How I Became a Social Entrepreneur
Strategies for following one's social entrepreneurial bliss.
Strategies for following one's social entrepreneurial bliss.
LivingGoods sends its version of Avon ladies—white-uniformed "health promoters"—knocking on doors in hundreds of Ugandan communities.
Social entrepreneurship and social enterprise have become popular and positive rallying points for those trying to improve the world, but social innovation is a better vehicle for understanding and creating social change in all of its manifestations.
Venture philanthropy and other new products and trends indicate that philanthropy has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. Donors are younger than ever before and foundations have become increasingly professionalized. In this audio interview, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, philanthropy expert Peter Hero interviews Laura Arrillaga, a leader in Silicon Valley, about developments that are now making philanthropy a powerhouse for social change.
Africa is finding Chinese investment less demanding than that of the West.
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.
Large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, not the isolated intervention of individual organizations.
With an understanding of these 10 funding models, nonprofit leaders can use the for-profit world's valuable practice of engaging in succinct and clear conversations about long-term financial strategy.
Conventional wisdom says that scaling social innovation starts with strengthening internal management capabilities. This study of 12 high-impact nonprofits, however, shows that real social change happens when organizations go outside their own walls and find creative ways to enlist the help of others.
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.