Worst Practices of a Social Entrepreneur
You can learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. Paul Schmitz, president and CEO of Public Allies, gives a sampling of classic foibles of not only social entrepreneurs, but leaders in general.
Solutions - Articles
15 Minutes with Hannah Jones
SSIR Academic Editor Jim Phills spoke with Nike’s Hannah Jones about the sportswear giant’s extensive corporate social responsibility programs.
Podcast
Amory Lovins - Energy Efficiency in Buildings - Part 2
Well-designed buildings not only conserve energy and reduce costs but also create conditions for better health and wellness. In this audio lecture, Amory Lovins uses several examples to show how the right mix of materials, resources, and expertise can create structures that celebrate living.
Podcast
Amory Lovins - Energy Efficient Design For Buildings - Part 1
Buildings represent an ideal opportunity for reducing energy use through clever design. In this audio lecture, Amory Lovins explores the many possibilities that building design offers us to "think outside of the box" in order to save energy. He shares numerous examples of effective design and even a few cases where smart energy design actually costs less to build, not more.
“In the 21st Century, the March Isn’t the Vehicle”
Cell phones, not marches, may be the social movement vehicle of the future.
Private Equity, Public Good
Many businesses serving lower income communities languish because they can't raise enough money to fund their growth. To meet their needs, a new breed of private equity investment—development investment capital—has emerged. Although this style of investing is still in its infancy, it is already showing promise.
Podcast
Oded Grajew - Another World Is Possible
The annual World Social Forum is the centerpiece of an international effort to promote globalization based on peace, sustainability, and solidarity. In this audio lecture, Founder Oded Grajew describes the early planning and growth of WSF, and explains the core ideals that led to positive change and strengthened his belief that a better world is possible.
Harnessing Purity and Pragmatism
As the wall between the nonprofit and corporate worlds crumbles, many social change organizations are asking themselves: Do we stick to our activist guns, or do we cross the divide and work with business? Research suggests that social movements need both kinds of organizations to make the changes they seek.
Podcast
Nancy Lee - Harnessing Corporations in Nonprofit Managment
In nonprofit management, organizations should approach corporations as they would clients and offer tailored marketing operations that serve their needs. That's the advice Nancy Lee delivers in this audio lecture. Speaking to an audience of nonprofit executives during the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford, Lee shares the lessons from 20 years of building nonprofit-corporate partnerships that both serve corporations' objectives and enhance nonprofits' mission delivery.
Creating High-Impact Nonprofits
Conventional wisdom says that scaling social innovation starts with strengthening internal management capabilities. This study of 12 high-impact nonprofits, however, shows that real social change happens when organizations go outside their own walls and find creative ways to enlist the help of others.