Scaling Innovative ways nonprofits can increase their reach and social impact

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Panel Discussion - Skoll World Forum: Replication and Scale

How can an innovative player in social entrepreneurship enable her exciting new idea to fulfill her dream of changing the world? This panel discussion of successful innovators examines the challenges of replicating and scaling ideas into massive realities of social change. Experts share their varied experience in identifying the important considerations that can grow a successful neighborhood social program into a global social venture.

Panel Discussion - Skoll World Forum: Financing the Growth of Operations

Financing the growth of operations to achieve major scale is undoubtedly the biggest challenge facing social entrepreneurship. This panel discussion explores the current challenges and constraints in mobilizing capital flow to compelling social enterprises. Experts cover a range of strategies and channels available to social entrepreneurs for financing growth plans, including emerging alternatives to create new asset classes (hybrid, for-profit, and for-benefit models).

Robert Searle - Can Nonprofits Get More Bang for the Buck?

If you haven't bought a flat-screen TV yet, chances are you're waiting for the prices to drop. Technologies get cheaper by virtue of the "experience curve," a phenomenon where, as companies get better at what they do, costs become lower. In this Stanford Social Innovation Review sponsored audio lecture, Robert Searle argues that nonprofits also can have experience curves, achieving a greater volume of outcomes for the same cost. He discusses the types of outcome metrics on which nonprofits should focus.

Paul Farmer - Scaling Up Healthcare in Rwanda

AIDS, malaria, and maternal mortality are some of the chronic public health issues that plague Africa. Invited to Stanford, Paul Farmer talks about how his Boston-based organization, Partners In Health, is spending donor dollars to bring the lessons garnered from its work in Haiti to scale up healthcare services in war-torn Rwanda. As dicussed in this audio lecture, his organization seeks to fill the gap that exists between medical R&D and healthcare delivery so preventions and cures can be brought to more of the people who need them.

Kyle Zimmer - Fearlessly Helping the World to Read

First Book is a not-for-profit organization that provides books to low-income students. In this audio interview, founder Kyle Zimmer discusses with Design for Change host Sheela Sethuraman the evolution of her startup from a mere idea in 1992 to an organization with hundreds of employees and millions of books. She also outlines how she's applied best business practices to create a scalable entrepreneurial model.

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How Nonprofits Get Really Big - Thumbnail

How Nonprofits Get Really Big

By William Foster & Gail Fine 21

Since 1970, more than 200,000 nonprofits have opened in the U.S., but only 144 have reached $50 million in annual revenue. They got big by doing two things: They raised the bulk of their money from a single type of funder. And just as importantly, these nonprofits created professional organizations that were tailored to the needs of their primary funding sources.

Scaling Impact - Thumbnail

Scaling Impact

By Jeffrey Bradach 15

Scaling requires not only fidelity to core processes and programs, but also constant adjustments to local needs and resources.