Many businesses serving lower income communities languish because they can't raise enough money to fund their growth. To meet their needs, a new breed of private equity investment—development investment capital—has emerged. Although this style of investing is still in its infancy, it is already showing promise.
Clean technology is creating greener pastures for business.
Peter Liu started his working life as an engineer at the oil giant Chevron Corp. The experience turned him into an avid environmentalist. Several years later, it also led him to co-found the New Resource Bank, which calls itself the nation’s first “green” commercial bank.
The Public Radio Fund gives investors a chance to protect nonprofit airwaves. With its help, KTOO-FM in Juneau, Alaska, recently debuted a 24-hour news show and two locally-hosted Alaska-flavored music stations.
Funders are calling for more program evaluation, but nonprofits are often collecting dubious data, at great cost to themselves and ultimately to the people they serve.
Despite the hoopla over microfinance, it doesn't cure poverty. But stable jobs do. If societies are serious about helping the poorest of the poor, they should stop investing in microfinance and start supporting large, labor-intensive industries.
A veteran social entrepreneur provides a guide to those who are thinking through the thorny question of whether to create a nonprofit, a for-profit, or something in between.
Why Kiva chose to be a 501(c)(3), what this tax status buys the organization, and how being a nonprofit poses challenges.
Google DotOrg launched in 2004 with bold ambitions and almost $1 billion in seed funding. But the results have been less than stellar.
