Nonprofits & NGOs | Most Popular Articles

Podcast

William Brindley - Collaborating to Wire NGOs

Aid organizations around the world are learning that they can solve their technology and infrastructure problems faster and cheaper together than on their own. Enabling that collaboration is NetHope, a nonprofit information technology consortium helping NGOs establish the technology "ecosystems" they need to serve constituencies in more than 150 countries. Eric Nee interviews Bill Brindley, CEO of NetHope, on how the consortium got started, how it works, and how it is expanding its mission.

Podcast

Good Measures Conference - Evaluation for Learning

Nonprofits tend to collect a great deal of evaluative data but often have no idea how to use it to assess their performance—particularly because doing so properly is a complicated process requiring serious social sciences knowledge. In this panel discussion, part of the Stanford Social Innovation Review's conference on evaluation, two experts talk about how an organization may better use such data—as well as "external" information in the form of theory and advice—to create a "culture of inquiry" focused on learning and improvement.

Podcast

Panel Discussion - Skoll World Forum: Assessing Impact

In considering the effectiveness of your social enterprise, are you making a difference? Do you add value to your constituents' lives? Are you as effective as possible per dollar output? In this panel discussion at the 2008 Skoll World Forum, talented experts talk about the challenges of social enterprises and how metrics can impact organizational learning and innovation, and lead the more effective use of resources.

Podcast

Good Measures Conference - Evaluation in the Nonprofit Sector

Evaluation is one of the most powerful mechanisms a nonprofit organization can use to unlock its potential, become more effective, and achieve success. But traditional evaluation methods are expensive, require thorough knowledge of the social sciences, and take a good deal of time to perform. In this part of the Stanford Social Innovation Review's conference on evaluation, Mark Kramer details how nonprofits can better incorporate evaluation to achieve their mission and bring about social change.

Podcast

Wendy Kopp - Raising the Bar for Low-Income Students

Teach For America places thousands of energetic and committed college graduates as teachers in under-resourced schools for their first jobs. In this audio lecture recorded at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wendy Kopp shares why and how she started Teach for America in 1980, and its progress in raising the bar for under-achieving children. She also discusses how the organization rode out its "dark years," when enthusiasm and corporate support for the effort began to wane.

Nonprofits

Soup Kitchen Confidential

By Robert Jungerhans

To share its expertise without jeopardizing its mission, FareStart spun out a new organization.

Podcast

Magda Iskander - Healthcare for the Homebound

Having an elderly parent with failing health and being unable to provide adequate care out of one's home poses a difficult enough challenge in the United States, let alone in Cairo, Egypt, where home services are scarce. In this audio interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Magda Iskander describes how she founded Care With Love to fill the need in Cairo for short or long term home healthcare through well-trained and compassionate home health care providers.

Podcast

Dr. Christopher Elias - Advancing Technology to Improve Health

PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology and Health) is a nonprofit organization designed to ensure that the benefits of innovation in science and technology are available to developing countries and remotely located, low-income groups. In this audio interview, host Sheela Sethuraman speaks with Dr. Christopher Elias, president and CEO of PATH, about the PATH's origins, accomplishments, and challenges.

Podcast

Tim Williamson - Fostering Entrepreneurship in New Orleans

The Idea Village was launched in New Orleans by "five guys who wanted to change the world." The more modest goal of these entrepreneurs was to revitalize the city economically—a mission that became especially important when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Tim Williamson shares how his nonprofit has been helping rebuild the devastated city economically, and the progress inspired through a powerful network of talented individuals.

Podcast

Andrea Coleman - Keeping Healthcare Mobile Saves Lives

Many areas of rural Africa suffer from a lack of healthcare delivery. In this audio interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Andrea Coleman explains how she and her husband founded Riders for Health to provide life-saving assistance to such regions. She outlines how the organization uses motorcycles, in particular, to transport healthcare providers and medical goods, and how it has created a sustainable approach.