Microfinance for Wealthy Countries
The UK microcredit business Fair Finance is paving the road for the growth of microfinance in the developed world.
Case Study An inside look at one organization
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Change Comes at a Cost
In 2008, a group of Chicago’s social service agencies formed the Back Office Cooperative, which has produced impressive financial savings. Yet greater efficiency has had a cultural cost.
Too Good to Fail
In August 2010 the US government closed ShoreBank, one of the country’s leading social enterprises. Why did ShoreBank fail?
The Problem With Fair Trade Coffee
Fair Trade-certified coffee is growing in sales, but strict certification requirements are resulting in uneven economic advantages for coffee growers and lower quality coffee for consumers.
Better Vision for the Poor
Several social enterprises are attempting to provide eyeglasses to the 500 million to 1 billion poor people who need them. Why haven’t any of the organizations succeeded on a large scale?
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The Problem With Fair Trade Coffee
Fair Trade-certified coffee is growing in sales, but strict certification requirements are resulting in uneven economic advantages for coffee growers and lower quality coffee for consumers.
The Greening of Wal-Mart
For much of its history, Wal-Mart’s corporate management team toiled inside its “Bentonville Bubble,” narrowly focused on operational efficiency, growth, and profits. But now the world's largest retailer has widened its sights, building networks of employees, nonprofits, government agencies, and suppliers to “green” its supply chains. Here's how and why the world’s largest retailer is using a network approach to decrease its environmental footprint – and to increase its profitability.
The Profit in Nonprofit
Why Kiva chose to be a 501(c)(3), what this tax status buys the organization, and how being a nonprofit poses challenges.
Do No Evil
Google DotOrg launched in 2004 with bold ambitions and almost $1 billion in seed funding. But the results have been less than stellar.
Too Good to Fail
In August 2010 the US government closed ShoreBank, one of the country’s leading social enterprises. Why did ShoreBank fail?