in Disaster Response

Nonprofit management faces one of its biggest challenges in the arena of disaster relief. In this audio interview, Neal Denton, senior VP of government relations and strategic partnerships at the American Red Cross discusses the value of his organization's relationship to the Partnership for Disaster Response. He discusses plans for strengthening this relationship and the role of the private sector in disaster response.

Panel Discussion - Biofuels for Environmental Sustainability

Biofuels offer an environmental sustainability substitute against petrol-based fuels such as gasoline, yet they are still expensive to produce and are causing a steep inflation in food prices the world over. This panel discussion of experts debates the root causes of the increase in food prices, and the need to tackle the economic and political side effects of biofuel production.

Jennifer Aaker - The Psychology of Giving

Research shows that spending time and money on others makes people happy—so why don't more people donate to or volunteer for nonprofits? In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Stanford marketing professor Jennifer Aaker offers insights into the phenomenon. She then turns those insights into lessons in nonprofit management that organizations can use to create compelling ways for more people to give financially and personally to the causes they care about.