Summer 2018

Issue

Summer 2018

Volume 16, Number 3

A new generation of wealthy philanthropists are using a model borrowed from the for-profit world—the limited liability corporation, or LLC—as the vehicle for their philanthropic activity. This trend is examined closely in the Summer 2018 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review, in the cover story, “Is the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative the Future of Philanthropy?,” and the Case Study, “Giving in the Light of Reason.”

Features

Philanthropy & Funding

The Rise of Philanthropy LLCs

By Dana Brakman Reiser 6

The for-profit LLC is poised to become the preferred vehicle for the nation’s elite philanthropists. Will the public gain from added investment in social good, or lose from ceding even more power to the wealthy?

Technology

The Ethics of Designing Digital Infrastructure

By Lucy Bernholz & Lyndon Ormond-Parker 1

Nonprofits must make careful choices about their digital infrastructure to ensure that it aligns with their mission.

Measurement & Evaluation

Ten Reasons Not to Measure Impact—and What to Do Instead

By Mary Kay Gugerty & Dean Karlan 9

Impact evaluations are an important tool for learning about effective solutions to social problems, but they are a good investment only in the right circumstances.

Advocacy

When Philanthropy Meets Advocacy

By Patrick Guerriero & Susan Wolf Ditkoff 7

Increasing numbers of Americans want charitable organizations to step into the public policy arena and lead the causes they care about. Open access to this article is made possible by Civitas Public Affairs Group.

What’s Next

Social Enterprise

Creating New Markets for Tribal Art

By Kristine Wong

By digitizing indigenous designs for commercial use, Roots Studio connects tribal artists and villages to the global economy, generating new sources of income while preserving cultural traditions.

Water & Sanitation

Irrigation Innovation

By Noël Duan 1

aQysta’s Barsha pump aims to deliver water for agricultural irrigation without fuel, electricity, operating expenses, or greenhouse gas emissions.

Arts & Culture

Journalism’s Savior?

By Corey Binns

Civil, a journalism platform built on blockchain technology and funded by cryptocurrency, aims to protect reporters while restoring public trust in the fourth estate.

Education

The Code for Success

By Festus Iyorah 1

Girls Coding, a free after-school and weekend program run by Pearls Africa Foundation, seeks to create a pathway out of poverty and bring its students into Nigeria’s male-dominated technology sector.

Field Report

Impact Investing

A New Form of Capitalism

By Sarah Murray 2

The Peterborough Social Impact Bond was the first of its kind. Does its success in improving recidivism rates while rewarding investors herald a new way of using finance for social impact?

Environment

Look for the Wild Animal Label

By Brandon Keim

The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network makes a business case for protecting Asian elephants.

Cities

Beyond the Block

By Kyle Coward

Chicago’s My Block My Hood My City uses the concept of travel to get young, low-income residents more connected with their city.

Case Study

Philanthropy & Funding

Giving in the Light of Reason

By Marc Gunther 3

Will the Open Philanthropy Project’s experiment in effective altruism validate the cause or demonstrate its hubris? Open access to this article is made possible by an underwriter.

Viewpoint

Design Thinking

Think Strategically About Prize Hosting

By Charlie Brown & Robert Q. Benedict 6

Social media has made it easy for organizations to launch competitions, but too few consider how such efforts best align with their goals.

Nonprofits & NGOs

Civil Society Confronts Authoritarianism

By Batuhan Aydagül

My experience in Erdoğan’s Turkey has taught me that NGOs need to avoid polarizing politics, focus on core values, and find allies to survive and thrive in closing societies.

Health

The Moral Imperative of Clean Household Energy

By Thomas Matte 2

The world’s poor and low-income countries need greater access to modern energy solutions, including clean-burning fossil fuels for household use.

Research

Social Enterprise

Harmonizing Tension of Hybrid Organizations

By Chana R. Schoenberger

Social enterprises must navigate the contradictory pulls of social and for-profit goals without tipping too far to one side.

Economic Development

Bidding for Development Aid

By Chana R. Schoenberger

For-profits and nonprofits play different roles in bidding for international development contracts.

Organizational Development

Bottom-Up Corporate Social Responsibility

By Marilyn Harris 1

Employee-driven corporate social initiatives promise greater success than standard programs.

Collaboration

Collaborating Is Hard Work

By Marilyn Harris

Cross-sector collaborations can break down when the interests, expectations, and power dynamics of the participants conflict.

Book Reviews

Review

Economic Development

Money for Nothing

Review By Elisabeth Mason

In Fair Shot, Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes makes the case for universal basic income.

Review

Civic Engagement

Road Map to a New World

Review By Ann Christiano

In New Power, Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms argue that power and influence are being driven by a new participatory and peer-driven paradigm.

Review

Economic Development

Rethinking Development Work

Review By Heather Grady

Practitioners and funders in global development need less idealism and more pragmatism, Adam D. Kiš argues in The Development Trap.

Review

Advocacy

Winning Hearts and Minds

Review By Karina Kloos 1

The road to social change begins with personal connection and human emotion, Leslie Crutchfield writes in How Change Happens.

Last Look

Human Rights

The Legacy of White Supremacy

By Eric Nee

America’s first memorial honoring African-Americans who have been lynched opened in Montgomery, Alabama.

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