Sectors - Articles

Panel Discussion - Skoll World Forum: Nationality and Nationalism

Social enterprise can both ease the terrible consequences of the insularity inherent in nationalism, and enhance the positive opportunities for social change within established heritage and cultural traditions. In this panel discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, experts consider topics ranging from multiculturalism within countries to cross-national and international cultural challenges and opportunities.

Rob Reich - Tax Incentives for Philanthropy

Given current tax laws, $300 billion in charitable dollars can end up costing the U.S. Treasury $50 billion in lost income. Should taxable income exclude charitable contributions? In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Stanford political philosopher Rob Reich asks some tough questions, ultimately proposing a new way of looking at tax incentives to support the nonprofit sector.

Mark Kramer - Moving From Insight to Action

At its worst, program evaluation is a useless activity that generates lots of boring data and irrelevant conclusions. But at its best, argues Mark Kramer in a talk he gave at the 2008 Nonprofit Management Institute, it can be a strategic tool for the genuine improvement of a nonprofit. He offers exemplars of organizations that have used evaluation effectively to advance their missions.

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The Profit in Nonprofit

By Bethany Coates & Garth Saloner 14

Why Kiva chose to be a 501(c)(3), what this tax status buys the organization, and how being a nonprofit poses challenges.

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Think Passionate

By Alana Conner

Investors screen for entrepreneurial passion when making funding decisions.

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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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Social Entrepreneurship Revisited

By Paul C. Light 25

Social entrepreneurship is one of the most alluring terms on the problem-solving landscape today. The question is not whether social entrepreneurship is a term in
good currency, but what it actually means.

Laurie Marker - Environmental Sustainability for the Cheetah

The threat of animal habitat loss is one of the major issues in the environmental sustainability arena. In this audio interview by Sheela Sethuraman, Laurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund talks about a multi-pronged effort including habitat restoration, resource management education, and job creation to address that threat to cheetahs, in particular. She describes the creative measures she has taken to save cheetahs and improve the lives of the people who live near them.