Nonprofits & NGOs
Family Planning for West Africa
The Ouagadougou Partnership advances access to contraception from Mauritania to Benin.
Adrienne Day
Philanthropy & Funding
A Guaranteed Return
The Good Returns Cycle Program aims to supplement corporate philanthropy by unlocking profits to help social enterprises.
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Tech and Data That Inform, Inspire, and Involve
The public radio and television station KQED has thrived amid a tumultuous period in the media industry by using technology and data to optimize the delivery of its grassroots journalism and improve relationships with its listeners. Part of a series produced with the support of Salesforce.
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Data-Driven Connections for a Better World
For nonprofits to succeed in a transformed world, they need to use technology and data to create and sustain relationships with the people who believe in them. Part of a series produced with the support of Salesforce.
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Being a Digital-First Leader
The adoption of new technology requires nonprofit leaders to embrace humility and nurture a flexible and adaptive culture. Part of a series produced with the support of Salesforce.
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Creating a Digital-First Strategy
Nonprofit leaders should think less about the technology and more about the people who will use it and the goals they hope to achieve. Part of a series produced with the support of Salesforce.
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Driving Social Change With Data
Data is a powerful tool for creating social change, but it can fail to deliver if it lacks rigor or exists in silos. With the right approach, “you can just let the tools do the work,” says the manager of digital infrastructure for the education nonprofit buildOn. Part of a series produced with the support of Salesforce.
Environment
Schools’ Most Untapped Resource
Green Schoolyards America connects ecological innovation with education, equity, and community engagement.
Security
New Weapons Against Nuclear Threats
The cross-sector collaborative N Square hopes to influence the cultural conversation and rekindle public awareness about the danger that nuclear weapons pose to humanity.
Education
From Prison Back to School
Boston Uncornered gives gang-involved individuals a stipend and social support to attend college.
Philanthropy & Funding
The Motivations Behind Giving
Charitable appeals that address a wealthy person’s agency are more effective.
Energy
Winning Texas to Renewables
The Energy Foundation used a two-pronged strategy of engaging policy makers and grassroots activists to sell green electricity.
Government
Conditions of Engagement
By imposing requirements on recipients, cash transfer programs can “push” them to develop habits of civic participation.
Nonprofits
Knowledge Versus Power
Instead of building an independent base of expertise, many NGOs in China focus on retaining ties to government agencies.
Education
Reforming the Education Debate
Recent changes in US policy regarding teacher evaluation reflect the impact of foundation-supported advocacy.
Civil Society
Does Group Contact Make Good Citizens?
In developing countries such as Kenya, interaction with NGOs appears to boost people’s level of civic activity.
Nonprofit Management
They Light a Spark
The catalysts of innovation are almost as rare, and almost as essential, as those who get credit for new ideas.
Nonprofit Management
What Holds Women Back?
In the nonprofit sector, occupational segregation can adversely affect women’s chances of moving into managerial positions.
Advocacy
Going Off-Script
Spontaneous protest activity—a vital part of many social movements—can arise from a variety of conditions
Economic Development
The Price of Competition
Market structures have a complex but discernible effect on people’s willingness to buy socially responsible products.
Individual Giving
If It Does Good, Feel It
Benefiting emotionally from altruistic behavior doesn’t lessen—indeed, it increases—other people’s regard for that behavior.
Education
A “Value Added” Evaluation
Teachers who help boost students’ test scores also have a notable impact on students’ long-term outcomes.
Impact Investing
Sharing the Stage
The example of venture philanthropy in Europe shows how old and new forms of practice can coexist.
Health
Ends and Means
In the way that people think about end-of-life care, moral and economic motives converge and commingle.
Arts
Growth Stage
A novel artistic strategy and a novel ticket-pricing model distinguish Signature Theatre from its counterparts on and off Broadway.
Business
Brands as Targets
Companies with a high profile are more likely to become the focus of anti-sweatshop protests.
Education
Learning From Charter Schools
What happens when educators transplant successful practices from the charter sector to the public school system?
Civil Society
The Strong Effect of Weak Ties
Social connections help drive protest mobilization—as long as those connections aren't too close.
Food
In Aid of Conflict?
International food assistance can lead to a spike in the occurrence of armed conflict within a country.
Socially Responsible Business
How Fair Trade Grew
Variances in the experience of producer countries strongly affect how fair trade markets have evolved.
Philanthropy
As Giving Goes Global
Philanthropic activity is increasing worldwide in ways that reflect a shared ethos of humanitarian "virtue."
Civil Society
Social Work as a Social Wedge
In China, a new kind of NGO has started to embed the values of civil society in its provision of social services.
Nonprofits
The Stories That NGOs Tell
Traditional aid organizations and newer, more volunteer-driven groups view their work in notably different ways.
Civil Society
Big Box Protests Can Be a Big Deal
Community activists have a lot of potential influence on whether large retailers enter a local market.
Environment
Auditing the Auditors
Simple steps to reduce conflicts of interest can improve both pollution reporting and regulatory compliance.
Individual Giving
Not “Better Than Nothing”
Combining charity with financial gain can seriously tarnish others’ appreciation of altruistic efforts.
Socially Responsible Business
The Upside of CSR
For companies, higher levels of social performance often translate into improved access to funding.
Microfinance
Broken Rules, Better Loans?
Loan officers’ discretion plays a large role in determining the success of a micro-lending organization.
Nonprofit Management
Leading Indicators
Team dynamics strongly affect the level of commitment shown by volunteer leaders of nonprofit associations.
Socially Responsible Business
Unifying Europe
The nonprofit Erste Foundation is an engine behind the for-profit Erste Group as well as its largest shareholder.
Philanthropy
The Answer Is on the Ground
The solutions to seemingly impossible problems already exist in the communities facing those problems.