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• Most Topular Stories

• Why Go to a Conference? Especially SXSW?

  What Gives!?

  Noble

  14 Mar 2010 | 2:11 pm

  Today in the SXSW Beacon Lounge, Mark Horvath had the opportunity to speak with people who come from different arenas in the social media world, but share a single purpose: to find and build communities that are involved at the local level. [Note: to see the interviews in their entirety, go to the WhatGives!? Ustream channel.] Kari [...]

• Coping With Complexity

  how to save the world

  Dave Pollard

  9 Mar 2010 | 9:41 pm

  Just about a year ago, I posted an article on the work that Christopher Allen had done on: optimal size of groups for sustainability and collaborative effectiveness (short answer: around 5-7 for work groups and around 50 for networks/communities), and maximal span of any one person’s relationship ‘circles’ Christopher illustrated his answer to the second issue (the one this article is about) with the lovely drawings of Nancy Margulies, shown above, of three concentric circles/spirals, which he called, respectively, the support circle, the sympathy circle, and the trust…

• Five More Amazing Instrumental Guitar Performances

  Gimundo.com

  editor@gimundo.com

  14 Mar 2010 | 7:50 pm

• Change the world.

  So what can I do?

  6 Oct 2014 | 3:52 pm

• Social Entrepreneurship Startup Capital

  Riches For Good

  Ryan Gunderson

  30 Dec 2009 | 11:39 am

  My post on Mountains Beyond Mountains Quotes (a biography about Dr. Paul Farmer) is by far my most popular post to-date. In an attempt to increase exposure to John Wood, his excellent book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, and his amazingly efficient and effective non-profit Room to Read, I’m following a similar format for this post.All quotes in this post come from the autobiography Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, and unless otherwise specified, they are quotes from its author, John Wood.“In this village, we have a primary school, but no secondary school. So after grade five,…

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  What Gives!?

• Hardly Normal in the Beacon – Day Three

  MjM

  15 Mar 2010 | 11:43 am

  For his final show from the Beacon at South by Southwest, Mark Horvath from invisiblepeople.tv spoke with influential nonprofit blogger and author Beth Kanter on crowd sourcing and Causemedia Group (WhatGives!? parent company) CEO Chris Noble on how to gain the support of local businesses for local charities. [Note: to see the interviews in their entirety, [...]

• Hardly Normal in the Beacon – Day Two

  MjM

  14 Mar 2010 | 3:08 pm

  Today in the SXSW Beacon Lounge, Mark Horvath had the opportunity to speak with people who come from different arenas in the social media world, but share a single purpose: to find and build communities that are involved at the local level. [Note: to see the interviews in their entirety, go to the WhatGives!? Ustream channel.] Kari [...]

• Why Go to a Conference? Especially SXSW?

  Noble

  14 Mar 2010 | 2:11 pm

  Here’s the simple answer. These are two of my favorite people.  I see one or both of these faces almost every day, like this: And only a few times a year can I see them like this: Got it? OK.  Here’s the longer explanation. I started writing it this morning, before seeing my friends. (Go ahead and skip it [...]

• 5 Social Media Tips from SXSW For You and Your Nonprofit

  kerriebrynn

  14 Mar 2010 | 11:12 am

  Being in Austin at SXSW Interactive has given me the opportunity to talk to some amazing people in the social media space.  I’ve chatted with some of the most influential internet celebs, marketing masters, and social media pros such as PR Sarah Evans, Sloane Barrent, Shauna Causey, Chris Brogan, Brian Solis, Julia Roy, and Jolie [...]

• Hardly Normal in the Beacon – Day One

  MjM

  13 Mar 2010 | 4:12 pm

  This morning we kicked off Mark Horvath’s star-studded, live-streaming, straight-talking, Beacon-Lounge-ified talkfest at SXSW.  Jeff Pulver and Chris Brogan each took a chair on stage and shared their insights about how nonprofits need to embrace transparency and the art of listening in order to raise money and awareness. Jeff Pulver (founder of Pulver.com; producer of the [...]

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  Have Fun • Do Good

• Paloma's Nest Giveaway: TODAY I WILL . . .

  Britt Bravo

  15 Mar 2010 | 10:46 am

  Last month I reconnected through Twitter with a woman I used to babysit, Caroline Colom Vasquez of Paloma's Nest.Not only did she grow up to be a lovely young woman, she also makes beautiful "handcrafted modern heirlooms" like Hearts of Gold, Good Eggs, and Text Bowls.To celebrate this fun re-connection, we've decided to do a little giveaway of her TODAY I WILL . . . fill in the blank tiny text bowl.To enter to win, leave a comment below completing the sentence, TODAY I WILL . . . with a have fun do good idea. Please be sure to include a way for me to contact you if you win (i.e. link to your…

• Your Free, Fun Spring 2010 Big Vision Goals Worksheet

  Britt Bravo

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:49 pm

  Last month I posted a worksheet for your Big Vision Goals for 2010 with places for you to write down three goals for 2010, three goals for winter, and three goals for the lunar month (new moon, Feb 13-new moon, March 15).Well, the next new moon is coming up on March 15th, and the first day of spring is around the corner on March 20th, so it's time for us to review, revise, and recommit to our goals.I've posted a new illustrated March/April/Spring Big Vision Goals worksheet, that my hubs designed, for you to download.As you work on filling out your new worksheet, try to make your 3 Big Vision…

• Fun Dinner with Two Creative Women Entrepreneurs

  Britt Bravo

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:37 am

  Last night I had dinner at Cafe Gratitude with Jennifer Lee, creator of the Right Brain Business Plan and Kimberly Wilson, the creator of the eco-fashion line, TranquiliT. They're also two of my three co-collaborators on the creative women entrepreneurs retreat. Very inspiring ladies!I am just finishing up Jenn's Right Brain Business Plan e-course, which was super fun, interesting and clarifying for me as I chart out the next phase of my business, Big Vision Consulting. I highly recommend you take her e-course the next time she offers it, and look for the Right-Brain Business Plan full-length…

• How to Help Chilean Earthquake Survivors

  Britt Bravo

  6 Mar 2010 | 9:19 am

  Last Saturday, February 27th, Chile was hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake. Yesterday it experienced a 6.6 magnitude aftershock.If you're looking for ways to help the earthquake's survivors, the sites and blogs below have posted lists of relief organizations working in Chile:Chile's 8.8 earthquake: How you can help in the The Kindness section of The USA TodayNonprofits Working in Chile on GuidestarChile Earthquake Relief: How You Can Help on HuffPost ImpactHow to Help in Chile on The Nation's Act Now! blogCheck each relief organizations' individual site for ways to support their work.The…

• How Do You Make Time to Play Every Day?

  Britt Bravo

  23 Feb 2010 | 3:52 pm

  I'm on Day 5 of my Have Fun Do Good Daily Practice: Move, Play, Reflect, Connect, and once again the biggest challenge for me is making time to play. It was easy to play over the weekend, but fitting it into the work week is proving challenging.I know this is very commencement speech-ish, but I looked up the definition of play in the dictionary. The definition I found the most intriguing was:a recreational activity; especially the spontaneous activity of children which led me to the definition of spontaneous:1 proceeding from natural feeling or native tendency without external constraintand…

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  Riches For Good

• Who Will Invest in Social Business?

  Ryan Gunderson

  5 Mar 2010 | 11:31 am

  I find myself very drawn to the concept of social business, as introduced by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad YunusIn his book Creating a World Without Poverty, Yunus defines a social business as a non-loss, non-dividend company.In this post, I will discuss Yunus' definition of social business and the implications for investors. So, what exactly is a non-loss company?First of all, it is not a non-profit.The term "non-profit" implies that organizational revenues must not exceed organizational expenses.The term "non-loss," on the other hand, implies that organizational expenses must not exceed…

• Poverty Escape Guidelines

  Ryan Gunderson

  11 Feb 2010 | 6:36 pm

  The guidelines Nobel Prize winners Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank use in determining whether a Grameen Bank member has escaped poverty are shown below, as referenced in Yunus' book Creating a World Without Poverty:1. The bank member and her family live in a tin-roofed house or in a house worth at least 25,000 taka (roughly equivalent to $370). The family members sleep on cots or a bedstead rather than the floor.2. The member and her family drink pure water from tube-wells, boiled water, or arsenic-free water purifiedby the use of alum, purifying tablets, or pitcher filters.3. All of the…

• Muhammad Yunus is a Dreamer

  Ryan Gunderson

  10 Feb 2010 | 9:12 pm

  I recently finished two books written by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit and founder of Grameen Bank. I first read Yunus' autobiography, Banker to the Poor, which I enjoyed so much that I immediately followed up with Creating a World Without Poverty, his introduction to the concept of social business. I recommend both books.Rather than provide you with my own summary of the two books, I encourage you to read the best summary: Yunus' Nobel Prize acceptance speech, which is available in full text by clicking here.By Yunus' own admission, he is a dreamer. Below is a…

• John Wood Leaving Microsoft Quotes

  Ryan Gunderson

  3 Jan 2010 | 5:05 pm

  My post on Mountains Beyond Mountains Quotes (a biography about Dr. Paul Farmer) is by far my most popular post to-date. In an attempt to increase exposure to John Wood, his excellent book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, and his amazingly efficient and effective non-profit Room to Read, I’m following a similar format for this post.All quotes in this post come from the autobiography Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, and unless otherwise specified, they are quotes from its author, John Wood.“In this village, we have a primary school, but no secondary school. So after grade five,…

• Social Entrepreneurship Startup Capital

  Ryan Gunderson

  30 Dec 2009 | 11:39 am

  Rachael Chong put together the most comprehensive list of startup capital options for social entrepreneurs that I've ever come across. Click here for the full article. Rather than rehash her work, I'll spotlight two sources that are new to me: Unreasonable Institute and Good Capital. Descriptions of both organizations come directly from their websites.Unreasonable InstituteWe unite up to 25 high-impact social entrepreneurs from around the world to attend our intensive 10-week summer institute. There, we will incubate their ventures with rigorous skill training and expert mentorship. At the…

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  The Greater Good Blog

• The Social Brain

  Katie Goldsmith

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:07 pm

  Is it really possibly to put yourself in someone else’s shoes? Though this may seem like an old adage that’s easier said than done, a wave of new research suggests that our brains are actually wired to help us take the perspective of other people, a basic form of empathy. This research has zeroed in on “mirror neurons”; when we watch other people perform an action, these neurons fire as if we were performing that action ourselves. But are some of us better empathizers than others? In a recent study, published in Psychological Science, psychologist Kimberly Montgomery and colleagues…

• Very Social Science: A Review of Connected

  Pelin Kesebir

  5 Mar 2010 | 4:00 am

  Well-written and chock-full of fascinating research, Connected not only makes for great reading—it’s also capable of forever changing the way we conceive of the social world. Authors Nicholas Christakis, a professor of medicine, sociology, and health care policy at Harvard, and James Fowler, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, guide us through the burgeoning field of social network science, offering sharp reminders of the extraordinary role other people play in shaping our lives, for better or worse. If this doesn’t strike you as a particularly…

• Guest Blogger: Lisa Calderone-Stewart on Turning Youth into Leaders

  Lisa Calderone-Stewart

  2 Mar 2010 | 3:54 pm

  Transformation. Teachers want to make it happen in the classroom. Parents often seek it for their children. World leaders dream of leaving it as their legacy. For years I have studied how we can bring about transformation in young people—specifically, the type of transformation that prepares them to become leaders in their schools, communities, and beyond. I’ve identified some key factors in transforming people into leaders—factors that might be just as important among adults as among youth. Lisa Calderone-Stewart (center) with two graduates of her program, Ryan (left) and Marquis In a…

• Scientific Proof for “Paying It Forward”

  Katie Goldsmith

  1 Mar 2010 | 7:39 pm

  Ever get that warm fuzzy feeling in your chest when you see someone do something nice for someone else? Scientists call that feeling “elevation,” and studies show that people experience elevation when they witness a virtuous act, especially one that helps others. But does this good feeling actually lead to good deeds? That’s what psychologist Simone Schnall and colleagues wanted to find out in a new study published in Psychological Science, asking whether feelings of elevation lead to altruistic behavior. In one experiment, 59 women ages 18 to 26 were either shown a clip from a nature…

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  how to save the world

• How Many Relationships Can We Manage?

  Dave Pollard

  10 Mar 2010 | 10:57 pm

  Just about a year ago, I posted an article on the work that Christopher Allen had done on: optimal size of groups for sustainability and collaborative effectiveness (short answer: around 5-7 for work groups and around 50 for networks/communities), and maximal span of any one person’s relationship ‘circles’ Christopher illustrated his answer to the second issue (the one this article is about) with the lovely drawings of Nancy Margulies, shown above, of three concentric circles/spirals, which he called, respectively, the support circle, the sympathy circle, and the trust…

• Coping With Complexity

  Dave Pollard

  9 Mar 2010 | 9:41 pm

  saraswati, hindu goddess of knowledge, creativity and openness (image online, uncredited) Some recent comments from readers of my First Principles post led me to revisit one of the first posts I wrote on this blog, nearly seven years ago. It was about a seven-step process for coping with a new situation that Cyndy Roy and I co-developed. Here’s an excerpt: Sense, Self-control, Understand, Question, Imagine, Offer, Collaborate Sense: Observe, listen, pay attention, open up your senses, perceive everything that has a bearing on the issue at hand. Connect. Self-control: Don’t…

• First Principles

  Dave Pollard

  5 Mar 2010 | 11:49 pm

  view from just above my new home; more of my recent photos here One of the discoveries I’ve made as a result of retiring from paid work, and living alone for the first time in decades, is that I now have the freedom and responsibility to make my own decisions. When much of your life is tied up with work (collaborative or hierarchical) and the schedules and priorities of others, most decisions are made for you, or at least restricted by the constraints of society. It is a bit startling to realize that, suddenly, almost every decision I face is mine alone to make. Each decision may have…

• Links and Tweets for the Week: March 3, 2010

  Dave Pollard

  4 Mar 2010 | 12:02 am

  One of the delightful cartoons of Natalie Dee. See lots more here. PREPARING FOR CIVILIZATION’S END Trying to Cure Reality: A new book Manufacturing Depression, by Gary Greenberg (reviewed by Louis Menand in the New Yorker) debunks the industrial economy myth that depression is a disease that needs chemical and therapeutic “curing”. Our civilization is collapsing, we’ve exhausted the natural resources our planet took a billion years to store up, we live in suffocating, overcrowded, polluted, horrifically stressful conditions, and we have launched the planet into the 6th…

• Throwing Off the Shackles of Debt

  Dave Pollard

  1 Mar 2010 | 7:01 pm

  (A joint essay by Guy R. McPherson, Keith Farnish, Dave Pollard, and Sharon Astyk.) Indebtedness is a form of servitude, sometimes involuntary, and, in extreme cases, can become a form of endless and harrowing imprisonment. Consider, for example, the current usurious rates of interest (compared to what savers earn on their savings in the same banks that charge that interest). Some religions consider the charging of interest as immoral, even criminal. According to all four gospels in the Christian bible, even the normally passive, peaceful prophet of Christianity got so worked up about usury…

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  What's a BOPreneur?

• Symbiotic or Parasitic?

  Paul

  6 Mar 2010 | 5:24 pm

  I'm working with my MBA class these days on the various challenges between company founders, founders and funders, and multiple funders. Lots of permutations if you have multiple founders and several rounds of funding, and it deserves some thought in the early days of a venture. Some of our work focuses on cases, articles and discussion about the "long shadow" that early funding decisions cast into the future of the organization. I encourage entrepreneurs to think about how they can design an organization that can best balance these sometimes competing perspectives.But while organizational…

• 5 Steps to be H.E.R.O.ic

  Paul

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:17 pm

  Actually, Tina,* we do need another hero. A lot of them. And we need the right kind of heros. I am talking about H.E.R.O.s: those Human and Environmentally Regenerative** Organizations that do good by cleaning up bad, so that no matter how much they grow, the earth and human society are better off.Imagine enterprises whose goods are good, and whose services serve. Who produce clean water like Water Health International. Who produce clean air like Envirofit. Who produce healthier children like JustMilk and A-Z Textiles. Who produce better sanitation like Ecotact. Who produce sight like Aravind…

• Big Questions

  Paul

  23 Jan 2010 | 4:04 pm

  There are a lot of big questions out there. For some, I have no answers. For some, I believe I at least have some insight. And I use those to organize* my MBA course.So, here are some biq questions about innovation and new ventures that I plan to ask some 300 MBAs this semester:1. What on earth is an idea worth?2. What do start up teams do?**3. How do you make a business model?4. Bake it in or bolt it on?5. Can you have it all- value, values and valuation?6. Can founders and funders get along?7. Are start ups pretty when they are born?8. Can you keep your job while you start a new venture?9.

• Ending Poverty (period)

  Paul

  8 Jan 2010 | 8:49 pm

  It seems like ending poverty has become quite fashionable in recent years. Movie stars, politicians, and economists are all getting in on it. No doubt, it's a great sound bite, and who could possibly criticize it? For much of recent history, it has been articulated as goal of any modern society.As humans moved from rural agricultural societies to urban industrial societies, wealth began to be created at levels that made the elimination of poverty possible, at least theoretically. Inspired, we have had "wars on poverty" and much important literature, as well as social and religous movements,…

• Charity

  Paul

  31 Dec 2009 | 3:52 pm

  As many of you know, I am a pro-business kind of guy. Entrepreneurship... capital... new business models... sustainable product design- these are the topics I write about with respect to tackling the challenges of the BOP. My bleeps know I also believe there is a role for charity (see my "Matrix" post). So, what does my family do for charity? Where do we "invest"? What organizations do we support? We focus our charity in 5 areas, which I list below, along with the specific organizations to which we gave, and my twitter length rationale. Careful readers will also note that many of these…

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  Gail Lynne Goodwin's Blog

• You Are Not Your Problems

  Gail

  15 Mar 2010 | 7:40 am

  It’s an overcast Spring day in Montana, as I’m sitting here by the lake watching the wind create waves on the surface of the water. Clouds are blowing by, slowly. Patches of blue sky can be seem intermittently through the passing clouds. It’s dark, gray and a bit dreary. Raindrops are beginning to fall. If I were just looking at my immediate surroundings it could be quite depressing. But… in the distance I can see the sun shining brilliantly on a mountain peak. Just at that one place, the clouds part, the mountain breaks through and the peak glows in all its splendor.

• Life is Like a Carton of Eggs

  Gail

  14 Mar 2010 | 9:36 am

  My son teases me about my blog and when something happens he’ll say, “Oh no, she’s going to blog about this”. He’s even made a game out of it when we’re hiking where he’ll point to a tree or some other object and say something like, “What would your tree blog be about…”, and off I go. He affectionately makes fun of me, but in a playful way. He seems to think I could write a blog on just about anything. I’m not sure it that’s a compliment or not, but regardless, it did get me thinking about the question- could I write a…

• The Wisdom of Koda

  Gail

  12 Mar 2010 | 11:26 pm

  For many of us, our pets are an important part of our life. Almost every day I spend time with Koda, our 2 year-old Samoyed pup. His favorite thing is to go for a walk or a hike with me. If I don’t take him in the morning, by early afternoon he walks into my office, sits in front of my desk, looks up at me as sad as can be and “talks” to me. He makes this pleading noise that sounds like he’s talking and which is quite difficult to ignore. I know what he wants and more importantly, he knows that I know. It’s almost as if somehow Koda realizes that in addition to…

• Perspective- As Compared to What?

  Gail

  10 Mar 2010 | 9:27 am

  Yesterday we took Koda, our big white fluffy fur ball of a dog for a hike in the newly fallen snow by our home in Montana. Being a Samoyed, Koda loves the snow and went bounding into the forest and fields jumping, rolling in it and playing in every way possible. I had to laugh at his unbridled enthusiasm. What struck me the most was our big white furry dog was no longer white- he was cream colored against the backdrop of the stark white snow. I smiled and wondered how many other things in my life I automatically judge or evaluate as black or white, good or bad, etc, without thinking, in…

• Today’s Brilliance by Max Ehrmann- The Desiderata

  Gail

  9 Mar 2010 | 8:33 am

  This morning I wanted to share one of my very favorite poems with you, called the Desiderata. It was written more than 50 years ago by a man named Max Erhmann. If this sounds familiar as you’re reading it, this was turned into a recording and was quite popular on the radio in 1971. I just purchased the recording on iTunes this morning. This powerful little poem was the inspiration behind our Today’s Brilliance on InspireMeToday.com. As you know, each day we ask a new Inspirational Luminary, “If today were your last day and you had 500 words to share with humanity, what would…

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  The Road to the Horizon

• Humanitarian news flying high

  14 Mar 2010 | 2:31 pm

  While still on mission here in the Dominican Republic, shuttling between Santo Domingo and Haiti, I had to put blogging a bit more on the background. The good news is that my automatic aggregation website Humanitarian News, continues to fly high. We're now at almost 20,000 visitors a month. Last month, we retrieved 19,000 articles from 790 different sources. Humanitarian News now stores about 115,000 articles since I started it in six months ago. The main Twitter accounts linked to this site, @aidnews and @humanitynews grew to 4,600 and 1,900 followers respectively. It seems more and more…

• Staff security - about being a pain in the ass

  13 Mar 2010 | 9:44 am

  Have been involved in most humanitarian emergencies since I started this job, back in 1994, with a break of the last four years when I took a sabbatical, and worked for three years in our headquarters. For eight years, I lead an intervention team, which went into any humanitarian emergency operation way before anyone else was allowed in, as we had to install the technical infrastructure ensuring the safety of the other staff. As a manager, I have always taken the responsibility for the safety and well-being of my staff seriously. No matter what the rules, procedures and regulations were, I…

• Haiti, where Mañana is not an option...

  7 Mar 2010 | 12:40 pm

  "Mañana, por favor!", I answer when housekeeping knocks on my door. Mañana, please, I am working... I sit, computer on my lap, on my bed reading through a backlog of emails, catching up on work done, being done, and work to do. I just got back from two days in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It has been almost two months since I landed in Santo Domingo to coordinate the support functions for the Haiti crisis, out of the Dominican Republic. My days are full. My attention is switching from a meeting with one of the ministers, staff recruitment, debugging a cash advance problem, a meeting on limiting…

• Being a manager of an emergency team

  22 Feb 2010 | 8:18 pm

  For almost 9 years, I headed different emergency response teams while I was based in Uganda (the Great Lakes emergency), Kosovo, Pakistan/Afghanistan and later out of Dubai. Back in 2006, I took a sabbatical and after that worked for three years in Italy, outside of the emergency response scene. The Haiti operation is my first emergency since four years. Just before leaving Rome, on my way to the Dominican Republic, I wondered by myself, if I still had it in me. If the tools I built for myself over the years were not rusty. But already the first day on the ground in Santo Domingo, it was…

• Update from Santo Domingo - the 2nd wave.

  22 Feb 2010 | 6:35 pm

  It seems "the first wave emergency response" for the Haiti earthquake is over. Two weeks after the disaster, the first-responders who flew in to Haiti will slowly start to demobilize, to be replaced by new staff to stay for the next months. At the same time, the structures of the response is now gearing for a longer term support. Teams are being reorganized, communications and facilities are being set up catering for an influx of staff and supplies, and things start to be more organised. The main focus of our team right now is to ensure the relief supplies (for us, mainly food aid, and…

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  Tactical Philanthropy

• Curmudgeonly Comments: Online Capital Markets for Nonprofits?

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  15 Mar 2010 | 9:13 am

  This is a guest post from George Overholser of the Nonprofit Finance Fund. This post follows the bullet point format George used when he wrote the Bullet Point Manifesto guest post last year. By George Overholser Someone recently defined nonprofit “mid-caps” as organizations with revenues in the $5 million to $25 million range. We need to keep in mind that the definition for for-profit mid-caps is 200 times as big:  revenues in the $1 billion range. This matters because there are metaphors flying around that we need our nonprofit mid-caps to provide more financial disclosure to the…

• Philanthropy Daily Digest

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:01 pm

  Grading How Obama Handled His Nobel Prize Winnings | Social Entrepreneurship | Change.org Nathaniel Whittemore grades president Obama's Noble charitable giving. He's gets some A's and some F's. (tags: philanthropy) The Social Brain | The Greater Good Blog New research shows our heads are filled with "mirror neuron" that make us empathetic. Some people have more than others. (tags: philanthropy) Obama Names Charities Receiving His Nobel Prize Money – NYTimes.com President Obama announces the nonprofits that will receive his Nobel prize money. It will be…

• What Drives Philanthropic Success?

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  12 Mar 2010 | 8:31 am

  Peter Frumkin is the author of Strategic Giving, an excellent book that I reviewed last year. Earlier this week, Peter wrote a post on the Philanthropy Central blog calling into question some of his own assumptions about what drivers are most important to successful philanthropy. Peter wrote: …I am increasingly troubled by a recurrent worry. It is a worry about what actually drives philanthropic success. Let’s define two categories of philanthropic processes. The first is technocratic, rationalistic, and ordered: It includes program positioning and issue research, alignment and…

• Philanthropy Daily Digest

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  11 Mar 2010 | 5:01 pm

  VPP | Chairman's Corner: 'Social Outcomes': Missing the Forest for the Trees? After his essay last month in which he worried that many efforts to measure nonprofit results have gone far off course, Mario Marino of Venture Philanthropy Partners returns with an essay looking at the "whys" and "whats" to measure rather than the "hows". (tags: philanthropy) NYC Human Services Data Project New York City is beginning an effort to encourage city resources to be deployed in data-driven ways. The project includes a number of foundations and a member of the…

• Does Logic Impair Philanthropic Effectiveness?

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am

  One of my favorite new (to me) blogs is the fantastically named Full Contact Philanthropy, authored by David Henderson, CEO of Idealistics Inc. and social enterprise consultant Dan Elitzer. In the wake my back and forth with Martin Brookes over the role of guilt in social investing, Dan left a comment that I want to share. My objection to Martin feeling guilty about making a non-optimized charitable donation focused on the need for empathy in philanthropy to not be displaced by logic. But Dan took the argument a step further and argues that ignoring the empathic urge undermines philanthropic…

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  Timbuktu Chronicles

• MaP Kibera

  Emeka Okafor

  15 Mar 2010 | 5:47 am

  "...Map Kibera trained 13 youth, one from each village of Kibera, in the tools and techniques of OpenStreetMap. Over three weeks, assisted by local GIS professionals, the youth collected data with GPS units and edited their map using open source software. Since we were newcomers to Kibera, this was made possible through strong local partnerships with Kenyan organizations Carolina for Kibera and SODNET (Social Development Network). We also engaged widely with the technical and international development communities in Nairobi, building relationships for the project and involving participants…

• Open Source Design Competition

  Emeka Okafor

  14 Mar 2010 | 7:37 am

  Open Source House (OS-House) has launched a competition:...to design a sustainable, flexible and locally embedded family house for a specific location in Ghana. The modular construction should be suitable for local implementation and affordable for its future owners. The winning design(s) will be built in Ghana.Related articles by ZemantaCyber-City (timbuktuchronicles.blogspot.com)Open Source House Launches Design Competition (ostatic.com)To those who mock "Ghana Must Go".... (africaunchained.blogspot.com)

• Cyber-City

  Emeka Okafor

  14 Mar 2010 | 5:56 am

  233Tech reports on The Ghana Cyber City:The $40 million Ghana Cyber City (formerly Ghana Technology Park) is designed to facilitate incubation of innovative firms, manage offshore IT and business process outsourcing ventures, and seek to create 5,000 jobs in 5 years. GCC will also provide high tech office space and a Tier IV data center. We were planning to start on a small-scale basis but it our prospective partners encouraged us to scaled it up right from the conceptual stage.More hereRelated articles by ZemantaUshahidi Ghana Meet up (ushahidi.com)

• Wana Energy

  Emeka Okafor

  13 Mar 2010 | 5:45 am

  Wana Energy's "...main focus is to service comprehensive needs of her customers in organised homesteads, light commercial industries, and private homes through distribution, installation and maintenance of bulk and cylinder Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)..."via BidNetwork

• The New Face of Innovation-Ushahidi

  Emeka Okafor

  12 Mar 2010 | 12:12 pm

  Image via CrunchBaseIn the NYTimes:...Ushahidi represents the new frontier of innovation. Silicon Valley has long been the reigning paradigm of innovation, with its ecosystem of universities, financiers, mentors, immigrants and robust patents. Ushahidi comes from another world, in which entrepreneurship is born of hardship and innovators focus on doing more with less rather than on selling you new and improved stuff.More here

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  Echoing Green Blog

• The Tech Awards Now Accepting Nominations

  shalena

  11 Mar 2010 | 2:48 pm

  Echoing Green has some exciting news for all you social change techies! The Tech Awards is now accepting nominations for 2010. The Tech Awards, a program of The Tech Museum, honors innovators from around the world who are using their tech smarts to create solutions to some of society's challenges. 15 Laureates in the areas of Health, Education, Environment, Economic Development, and Equality are honored at an annual Gala event and inducted into The Tech Awards Network (TAN). One Laureate per category receives $50,000. 2004 Echoing Green Fellow and founder of Build Change, Elizabeth Hausler…

• Unreasonable Marketplace: Final Countdown

  shalena

  3 Mar 2010 | 12:35 pm

  Less than a month remains to support a number of great ideas in the Unreasonable Finalist Marketplace. A partner of Echoing Green, the Unreasonable Institute takes an innovative approach to investing in entrepreneurs launching social ventures. Each participant is asked to raise $6,500, which is the cost of their enrollment in the institute. The first 25 to reach this goal will be included in the first-ever class of the Unreasonable Institute, where they will recieve mentorship, training, and access to capital from a global network of supporters. There are 33 finalists from 18 countries who…

• Echoing Green Joins Social Entrepreneur API

  Anthony

  23 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm

  We’re excited to announce our participation in the Social Entrepreneur API project.  This open source database is a collection of data about individual changemakers taken directly from funders of social entrepreneurs (such as Civic Ventures, Draper Richards Foundation, PopTech, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and Skoll Foundation).  The API uses a standard data format allowing funders, journalists, researchers, and any other interested party to see searchable results in one spot… or rather, in many spots.  The goal, of course, is to make social entrepreneurs more…

• Mideast Youth Wants You to Join the March 18th Movement

  shalena

  18 Feb 2010 | 8:39 am

  2009 Echoing Green Fellow Esra'a Al Shafei and founder of Mideast Youth would like you to stand for freedom of speech. March 18, 2009 Omid Reza Mir Sayafi died in Evin Prison in Tehran. An Iranian blogger and journalist, Omid was in prison for "allegedly insulting religious leaders, and engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran." In Omid's memory, Mideast Youth created the March 18th Movement. From this year forward, Mideast Youth asks that bloggers, journalists, and all supporters unite on March 18th to show their commitment to free speech. To learn how you can be…

• Jane Chen Delivers a Moving Talk at TEDIndia

  shalena

  17 Feb 2010 | 7:52 am

  2008 Echoing Green Fellow and co-founder of Embrace, Jane Chen delivered a powerful presentation at TEDIndia. A 2009 TEDIndia Fellow, Jane's speech about Embrace's cost-effective solution to high infant mortality of premature babies appears on the front page of TED.com this week. To learn more about Embrace and what inspired Jane to take on such a huge challenge, check out "Jane Chen: A warm embrace that saves lives" at TED.com.

• 

  World Economic Forum

• Forum report: Business failing to close the corporate gender gap

  Samantha Tonkin

  8 Mar 2010 | 5:37 am

  Leading companies are failing to capitalize on the talents of women in the workforce, according to the World Economic Forum’s Corporate Gender Gap Report 2010.It's the first study to cover the world’s largest employers in 20 countries and benchmark them against the gender equality policies that most companies should have in place but are in fact widely missing.Released on International Women's Day, 8 March, the report provides a guide on what firms need to do to close the corporate gender gap..The findings of The Corporate Gender Gap Report are an alarm bell on International Women’s Day…

• Forum announces news class of Young Global Leaders

  Matthias Lüfkens

  3 Mar 2010 | 12:42 am

  The World Economic Forum has announced the names of 197 people from 72 countries who are to join the Forum of Young Global Leaders in 2010. Each year the Forum of Young Global Leaders recognizes up to 200 outstanding leaders who are under the age of 40 for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world. For 2010 the Forum has selected 197 Young Global Leaders from 72 countries and all stakeholders of society (business, societal, social entrepreneurs, political&government, arts&culture, and opinion&media).

• New Forum report sets out how sustainable consumption can transform business value

  World Economic Forum

  24 Feb 2010 | 11:35 pm

  Natural resources are running ever lower while the world's population continues to climb higher. A global economy built on consumption is therefore a scary prospect.CEOs in Davos representing a broad range of industries agreed that our global economy is at risk unless fundamental changes in the way we consume and produce products and services are made. A prosperous future depends on sustainable consumption - innovative new products and business models that achieve transformative efficiency and create new market opportunities.To learn more, read their report "Redesigning Business…

• Upcoming Forum Events and Reports 2010

  Matthias Lüfkens

  15 Feb 2010 | 12:48 am

  Below is a list of the World Economic Forum’s upcoming meetings and major reports in 2010. Please also consult our events page on the Forum’s website here for updates in the future. Date Calendar of Events and Reports 2010 Location 4 March Young Global Leaders Class of 2010 GenevaSwitzerland 25 March Global Information Technology Report 2010 New YorkUSA 6-8 April World Economic Forum on Latin America CartagenaColombia 5-7 May World Economic Forum on Africa Dar es SalaamTanzania 10-11 May World Economic Forum on Europe BrusselsBelgium 30 May - 1 June Word Economic Forum Global Redesign…

• Davos 2010 in numbers

  Matthias Lüfkens

  1 Feb 2010 | 2:23 am

  The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010 has opened up to the wider world through the cutting edge use of social media. The global public had the opportunity to follow debates live, send their video and text comments in specific sessions and discuss on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Overall the Forum has reached a worldwide audience of 430 million readers online through the use of social networks. Facebook The Forum tapped into the collective wisdom of the 400 million strong Facebook crowd. In several key sessions, the social networking platform Facebook ran real-time…

• 

  Green Parent Chicago

• Growing Healthy Kids

  Christine Escobar

  4 Mar 2010 | 9:30 am

  The statistics are staggering. I'm not much for numbers and yet I can even quote the stats by heart: - 1/3 of American children are obese (2/3 of American adults)- For the first time since the marvels of modern medicine, health experts are predicting that children will have a lower life span than their parents (2-5 years)- 10 percent of America's health care bills are obesity-related, whether it be treatment for diabetes, hypertension or joint injury and this doesn't even include mental health related costs- Illinois has the fourth highest rate of childhood obesity.It's bad.To…

• EarthTalk: Leftovers and Landfills, The Cost of Food Waste in the U.S.

  Christine Escobar

  17 Feb 2010 | 7:45 pm

  Dear EarthTalk: What are the environmental implications of all the food we throw away here in the United States-- Mike Schiller, Cambridge, MA Food waste is a huge issue in America, especially in light of the growing divide between the profligate rich and the hungry poor. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Loss Project, we throw away more than 25 percent—some 25.9 million tons—of all the food we produce for domestic sale and consumption. A 2004 University of Arizona study pegs the figure at closer to 50 percent, finding that Americans squander some $43 billion…

• With Vote, Chicago Would Move Closer to Becoming a Fair Trade Town

  Christine Escobar

  10 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am

  Update: The Chicago Fair Trade resolution has passed the Chicago City Council vote. The Chicago City Council votes today on the Chicago Fair Trade resolution, an important first step in the effort to promote fair trade products in Chicago and fair work conditions across the globe. If approved, Chicago would meet the first of five requirements to become a Fair Trade Town and a leader in North America as the largest Fair Trade town in the U.S.A Fair Trade Town is any community in which people and organizations use their everyday choices to increase sales of fair trade products and help promote…

• A Bitter Fruit: A child's plea to the city

  Christine Escobar

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:25 pm

  The little locavore delved into political activism last night, writing his first letter to a political official. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the issue that piqued his ire was food-related.As many of you have already heard, Chicago's health department engaged in some boneheaded, yet ultimately unsurprising, behavior on Thursday. In the course of a health inspection, the city inspectors destroyed twelve hundred dollars worth of granola bars and seven thousand dollars of frozen local fruit owned by small business owners Sunday Dinner Chicago and Flora Lazar, respectively. This…

• Lincoln Park Zoo to Offer Summer Nature Camp Scholarships

  Christine Escobar

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:59 pm

  If you're looking for a wildlife camp experience for your child this summer, but concerned about the cost, you may want to consider applying for one of Lincoln Park Zoo's 2010 Conservation Camp scholarships. 30 one-week scholarships will be offered this spring to attend the Zoo's summer Conservation Camps, which are open to all children from preschool (beginning at age 4) to eighth grade. Scholarship recipients may register for a second week of camp at 50 percent off the regular cost. The program will consist of two week-long sessions. "The Web of Wildlife" will explore…

• 

  Acumen Fund Blog

• Reflections from Dubai

  Shijie Lu

  15 Mar 2010 | 7:00 am

  Pauline Nguyen is a volunteer who recently helped organize an Acumen Fund presentation in Dubai, where Blair Miller presented her experiences managing the Acumen Fund Fellows Program. I will be the first one to confess that I was pessimistic for the turnout at Blair Miller’s presentation about the Acumen Fund Fellows Program.   The feeling had nothing to do with Blair herself (who is quite fabulous in real life) but rather the type of people and lifestyle that exist in Dubai. Professionals come to Dubai to work tax-free, live in luxury housing, enjoy fancy brunches, and travel to exotic…

• News Round-up: Business Outlook India, Aravind, Jamii Bora, Start Up Structures and African SME Investing

  Shijie Lu

  12 Mar 2010 | 7:00 am

  An Outlook Business article profiles social venture capital funds in India, including our investees Husk Power Systems and Water Health International. A related article features Antony Bugg-Levine of Rockefeller Foundation discussing the changing field of Impact Investing. Aravind Eye Care Systems won the $1.5 Million Conrad Hilton Prize for its work in extending affordable eye care to low-income populations in India. Business Daily Africa covers Acumen Fund investee Jamii Bora for its work in providing financing solutions for low-cost housing in Kenya. Acumen Fund India Director Varun Sahni…

• Get Involved with our San Francisco Chapter!

  Shijie Lu

  12 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  We’re pleased to announce that the San Francisco for Acumen Chapter will be having its Wine Tasting Event on 25th March, at the SNOB Wine Bar & Lounge from 6.30pm - 9.30pm. In preparation for the event, local chapter leaders are gathering on Sunday, 14th March, at 50 Fremont Street for an Event Planning Session from 2pm - 3.30pm. This is an excellent opportunity to get more involved with the Chapter and Acumen Fund’s work, so if you’re interested, don’t hesitate to sign up! For more event information, please refer to links on the Wine Tasting Event & the…

• Are you being a linchpin?

  Yasmina Zaidman

  11 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  Yasmina Zaidman is Director of Communications at Acumen Fund. Are you being a linchpin? I’ve been an avid watcher of “So You Think You Can Dance“ for years, and since reading Linchpin, Seth Godin’s latest book, it has become clear to me why. The show’s name is a little ironic. The kids featured in this competition reality show, who audition from around the country for a chance to become America’s favorite dancer, really can dance. Some have years of training, and some are street dancers, but all of them get on the stage and dance their hearts out, with…

• When access to healthcare matters most: a personal experience of emergency medical care

  Yasmina Zaidman

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:00 am

  Yasmina Zaidman is Director of Communications at Acumen Fund. She recently returned from vacation in the Dominican Republic, where she personally experienced the importance of access to emergency medical care. The hospital in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where Yasmina and her son were fortunate enough to receive treatment. I try not to think too much about work when I’m on vacation, but when I found myself in the back of an ambulance in the Dominican Republic this past week, I couldn’t help but think about Acumen Fund’s work on improving access to emergency care. I was holding my…

• 

  PSD Blog - The World Bank Group

• Do casinos produce anything valuable?

  Ryan Hahn

  15 Mar 2010 | 8:46 am

  "Are markets simply casinos for betting?" Asli recently asked this question on the All About Finance blog. She argues that financial markets do a lot more than that, and I agree. But there are some markets that come very close to being casinos. Surprisingly, in the wake of the financial crisis, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commision has given permission for one such market—a futures exchange based on the box office revenues of Hollywood movies. Basically, anyone will be able to bet on whether a movie will be a flop or become a…

• A technical update

  Ryan Hahn

  12 Mar 2010 | 1:10 pm

  Some readers have complained in the past that they have gotten error messages when trying to submit comments to the blog. We've put in a request with our software provider to look into the problem, but in the meantime, please send an email to rru@worldbank.org if you encounter a problem. We'll be happy to post the comment for you (and we'd also like to know how frequently the problem is cropping up).

• Does the World Bank have a sense of humor?

  Ryan Hahn

  10 Mar 2010 | 11:36 am

  Perhaps the title is a rhetorical question, but I felt obliged to ask it after seeing the latest parody of a World Bank initiative. If you've been ignoring CNN, you may have missed the news that the World Bank Institute recently launched a massively multiplayer game called Evoke designed to get people around the world to work collaboratively on pressing problems like food security, human rights, etc. Evoke builds a storyline based around a comic book (eh hem, sorry, graphic novel) to lay out a quest each week. The initiative is still…

• FPD Forum Day 1

  Brian Hoyt

  2 Mar 2010 | 1:47 pm

  The first day of this year's Financial and Private Sector Development Forum is about to wind down. I had the opportunity to attend several fascinating discussions, including: A workshop on catastrophic risk insurance in the Caribbean A discussion on building venture capital opportunities in developing countries A look at Africa's industrial future An inspirational talk by Ingrid Munro on how she built Kenya's largest microfinance institution with a team of beggars For those unable to attend this year's forum, we have an active Twitter feed, where every attendee can share his…

• Stop the Wars!

  Brian Hoyt

  1 Mar 2010 | 7:28 am

  Does Haiti (or Chile) need a Marshall Plan to help recover from the ruins of natural disasters? How has the War on Poverty progressed in the United States? What about the Gates Foundation's War on Malaria? Foreign Policy editor Moises Naim has a simple suggestion to each of these questions: It's time for a new analogy. Social policy doesn't need new wars and Marshall Plans: In fact, no imitation of the Marshall Plan has ever worked, and no war on a big social problem has ever ended in defeat for the enemy (save, perhaps, cigarettes). But the allure of these…

• 

  Wokai News

• Wokai 2.0 Launch (Toronto)

  Ed Shen

  3 Mar 2010 | 12:17 pm

  Title: Wokai 2.0 Launch (Toronto) Location: Safar Lounge, Toronto Link out: Click here Description: We cordially invite you to our “Cocktails and Microfinance” Toronto Chapter Launch event that will take place on Thursday, March 18 at Safar Lounge (located at 270 Adelaide Street W., close to John St.). Here is a preview of the event highlights: - Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, desserts and drink specials - Hear a special guest speaker share about the powerful tool of microfinancing - Screening of a short-film produced by Wokai called, How the Rural Half Lives - Unveiling of wokai 2.0, the…

• Wokai 2.0 Launch (San Francisco)

  Ed Shen

  3 Mar 2010 | 12:11 pm

  Title: Wokai 2.0 Launch (San Francisco) Location: Sugar Café, San Francisco Link out: Click here Description: You are cordially invited to join the San Francisco Chapter of Wokai at our upcoming event “New Year, New Wokai | 2.0 Launch.” The event will take place on Thursday, March 11th, from 6:00 – 9:00pm at Sugar Cafe, which is located at 679 Sutter Street. We will be celebrating Wokai’s 3rd birthday with drink specials and birthday cake for our guests. The event will also feature the unveiling of Wokai’s newly redesigned website with enhanced functionalities, as well as a…

• Wokai 2.0 Launch (Hong Kong)

  Ed Shen

  3 Mar 2010 | 11:49 am

  Title: Wokai 2.0 Launch (Hong Kong) Location: China Tee Club, Hong Kong Link out: Click here Description: Join us on Thursday, March 4th to celebrate the Chinese New Year while learning how Wokai is moving forward in the “Year of the Tiger” to make a greater impact in the lives of impoverished entrepreneurs in rural China. Cost is HK$150 per person, of which HK$30 will be credited to a borrower of your choice on Wokai.org. Start Time: 06:30 Date: 2010-03-04 End Time: 9:00

• Wokai 2.0 Launch (Beijing)

  Ed Shen

  3 Mar 2010 | 11:40 am

  Title: Wokai 2.0 Launch Location: Beijing, Punk @ The Opposite House Link out: Click here Description: Join us on Thursday, March 4th to celebrate the Chinese New Year while learning how Wokai is moving forward in the “Year of the Tiger” to make a greater impact in the lives of impoverished entrepreneurs in rural China. Here is a preview of event highlights: -Enjoy snacks from 20h-21h30 -Raffle prizes (tickets 100rmb) -DJ Terry from Acupuncture records will be spinning as of 21h30 Start Time: 20:00 Date: 2010-03-04

• Wokai 2.0 Launch (New York)

  Ed Shen

  3 Mar 2010 | 6:12 am

  Title: Wokai 2.0 Launch (New York) Location: Roger Smith Hotel, New York Link out: Click here Description: Join us on Thursday, March 11th to celebrate the Chinese New Year while learning how Wokai is moving forward in the “Year of the Tiger” to make a greater impact in the lives of impoverished entrepreneurs in rural China. Here is a preview of event highlights: -Enjoy an open bar from 7:30 – 9:30 -Special preview of Wokai’s enhanced website -Fun night of networking and learning Cost is $60 per person, of which $10 will be credited to a borrower of your choice on Wokai.org. Click…

• 

  microfranchising

• Recent Microfranchising News - Feb 2010

  David Stoker

  1 Mar 2010 | 5:22 pm

  Vision Spring featured in March Entrepreneur magazine and a recent Parade Magazine. The Feb Templeton Report leads with a story about a new report about franchising in frontier markets. It deserves further review. It cites the rise of SpotCity Taxi in India as an example.

• MicroFranchise Toolkit available again

  David Stoker

  11 May 2009 | 6:09 pm

  I received a notice today that the MicroFranchise Toolkit, published out of BYU's Center for Economic Self-Reliance, is available again for purchase after selling out of the initial printing. I do not receive any kickbacks for promoting it but I did think the announcement was post-worthy because of the apparent level of demand for this product. Have any of my readers used this toolkit? Any reviews or insights?

• Skoll announces New Winners, VisionSpring among them

  David Stoker

  19 Mar 2009 | 8:16 pm

  A special congratulations to VisionSpring, one of the most cited organizations on this blog (Intro, TeamwithPSI, IntheNews, OnChangemakers, NameChange, NewBlog, ), for being one of the recently announced winners of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Skoll is also to be congratulated for their willingness to give large unrestricted grants to those they have properly vetted, which I think is critical for growth.

• Ashoka and Gates looking for Innovation in Rural Communities

  David Stoker

  8 Mar 2009 | 6:35 pm

  Ashoka's Changemakers recently launched a competition looking for "sustainable change in rural development and agriculture" sponsored by the Gates Foundation. They are asking for nominations and ongoing comments from the Changemakers community.I nominated the folks at Open Air Cinema from my last post; there is such great potential for them to inspire, educate, and shape rural communities through the power of film and media, particularly if they are simply providing the technology and empowering local filmmakers to create the content. I look forward to future nominations and the full spectrum…

• Media Innovations in Rural Africa: Movies, Mobiles and the Web

  David Stoker

  21 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

  Springwise did a year end summary of innovative business ideas, here are a few that caught my eye:Solar-powered cellphone kiosks in Uganda launched by Motorola. Internet in-a-box for rural areas by SolarNetOne.orgInflatable movie screens for rural Africa. I was slightly caught off-guard by the movie screen business being on the list because I actually saw that particular team present at a business plan competition back in college and even watched an away football game on the inflatable screen but then watched them struggle to find a stable market in the area. I'm glad to see they have taken…

• 

  So what can I do?

• Change the world.

  Karama

  6 Oct 2014 | 3:52 pm

  How will you make our world a better place?* Health and education* Economics, social entrepreneurship, and microfinance* Food and water* Energy and technology* Women, children, and family* Environment, land, and sustainability* FaithAnd don’t forget to visit the So What Can I Do Bookstore. Your efforts can change the world.”Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mohandas GandhiPlease visit http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com to offer your comments and suggestions, forward this post, and peruse the archives. Thanks for reading "So what can I do", the public service weblog promoting…

• Join the So What Can I Do blood donation team.

  Karama

  20 Jun 2009 | 8:40 pm

  I went to the Red Cross blood center today and gave a pint. Regular readers and regular donors know that blood donation is a fast and easy way to save up to three lives. You never know when you or someone you know will need blood. So please consider donating blood, platelets, or red cells. And if you do, you’re invited to join the So What Can I Do Red Cross Racing Team. Here’s how:• Visit redcrossracing.com .• After you register scroll to the bottom and click “Team Competition.”• Enter the So What Can I Do team code: O?67SO .• Remember to log your donations to win points and…

• Celebrate World Free Your Mind Day – June 19th.

  Karama

  18 Jun 2009 | 9:07 pm

  I spent this Juneteenth thinking about what my family would have been like if my great-great-granddaddy Griffin Henry Belk hadn’t walked off that plantation when he did. I expect it would have made a huge difference, because when Griffin Henry Belk left, he was able to travel (searching for his parents), purchase land (160 acres for $11 in Ozan, Arkansas), and generally prepare to provide for his wife and five children to come. So I woke up Juneteenth morning and told my daughter about her great-great-great-granddaddy. Even though she’s only two, I expect it resonated with her, or will…

• Make Kiva microloans in the US.

  Karama

  11 Jun 2009 | 9:04 pm

  I’ve written frequently about microloans - how the concept spread as a tool for economic development, how to lend and get your money back – sometimes with with interest, making a loan a no cost to you, etc. But my most popular post on the topic discusses microloans in the US. I’m pleased to report that there is now another option for those interested in making microloans in the US. Kiva now offers the opportunity to make microloans in the US. If you’re in the US, this is a great way to help your neighbors move ahead through entrepreneurship. And if you need a microloan, this means…

• Be the match: Join the Marrow Registry for free June 8-22.

  Karama

  25 May 2009 | 7:58 pm

  Earlier today when I wanted to forward my post on cord blood donation, I realized that most of the links had gone dead. While updating them, I was pleased to learn about the upcoming Marrowthon from the National Marrow Donor Program. NMDP has set a goal of adding 46,000 new members to the marrow registry during this drive. Each new member increases the odds that someone with a life threatening blood disease will live, and live well – disease free.Joining is easy: just take the eligibility quiz, fill out a form, and swab your cheeks for a cell sample. (I had to give a bit of blood for…

• 

  Worldchanging: Bright Green

• Carbon Neutrality as Opportunity

  Alex Steffen

  14 Mar 2010 | 12:54 pm

  As you may have gathered, the idea of city-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 has gained a lot of steam here in Worldchanging's home base of Seattle. Our City Council has embraced it as a goal (though it's wrestling with the timeline) and some of our smartest people are wrestling with what carbon neutrality might mean and how it might be accomplished. Eric de Place offered one set of concerns here last week, exploring the example of Copenhagen -- which at this point has the world's most ambitious urban climate goal of carbon neutrality by 2025 -- and asking some tough questions about Seattle's…

• Outer Ring Suburbs and the Permanent Foreclosure

  Alex Steffen

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:55 pm

  (A quick little Friday afternoon note.) Discussion of planetary boundaries is pretty surreal everywhere these days, but in the United States, the disconnect between reality and rhetoric has reached what I think are pretty stunning proportions. Nowhere can this be better seen than in the discussions about how to "fix" the suburbs. Many still debate that anything about the American model of sprawl development needs fixing, but most understand that something has gone seriously wrong with the outer-ring suburbs that more than a quarter of American call home. It doesn't take a futurist to look at…

• Three great talks: Bill Dunster on future-proofing cities, Dan Hill on re-imagining them, Dan Barber on how to feed them

  Alex Steffen

  11 Mar 2010 | 12:37 am

  Here are three talks I found thought-provoking and inspiring. All three demand some attention (and probably some time after to ponder what was said), but all three are also new ideas from thinkers who are breaking new ground. Very worldchanging. Futureproofing the City: ZEDfactory; Foster + Partners; R/E/D from The Architecture Foundation on Vimeo. Dan Hill-Keynote: New Soft City from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo. Dan Barber on a remarkable food project: the sort of food shed every city should have. (and, of course, you might find these talks I gave in November interesting as…

• Urban Resilience for Dummies, Part 2: Failing the Milk Test

  WorldChanging Team

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:43 pm

  by Warren Karlenzig Last post I covered some guiding principles for urban resilience planning in the face of climate change and diminishing resources (especially fresh water and oil). Considering these guidelines, what aspect of U.S. metro development stands out as the most ill-advised and risky? Short answer: exurban sprawl. If the "Great Recession" taught us anything, it is that allowing the unrestrained sprawl of energy-inefficient communities and infrastructure is a now-bankrupt economic development strategy and constitutes a recipe for continued disaster on every level. "Shy away from…

• Industrial Strength Stormwater Fix

  WorldChanging Team

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:19 pm

  A blue-collar business embraces a green stormwater fix. by Lisa Stiffler Editor's note 3/9: This profile is now available in PDF format here. On Seattle’s 8th Avenue South in the Georgetown neighborhood, empty school buses and recycling trucks rumble by. Semis squeeze past each other. Cars are parked on the street’s gravel shoulder amid shoe-soaking pools of muddy rainwater. Georgetown’s busted streets and heavy-duty manufacturing plants seem like the last place where earth-friendly, sustainable stormwater solutions would take root. But this is the story of blue-collar industry…

• 

  Social Business Blog

• Doing Good and Doing Well; (Hopefully) the Mantra of Our Age

  Rod Schwartz

  14 Mar 2010 | 5:23 am

  I had the good fortune to be invited to speak at a conference held by one of Europe’s leading (and exceptionally well-located) business schools, Barcelona based IESE, and Net Impact, an organisation which is looking to change the world for the better, through business. The attendees were largely students from top European business schools. The conference was entitled “Doing Good and Doing Well” and captured in five words the spirit not only of the conference but, hopefully, of our age. Now I am often accused, particularly by my family, of being prone to “over-enthusiasm”, and this…

• Canada Could Benefit From Being a Global Microcosm

  Rod Schwartz

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:56 am

  One final reflection before I leave today and return to the UK from Canada, where we opened our first ClearlySo international operation this week. I was immensely struck by the extent to which Canada had the opportunity to pull together many key international themes and flavours as it developed its social finance and business activities. In a piece posted on Social Edge last year, I noted sarcastically that it seemed all social enterprise innovation appeared to be Anglo-Saxon in nature; certainly this seemed so from the speakers at most conferences. My point was that there was much we all had…

• Social Enterprise & Investment in Canada: “Owning the Podium”

  Rod Schwartz

  6 Mar 2010 | 3:48 pm

  My good fortune was to have landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport, just as the Canadian hockey team scored the winning goal against the USA in the last moment of the Vancouver Olympics. Could you imagine how my week would have gone, launching ClearlySo in Canada, if, as someone born in the USA, it had gone the other way? Arriving on such an auspicious week, choreographed better than any Hollywood flick, I had the chance to see Canada in a rare and appropriately boastful mood. This spirit, and the nervous reaction to it, was captured well in an article in the 4 March article in the Globe…

• ClearlySo Canada Opens for Business!

  Rod Schwartz

  3 Mar 2010 | 5:13 pm

  With great pride, I attended the launch of ClearlySo Canada earlier this evening. Working with the Canadian founder, Julie McDowell, and her crack team, we launched the site on schedule in record time. Rather than pontificate personally, allow me to let Julie tell her own story. Canada represents only the first of an ambitious international rollout plan. Watch this space! Regards, Rod Schwartz. On behalf of my colleagues at ClearlySo in both Canada and the U.K., I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the 34 Founding Canadian members who have listed their companies on our site and joined the…

• HCT Establishes a Benchmark for Social Finance

  Rod Schwartz

  22 Feb 2010 | 10:38 am

  On Friday legal agreements were signed between HCT Group (the social enterprise formerly know as Hackney Community Transport) and several investors on two new instruments, a Fixed Rate Loan and an innovative “Social Loan”, where the interest rate is tied to the growth in sales at HCT from an agreed level. This gives investors some of the features of equity (although the return is capped at 20%), without HCT sacrificing any of the control associated with an equity issue. ClearlySo’s sister company Catalyst Fund Management & Research Ltd. advised on the transaction, and…

• 

  Gimundo.com

• Five More Amazing Instrumental Guitar Performances

  editor@gimundo.com

  14 Mar 2010 | 7:50 pm

  We missed some great artists in our previous round-up of acoustic guitar instrumentals - here are even more to enjoy.

• Korean War Veteran Builds Schools for his Former Enemies in China and North Korea

  editor@gimundo.com

  11 Mar 2010 | 5:06 pm

  After South Korean soldier Kim Chin-kyung escaped from enemy forces, he decided to help them by creating universities in China and North Korea.

• WASP Female Military Pilots Receive Congressional Gold Medal

  editor@gimundo.com

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:49 pm

  During World War II, young women known as WASPs risked their lives to fly planes to help the US military. 65 years later, they're finally getting the recognition they deserve.

• American Express Members Project Pays You for Volunteer Hours

  editor@gimundo.com

  9 Mar 2010 | 8:19 pm

  American Express' new Members Project lets volunteers receive payment in rewards points for their time working with non-profits.

• In the Future, Technology May Let Us Communicate Telepathically

  editor@gimundo.com

  8 Mar 2010 | 3:14 pm

  According to Cisco Labs futurist Dave Evans, telepathic technology will allow us to download data directly into our brains within several decades.

• 

  How I changed the world today.

• Smithsonian Institute

  Julia

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:11 pm

  I made my yearly membership contribution to the Smithsonian today. I believe in it. Just today I was telling someone that it was free and a great thing to do, and could possibly take more than a week to see. I've spent quite a few days there and haven't seen it all.

• kiva

  Julia

  8 Mar 2010 | 10:21 pm

  I made two Kiva loans today. Loan Purchase of $25 to Hilda Yaneth Flores Nuñez (business id=180022)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Loan Purchase of $25 to Candido Ortiz (business id=177495)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

• Education Generation - Helping fund students

  Julia

  6 Mar 2010 | 8:57 am

  I just helped out Adrian and Rosmery by paying for a bit of their tuition through Education Generation. The funding request is expiring tomorrow, so if you happen to have $20 you can donate to change someone's life....

• 1000th Kiva loan

  Julia

  5 Mar 2010 | 9:49 am

  Just made my 999, and 1000, and 1001 Kiva loans. All to ladies called 'Julia'. Loan Purchase of $25 to Juliana Nduku Makau (business id=179269)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Loan Purchase of $25 to Julia Narda Aguilar Gomez (business id=178328)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Loan Purchase of $25 to Ana Julia Moreno Reyes (business id=179470)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

• Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA

  Julia

  2 Mar 2010 | 9:08 pm

  I renewed my membership in my local SPCA. Its always nice to have somewhere to take injured animals.

• 

  NextBillion

• Project Manager - Housing For All

  15 Mar 2010 | 9:46 am

  Organization: Ashoka Arab WorldLocation: Cairo, EGHousing for All, Ashoka Arab WorldTerms of ReferenceProject ManagerCompensation: 12,000 L.E. plus bonusLocation: Cairo, EgyptBackground:Housing for All's mission is to revolutionize the housing industry in Egypt's urban and peri-urban slum areas, by mobilizing existing actors from various sectors of society to contribute their efforts and relevant expertise to solve the challenge of affordable, environmentally-sustainable housing in low-income communities, while concurrently addressing widespread unemployment among youth.HFA will involve 5…

• Latin America in the Spotlight, Part 1: Paula Cardenau from Ashoka's Social Business Initiative

  15 Mar 2010 | 8:59 am

  Authored by: Francisco NogueraIf you have any ties to the Spanish/Portuguese speaking world and have an interest for social enterprise, then I'll bet you're as excited as I am about the conferences taking place this week and next: The Miami Social Enterprise Conference and the ANDE Latin America Conference. NextBillion is a partner to both, and we'll bring you Latin America in the Spotlight, a series of interviews and articles that introduce some of the most active players in the region's emerging social enterprise industry.   So off we go with the…

• Feedback from Our Readers: NextBillion Readers' Survey

  13 Mar 2010 | 7:30 am

  Authored by: Maria ZhengDear NextBillion Reader: Since 2005, NextBillion has strived to provide news, analysis and information on the "base of the pyramid" (BoP) sector.  We are now the most-visited BoP site on the web, with more than 40,000 unique visitors per month- thanks to you.  And we don't want to stop there. In an effort to improve our editorial coverage and our technical functionality, we ask that you spend 5 minutes to complete this short survey.  We will use your responses to improve NextBillion so that it can better serve you. Take the NextBillion Readers' Survey…

• Weekly Roundup: Focus on Children, Early and Often

  13 Mar 2010 | 4:00 am

  Authored by: Nathan Wyeth This week, we welcomed four new people to the NextBillion team: Maria Zheng, Andrew Eder, Bryan Farris, and Adeena Schlussel.  Watch for their contributions and insights!   This week, staff writers took new looks at how enterprises can intervene in education and early childhood to create new security and prosperity into the future: What Social Businesses are Doing to Fight Terrorism New staff writer Bryan Farris examines a topic often discussed in the media from a new angle - before education steers people towards radicalism or towards…

• Program Associate - Kenya

  12 Mar 2010 | 1:55 pm

  Organization: One Acre FundLocation: KEJob Location: Western Kenya (English required) Organization Description One Acre Fund is a start-up initiative in Kenya which works with persistently hungry farm families. Instead of giving handouts to families, One Acre invests in farm families to generate a permanent gain in farm income. Our "investment bundle" includes education, financing, inputs, and export market access. Our program is designed to be usable by the extreme poor, and generates a lasting, 100%+ gain in farm income. We have been operating since January 2006, and we…

• 

  Spare Change

• Guest Post: Pretty Please…Convincing Your Boss to Take the Plunge into Social Media

  Nedra Weinreich

  3 Mar 2010 | 9:15 pm

  Not too long ago, I was providing technical assistance to a staff member at a local health department whose agency was not open to letting her use certain social media tools to engage with their community. I asked my Twitter network for ideas on resources that might help her make the case with a reluctant organization. Dawn Crawford, who is the Communications Director at the Colorado Children's Immunization Coalition (@ImmunizeCOKids on Twitter) very generously offered to share what she had learned, having been in a similar situation. After she emailed me the information to pass along, I…

• Social Marketing University in DC

  Nedra Weinreich

  3 Dec 2009 | 10:14 am

  The next Social Marketing University training is coming to Washington, DC on January 11-13, 2010. If you're interested in learning the fundamentals of social marketing to bring about health, social or environmental behavior change, this is the course!The training is for people working at nonprofits, government agencies, PR/marketing agencies or others who want to build knowledge and skills for building an effective social marketing strategy. If you're already familiar with social marketing but want to learn about how to use social media within a social marketing program, you have the option…

• The Tip Jar - 10/15/09

  Nedra Weinreich

  14 Oct 2009 | 11:59 pm

  Here are some assorted bits and pieces I've collected for your reading pleasure:Starting next week I'll be offering a new webinar series on Social Media for Social Marketers. The four 60-minute webinars (at 11 am Pacific time) are:October 22 - Designing a Social Media Strategy for ChangeOctober 29 - Blogging and Beyond: Tools to Build Your MovementNovember 12 - Twitteracy for Social MarketersNovember 19 - Monitoring and Evaluating Social MediaIf you are interested, but can't make a particular event live, you can always view the archived events and ask me any questions afterward. For more…

• We Can't Afford to Lose the National Center for Health Marketing

  Nedra Weinreich

  31 Aug 2009 | 3:09 am

  When the new director of the CDC, Dr. Thomas Frieden, took his position in early June, it was inevitable that he would make some changes -- perhaps even some big changes. I believe I speak for many social marketers in saying we were very hopeful that health marketing (the CDC's name for social marketing) would fare well in the new administration.Unfortunately, I have just found out that the National Center for Health Marketing (NCHM) is slated to be eliminated. What this means exactly for the practice of health marketing within the CDC is unclear, but it bodes poorly for the field of social…

• The Path to Health Marketing Collaboration

  Nedra Weinreich

  16 Jul 2009 | 10:26 pm

  When's the last time someone wrote a superhero comic about people in your profession? Sure, if you're a reporter, nuclear scientist or even a reclusive millionaire, you're used to this type of thing. But we health marketing types are usually the ones on the development side of the media, not the target audience. So I'm sure you'll be as excited as I was to discover that my longtime blog friend Fard Johnmar of Envision Solutions and the HealthCareVox blog has created both a fun set of different types of media to draw people like us in, and a more serious project that underlies it.His mission…

• 

  Social ROI: A Social Entrepreneurship Blog

• A cellphone app called CauseWorld has figured out a way for advertisers to turn their marketing dollars into charitable donations

  john

  3 Mar 2010 | 8:02 pm

  The CauseWorld app offers users several ways to donate. Continue reading…

• The Tech Awards 2010 Call for Nominations

  john

  3 Mar 2010 | 7:56 pm

  The Tech Awards is an international awards program that honors innovators from around the world who are applying technology to benefit humanity. The Tech Awards program inspires global engagement in applying technology to humanity’s most pressing problems by recognizing the best of those who are utilizing innovative technology solutions to address the most urgent critical issues facing our planet. People all over the world are profoundly improving the human condition in the areas of education, equality, environment, health, and economic development through the use of technology. It is…

• Seven groups with different approaches to evaluating philanthropies

  john

  15 Feb 2010 | 1:01 pm

  BusinessWeek reviews seven organizations that provide tools and services to analyze charities.

• Here’s an excellent post on why you should not judge charities by their “administrative costs.”

  john

  21 Jan 2010 | 7:00 pm

  Good Intentions are Not Enough. hat tip to Marginal Revolution

• Analytics X Prize – Enabling social change through analytics

  john

  7 Jan 2010 | 7:56 pm

  Enabling social change through analytics Reading about Analytics X and thought I’d share here: The Analytics X Prize is an ongoing contest to apply analytics, modeling, and statistics to solve the social problems that affect our cities. It combines the fields of statistics, mathematics, and social science to understand the root causes of dysfunction in our neighborhoods. Understanding these relationships and discovering the most highly correlated variables allows us to deploy our limited resources more effectively and target the variables that will have the greatest positive impact on…

• 

  JUST CAUSE - make some good news™

• Miniature war games

  larryvela0216

  1 Mar 2010 | 8:28 am

  The Latest from Fantasy read more

• JUST CHATTING With Sheila Kelley

  Alyssa Royse

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:18 pm

  Sexy women turn me on. You know it when you see it, right? read more

• Life After Rape

  Alyssa Royse

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:59 am

  Twenty-three years ago - when I was 17 and had just graduated from high-school - someone broke into my house while I was sleeping, came into my bed, climbed on top of me, held a gun to my head and rap read more

• The Food at The First "Thanksgiving."

  JUST CAUSE

  23 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

  For most Americans, a "traditional" Thanksgiving meal includes a turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and pumpkin pie (or sweet potato pie if you hail from the South). read more

• Imagine There's No Healthcare

  Alyssa Royse

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:25 pm

  Imagine there's no healthcare, it's easy if you try. Now, imagine there's no pill to take. That might be more of a stretch of the imagination. read more

• 

  Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy - Institute for Food and Development Policy

• Fixing School Food

  admin

  11 Mar 2010 | 2:42 pm

  By Janet Poppendieck, professor of sociology at Hunter College, City University of New York. She is the author of Sweet Charity? Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement and Breadlines Knee-Deep in Wheat: Food Assistance in the Great Depression. ------------------ Every successive decade has left its mark on school food. read more

• Aftershocks: Psuedo-Tsunamis and food insecurity in Hawai'i

  rjonasse

  11 Mar 2010 | 2:32 pm

  They 'stood fixated on the flat screens, drinks in hand' as real time images of Chilean destruction were quickly followed by an official tsunami warning and a barrage of historic Hawaiian newsreel footage documenting the devastating tidal wave that hit Hilo back in 1947. After ordering an evacuation of coastal areas, the government advised people to stock up on a weeks worth of food. read more

• Democratic Choice

  rjonasse

  11 Mar 2010 | 1:45 pm

  Biotech technicians neither have the knowledge of gene ecology nor the expertise in multiple disciplines. After the minister of environment Jairam Ramesh announced a moratorium on Bt brinjal, article after article in the media has denounced the decision, saying such decisions should be left to ‘scientists.’ The issue is however not science vs anti-science. It is reductionist science vs systems science. The moratorium took into account the best of science. read more

• Via Campesina North America calls first public hearing to prepare the presentation of the GM Maize case before international courts

  admin

  3 Mar 2010 | 12:47 pm

  Delegation (Mexico, United States, Canada) of La Via Campesina, North America Region, upon the occasion of the FAO Conference on Agricultural Biotechnologies in Developing Countries. read more

• Small Family Farms in Tropics Can Feed the Hungry and Preserve Biodiversity

  admin

  26 Feb 2010 | 11:02 am

  ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2010) — Conventional wisdom among many ecologists is that industrial-scale agriculture is the best way to produce lots of food while preserving biodiversity in the world's remaining tropical forests. But two University of Michigan researchers reject that idea and argue that small, family-owned farms may provide a better way to meet both goals. read more

• 

  Chris Blattman

• Links I liked

  Chris Blattman

  15 Mar 2010 | 7:09 am

  1. IKEA in the subway 2. Your source for Ethiopian news online 3. The latest in biometrics? Nose scanning 4. Does assassination promote democracy?

• Choosing a PhD

  Chris Blattman

  15 Mar 2010 | 6:53 am

  It’s PhD admissions time, and Greg Mankiw gives advice to students on choosing a PhD program: 1. Start with the rankings.  For recent rankings of economics departments, click here and here and here.  All ranking systems are imperfect, but other things equal, higher is probably better. 2. Talk with the graduate students who are now in the programs you are considering.  Are they happy? 3. Don’t make a decision based on a single faculty member.  He or she may leave or turn out to be not quite as wonderful as you now presume.  Look for a department that is strong overall. 4.

• When warlords were simply lords

  Chris Blattman

  13 Mar 2010 | 10:04 pm

  Sheri Berman describes Louis XIV’s approach to state-building in Foreign Affairs: During the second half of the seventeenth century, accordingly, he and his ministers focused on buying off and winning over key individuals and social groups that might otherwise obstruct their state-building efforts. Adapting and expanding a common practice, for example, they repeatedly sold state offices to the highest bidders; by the eighteenth century, almost all the posts in the French government were for sale, including those dealing with the administration of justice. These offices brought annual…

• Mosquitoes wear beer goggles too

  Chris Blattman

  13 Mar 2010 | 2:19 am

  This study’s goal was to understand how diet, beer in particular, impacts how attractive humans are to malaria’s primary vector in Africa, Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto – or An. gambiae (or mosquito) for short. Diet is thought to be an important part of body odor, which has been shown to provide the female An. gambiae with an olfactory trail to human hosts. Therefore, diet may be an important factor behind variation in human attractiveness to mosquitoes — and possibly malaria risk. To test this idea, the study’s authors randomly assigned 43 adult males to drink either…

• The rise of MBA-speak

  Chris Blattman

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:23 am

  Ezra Klein is impacted by the following email: We at Masked Grammarian (a loosely-knit small group of grammar snobs) send corrections to sites on the web when we notice something that bugs us. Almost always, we do this only when it seems worthwhile — a site that we like with a significant error. In this case, you used the word “impacted” to mean “affected”. Until just a few years ago, “impacted” was used only in a medical sense: unless otherwise stated, it was assumed to refer to fecal impaction. Of course, it could also refer to wisdom teeth, etc.

• 

  ...My heart's in Accra

• links for 2010-03-12

  Ethan

  12 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm

  U.S. Seen as Less Important, China as More Powerful – Pew Research Center Study of attitudes about US's place in the world – interviews with general US public and with Council on Foreign Relations members – shows a growing isolationist trend, highest during the years Gallup or Pew have asked questions on the topic (tags: china foreignpolicy us usa isolationism connection disconnect) The Official Netflix Blog: Netflix Prize Update Netflix cancels next iteration of their prize to improve recommendation algorithms due to a lawsuit, privacy concerns (tags: netflix…

• links for 2010-03-12

  Ethan

  12 Mar 2010 | 3:04 pm

  BBC News – The top 100 sites on the internet A top 100 from Nielsen, sorted by nationality. Doesn't include China's popular sites. Would be interesting to see how this compares to Alexa, DoubleClick/Google data (tags: bbc internet research technology trends visualization attention)

• links for 2010-03-10

  Ethan

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:04 pm

  Internet Observatory Report Another piece on Arbor's 2009 research on the emergence of "hypergiants" in terms of internet traffic (tags: internet research architecture filtering freespeech arbor intermediary) Arbor Networks Reports on the Rise of the Internet "Hyper Giants" | Xconomy Arbor's survey of the internet, using data collected from 70-80% of US ISPs, suggests a massive centralization of traffic on the internet to a handful of players: "“As of 2009, 60 percent of all Internet content comes from, or terminates within, just 100 to 150…

• links for 2010-03-09

  Ethan

  9 Mar 2010 | 3:03 pm

  Why We're Giving Away Our Reporting Recipe – ProPublica Pro Pubica decides we can't go it alone – offers the recipe for a particularly effective piece of journalism, asks other journalists to help them replicate the reporting elsewhere. Cool opensource idea. (tags: collaboration investigative media news opensource reporting propublica transparency nursing) Understanding the Participatory News Consumer | Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) Long set of PEJ articles on recent research on the nature of the American news consumer. Big takeways – portable,…

• John Wilbanks on Science Commons, and generativity in science

  Ethan

  9 Mar 2010 | 10:58 am

  John Wilbanks, the founder of Science Commons, is in the midst of a big move. His division of Creative Commons, focused on opening scientific research and innovation, is now five years old and is being “airlifted” to California to try to bring some of their ideas into the Creative Commons movement as a whole. One way to think of the mission of Science Commons, Wilbanks tells us, is to spark generative effects in the scientific world much as we’ve seen them in the online world. He quotes Jonathan Zittrain’s definition of generativity, from “The Future of the…

• 

  Tworque

• Letter from the Field: Questions for Leadership

  pragzz

  27 Feb 2010 | 12:30 am

  Are we asking the right questions of our leaders?? (photo credit: Tim abbottOne of my Indian buddies emailed me a set of thoughts this morning. Inspired by a post he read on someone's blog, he wondered about how well he knew his leaders. How well we all know our leaders...how we well we know our own leadership abilities.His email really made me think. Parts of it proved to be an excellent questionnaire for myself (good prep for a job interview too!). Anyways, here you go...Ask your Leader this.Be it your Boss, your MP or you prime Minister... or yourself, if youare a leader (we all play…

• The Need for Well-Rounded, Holistic Thinking

  pragzz

  30 Jan 2010 | 8:06 pm

  Above, a typical sight in Indian (or other developing country) toilets. The lack of running water and improper drainage means the toilets clog and don't work. Would you use this toilet?? Below, a woman sweeps raw sewage that is blocking a drain. Right next to it, runs a water pipeline. Both are cases of irresponsible design and engineering.The "Aid World" (i.e. all the organizations/companies involved with the collection, distribution, and disbursement of international aid) desperately needs more holistic thinking. Without it, little sustainable change will happen.Recently I was approached by…

• Skoll Foundation Awards for Social Entrepreneurship - Deadline Feb 17, 2010

  pragzz

  6 Jan 2010 | 3:38 pm

  Got this in my email backlog. If you know anyone who might be qualified, feel free to pass this on.The Skoll Awards for Social EntrepreneurshipThe Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship support social entrepreneurs whose work has the potential for large-scale influence on critical challenges of our time: tolerance and human rights, health, economic and social equity, peace and security, institutional responsibility, and environmental sustainability. These issues are at the heart of the foundation’s vision of empowering people to create a peaceful, prosperous, sustainable world. Within…

• Disappearing again for a bit, so...

  pragzz

  24 Dec 2009 | 6:51 am

  ...Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays to all :-)though considering where I am, this is FAR more appropriate:

• Links I liked from my two month backlog: Part II (India-centric International Development)

  pragzz

  23 Dec 2009 | 3:52 am

  Continuing on:1. The Top 10 Gadgets of the Year:2. Home-made tools of a bicycle-maker: 3. I'm a passionate believer that infrastructure is necessary for proper economic development (this is why I do what I do). Here, WB economic advisor offers his views on how South Asia can overcome its infrastructure shortfall.4. Loved this look inside the changes in the Indian Post Office. Let me tell you, you can judge a LOT about a country's development based on how well the postal system works, and how much it is used (which are obviously related!!).5. Loved this nifty anti-clogging drain device.

• 

  globalhealthideas.org

• Young Champions of Maternal Health – Ashoka Competition

  Jaspal

  7 Mar 2010 | 11:29 am

  It’s really great to see so much effort being channeled towards innovation in international maternal and child health. The text4baby service was launched just one month ago. Our last post was about a USAID-supported mHealth eConference for maternal and child health. This post is about a maternal health innovations competition put on by Ashoka. There are now nine days left to enter the Healthy Mothers, Strong World competition, billed as THE NEXT GENERATION OF IDEAS FOR MATERNAL HEALTH. The best innovations will be awarded prizes totaling US$600,000. More information is available at…

• USAID, mHealth Alliance Online Conference May 5, 2010

  thdblog

  5 Mar 2010 | 9:14 pm

  Addendum (6-Mar-2010): The conference announcement and call for abstracts was only distributed as an image (see below), but that isn’t too useful for search or for general information dissemination. As a service to our readers – and for the benefit of this conference – I processed the image through a free, online OCR tool. Not responsible for misspellings: HOW CAN MOBILE PHONE TECHNOLOGIES IMPROVE FAMILY PLANNING, MATERNAL AND NEWBORN SERVICES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD Online Conference May 5, 2010 The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID)…

• Kopernik: on-line store of innovative technologies designed for the BOP

  thdblog

  21 Feb 2010 | 7:47 pm

  Kopernik: Connecting Innovative Technologies with Poor Communities We are lucky to have a guest post today by Ewa and people like her in general who are doing what they can for global health. She and her team have just launched a new web platform connecting you with poor communities and technologies that might be needed there via an online store. I cannot emphasize enough that is this is long long overdue and that we should all be embarrassed that this hasn’t happened before. So major kudos to Ewa and her team for pulling this platform together and giving it a shot. Please visit their…

• Missing Populations in Global Health

  thdblog

  1 Feb 2010 | 6:57 pm

  Post by David Van Sickle, guest blogger. Please see his very popular previous post: 7 Steps for Building Low-cost Open Source Technologies for Global Health. (Thanks to Andre of Pulse and Signal fame for cross posting this) Missing Populations: I’m currently in the United Arab Emirates, attending a conference sponsored by the UAEU in Al-Ain to raise awareness of global health problems in the Middle East and neighboring Asia, and to draw attention to the region and its populations and health problems among the global health community. As a result, I’ve been thinking about the scope of…

• Tales of Water in Africa: Innovation vs. the Boring Stuff

  thdblog

  31 Jan 2010 | 6:44 pm

  Cross post by Alex from over at Tales of Water in Africa: Over the last year or so, I’ve encountered a tremendous push for innovation in the fields of development and disaster relief. Organizations big and small are looking for the ideas that will catapult millions of people out of poverty. The next clever gadgets that will cheaply and quickly filter water, prevent malaria, and stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. These ideas are almost by definition just over the horizon – because once an idea has been around for a few months, it’s not that innovative anymore. And so what happens to those…

• 

  Utah Valley Global Health Group

• Healthy Mothers, Strong World: The Next Generation of Ideas for Maternal Health Competition

  chads

  5 Mar 2010 | 3:18 am

  Only 11 days left to enter this competition: http://www.changemakers.com/maternalhealth

• 2 Annoucements

  chads

  26 Feb 2010 | 1:58 pm

  First, informal, come and go as you’d like get together tonight at my house (I know, I know: late announcement!). Email me for details; include your phone number (soon!): unacceptableglobalhealth (at) gmail (dot) com Second, the annual BYU Hunger banquet is March 4 and 6. See this website for details: http://kennedy.byu.edu/student/sid/hunger/. [...]

• Personal Update

  chads

  3 Oct 2009 | 5:55 am

  Due to time constraints, I will not likely be blogging here frequently in the future. I will, however, continue blogging at this health systems strengthening blog.

• Presentation on Global Health Motives and Myths

  chads

  22 Sep 2009 | 4:44 am

  I will be give a brief 30 min presentation on Global Health for the BYU Public Health Club tomorrow at 7pm in room 271 of the Richards Building.

• Perspective: BYU’s MPH Program

  ryanlindsay

  3 Jul 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Two months ago I finished the Master of Public Health (MPH) program at Brigham Young University (BYU). This is a reflection on the general aspects of the program that hopefully will help those wanting personal perspective on the program or those considering affiliating with the MPH program, as a student or partner. BYU’s MPH [...]

• 

  GOOD

• Pothole Onomatopoeia in Toronto

  Andrew Price

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm

  Last week, a group called the Urban Repair Squad painted sound-effect words—"Thunk!" "Oof" and the like—along Toronto's Harbord Street where potholes and other perils threaten cyclists. They're calling the project "Pothole Onomatopoeia." And as it turns out, the Urban Repair Squad has a profile on GOOD, where they explain their purpose: The action-hero drama of dodging obstacles and potholes, escaping devil-may-care drivers in super-fast cars, and braving the fierce, temperamental elements, may seem, and feel, quite comic. Unless you're face-down on the pavement. With some wit, we…

• Health Myths Debunked: TV Medicine

  GOOD

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:00 pm

  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5c_Y3d8c8s[/youtube] Think you know medicine because you watch House and Grey's Anatomy? Well it turns out those shows don't get things quite right. Dr. Puya Hosseini helps GOOD debunk TV medicine myths.

• Dispatches from Haiti: Quiet Heroism

  Tyler Marshall

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:30 pm

  This is a continuing series on the devastation and reconstruction of Haiti. As the story fades from the front pages of newspapers and trending topics on Twitter, we will endeavor to provide a continuing look at what is happening on the ground. Samuel Abelard is an unlikely hero. The graying 54-year-old father of four has been quietly lending a hand as he and his fellow Haitians rebuild the pieces of their broken lives. He has been working at an International Medical Corps-supported mobile medical clinic in two classrooms of a small Port-au-Prince teacher’s college ever since it was set up…

• "Coffee Party" Actually Much Mellower Than "Tea Party"

  Andrew Price

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm

  A new movement called the "Coffee Party" is getting underway as a left-leaning response to the amorphous, anti-tax Tea Party. It's gained momentum with the help of a popular Facebook page, and kicked off with live events in about 370 cities last Saturday. From the official Coffee Party Flickr page, it looks like the gatherings were calm, and attendees were largely unarmed. The Christian Science Monitorhas more on the movement's ethos: Tea partyers tend to berate the federal government as a whole . Coffee partyers seem to be more in favor of government involvement – as in envisioning a…

• Floating Golf Course To Be Built In the Maldives

  Mother Nature Network

  15 Mar 2010 | 1:30 pm

  Sea levels are rising, and the Maldives is taking notice. An estimated 80 percent of the atoll nation is no more than 3 feet above sea level, so climate change has been a popular topic with Maldives' president Mohamed Nasheed. The Independent reports that Nasheed, who has already led an underwater cabinet meeting in scuba gear to bring attention to his country’s dilemma, has proposed a floating golf course and convention center for his aquatic nation. The Indian Ocean island nation has signed an agreement with Dutch Docklands, which will being researching the possibility of the resort which…

• 

  CRIN News Feed - Home - English

• COUNCIL OF EUROPE: Call for papers on ending sexual violence

  15 Mar 2010 | 12:27 am

  This call for papers is addressed to legal, health, social, research and education professionals wishing to contribute to a Council of Europe study on sexual violence against children. The study will serve as a background for the Council of Europe awareness raising campaign to stop sexual violence against children.

• Children's rights at the Human Rights Council concludes

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:47 pm

  Continued from 11 MarchThe discussion on the first report to the HRC of the Special Representative on Violence A

• EUROPE: PACE committee calls for a ban on "Mosquito" dispersal devices in all public places

  10 Mar 2010 | 10:25 pm

  [STRASBOURG, 10 March 2010] - The Committee on Culture, Science and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted unanimously in favour of a Europe-wide ban on the marketing, sale and use of "Mosquito" acoustic youth dispersal devices in all public places

• SLOVAKIA: Plans to remove Roma children from their families

  8 Mar 2010 | 10:05 pm

  [9 March 2010] - Amnesty International has warned that establishing boarding schools for Romani children "and gradually detach[ing] them from the way of living they currently experience in the settlements" is discriminatory and a blatant attack on the Roma way of living. The Slova

• HONDURAS: Inter-American Commission condemns repression against activists and their children

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:25 pm

  [WASHINGTON, 8 March 2010] - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has condemned the murders of three people in Honduras last month who had actively opposed, or were related to people who opposed, last year's coup d'etat. It has also deplored the kidnappings, arbitrar

• 

  Angel Covers

• Team Angel Covers

  Angel Covers

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:13 pm

  I logged seven miles on Friday morning, in the fog and drizzle, with no one but the earthworms to keep me company! Poor worms, by mile 2 it was no longer a matter of attempting to adjust my pace and cadence to navigate around the little creepy crawlers, but more a matter of looking for the least populated spots for my feet to land. Despite being alone on the trail, I felt good about being out there, training for my race and brainstorming all of the ways to raise awareness about Angel Covers and the work we do. One tremendous step would be to have some partners in this adventure, so how about…

• Caring people around the world.

  Angel Covers

  2 Mar 2010 | 7:38 am

  I'm the first to admit that I'm not always very good about telling you how many ways people are helping Angel Covers and the kids we serve. But every month, someone new comes forward wanting to help. Sometimes it's for big jobs, like coordinating our programs, and other times it's in smaller ways. The last several months have been no different. At the end of 2009, Rossella decided to participate in World Run Day. She made a pledge to Angel Covers and ran 7 miles in our honor. Some people would say that the $20 she pledged won't go very far, but $20 will buy a piece of fruit for 250 kids in…

• Finally!!

  Angel Covers

  6 Feb 2010 | 3:37 pm

  Months ago (ok, maybe even a year ago or more) Angel Covers started "selling" bricks at the new Angel Cottage. The idea was that for a donation of $10 or more, you could have your name engraved into a brick at the new home. These bricks would not only help complete this much needed home, but would also provide a beautiful visual aid to the students, showing them just how many people around the world love and support them. Many bricks were purchased, both to have our own names on them, or in honor of those we love. While this project was hugely successful, it took much longer than any of us…

• Empower a Girl with Mama's Wish

  Angel Covers

  26 Jan 2010 | 9:13 am

  We are delighted to welcome several new girls to our Mama's Wish Education Program. These very smart and determined girls have beaten all the odds, and we would love to find new sponsors for them as soon as possible.These bright girls come from very poor villages in rural QingHai Province in China - where attending school is often just a dream, especially if you are a girl. Without this opportunity for education, most of these girls would have been forced into marriage at a very young age, and work in the fields to support their struggling families. With our help they now aspire to be…

• Working Together

  Angel Covers

  18 Jan 2010 | 7:45 pm

  The end of last week, the children who attend Humble Hearts returned to the school to see the destruction. Parents and children cried together as they came to better understand all that was lost. As the official opening of the school, parents were eager to find ways of moving the school forward for their children.These parents come from the extreme poverty, rarely have enough food for their families, live in tin shelters, and many lost their homes to the bulldozing as well. However, these families united behind the school and it's needs. Families with little for themselves came together and…

• 

  PopTech Blog

• Reimagining Hospitals for the Future

  11 Mar 2010 | 11:53 am

  While on the plane ride down yesterday to the SXSW Festival in Austin, I was flipping through the February issue of Fast Company and came across an article that put a huge smile on my face. It was a visual representation of what the future of design would be for hospitals--hospital 2.0 you could call it. The hospital has been more or less a place where they get one thing done: get people better and get them home. But this article made me think about hospitals in a new light - part of a collaborative effort to improve communities as a whole. In thinking about Public Health 2.0 and next level…

• PopTech Reads: Questions for James Fowler about connections?

  11 Mar 2010 | 6:41 am

  For the past few weeks, along with you, PopTech staff has been reading Connected, the book PopTech 2009 speaker James Fowler co-authored with Nicholas Christakis (find the book on Better World Books or through an independent bookseller on Indie Bound). Tell us: what did you find curious, alarming, or fascinating in Connected? Please leave your questions for James in the comments, and let us know some of the parts you found especially interesting. Four things I found particularly relevant: - Some of the research in the book is becoming known as the "your-friends'-friends-can-make-you-fat"…

• Educational Games for a $10 Computer: News from Indian Student Teams

  9 Mar 2010 | 2:33 pm

  What would be the social impact of an educational computer that only cost $10? Last October, I introduced the PopTech community to an organization that is trying to answer that question. Playpower.org is an open-source community that is helping to make educational games available for "radically affordable" computers--including a $10 computer that is already widely available in many developing countries. The 5 minute PopTech talk helps describe the educational potential of open-source learning games--and explains the improbable story of how a computer can be sold for only $10! Just this past…

• Video: Update from Zach Lieberman

  9 Mar 2010 | 8:46 am

  Yesterday, artist and computer programmer Zach Lieberman came by the PopTech Brooklyn office--it's actually right down the hall from his working space--to tell us what projects he's worked on recently. Last October, Zach spoke at PopTech about his EyeWriter Initiative, "a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus & custom software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to draw using only their eyes." Look for Zach's PopTech talk next week; for now, more on his recent travels and inspirations: Zach will be speaking at SxSW this Saturday…

• Video: Chandler Burr and the PopTech 2009 Scent Dinner

  8 Mar 2010 | 11:15 am

  During PopTech 2009, I shot an interview with The New York Times scent critic Chandler Burr about his PopTech 2009 "scent dinner," where he collaborated with Executive Chef Lawrence Klang at Natalie’s Restaurant in Camden, Maine. For each course, Chef Klang created in taste and flavors what Chandler created in scents: Chandler told me that he has fallen in love with culinary perfumes, a category of scents little known in the U.S., which are either conceptually food – for example, a perfume that smells of salt – or perfumes made with food raw materials – such as peruvian pink…

• 

  quoteflections

• Florence Juxtaposition

  14 Mar 2010 | 2:21 pm

  Time is short for blogging this week. (I'm on vacation.) But I thought I would provide my wonderful readers with a series of pictures from our stay in Florence, Italy and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. (A picture is worth a thousands words?) Here is a few of Florence from a promontory we saw while we toured some of the Medici gardens. And on the hand rail overlooking this memorable site are several lines from a Guns N' Roses song.There was a message there for me.

• Landmark Sculpture in Florence

  13 Mar 2010 | 7:01 pm

  Michelangelo's David is a pivotal work of art housed in the Galleria dell/Accademia, Florence and called a masterpiece of the Renaissance. The 26 year old savant was handed the commission in 1501 and it took him 3 years to complete the 5.17 meter marble sculpture. It portrays the Biblical David at a moment of contemplation, perhaps, just before his battle with Goliath.Historians and critics have suggested that it's a defense of civil liberties embodied in the Florentine republic, an independent city state. Originally the position of the sculpture was with David's eyes turned defiantly towards…

• Pivotal Renaissance Artists

  12 Mar 2010 | 7:01 pm

  Several of the greatest Renaissance artists of the age studied or worked in Florence, including Michelangelo and Botticelli. Michelangelo began to study painting in Florence with Ghirlandaio and later learned sculpture under the patronage of Lorenzo the Magnificent.The painter Botticelli was a friend of both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and the principal painter of the Medici family. His works represent Renaissance style in his use of classical subject matter and in the effect of motion that he achieves. It was for the home of a Medici that he created his two most famous works:…

• Florence and the Duomo

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:01 pm

  A distinguishing landmark of Florence is the Duomo, the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral. It attracts throngs of tourists each year for its pivotal history.The construction of the dome marks the beginning of Renaissance architecture; the cathedral and its dome blends old and new designs. Arnolfo di Cambio began the building in a Gothic style in 1294. In 1418, architect Filippo Brunelleschi received a commission to build the dome. He traveled to Rome with the sculptor Donatello to study architecture; there, the two artists investigated various Roman ruins to learn about the design and…

• I'm a Bit of a History Geek

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:01 pm

  In university I majored in history (MA)/ minored in English and enjoyed the swirl of ideas from classical Greek civilization (510-320 BC) to the present day. My wife and I are headed to Florence, Italy where we will be visiting some key historical sites and galleries, as well as sightseeing in the surrounding Tuscan countryside.A pivotal moment in intellectual history was the Renaissance or 'rebirth of civilization' which centered in Florence and began in 1400-1430. This prosperous city of 60,000 was a stable city state made up of artisans and professional people who helped build Florence…

• 

  News at Tonic.com

• Humanitarians Enter the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

  pankaj shah

  Tonight, five performers and eight non-performers will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (You can catch the ceremonies — and the always amazing all-star jam-session — live on FUSE starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.)Those performers include ABBA, Genesis, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff and The Stooges. This event has me curious for a few reasons, not the least of which is that I’m actually going tonight. The same saint who ponied up $25,000 for Constance McMillen’s prom invited me and I couldn’t be more grateful.OK, on to the curiosity. More than anything, why are they inducting so…

• 12 Steps to 15% Less Carbon Pollution

  Annie Scott

  The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has some good news for us all: the US can cut its carbon pollution by 15 percent right now if we all take simple steps. Know how much pollution that is? One. Billion. Tons. Yes we can! We all know that we should do certain things to keep pollution levels low, but never before have we been told exactly what to do and exactly how much it will help. Hopefully, this is enough to get you and me and everyone we know motivated! Here's what you have to do: 1. Use a programmable thermostat and set it to cool down when you're asleep or out. 2. Reduce your…

• Santa Barbara Celebrates Earth Day's 40th Anniversary

  Megan Birney

  This year thousands of communities around the world will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. On the California Central Coast, the community of Santa Barbara, together with regional not-for-profit Community Environmental Council, lays claim to sparking the Earth Day movement 40 years ago. This year, 20,000 will gather for Santa Barbara's Earth Day 40 Festival on April 17-18. Under the apropos 2010 theme "Bringing It Home," the celebration recognizes not only Earth Day's 40th Birthday, but also the community's own legacy of environmental stewardship. For four decades, Santa Barbara has…

• The Anti-Gossip: March 15, 2010

  Jennifer Birn

  An Angel Remembered: Farrah Fawcett may have been omitted from the Oscar telecast, but today it was announced that a Pop Culture Award will be given to Charlie’s Angel’s with a special tribute to Farrah Fawcett at the TV Land Awards next month. The show will be taped April 17 and air April 25Green Skin Cream: Super model (and now super wife and mom) Gisele Bündchen is synonymous with gorgeous. For all the women who ever asked ‘What does she do to look so flawless?’ she’s about to tell you one of her secrets — that you can apply to your beauty regimen too. Gisele’s launching a…

• March Madness Bracket for Good

  Marc Hertz

  It's hard to predict just how many people will be doing a NCAA Tournament bracket, but it's a safe bet that it will number in the millions. Last year, according to CBSSports.com, there were 7.52 million unique visitors to its free NCAA March Madness on Demand video player (many of whom were probably at work at the time). Meanwhile, according to Advertising Age, 130 million people watched the tournament on TV. If you assume only 10 percent of those people participated in predicting tournament brackets, you've got nearly 14 million participants. Personally, I think that's low. So, if you've…

• 

  the Change.org Blog

• Announcing the Top 10 Ideas for Change in America

  Ben Rattray

  15 Mar 2010 | 12:02 pm

  After the submission of 2505 ideas and 209,950 votes, we’re happy to announce the 10 winners of the Ideas for Change in America competition. The winning ideas illustrate that the issues important to people across the country are much broader than those few that consistently dominate debate in Washington. Because they challenge the status quo, these [...]

• Turning Ideas for Change Into Actual Change

  Maria Tchijov

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:16 pm

  Ideas for change – we all have them. I, for one, would like to change my mailman’s annoying habit of forgetting to deliver my mail every couple of days. But, it’s a long road from saying something should be changed to making the change real. Take, for example, the Ideas for Change in America competition: over [...]

• Victory: The Huffington Post Pulls Pit Bulls From List of Dangerous Pets

  Maria Tchijov

  5 Mar 2010 | 12:43 pm

  We just received word that The Huffington Post has decided to remove pit bulls from its list of dangerous pets, in response to our petition. The 284 Change.org members and other online activists who sent emails to Katherine Goldstein, Huff Po’s Green Editor, convinced her that pit bulls don’t belong on the same list as [...]

• How do Change.org Petitions Make a Difference?

  Maria Tchijov

  5 Mar 2010 | 9:24 am

  A few weeks ago, I received a really interesting message from a Change.org member. This unnamed member asked a very simple and straightforward question: are your petitions real? An easy way to answer that question is to point to our Victories column. Clearly, our petitions get the job done. But, for us, simply getting the job [...]

• Change.org’s February Field Trips

  Maria Tchijov

  26 Feb 2010 | 12:14 pm

  Personally, I find February to be a pretty dreary month. Even if you haven’t spent the past few weeks digging out from the Snowpocolypse on the East Coast, the weather and holiday selection are probably enough to make you want to crawl into bed and sleep straight through to March. That feeling might explain why several [...]

• 

  Gift Hub

• Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace

  PBC

  15 Mar 2010 | 12:59 pm

  Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace :In February 2009, about 100 leaders in philanthropy gathered in Cairo to talk about developing a field of "Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace." An extension of the work of the Working Group on Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace, the convening brought together leaders from public, private, and community foundations with those from infrastructure organizations and activists to deepen practice, build connections and focus on the development of a field. This website provides information and space to further the conversation.

• From Great to Good to God Almighty in a Recylable Bottle

  PBC

  14 Mar 2010 | 9:03 am

  Umair Haque at Harvard B School is on the right track but has not gone far enough. He suggests that business must go from great to good, or greatness to goodness. I would suggest we go one step farther - from good to God. If the Catholic Church can build an international brand worth billions for which many have willingly died, and pass off stale bread and cheap plonk as the body and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ, surely, Pepsi can create a new communion beverage bestowing more than youth and energy on the atomized consumer. Today the CIA agent, the torturer, the brand builder, the con…

• Loving Euthanasia an Initiative of Wealth Bondage Charitable

  PBC

  13 Mar 2010 | 9:12 am

  In a flat world workers will be immiserated to third world levels, of course. The data bear this out. Workers in the lowest decile - those earning $12,499 or less - faced a Great Depression era unemployment rate of about 31% and the second lowest decile had an unemployment rate of about 20%The current medical insurance system based on employment serves to cull the lowest deciles, thus ridding society of a drag on productivity. The poor must - though it is so sad - die in the streets of America as they do in Calcutta before we have a perfect market. How to legitimize this disparate allocation…

• Rags meets Riches on the Runway in Paris

  PBC

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:21 am

  Reuters from Paris From Dior, where soft dresses in greens and pinks were spiced up with riding jackets and flirty stockings, to Vivienne Westwood, who matched princess gowns with paupers' rags, fashionistas acknowledged the tough times while allowing themselves to have some fun. Good to see the beautiful people so socially engaged.

• Venessa Miemis

  PBC

  12 Mar 2010 | 7:58 am

  Emergent by Design is her quite extraordinary blog and emergent community.

• 

  TheGiveWell Blog

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part III

  Holden

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:31 am

  Continued from Part I and Part II, these are my thoughts from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. Some of what I saw and discussed prompted me to rethink our frameworks for evaluating certain kinds of programs: Vaccinations. We’ve taken the “vaccination coverage rate” as a reasonable proxy for lives changed, since the evidence base for vaccines is so strong. But of course, “vaccination coverage rate” describes how many children received vaccines, not how many received functional and correctly administered vaccines. I was somewhat concerned that…

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part II

  Holden

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:14 pm

  Continued from Part I, these are my thoughts from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. Diverting skilled labor looks like a real concern. The COO of SEF stressed that one of SEF’s biggest challenges is human resources (i.e., continually finding good people to staff it). I can easily see how this would be. As I mentioned in Part I, I found that the nonprofits I visited were employing capable, impressive people with a combination of local background and well-above-average educational credentials and command of English. On one hand, seeing these staffers made me feel good…

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part I

  Holden

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:27 pm

  I previously posted “raw data” (pictures, audio, notes) from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. The next few posts will give my thoughts from the trip. First, a note on representativeness. I was only in Africa for two weeks; I was a complete outsider; I certainly don’t think that anything I saw “proves” anything about the programs or areas I was looking at. In many cases what I saw (and what I discussed with staff) prompted me to discuss and think harder about issues I’d already thought about a little. So as I share thoughts from the…

• Nothing wrong with selfish giving - just don’t call it philanthropy

  Holden

  8 Mar 2010 | 8:52 am

  Tactical Philanthropy has an interesting discussion of “non-optimized giving”: New Philanthropy Capital CEO Martin Brookes “confesses” to “wasting charitable funds” on a cause he doesn’t believe is the best, and Sean responds that “Under your logic, we should all feel guilty about all of our giving that does not go to the single best charity in the world … Be proud of yourself, Martin. You’re a great philanthropist.” I don’t think it’s wrong to make gifts that aren’t “optimized for pure social impact.”…

• Pictures/audio/notes from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique)

  Holden

  5 Mar 2010 | 11:56 am

  Between 2/10 and 2/23, I visited two of our recommended charities: The Small Enterprise Foundation (our top-rated microfinance organization and one of two winners of our recent Economic Empowerment Grant - note that our review is not yet available but has been drafted and will be published shortly) and VillageReach (our current top-rated charity overall). (Note that the posts I authored on our self-review and plan, which ran while I was away, were all written and scheduled before I left.) This trip was my first time in Africa; it was also an opportunity to have more in-depth conversations…

• 

  The Hero Workshop

• Another Face at the HCC

  Matt

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:04 am

  I brought Kit to America in 2003.  Seven years later he’s joined the team here at HCC HQ.  Next week you’ll be able to see his face on HCC TV, but for now here is his introduction. Hi everyone, my name is Kit, I wanted to introduce myself as a new full time member of the Hero Construction Company. I originally hail from London, England. I lived in England until the age of 23. After finishing my BA in History and Anthropology I moved out to the States to work as an outdoor educator and summer camp facilitator. I then went on to complete my Masters in Education. I am excited to be…

• International Coverage

  Matt

  9 Mar 2010 | 6:10 am

  I’m mentioned and quoted in an article in the Guardian in England today and have an interview on Irish radio on Friday.  Things are starting to get surreal. The Guardian Meanwhile, presentations are happening in Grand Blanc this week, with Troy and Birmingham next week. Thanks to everyone who has been reading. EDIT: Photo added from Jamie.

• The Traveling Button

  Matt

  3 Mar 2010 | 7:13 pm

  I just got this email from a colleague in California working with Phil Zimbardo. Today I was working with Dr. Lester in Watsonville, CA. We were working on technology stuff and I opened the drawer on his desk to get a pen and there it was . . . A “Hero in Waiting” Button. I grabbed it and said where did you get this!!??? He said a little boy who was a patient gave it to him . . . how sweet is that and what a small world. It gave me a great feeling! Could not wait to share it with you! My mind is blown. I’ve never presented in California. I’ve given some Californian…

• Center for Homeland Defense & Security: The Heroic Imagination Project – The Making of Tomorrow’s Heroes, Today

  Matt

  1 Mar 2010 | 5:09 pm

  Phil Zimbardo discusses the Heroic Imagination Project with the Center For Homeland Defense. I’m quite grateful for the name drop again… more about “Center for Homeland Defense & Securit…“, posted with vodpod

• My Birthday Wish

  Matt

  24 Feb 2010 | 5:49 pm

  The 25th of February marks my entry into this world many years ago.  You can see a photo below from when I was 7 (I think).  So I figured I’d share a birthday wish. We’re 24 days into this crazy attempt to add 280 heroes in 28 days.  The Gallery of Heroes is basically an unprecedented collection of well-written, sourced profiles of heroes of all varieties.  There are currently 226 new heroes from this month. However, this Gallery is designed to be much more than a static collection.  Each hero has comments enabled.  My hope is to see conversations happen around these heroes.

• 

  News at Tonic.com

• Humanitarians Enter the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

  pankaj shah

  Tonight, five performers and eight non-performers will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (You can catch the ceremonies — and the always amazing all-star jam-session — live on FUSE starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.)Those performers include ABBA, Genesis, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff and The Stooges. This event has me curious for a few reasons, not the least of which is that I’m actually going tonight. The same saint who ponied up $25,000 for Constance McMillen’s prom invited me and I couldn’t be more grateful.OK, on to the curiosity. More than anything, why are they inducting so…

• 12 Steps to 15% Less Carbon Pollution

  Annie Scott

  The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has some good news for us all: the US can cut its carbon pollution by 15 percent right now if we all take simple steps. Know how much pollution that is? One. Billion. Tons. Yes we can! We all know that we should do certain things to keep pollution levels low, but never before have we been told exactly what to do and exactly how much it will help. Hopefully, this is enough to get you and me and everyone we know motivated! Here's what you have to do: 1. Use a programmable thermostat and set it to cool down when you're asleep or out. 2. Reduce your…

• Santa Barbara Celebrates Earth Day's 40th Anniversary

  Megan Birney

  This year thousands of communities around the world will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. On the California Central Coast, the community of Santa Barbara, together with regional not-for-profit Community Environmental Council, lays claim to sparking the Earth Day movement 40 years ago. This year, 20,000 will gather for Santa Barbara's Earth Day 40 Festival on April 17-18. Under the apropos 2010 theme "Bringing It Home," the celebration recognizes not only Earth Day's 40th Birthday, but also the community's own legacy of environmental stewardship. For four decades, Santa Barbara has…

• The Anti-Gossip: March 15, 2010

  Jennifer Birn

  An Angel Remembered: Farrah Fawcett may have been omitted from the Oscar telecast, but today it was announced that a Pop Culture Award will be given to Charlie’s Angel’s with a special tribute to Farrah Fawcett at the TV Land Awards next month. The show will be taped April 17 and air April 25Green Skin Cream: Super model (and now super wife and mom) Gisele Bündchen is synonymous with gorgeous. For all the women who ever asked ‘What does she do to look so flawless?’ she’s about to tell you one of her secrets — that you can apply to your beauty regimen too. Gisele’s launching a…

• March Madness Bracket for Good

  Marc Hertz

  It's hard to predict just how many people will be doing a NCAA Tournament bracket, but it's a safe bet that it will number in the millions. Last year, according to CBSSports.com, there were 7.52 million unique visitors to its free NCAA March Madness on Demand video player (many of whom were probably at work at the time). Meanwhile, according to Advertising Age, 130 million people watched the tournament on TV. If you assume only 10 percent of those people participated in predicting tournament brackets, you've got nearly 14 million participants. Personally, I think that's low. So, if you've…

• 

  Worldchanging: Bright Green

• Carbon Neutrality as Opportunity

  Alex Steffen

  14 Mar 2010 | 12:54 pm

  Alex Steffen: As you may have gathered, the idea of city-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 has gained a lot of steam here in Worldchanging's home base...

• Outer Ring Suburbs and the Permanent Foreclosure

  Alex Steffen

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:55 pm

  Alex Steffen: (A quick little Friday afternoon note.) Discussion of planetary boundaries is pretty surreal everywhere these days, but in the United States, the disconnect between...

• Three great talks: Bill Dunster on future-proofing cities, Dan Hill on re-imagining them, Dan Barber on how to feed them

  Alex Steffen

  11 Mar 2010 | 12:37 am

  Alex Steffen: Here are three talks I found thought-provoking and inspiring. All three demand some attention (and probably some time after to ponder what was said), but...

• Urban Resilience for Dummies, Part 2: Failing the Milk Test

  WorldChanging Team

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:43 pm

  WorldChanging Team: by Warren Karlenzig Last post I covered some guiding principles for urban resilience planning in the face of climate change and diminishing resources (especially fresh...

• Industrial Strength Stormwater Fix

  WorldChanging Team

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:19 pm

  WorldChanging Team: A blue-collar business embraces a green stormwater fix. by Lisa Stiffler Editor's note 3/9: This profile is now available in PDF format here. On Seattle’s...

• 

  Social Citizens

• Social Citizen Sighting: Daniel Kaufman

  Kari Dunn Saratovsky

  15 Mar 2010 | 1:31 pm

  This interview is part of our "Social Citizen Sightings" series, in which we highlight how people are using their creativity, idealism, and digital fluency to support their causes every day. Name: Daniel Kaufman Organization where you spend a lot of your time: One Percent Foundation Describe yourself in one tweet…or at least give it your best shot:  I am building a broad-based movement around next gen philanthropy by engaging Millennials+ in collective giving. #kindofcrazybutitworks What’s currently uploaded to your kindle or on your nightstand? Better by Atul…

• How Do Millennials Avoid Being Chumps?

  Kristin Ivie

  10 Mar 2010 | 6:28 am

  When I first saw the headline “Will Millennials become the chump generation?” I was gearing up for another intergenerational throw down. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were being accused of this time, but last time I checked with Fred Durst, being called a chump was not a good thing. After reading Robert Samuelson’s column in the Washington Post, I realized that it was a more of a warning than a criticism. Samuelson discusses the recent Pew research on Millennials which shows that our generation is taking the effects of the recession hardest of all. Thirty-seven percent…

• The New Dork: An Entrepreneur State of Mind

  Kari Dunn Saratovsky

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:37 pm

  Remember when being a dork meant you just weren’t cool? That was before “The New Dork” – a spoof of Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes’s "Empire State Of Mind" which pays homage to the rising generation of geeky entrepreneurs – or, what we like to think of as the new trendsetters.     While “The New Dork” just started hitting the interwebs this afternoon, it’s already being deemed the anthem for entrepreneurs, and why not? It paints a picture and tells the story of entrepreneurs doing what they love – and we think…

• Oversharing 2.0

  Kristin Ivie

  1 Mar 2010 | 3:50 pm

  Today's topic: oversharing. I will admit I'm a repeat offender. I can't count the number of times I've been enjoying a meal with a new acquaintance and inexplicably started sharing personal information in excessive detail. Before I know it, the words are just rushing out of my mouth like water from a broken dam, and there is literally nothing I can do to hold them back. Usually my oversharing is forgiven; occasionally I'm delighted to find it matched, or even one-uped, by the person across the table; and, yes, every now and then, it's met with visible discomfort and the notable lack of a…

• Young Donors Want More than a Party!

  Kari Dunn Saratovsky

  18 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Today’s guest blogger, Derrick Feldman, is CEO of Achieve where he provides guidance to organizations to help them develop new fundraising strategies. Today, Derrick focuses on the importance of engaging young professionals as donors in a more meaningful way.   Walk into a hip bar in a metropolitan area after work and there’s a chance that you’ll be greeted by a table draped with a banner bearing the logo of a local nonprofit. Over the music pulsing in the background, two young staffers will welcome you and offer you a name tag. On behalf of the nonprofit’s…

• 

  Operation NICE

• NICE Assignment: Write a Living Eulogy

  Melissa

  15 Mar 2010 | 8:50 am

  Hi everyone! Did you have a lovely weekend? I did! The weather was kind of crummy, so I spent most of the weekend indoors. I was able to accomplish a lot of chores, finally. And I even read an awesome book that I'll talk more about later. :)So how did your week of no complaining go? I had a tough time! I never realized how often I complained about silly little things. I even had a pretty awesome week, so it should have been easy! But being aware of my negative comments definitely helped me evaluate my attitude. I'm going to try my best to stick with it!I was poking around Twitter last night…

• NICE Giveaway #14: And the winner is!

  Melissa

  11 Mar 2010 | 7:36 pm

  It's time for a video blog! I haven't done one in quite a while. Feel free to compare with previous ones and see how I've aged. :) Want to find out who won the copy of Change the World, Change Your Life: Discover Your Life Purpose Through Service? Well, you're going to have to watch and find out!(Haha! Nice freeze frame!)If you're the winner, click here to send me an email with your contact info. Congratulations! And thanks to everyone who participated!I love doing giveaways for my readers, so if you are a "nice" business owner and would like to sponsor a giveaway on Operation NICE, please…

• NICE Stuff: Gratitude! iPhone App

  Melissa

  11 Mar 2010 | 6:43 am

  One of my designer pals, Christian M., posted in Facebook yesterday, "I'm grateful that I have an iPhone app that allows me to sit down, once a day to write down (type more like it) my gratitude for the gifts, love and challenges I have in my life. It's called 'Gratitude!' if you're wondering." So of course I had to look it up asap!It's perfect! All you do is add five things that you're grateful for. And I like that you can even add a little photo with your entry. See, like yesterday, I was thankful for a funky new pair of shoes I got on clearance, and I took a photo of them. :)There are a…

• NICE Site: You Rock

  Melissa

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:10 pm

  I don't have much time today, so I thought I'd share someone else's blog. My friend Alycia sent me over this post from the king of inspiration (and marketing), Seth Godin. I'd have to say I agree with his sentiment, YOU ROCK! You. Yes you! Sometimes I don't feel like I rock, but I'm going to bookmark his post and reread it when I'm in one of those funks. Because you know what? I rock too. :)Oh, and just a reminder. The "Change Your World, Change Your Life" Giveaway ends tomorrow night, so make sure you enter soon!

• NICE Testimonial: Fast Food Gratitude

  Melissa

  9 Mar 2010 | 8:24 am

  How's the "no complaining" going for everyone? I caught myself last night whining about how cold I was. Drat! Well, at least I'm more aware of the negativity I spewed. I'm back on track though. And every time I think about saying something negative, I try to turn it around into a positive statement instead. It's definitely more challenging than I thought it'd be! Not that I'm complaining. ;)Today's testimonial comes from the gorgeous Melissa P. of Huntington Beach, CA. I love this one because it includes TWO acts of kindness!About 2 months ago, I was having a not so great day. I own a…

• 

  Case Foundation - Investing in People and Ideas that Can Change the World

• CNCS announces the 2010 Summer of Service grantees

  joshuat

  15 Mar 2010 | 9:34 am

  The Corporation for National and Community Service recently announced the 2010 Summer of Service Grantees, funded by  Learn and Serve America, a CNCS initiative established under the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. After taking over 200 applications from nonprofits, universities and schools, CNCS has chosen 17 organizations to participate in a program dedicated to engaging at-risk middle school students in innovative service projects during their time off from school. With $2 million being granted out to organizations ranging from a Youth Venture project in New Orleans to the Sacramento…

• Update from SXSW: How tech is changing the landscape for social good

  karid

  15 Mar 2010 | 8:10 am

  The 2010 SXSW Interactive Conference is in full swing here in Austin, but even among the sea of geeks, tech announcements and the vast backdrop of parties - there is an underlying theme of how technology is changing the landscape of social good. Beyond some pretty terrific “social good” panels, here are just a few of the things I’ve managed to bump into during my time down here. We CAN End This/Cause Lab: Starting today, the CauseLab kicks-off a 30-day virtual brainstorm through a new digital co-creation platform called Goodzuma — all in an effort to develop the most powerful,…

• No fear of failure: WeCanEndThis.com to use innovation and amplification to help end hunger in America

  blogger

  11 Mar 2010 | 7:53 am

  Guest blogger Scott Henderson is managing director of CauseShift,helping organizations think, innovate, and solve problems. You can find him at causeshift.com, his blog, rallythecause.com, or on Twitter @scottyhendo. “Do you really think you’ll end hunger this way? That seems to be a pretty audacious statement for you to make,” is something we’ve heard a couple times over the past few months. It’s a reasonable reaction from those familiar with hunger in America. But our response was and remains: We need new ideas based on new realities, because what we’ve been doing hasn’t…

• The Power of Social Innovation: A discussion with Steve Goldsmith and Sonal Shah

  michaels

  10 Mar 2010 | 5:57 am

  The Case Foundation was a proud sponsor of an Aspen Institute Book Talk this week on the Power of Social Innovation. The talk, which was moderated by Aspen CEO Walter Isaacson, featured Stephen Goldsmith (former mayor of Indianapolis, Corporation for National and Community Service Chair and Kennedy School professor/program director) and Sonal Shah (Director of the White House Office on Social Innovation). Our Chairman, Steve Case and I were delighted to be in the room and part of the dynamic conversation. Mayor Goldsmith’s new book, The Power of Social Innovation: How Civic Entrepreneurs…

• Upcoming Conferences: the Case Foundation team hits the road in March

  allysonb

  8 Mar 2010 | 3:38 pm

  The next ten days will be busy ones for several of the Case Foundation team members as we hit the road for a couple of key conferences. First up is WeMedia in Miami from March 9-11, which brings together a range of professionals in the media, technology, business and communications fields to name a few, to talk about the future of media in a digital world.  While there, I'll have the privilege to serve as a judge in the PitchIt! Challenge, which will award $50K to help launch two new ventures.  Beginning March 12 through the 16th, several team members will head to Austin for the SXSW…

• 

  Dollar-a-Day

• Casitas Kennedy

  Janell

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:41 pm

  I've been struggling a little more over the last couple days with our $1 a day menu, so to take my mind off of it I did a little research on Casitas Kennedy.Casitas Kennedy is located in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It is made up of 8-10 buildings, but only about half of them are functional right now. I don't know how much construction work we'll be doing, but it would be great to change that number from 4 or 5 functional buildings to 6 or 7. There are approximately 90 kids at Casitas Kennedy, and each child receives about $75 of support each month. Most of these kids come from abusive homes or…

• Cupcakes

  Andy

  14 Mar 2010 | 7:12 am

  Yesterday was a particularly challenging day.  One of our friends had a birthday, and Janell baked cupcakes to take to her party (no, the ingredients were not part of our $1 a day).  So, all day our house was filled with the delicious aromas of homemade cupcake batter and vanilla frosting.  This combination is my absolute favorite.  I'm not sure if this was some sort of punishment for me, but it definitely worked.  Being around all day and knowing I couldn't eat them was pretty tough.It made me think how often situations like that play out around the world.  A…

• Sourdough Bread Recipe

  Janell

  12 Mar 2010 | 3:40 pm

  A few people have asked about this cheap bread we keep talking about, so here's the recipe I've been using. It begins with a starter, which can take several days before it's ready to start using.Making your Starter Select a container for your starter. A wide-mouth glass jar is best, but plastic is also fine. Just no metal.Make your starter. 1 cup of warm water and 1 cup of flour. Mix well in a wide mouth glass or plastic container and keep in a warm, safe place. 70-80 degrees is ideal.Every 24 hours, feed your starter. First, throw away half of your starter, then add 1/2 cup warm water and…

• The Ramen

  Andy

  11 Mar 2010 | 6:04 pm

  Finally, the Ramen noodles made their way into a meal.  And, true to her word, she did have a different meal in mind when she bought them.  We made Ramen soup, and it's actually very good.  We'll probably get 5 or 6 meals each out of this. Here's the recipe, for those who are interested.  :) - 1 large potato - Some onion - Some carrots - Some celery - 1 can of tomatoes  - 2 packages of Ramen - 8-10 cups of water - 1-2 bullion cubes to tasteAlso, I helped Janell make bread last night.  I cooked it today when I got home.  It…

• Day 10

  Andy

  10 Mar 2010 | 9:43 pm

  I thought I'd just give a general update on how it's going.  My body has definitely adjusted to the reduced amount of food, and I think I've lost some weight.Over the weekend, I finished off our potato soup.  I was surprised that after eating 2 regular sized bowls of soup (mostly broth) and 2 pieces of bread, I was STUFFED.  10 days ago, that wouldn't have put a dent in my stomach.  It's amazing how quickly the human body can change.Today though, I started craving lots of "normal" food.  Up to this point, I hadn't really wanted anything like that.  Maybe the…

• 

  Ode Magazine

• Rural radio show secures livelihood for small farmers in Nigeria

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:12 pm

  By: UnreasonableInstitute Twenty-seven year old Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu has a passion for information, agriculture and protecting the environment. Growing up in Nigeria, he knows firsthand that there is a lack of information flowing throughout the villages. Farmers especially don't have access to reliable market information and modern farming techniques which results in small volume turnout and unavailability of input materials for over 70 million small farmers living in the rural areas of Nigeria. This ultimately exacerbates rural poverty, hunger and food insecurity. In 2003, Nnaemeka founded The…

• Diverse cultures pray for peace

  15 Mar 2010 | 10:09 am

  By: PeaceCorso The prayers which appear below are to be found on the website of a remarkable woman named Myra Bonhage-Hale, Steward of La Paix Herb Farm in Alum Bridge, West Virginia. She has created an interactive virtual Peace Museum online. The website has a most stunning page of prayers for peace. It was formatted inappropriately to include it here, but give yourself a gift and go visit www.lapaixherbfarmproducts.com/PeacePrayers.html It’s a peaceful meditation on the diversity of peace practice. For spiritual nourishment, visit www.susancorso.com. Related Reading 10 questions for an…

• Improving literacy in rural India with mobile phones

  12 Mar 2010 | 11:31 am

  By: UnreasonableInstitute Shabnam Aggarwal describes herself as a "California-born, Indian-blooded, Pittsburgh-educated, Cambodia-traversed, Children-infatuated, 20-something girl trying to stay hungry and stay foolish." We're not sure about the foolish part, but she sure is hungry to help underprivileged youth in India. After working as an intern at the Microsoft Research India's Technology for Emerging Markets Group and working for the Women's World Banking, she discovered a passion for educating underprivileged but highly deserving women. She is now helping to start an organization called…

• MiCasa Ventures: Developing housing solutions in partnership with the poor

  12 Mar 2010 | 10:08 am

  By: UnreasonableInstitute After living in Peru, Colombia, and Argentina for several years, Caltech-educated engineer, Cesar Gonzalez, saw firsthand the plight of the poor and witnessed the growth of urban slums. There he got involved in the earthquake relief efforts in Chincha, Peru, and had the opportunity to spend several days interviewing the poor about their housing situation, their income opportunities, and their ideas for improving them. After moving back to Los Angeles, Cesar felt the need to do what he could to help. And so began his quest to create the MiCasa Venture, developing…

• Broadcasting the power of social entrepreneurship through reality TV

  11 Mar 2010 | 10:23 am

  By: UnreasonableInstitute How better to reach a large group of youth, but through a widely broadcasted reality TV show. Jasmine Stine, a recent graduate of Hampshire College, is hoping to use this medium to inspire and teach budding social entrepreneurs the skills necessary to run a sustainable business. Stine has co-founded a production organization called Bamyan Media. They hope to create television shows based on business competitions. Each episode will have its own theme, such as management or environmental impact. Contestants compete weekly before the show’s expert judges, testing…

• 

  Causecast - Latest News

• Ten Things You Should Know About The Fur Industry

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:30 pm

  By SARAH NELSON, Contributing Writer 1. The fur industry generates $2 billion in the North American economy each year, including more than $400 million in fur exports. 2. Every year, more than 50 million animals are violently killed for their fur. The most popular animals used for fur are minks, foxes, rabbits, chinchillas and lynxes. Even hamsters are killed for their fur. 3. In 2003, the U.S. produced more than 2.5 million mink furs. That doesn't include the number of animals whose skins cannot be used because of disease. One mink fur coat requires at least 55 minks. 4. Eighty-five percent…

• Less-than-Perfect Produce: What To Keep, What To Toss

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:17 pm

  Originally posted by Allison Ford, Divine Caroline. I was having breakfast with a friend recently, and when I peeled my banana, I discovered that the top half was brown and bruised. I nonchalantly broke the banana in half and proceeded to eat the non-offending portion, but my friend was horrified. “How can you eat that?” she said. “Isn’t it dangerous?” I guess if she was that scandalized by a bruised banana, I shouldn’t tell her about what I do when I find a little spot of mold growing on a block of cheese. She and her delicate sensibilities might never recover. Fresh food is…

• Ladies’ Might: Why Women Can Now Serve on Submarines

  14 Mar 2010 | 11:05 am

  Originally posted by Allison Ford, Divine Caroline. Most little girls grow up hearing some version of the phrase “You can be anything you want to be.” That’s mostly true, as long as the little girl in question doesn’t want to grow up to be the CEO of a major company, the president of the United States, or the director of an Oscar-winning film, in which cases the odds are pretty slim. The military is another area in which certain career paths are simply off-limits to women. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women comprise about 15 percent of the military, yet it wasn’t until 1993…

• Are The Foods You Eat Driving Deforestation?

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:52 pm

  By NAIVASHA DEAN, Causecast Editor By now, most of us are aware that changing our eating habits is one of the best ways to reduce our personal impact on the environment. We know that it's good to eat organic and local, and cut out meat when we can. But that may not be enough. As Planet Green points out in their article A Deforestation-Based Diet: Seven Foods That Are Destroying the World's Forests, the growing methods of the foods we eat can be more important than what we're eating. Around the world, thousands of acres of forest are being destroyed to grow or raise our food products, and the…

• National Parks Face Severe Budget Cuts: How You Can Help

  12 Mar 2010 | 4:02 pm

  by ERIN SWAN, Causecast Editor Will our national parks be at risk in 2011? Last week, The National Parks Conversation Association (NPCA) announced how the 2011 budget for national parks will be decreased by $2.6 million from 2010. This reduction is not only bad for visitors and nature lovers but also bad for the economy. According to the NPCA, every $1 invested in national parks means $4 for the U.S. economy. With the recent economic recession, national park visitors have actually increased. More families are visiting these beautiful areas for inexpensive family vacations, camping and hiking…

• 

  Honolulu Twestival 2009

• Mahalo To Design Nabi

  Ryan

  13 Mar 2010 | 5:58 pm

  We’re grateful to welcome Design Nabi aboard as a 2010 Honolulu Twestival sponsor! Mahalo to owner Ji Sun and company for stepping up to help make this great event happen. Design Nabi offers over 10 years of experience, having evolved from web development to now include social media tools for business, nonprofits and individual clients. Online development services include: community building brand management strategic planning web strategy training For more info, please visit http://www.designnabi.com and follow @jschawaii on Twitter. Every dollar raised in ticket sales to the Honolulu…

• Yoza To Perform At Honolulu Twestival

  Ryan

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:38 pm

  We at the Honolulu Twestival team are once again pleased to announce another amazing peformer in our lineup of music planned for the event! Mahalo to Yoza for supporting the cause and sharing her music with Honolulu and the world! Born on the island of O’ahu, Yoza, has lived a life filled with both weathered hardships and musical prowess. Like most children in Hawai’i, Yoza is of multicultural decent. She is Okinawan, Honduran, Maya Indian and was raised speaking Spanish. Yoza took to music early, learning to play the ukulele at age 5. By the time she turned 10 years old, she performed…

• Honolulu Twestival Welcomes Sabrina Velazquez!

  Ryan

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:26 pm

  We’re excited to announce that Sabrina Velazquez (@sabrinaland) will be performing live at the Honolulu Twestival just days after her SxSW tour ends! Sabrina, is a singer-songwriter from Hawaii. With a mariachi singer father from Mexico, and a hula dancer mother from Hawaii, it seemed natural that she would pick up music at an early age. She began playing the piano at age five, followed by the violin at age seven. After over a decade of playing classical music, she picked up the guitar on a whim while attending college at the University of Southern California. It was then that she…

• Honolulu Twestival Shirts!

  Ryan

  9 Mar 2010 | 5:27 pm

  Thanks to the awesome design skills of Valentino Valdez, and the great folks at Spreadshirt, you can now order an official Honolulu Twestival T-shirt! Available in standard and women’s cuts, and in both light and dark colors, there’s no question you can find something to fit your fashion… and support a good cause at the same time. Twestival’s partnership with Spreadshirt will send proceeds from sales to Concern Worldwide. And, sales of the Honolulu Twestival shirt will be credited to the Honolulu Twestival fundraising total! Also, order before March 16, and get free…

• Oh Yeah “Wait For It” Comes to Honolulu Twestival

  Ryan

  9 Mar 2010 | 3:05 am

  We’re thrilled to announce our first act in an amazing lineup that will unfold over the next few days. To kick it off this year we have the amazing duo of “Joni Llamedo” and “Bran Apeles” who combined with friends and guest are simply called “Wait For It.” Some of you already got a small taste of this new and upcoming band who I introduced at the kickoff of the one year anniversary party for the Two Beer Queers show last December at Rumors nightclub. Now just a few months later the Honolulu Twestival team and myself are ready to introduce their amazing range of sounds and…

• 

  NYC Twestival 2009

• NYC Twestival is back for 2010 - 3 ways to get involved RIGHT NOW!

  newyork

  1 Mar 2010 | 9:14 am

  Hey everyone! Twestival Global is back - and bigger than ever! Last we heard, more than 300 cities around the world are planning to hold Twestivals on March 25th, 2010. New York City’s Twestival promises to be one of the biggest: almost 2000 people will be able to join us in breaking in one of the hottest new venues in the city, GoodUnits! We’ll have more on that soon, as well as information on Concern Worldwide (the organization we’ll be supporting), our amazing sponsors and the very, very cool entertainment lineup, but we wanted to let you know about a few opportunities to…

• Points Win Prizes: Thanks to Eastern Mountain Sports

  newyork

  12 Sep 2009 | 10:14 am

  Thanks to Eastern Mountain Sports for donating the first prize for tonight’s Celebrity Bowling Tournament. Winners of the tournament will not only be crowned World Twestival Bowling Champions, they also win 5 pairs of passes for EMS Climbing Schools and Urbansherpa van transportation to the Gunks, worth $180 per person. Here are the details: Climb with a friend in the world famous Shawangunks….” the Gunks” to the real rock heads! EMS Climbing Schools’ certified and licensed instructors will show you how its done, whether you are a newbie or an advanced climber.

• NYC Twestival: Line-up and thanks!

  newyork

  11 Sep 2009 | 1:02 pm

  The organizers wanted to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have purchased a ticket to NYC Twestival. We’re excited about Saturday night and thrilled with the amount of money we have raised so far for CampInteractive. 100% of the money raised will go directly towards helping underprivileged youth gain invaluable skills, heighten their academic standing, and begin to realize more of life’s possibilities. Here are a few details regarding tomorrow nights event: Please note that the event runs from 6pm-10pm. We encourage you to arrive early as the bowling lanes get booked…

• SeamlessWeb: Change you can Tweet in!

  newyork

  10 Sep 2009 | 12:57 pm

  NYC Twestival is announciing a new social cause marketing partnership with the nation’s online food ordering service, SeamlessWeb. On September 12, New York City will host a Celebrity Bowling Tournament, in association with Brooklyn Bowl and Flavorpill to benefit non-profit charity, CampInteractive. As part of the fundraising effort, SeamlessWeb will be donating the change from every single transaction made on its platform on September 12 The NYC Twestival and SeamlessWeb campaign is a unique example of social cause marketing. The collaboration allows for the consumer to choose the company…

• A Seamless Integration

  newyork

  10 Sep 2009 | 11:58 am

  NYC Twestival has to give thanks to a great sponsor, Seamless Web.       To learn more about the special way Seamless Web is donating to NYC Twestival, check out the great piece on Mediaite. It was written by our fearless leader, Toby Daniels, and is about social cause marketing featuring NYC Twestival and Seamless Web. Everyone should give it a read!

• 

  Los Angeles Twestival 2009

• Twestival 2010

  la

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:35 am

  Twestival is a charity festival whereby 175 cities from around the world come together for events on 1 day- March 25th- raising money for one cause. This year we’re raising money for Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian organization transforming the lives of the world’s poorest, most marginalized children through access to education. LA TWESTIVAL at THE ROXY THEATRE on the Sunset Strip | 7pm Showtime Featuring: Youtube’s official video mixer, TweetMuseum - one of a Kind Celeb art!, Polite in Public Digital Photo booth, DJ Mike Relm, 16 year-old DJ prodigy and blogger…

• Early Bird Tickets Have Sold Out

  la

  8 Mar 2010 | 10:40 am

  Thanks to all of you that have responded with a YES or MAYBE rsvp for the LA TWESTIVAL on March 25th. We are all busy, busy, busy making sure the 2010 LA event will be one that none of you are soon to forget. That being said, I want to encourage all of you to purchase your tix ASAP as the early bird tix have already sold out! There are currently 100 tix available for $20, but once those are gone, the prices are subject to go up again as we get closer to the event date. Remember, this is a competitive worldwide event and our GOAL is to raise as much money as we can for this years charity,…

• 2010 LA Twestival website

  la

  1 Mar 2010 | 10:25 am

  The 2010 version of the official Los Angeles Twestival website is live. Head over and get all of the latest information on this year’s event.

• Concern Worldwide Moby Video

  la

  27 Feb 2010 | 10:36 am

  Click here to view the embedded video.

• New Websites Layouts!

  la

  7 Sep 2009 | 1:55 am

  We’ve been busy updating our Twestival LA websites! Our new redesigned main website is now at LATwestival.com and our twitter page is @LATwestival. We wanted to give our website a little bit of LA flair.

• 

  London Twestival 2009

• Getting Fresh and Fruity @twestival

  london

  15 Mar 2010 | 1:00 am

  Under the guise of the Smooth Tweetin’ Bar Stewards, iomart Hosting, headline sponsors of both the London and Glasgow Twestivals are giving Tweeps who attend both events the chance to get fresh and fruity. The company is providing a full blown smoothie bar at the London Twestival (Cable Club) and is offering a Twestival Fruit punch for revellers at the Glasgow Event (Lansdowne Bar). The five Hosting themed smoothies on offer in London include the On Demand Orange, Cool Cranberry Cloud, Berry Burstin’ Bandwidth, Hot Hosting Hootch and the iSmoothie (made with Apple, naturally). Party goers…

• Those who can, tweach

  london

  12 Mar 2010 | 3:06 am

  The chances are you’re reading this blog because you’ve spotted the hashtag #tweacher on Twitter. Being a teacher and getting the best out of kids – or even getting their attention at all – is a tough, tough gig. But in some places, kids are desperate for an education, but can’t afford to go to school or to have learning opportunities that would make a huge difference in their lives. This is something Concern Worldwide is working to change in some of the poorest communities in the world. As organisers of London Twestival (you can get tickets to the 25th March event here) we want…

• Sonos signs up for Twestival

  london

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:05 am

  We’re delighted to unveil wireless music systems provider Sonos as a sponsor of this month’s London Twestival. Sonos is a company “created by music lovers, for music lovers”. We like the sound of that! The company is active in 60 countries and provides wireless music technology for whole-house coverage. Sonos’ technology “ensures synchronous music playback and avoids sources of wireless interference. Which means the music gets to all the right rooms — near or far — at exactly the right time.” We welcome Sonos to the Twestival club and take this opportunity to thank the…

• Be an integral part of London Twestival

  london

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:18 am

  One of the many beneficiaries of Concern Worldwide On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together to rally around the important cause of education by hosting events to have fun and create awareness.  Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good.  These live events are organised 100 per cent by volunteers and 100 per cent of all ticket sales and donations go direct to charity projects, and we’re looking for more sponsors! We already have hosting specialists iomart announced as a sponsor and another announcement to follow,…

• Twestival Message from Concern Worldwide

  london

  9 Mar 2010 | 3:26 am

  As the countdown continues to the London Twestival on 25 March 2010, we’re delight to welcome Karen Gallagher, Head of Concern Northern Ireland, to tell us more about what Twestival means for the charity: “All of us at Concern Worldwide are very excited to be involved with the fourth annual Twestival and would like to thank everyone involved across the world for helping to raise vital funds and awareness for our education programmes. Twestival is such a fantastic example of the difference that can be made when individuals join together to volunteer and take action. “Every child…

• 

  San Francisco Twestival 2009

• In The Studio with Stroke 9

  sanfrancisco

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:39 pm

  @Stroke9, @MilesTheDJ, @WhiteMenace all in the house at @LIVE105 Wednesday afternoon! Hear them talk about Twitter, Tap Tap Revenge, and TwestivalSF! Rockin it hard core!  Watch the video, and join us on March 25, 2010 at 6 p.m. to see them play LIVE!!!! Wander over to Amiando and get your tickets now! 100% of the proceeds go to @Concern Worldwide Click here to view the embedded video. Follow the band members @lukester and @mcdermy to find out what they are up to these days.

• Promote TwestivalSF with Sioux City Kid and Stroke 9!

  sanfrancisco

  9 Mar 2010 | 10:08 am

  We’re excited to announce that Sioux City Kid will also be playing on March 25! Follow them on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/SiouxCity_Kid Click here to view the embedded video. Don’t forget that we’re also being joined by Stroke 9 as our headline of the night! Follow them on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stroke9 Click here to view the embedded video. Have a website? Newsletter? Get the word out! You can download the global Twestival 125×125 banner below.

• Challenge to all Twestival Cities

  sanfrancisco

  5 Mar 2010 | 8:37 am

  We over here at San Francisco don’t like to brag about how amazing we are, but have you seen our amazing sponsors lately?  Wow!  Bing.com, Tap11, Speck, EyeFi, Omni, Baseball Beauties, SFTravel and more! Wow! Just Wow! However, that’s not really the point - we would like to issue a challenge to all other Twestival Cities. The challenge you ask? Let’s see who can raise the most money before March 25! By going to http://bit.ly/twcompare You can see compare your city with other cities, including San Francisco’s to see how much money they’ve raised compared to your…

• Baseball Beauties Rock!

  sanfrancisco

  3 Mar 2010 | 8:44 am

  The first people through the @TwestivalSF doors will be receiving a tote bag from BaseballBeauties! The bag will be filled with lots of amazing goodies that you won’t want to miss out on! Want to see how we’re doing compared to other cities around the world?  Compare San Francisco to your city, and let the games begin!  http://twestival.com/api/stats-compare We’ve set a goal to raise $5,000 by March 25.  Will you help us with that goal?  Make sure to get your tickets today!

• Thanks to our donors!

  sanfrancisco

  2 Mar 2010 | 8:04 am

  Thank you to all of the amazing donations that we have received this last week. You could have a chance to win one of the amazing gifts, such as: 2 Tickets to BlogWorldExpo Factory Tour at TCHO Chocolate for 6 Custom Wine designed specially for TwestivalSF from Marshall Wines Family 4 Pack from @SFZoo Speck cell phone/laptop cases Ollie the Twitterific Bird from Icon Factory Custom Twitter pillows from Craftsquatch Free burritos from Gordo Taqueria And more!

• 

  Las Vegas Twestival 2009

• Open Call for Sponsors

  lasvegas

  24 Feb 2010 | 10:17 am

  At this time we are looking for sponsors for Las Vegas Twestival on March 25th at Caramel in Bellagio. If you are interested, please email manya at lightlv dot com. Thanks!

• Las Vegas Twestival Coming March 25th

  lasvegas

  18 Feb 2010 | 11:08 am

  We’re excited to announce Las Vegas as a participant in the 2010 global Twestival happening on March 25th. Locally, Las Vegas Twestival will be at Caramel Bar and Lounge located inside Bellagio Resort and Casino from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. More details coming soon!

• Vegas Local Twestival Fail

  lasvegas

  10 Sep 2009 | 10:36 pm

  Las Vegas Twestival has been cancelled for technical reasons that have permeated every aspect of planning a successful Twestival. While we may not have been able to achieve our vision of a successful Twestival, we encourage the Las Vegas Twittersphere to still come out to Caramel at Bellagio for a tweet-up Saturday night. Light Group has been very gracious to extend 2-for-1 drinks from 7 pm to 9pm for this occasion. We also encourage you to give in the name of Twitter to Three Square. Three Square was chosen by you to be the beneficiary of our local Twestival and needs all the help it can get…

• Announcing Twestival Local: Las Vegas

  lasvegas

  5 Sep 2009 | 7:02 am

  Join us on September 12, 2009 from 7pm to 10pm for Twestival Local in support of local foundation Three Square. More info to come.

• List of Attendees at Las Vegas Twestival

  lasvegas

  16 Feb 2009 | 10:43 am

  Missed someone at Las Vegas Twestival? Check our attendance list. Registered Attendees List Aaron Righellis @upallday http://www.upallday.com Aaron Magness @macknuttie Adam Tate @lincolnluxor http://www.lincolnluxor.com Adriana Lee Alex Acuna http://www.lightgroup.com Alex Codlin @xela854 Alexandra Beall @BlessTheApple http://www.blesstheapple.com Andrea Ruggles @fjtoyota http://www.fjtoyota.com Andrews Vidal @andresvidal Andrews Koeacs @plaz_ Anna Bassham @ShoeSmitten http://www.shoesmitten.com Annie Tunbridge Arnold Dela Cruz @arnoldDC71 http://www.bureau149.com Bill Cody @VegasBill…

• 

  Seattle Twestival 2009

• Twestival Seattle will be at Emerald City Trapeze!

  seattle

  3 Mar 2010 | 7:30 pm

  Twestival Seattle organizers Shauna Causey and Colin Christianson joined other organizers on location at Emerald City Trapeze, to announce the location of our March 25 Twestival benefiting Concern Worldwide and sponsored by Swedish Medical Center. March 25 promises to be an amazing night! Tickets will start at $30 and will be available Friday March 5. more details to [...]

• Twestival Seattle Organizers :: 2010

  seattle

  3 Mar 2010 | 11:36 am

  These are the amazing people volunteering to make Twestival Seattle 2010 a reality! we also published a Twitter list at http://twitter.com/TwestivalSEA/twestival-leaders ShaunaCausey Shauna Causey | Seattle, WA Shauna is our lead organizer joannjen Joann Jen | Seattle Brad_tweets Brad Howell, Realtor dakini_3 Seattle Nancymcatqq Nancy McManus | Seattle brianglanz Brian Glanz [...]

• What’s the most important thing to say after a Twestival?

  seattle

  1 Oct 2009 | 5:42 pm

  I’m going to start this post with an apology. Our latest Twestival for Seattle’s YouthCare could not have been pulled off without the support and participation of many people. I will do my best to thank as many of those people as possible in this message, but I’m sure that I will miss a person [...]

• $6,456 Raised for YouthCare, Thanks to You

  seattle

  15 Sep 2009 | 11:56 am

  As of today, we have raised $6,456 for YouthCare. This is approximately $3,000 more than we collected during the Twestival charity:water event in February. This figure is the result of the generosity and hard work of our attendees, sponsors, volunteers and those of you who helped spread the Twestival Seattle conversation. At this point we don’t [...]

• Hotel Max Seattle is the Most Artistic Downtown Seattle, Washington Hotel, and Most Generous Also.

  seattle

  14 Sep 2009 | 12:55 pm

  Due to an oversight we failed to give Hotel Max the recognition it deserved in supporting the Seattle Twestival for YouthCare. Hotel Max provided a terrific prize of a two-night stay at their truly unique setting. The Hotel Max raises both philanthropy and the hotel business to works of art. Twestival Seattle thanks them and [...]

• 

  Atlanta Twestival 2009

• Lost Footage… Atlanta Twestival 2009

  ATLtwestival

  11 Mar 2010 | 4:56 pm

  I don’t believe the Atlanta Twestival team ever formally thanked Mr. John Saddington for live streaming the very first ever Atlanta Twestival 2009.  He did an awesome job of MC’ing the evening for us — very impromptu.  So, to John, Thank-you. To the rest of you, enjoy… Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video.

• Global Twestival 2010 supports Concern Worldwide

  ATLtwestival

  6 Mar 2010 | 9:44 am

  We want to talk a little bit about Concern Worldwide and the great work that they do. Based on the belief that education is a Human Right, Concern Worldwide works to help the 72 million children who never have to opportunity to go to school. By increasing access to quality education, Concern is enabling people to lift themselves out of absolute poverty and continue to improve their lives. They have programs in 12 countries, including Haiti. In the aftermath of the recent earthquake, Concern Worldwide has distributed water, clothing and other supplies to the people of Haiti as they work to…

• ATLtwestival Still Cares…

  ATLtwestival

  18 Dec 2009 | 10:16 am

  At our last event, on September 12th, 2009, ATLtwestival supported Not For Sale Campaign, and had a chance to learn more about the important issue of Human Slavery and Child Sex Trafficking. Even though, for our next event on March 25th, 2010, our attention will be focused on supporting Concern Worldwide, we as a city are still committed to fighting this crime against humanity, and are willing to reach out to any partners here in Atlanta or around the globe that want to stand up against injustice, wherever it presents itself. With that in mind, we wanted to present the words of Sunitha…

• Water means choices, free time, options

  ATLtwestival

  4 Dec 2009 | 12:14 pm

  Charity:water’s Project Manager, Becky Straw, reflects on her experience bringing water to a village in Northern Uganda, in an article entitled “Will the beautiful women of the world please stand up”.  While traveling to Uganda to evaluate the well drilling for charity:water, Becky met Helen. Helen spent most of her day walking and waiting. She told me each day she’d say to herself, “How should I use this water today? Should I water my garden so we can grow food? Should I wash my children’s uniforms? Should I use it to cook a meal? Should we drink this water?” With…

• Atlanta Twestival Local 2009!

  ATLtwestival

  6 Oct 2009 | 8:54 pm

  A big thank you to everyone who came out to the Atlanta Twestival on September 12th, 2009. We are able to raise $278.00 for Not for Sale and present them with a copy of Microsoft Office for them to continue their work with.  A huge thank you to @octanecoffee for donating the space and raffle prize.  Also, big thanks to Mark Hoerrner from Not for Sale Georgia for coming out and talking about Not for Sale.  We are honored to help support the great work that you do here right in our back yard. I know that we have been quite lacking in communications and updates, but we are working on that. …

• 

  Washington Twestival 2009

• Venue Confirmed for #DCTwestival 2010!

  washington

  7 Mar 2010 | 7:49 am

  We are proud to announce the exclusive ShadowRoom as our 2010 venue sponsor for DC Twestival. With Mobile Ordering and the Nteract Touchscreen Table Order System what better place to combine entertainment and tech-saavy Tweeters?! Join hundreds others this March 25th from 6:00 – 9:00PM as we tap our fingers to tweet, our toes to the beat, and meet and greet our fellow comrades - all in aid of Concern, a humanitarian organization dedicated to reducing suffering and ending extreme poverty including much needed education for children. Tickets will go on sale this week, stay tuned!

• What are you thankful for?

  washington

  10 Sep 2009 | 9:02 am

  We are excited to have local DC startup, Shiny Heart Ventures (http://shinyheart.com) in the house for DC Twestival tonight as they are about to launch their first product call Thankfulfor.  Thankfulfor (http://thankfulfor.com) is a microblogging site focused on gratitude. In just 140 characters, users can share what they are thankful for, saving each item to their personal “journal” of thanks. Users can also be social by choosing to send each Thankfulfor post to their social network on Twitter, spreading the good thanks far and wide. Since Twestival is also about spreading the good,…

• Twestival is offical Event Partner for Gov 2.0

  washington

  9 Sep 2009 | 9:44 pm

  All this week Tim O’Reily and crew (including DCTwestival own VIP Mark Drapeau aka Cheeky_Geeky) have been hosting a transformative event here in our nation’s capital entitled Gov 2.0 Summit and Expo.  With the not-so-small goal of reshaping government. Gov 2.0 states: With the proliferation of issues and a scarcity of resources to address them all, leaders inside and outside government are turning to the principles of participation, collaboration, transparency, and efficiency to address the challenges facing our country and the world. This is the agenda of the Gov 2.0 Summit. So…

• DC Twestival Sponsors

  washington

  7 Sep 2009 | 4:55 pm

  DC Twestival and Miriam’s Kitchen would like to thank our generous sponsors for supporting this event and contributing to this worthwhile cause. Additional sponsorship slots are still available for a limited time prior to the event. Remember, 100% of the sponsorship funds donated go directly to Miriam’s Kitchen. Primary Sponsor: Jean and Steve Case established the Case Foundation in 1997 to reflect their family’s commitment to finding lasting solutions for complex social challenges. We invest in people and ideas that can change the world. Our purpose is to expand giving, promote…

• Thanks to the DC Twestival VIPs!

  washington

  25 Aug 2009 | 9:22 am

  No event would be complete with a top-notch list of VIPs, and DC Twestival is no exception. Our ten VIPs stepped up and contributed enough to collectively feed over 650 people. The phrase “VIP” has never so aptly described a group of people as it does these fine folks (in no particular order): @cheeky_geeky @herbanlifestyle @ewengel @chrisabraham @LorettaHeartley @justyfrank @missinformation @benmerrion1 @joyrenee @tomcblock While we’ve sold out of our VIP tickets, you can still buy a ticket to DC Twestival and help Miriam’s Kitchen feed DC’s homeless. Register…

• 

  Houston Twestivl 2009

• Twestival Houston 2010 Bands Selected!

  Grace

  16 Feb 2010 | 8:03 am

  Thank you to the bands who have stepped up to perform at Twestival Houston on March 25, to help raise money for Concern and fight suffering and extreme poverty around the world. Our 2010 lineup (*updated Feb16) will be: Music - Main Stage: 6:00pm - Insert Name Here | @INHpunk | http://myspace.com/inhpunk 7:00pm - Wayside Drive | @WaysideDrive [...]

• Twestival Global 2010 Benefiting Concern Worldwide

  Grace

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:24 pm

  Twestival Houston Details: WHEN: March 25, 2010 : 5:30pm-11:00pm WHERE: Caroline Collective : 4820 Caroline, Houston 77004 | http://carolinecollective.cc | @carolineco For updates, please follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/twesth and become a fan on Facebook at http://facebook.com/twestivalhouston. What is Twestival™? On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally [...]

• Help Us Help the Houston Area Women’s Center : Become a Sponsor for Twestival Houston!

  Grace

  6 Sep 2009 | 9:28 pm

  THANK YOU to the following Sponsors for Twestival Houston 2009: Caroline Collective (venue) - @carolineco | http://www.carolinecollective.cc Saint Arnold (beverages: 2 kegs of beer) - @saintarnold | http://www.saintarnold.com Sweet Leaf Tea (tasty tea) - @sweetleaftea_1 | http://www.sweetleaftea.com Tacos A Go Go (food) - @tacosagogo | http://www.tacosagogo.com Culture Pilot (design & posters) - @culturepilot | http://www.culturepilot.com Royalty4Daniela (YNH sponsor) - http://www.royalty4daniela.org Twestival Houston’s [...]

• Support HAWC at Twestival Houston Sep 13!

  Grace

  2 Sep 2009 | 1:57 am

  Donate to Houston Area Women’s Center & get your tickets to Twestival Houston now! Twestival Houston’s goal is to raise $3000 to help Houston Area Women’s Center in their mission to end domestic and sexual violence. Every dollar raised through Twestival Houston will support HAWC’s Children’s Court Services program, the advocacy service for children who have [...]

• Twestival Houston Set for September 13, 2009!

  Grace

  10 Aug 2009 | 8:04 pm

  TWESTIVAL HOUSTON DETAILS: * WHEN: September 13, 2009 : 3:30pm - 8:00pm * WHERE: Caroline Collective : 4820 Caroline, Houston 77004 | http://carolinecollective.cc | @carolineco * WHAT: An exciting afternoon of entertainment, art, and community, featuring: - Headlining Houston bands performing outdoors - Raffle prizes donated from local theaters, museums, and restaurants - Bounce palace and games for children - Performances and [...]

• 

  Wilmington, NC Twestival 2009

• Become a Wilmington Twestival Sponsor

  wilmington

  8 Mar 2010 | 2:36 pm

  On March 25, 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will gather. Together they will celebrate Twestival (Twitter + Festival). The events will be fun. The camaraderie of being brought together via twitter will be amazing. However, the most exciting part of Twestival will be the global impact. On 12 February 2009, the first TwestivalGlobal was held in 202 international cities to support @charitywater,who we saw doing incredible work to help the almost 1 billion or 1 in 6 people in the world that don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water.  Over 1,000 volunteers and…

• 2010 Wilmington Twestival, Latest Details!

  wilmington

  15 Feb 2010 | 5:51 am

  Hello everyone! We just wanted to update everyone on details of a meeting we held February 11th, 2010. Ty Downing & Lori Lorusso of Perspective Internet Marketing, Shannan Bowen of Star News, Greg Tumolo & David Nye of Frank Deals, Sarah Barbee of FussBudget and last but not least, Bruce Brown from Quantum Results Coaching met to discuss preliminary plans for Wilmington’s part in the global charity event called Twestival. For great photos of this intense (fun) meeting, check out Bruce Brown’s post. Here are the details as of today: Held on Thursday March 25th, 2010 Venue:…

• Twestival 2010 Promo Video

  wilmington

  13 Feb 2010 | 1:47 pm

  Click here to view the embedded video.

• Global Twestival 2010 Date & ‘Cause’ Announced!

  wilmington

  18 Dec 2009 | 12:35 pm

  We all heard some exciting news this week from the Twestival committee in London (Amanda Rose, the decision on the charity this year will be “Concern Worldwide.”!! Please get familiar with this organization (video below), follow them on Twitter too - @concern The date for Twestival global this year has also been finalized, Thursday March 25th, 2010 here in Wilmington, North Carolina, as well as the entire planet. We will shortly be getting more details of this years local event, but as last year, will begin accepting sponsors and volunteers.  Assisting me this year as project…

• Twestival 2010 Date Decided!

  wilmington

  17 Jun 2009 | 6:49 am

  Just a quick post to let Wilmington, North Carolina know that Twestival 2010 (And late summer) is planned for: Twestival Local : Saturday 12 September 2009 Twestival Global : Thursday 4 February 2010 More details here: http://twestival.com/

• 

  Cornwall Twestival 2009

• Come to Cornwall Twestival and win a Pogoplug!

  Cornwall Twestival

  12 Mar 2010 | 7:49 am

  Yes, one lucky Cornwall Twestival attendee will walk away with a shiny new Pogoplug, thanks to the generosity of Pogoplug and its PR agency, Escherman. A brand new gadget on the UK market, this stylish device lets you share the content of your USB drives easily and quickly over the internet. You can use it to share photos with friends or access your home-based files from anywhere you can get online. Pogoplug retails at £99 and has been garnering some excellent press coverage in the past couple of weeks. Channel 5’s Gadget Show loved it, saying it “makes sharing a cinch“,…

• Fluid Branding sponsors Cornwall Twestival Global 2010

  Cornwall Twestival

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:31 am

  A very warm welcome and a big thank you to a new Cornwall Twestival sponsor, Fluid Branding. Fluid Branding are the South West’s leading supplier of Promotional Products, Corporate Gifts and Branded Merchandise. With a massive range of promotional products combined with market leading customer service, Fluid Branding and their dedicated environmental brand Eco Incentives are perfectly placed to provide you with imaginative, low cost corporate gifts and branded promotional merchandise. Take a look at www.fluidbranding.com or www.ecoincentives.com and see for yourself how you can use branded…

• Niddocks Internet Marketing sponsor Cornwall Twestival Global 2010

  Cornwall Twestival

  10 Mar 2010 | 11:04 am

  A very warm welcome back to another returning sponsor - Niddocks Internet Marketing, who have been strong supporters of Cornwall Twestival since its inception in early 2009. Niddocks is an internet marketing company focusing on providing cost-effective web marketing solutions for small, medium and large organisations throughout Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Services include SEO, Google AdWords, Google Analytics, training, management and consultancy. Find out more about Niddocks from their website www.niddocks.com, or follow Niddocks founders @robedlin and @andreaedlin on Twitter.

• NetInsight sponsors Cornwall Twestival Global 2010

  Cornwall Twestival

  9 Mar 2010 | 6:58 am

  A very warm welcome to NetInsight, who have generously offered to sponsor Cornwall Twestival Global 2010. NetInsight is a full-service web design agency specialising in e-commerce. NetInsight also offer e-business consultancy and conversion rate optimisation; a recently developed service which turns more website visitors into customers without spending more on digital marketing. NetInsight’s mission is to help businesses to improve the profitability of their websites through careful planning, great design and thorough development practices. Why Twestival? NetInsight is keen to support an…

• The Hitchcock Rules to play at Cornwall Twestival Global 2010

  Cornwall Twestival

  9 Mar 2010 | 4:16 am

  We’re very excited to announce today that top Cornish indie rock band The Hitchcock Rules are confirmed to play at Cornwall Twestival Global 2010 on Thursday 25th March at Truro’s Vertigo Bar. A self-styled “indie, rock, pop melting pot” whose 2008 album For My Monster was described by the RouteNote blog as a “fast-paced, stomping, pop-tastic, sing-along chorus-fest”, Perranporth-based The Hitchcock Rules have built up a large and loyal fan following since their foundation in 2004. Cornwall’s Stranger Mag recently hailed The Hitchcock Rules as…

• 

  Phoenix Twestival 2009

• Concern Focus: Building Schools

  phoenix

  9 Mar 2010 | 7:25 pm

  Globally, there are 72 million children - majority of them girls - who are not enrolled in school. Millions more must learn in overcrowded, unhealthy, unsafe environments. Often, children must attend ‘outdoor’ schools, where they are vulnerable to extremes of weather and classes are irregular at best. Concern works closely with communities and local government to build and renovate schools and classrooms for the poorest, most vulnerable children. Average cost of building/renovating one school: $14,500.

• Please Donate to Twestival Phoenix!

  phoenix

  9 Mar 2010 | 2:36 pm

  The bulk of the fundraising we do at Twestival Phoenix is through our raffle and silent auction. We always need great items to help us make those a success! All donors are listed here on our website and if on Twitter, we will spread the good word and encourage our followers to support our sponsors. We have several different sponsorship options http://phoenix.twestival.com/sponsor-twestival-phoenix/ If you are thinking about donating, do it early to get more visibility. It also makes our lives much easier. If you know a person or a business that might donate, please mention Twestival Phoenix…

• Buy Early, Double Your Raffle Tickets!

  phoenix

  9 Mar 2010 | 11:56 am

  Register and complete your Gold Donation by Sunday, March 14th (by 11:59 pm) and double your raffle tickets!!! Purchases of single raffle tickets and raffle ticket 5 packs will also be doubled through March 14th! If you’ve already purchased a Gold Donation or raffle tickets, you’ll be automatically included. Thanks for your support!  

• Gotta Give a Couple Shouts Out

  phoenix

  9 Mar 2010 | 11:23 am

  Want to give a big shout out to Cruz Tequila (@cruztequila) and Todd Ellinwood! In zero time, they’ve been amazing about stepping up, donating product, helping us secure the venue and spreading the word to other colleagues - so we have more drink options.     And… we also need to give a big shout out to Blair Hatfield (@blairhatz) and Splinter Creative (@splintrcreative). Splinter Creative has been instrumental in helping Twestival Phoenix occur since the first event and we’re so glad to have them back involved. As always they are wonderful about volunteering to…

• Concern Focus: Water for Schools

  phoenix

  8 Mar 2010 | 1:55 pm

  Children in many parts of the world are forced to spend hours daily fetching water, and often do not attend school as a result. Illnesses and diseases caused by poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water are among the top five killers of children under five in the world’s poorest countries. Lack of access to safe, clean water in schools in these areas is a huge problem. Concern build wells, pumps, taps and other sources of safe water for the poorest schools, as well as latrines, and handwashing facilities, to help prevent unnecessary illness and death among children. Average cost of…

• 

  Asheville Twestival 2009

• Rocking AVL for Concern Worldwide, Twestival Global Asheville 2010!

  asheville

  9 Mar 2010 | 12:26 pm

  Date: March 25, 2010 Time: 5PM - 11PM Venue: Club 828 Music: Taylor Martin’s Engine, The Screaming Js, and The Enemy Lovers … and a various assortment of special guests throughout the evening. Tickets: $15 Purchase Tickets The event will kick off with family-friendly fun from 5PM-7PM, including free food, non-alcoholic beverages and surprise guests. As the sun goes down, local bands Taylor Martin’s Engine, The Screaming Js and The Enemy Lovers will tune up and get down for the adult portion of the evening.  In true Asheville style, the party will feature a selection of…

• Why Developing Countries Matter

  asheville

  4 Mar 2010 | 11:32 am

  Mission Manna has partnered with Twestival Global Asheville 2010 to provide an experience based point of view on why developing nations need our support. This guest post is provided by Todd Kaderabek. Todd is the chairperson of the Mission Manna board of directors and has been working on and off in Haiti for many years. He produces books by day and magazines by night—and works on solutions for Haiti full time. Why Do Developing Countries Matter? I get that question a lot related to my work in Haiti with Mission Manna. Why bother? What’s the point? Why do you work in Haiti? The answer…

• The People Party

  asheville

  1 Mar 2010 | 8:50 am

  A word from Ray Noland, our logo designer winner, on why we he supports Twestival Global 2010. Today, technology enables the individual to connect and reach out to the world like no other time in history. The world is flat. What effects the U.S. effects the rest of the world and what effects the world effects us here at home. Natural disasters, war and disease know no border. Ultimately, the battle being waged is between rich vs. poor, corporations vs. people. Between corporations that want to CONTROL and people who just want to be free to LIVE - whether in Haiti, Africa or right here at home…

• Next Meeting, February 24th

  asheville

  22 Feb 2010 | 7:53 am

  Twestival Global meeting this Wednesday, February 24th at Asheville Pizza on Coxe Ave at 6:30 PM. Discussion will include venue selection, pre-event fundraising, and online auction items. View Asheville Pizza & Brewing

• We Have a Winner :)

  asheville

  21 Feb 2010 | 11:06 am

  The contest for Twestival Global Asheville has ended and there will be no voting! We had one submission that followed guidelines, made the deadline and is brilliant! A huge thank you to Ray Noland of Creative Rescue. You can follow him at @Mr_Cro. Check out our new look! http://twitter.com/avltwestival

• 

  Reading Twestival 2009

• Reading Twestival Tickets - On Sale Now!

  reading

  8 Mar 2010 | 11:57 am

  Reading Twestival Global 2010 in aid of @Concern Thursday 25th March 7.30pm - Late Ivory Lounge, Unit 5, Oracle Centre, Reading Early Bird Tickets start form £5! Buy Your Ticket Here What can you expect on the night? A great bunch of local Twitter users to meet and greet A raffle with awesome prizes (watch this space for details) Goodie Bags packed with freebies Some drinks designed especially for you Other funky goodness… (watch this space!) We would like to thank the event sponsors for making Reading Twestival Possible: GOLD Sponsors: Silver Sponsors:

• Reading Twestival Global - Venue Announcement

  reading

  4 Mar 2010 | 11:49 am

  Reading Twestival Global 2010 will be held at The Ivory Lounge on Reading’s Riverside There will be lots of space, different areas and booths to maximise the opportunity for conversations, mingling and generally getting to know your fellow Twitter users. The Ivory Lounge have very kindly given us the venue for free - this generous offer means we can raise the maximum amount of money for charity Concern - Thanks Ivory Lounge! Details of how you can get yourself and your friends a ticket to Reading Twestival will be announced shortly - so watch this space!

• What is Reading Twestival All About?

  reading

  20 Feb 2010 | 6:50 am

  A bit of History… The first Twestival held in Reading was in February 2009. Around 60 people gathered in La Tasca in the town centre to raise money for Charity Water. Reading Twestival Local in September 2009 saw around 80 people gather at Mix Bar on the Riverside to raise money for local charity Daisy’s Dream. What can you expect in March 2010? Another chance to meet those you follow on Twitter in real life! Another exciting venue, more great raffle prizes, gimics, fun, lots of prizes and freebies! Added to that, it’s all for the benefit of a great cause Tell me more……

• Put The Reading Twestival Donation Widget On Your Website

  reading

  15 Feb 2010 | 5:34 am

  All donations will be added to Reading Twestival’s total. Here is the code you will need: <!– Start What Gives Widget Tag –> <script type=”text/javascript”> var wgWidgetHost = “http://widget.whatgives.com/”; var wgWidgetCacheBuster = Math.round(new Date().getTime() / 1000); document.write(unescape(”%3Cscript src=’” + wgWidgetHost + “dwid/jsb/1586/” + wgWidgetCacheBuster + “/’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); </script> <!– End What Gives Widget Tag…

• First Planning Meeting

  reading

  1 Feb 2010 | 12:28 pm

  Twestival Global 2010 is scheduled to take place on 25th March. This year we will be raising money for Concern. If you would be serious about helping to organise the Reading event, feel free to come along to the first planning meeting this Wednesday at 7.30pm before the regular Tweetup at Glo. Thanks @TheSourceress

• 

  Vancouver Twestival 2009

• Call for Submissions

  calgary

  8 Mar 2010 | 12:48 pm

  We need your help! As part of Calgary Twestival, we want to raise a minimum $10,000 for Concern Worldwide, the Twestival international charity.That’s a lot of money when we’ve all just dug deep for Haiti, so in addition to event ticket sales and draw ticket sales, we’re producing a book. We need your help in producing a multi-media digital book on Social Media – by example. What I want from you is an example of social media and a 500 word (max) story or explanation that goes with it. The video, the podcast, the Facebook or twitter campaign. The photo or music that kicked off a storm…

• Calgary Twestival Tickets NOW Available

  calgary

  1 Sep 2009 | 3:54 pm

  Twestival Local events are taking place in cities around the world between 10-13 September 2009. Twestival is an international movement where people meet offline for one night, have fun and do some good for an important cause in the process. Calgary’s Twestival Local is a party, with DJ (Melissa Kuchner) at The Auburn Saloon - 163-115 9 Avenue SE Sat, 12/Sep/2009 doors open at 6:00 PM Come early for a Twitter workshop 6:30 - 7:30 or join us for the party at 7:30. Ticket sales and silent auction proceeds will all go to supply Calgary kids with lunches http://makeityourproblem.ca Get your…

• Last minute tweaks but the Tickets for Calgary Twestival will be..

  calgary

  31 Aug 2009 | 3:50 pm

  Hey everyone, we are nearly there. In the next 24-48hrs the first batch of Calgary Twestival Tickets will be available. There will be early bird pricing for both couples/business partners and mates who just can’t have a good time without each other and of course singles. If you have a group that you want to book, let me know via @roger (on Twitter) or via email Also don’t forget to join us on Twitter and Facebook! PS. A link is already in the top right corner next to Search but it won’t work without certain details finalised and also we will tweet and Facebook the…

• Location location - We need some help finding the right place!

  calgary

  20 Aug 2009 | 11:05 am

  Okay Calgary Tweet’ers we have a maybe in mind but we don’t think its the right fit and wanted to ask you guys/girls who were so helpful in selecting a charity to support if you have any great suggestions for a location. We need to choose one soon so your assistance would be really appreciated! Here are the requirements and if your suggestion meets those requirements then please comment below: Licensed to serve alcohol No charge for the use of their location Have a capacity for over 100 attendees Allow us to make it a ticketed event And if possible close to the downtown area so we…

• Brownbagging - The local charity of choice for Calgary’s Twestival

  calgary

  20 Aug 2009 | 10:47 am

  Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids Hi Everyone! I have some exciting news, as of today Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids [Website Link | Twitter Link] has been selected as the Charity Calgary Twestival will support. This means all revenue from the event and any sponsorships will flow into helping kids in Calgary. What does Brownbagging do? They help feed children in need at school by providing free lunches. Think about what that would me to a child who is hungry for whatever reason and some kind volunteer offered them food to sit and eat with their friends. How would that change your life…

• 

  Newcastle Twestival 2009

• A little bit extra!

  newcastle

  8 Mar 2010 | 1:47 am

  As you might have heard, this year’s Tyne Twestival is kindly being brought to you by the lovely folks at Northern Film and Media. It’ll be held at the fabulous Tyne Bar (www.thetyne.com). For those of you who haven’t managed to make it that far along the Quayside yet, you’ll find The Tyne Bar snuggled under the Glasshouse Bridge on Maling Street, where the Ouseburn meets the Tyne river proper. (Click on the link to Google maps over on the right, if you’re still confused).  It’s the only place in the country with a beer garden under a road bridge (and there’s a case of red wine…

• Hello?

  newcastle

  7 Mar 2010 | 2:24 pm

  <Tap,Tap,Tap>                                Is this thing on?                            <Tap,Tap,Tap> Hello? Right here, we go! There’s been a flutter of activitiy on @TyneTwestival event recently and in all the excitment , we’ve neglected to update the blog! That’s all set to change thanks to our new little army of fantastic copywriters - all eager to help our ailing blog! I thought I would kick start things with a bit of run down as to where we are - who we are and what’s going on! So, first of…

• New Venue for Tyne Twestival!

  newcastle

  1 Mar 2010 | 3:36 am

  Hey everybody! I hope you are all enjoying the sun, lets kick start spring with some good weather and some GREAT news. Tyne Twestival has a new venue, The Tyne Bar - www.thetyne.com why not pay them a little visit or follow them on Twitter - @thetynebar. Bring on the 25th March! Not long to go now, check back soon for a fantastic lineup at the first Tyne Twestival of 2010. Your Tyne Twestival Team.

• Keep up to Date

  newcastle

  22 Feb 2010 | 1:05 pm

  Sign up for updates from Concern International here.  Find out what’s going on and where Twestival is making the difference with the help of Concern International.

• The First Thing We Do is Listen

  newcastle

  22 Feb 2010 | 1:03 pm

  When Concern Internation starts to work somewhere, the first they do is listen - they listen to the needs to those who need help most and find ways to give them indendence. Concern International (video), needs you to come along to Twestival and donate! Please help us reach our targets and we’ll ensure that you have a bloody good time what you’re at it! See you on the 25th of March!

• 

  Chicago Twestival 2009

• TWESTIVAL COMES BACK TO CHICAGO March 25 - 2010!

  chicago

  4 Mar 2010 | 7:33 am

  TWESTIVAL COMES BACK TO CHICAGO March 25 - 2010! Chicago Twestival on Facebook (Group) and (Event)! Chicago Twestival on Twitter! This event is for both people involved with Twitter & Social Media and people who want to know more about Twitter & Social Media. Here’s your chance to connect with great people and help a non-profit during a night of social media conversations and connections! You can follow Chicago Twestival on Twitter at: http://www.Twitter.com/ChiTwestival $10 donation (online) (for Concern Worldwide) general admission includes drinks (alcohol/non-alcohol) - links…

• CHICAGO: Why Would A Brick & Mortar Company Sponsor A “Twestival”?

  chicago

  9 Sep 2009 | 10:42 am

  WHY WOULD A BRICK AND MORTAR BUSINESS SPONSOR A “TWESTIVAL”? The platinum sponsor for Chicago’s Twestival is OfficePort, a great space that is bringing the “Coworking” movement to Chicago. It’s great to see a brick and mortar business not only embrace social media but also sponsor community and social media causes; we wanted to let you know more about why they support Twestival. We interviewed Shaul Jolles, co-founder of OfficePort. Why Are You Embracing Social Media? “Social media is all about collaboration; the instant exchange of information and support from the community…

• Tweet, Trust, Transform (Chicago Twestival)

  chicago

  4 Sep 2009 | 2:24 pm

  OptINnow(TM) is Chicago (Local) Twestival’s cause! Follow OptINnow on Twitter! Follow Chicago Twestival on Twitter! CHICAGO’S TWESTIVAL: When: Thursday, September 10th,5:30-8:00pm Where: Catalyst Ranch, 656 W Randolph, Chicago, IL REGISTER & MORE INFORMATION HERE! They are a new initiative from Opportunity International that enables you to “opt in” and become part of a global movement to transform the lives of entrepreneurs throughout the developing world – right from your computer. At OptINnow.org, you can look through client profiles and personally select an…

• Chicago Twestival Local!

  chicago

  26 Aug 2009 | 3:02 pm

  Chicago Twestival Local is proud to announce our event on Thursday, September 10th, 2009. Registration links and full information coming soon–but to get things kicked off, save the date! Our Charity: OptINnow.org - an amazing organization helping make global change. They want to let you know a little about them: “We’re working to end global poverty. Faster. How? By providing those who live in chronic poverty with one vital thing they need to transform their lives: Opportunity. But that’s not all. Along the way we hope to transform additional lives, like yours.

• Re-post Chicago information

  chicago

  11 Feb 2009 | 8:11 pm

  DATE: 2/12/09 TIME: 6:30-8:30 pm WHERE: Catalyst Ranch, 656 W Randolph, Chicago, IL (West Loop near Randolph & Halsted) COST: $10 donation at the door which includes beer, wine and networking! DRESS: Casual to Business Casual Group & Event (& registration) info: http://www.ChicagoTwestival.com This event is designed both for people in Social Media AND people interested in learning about social media.  If you’re on Twitter you’ll get to meet your “friends” in a fun, social open networking session.  If you’re wondering about Twitter you’ll have…

• 

  Boston Twestival 2009

• Extra Special Thanks to Wiley!

  boston

  13 Mar 2010 | 7:00 am

  A few days ago, Chris Brogan tweeted about signing a few copies of “Social Media 101“.  I tweeted back to him to see if he could donate a few.  He promptly put me in touch with Wiley after a few tweets, we exchanged emails.  We quickly got the approval to have copies donated to Boston Twestival!  Since Boston is Chris’ home turf, this donation is extra special!  I wanted to make sure we sent an extra special thank you to both Chris & Wiley for donating 5 copies to be raffled off at our event! Thanks to Wiley we’re off to a great start with an evening full of…

• We have a Location!

  boston

  9 Mar 2010 | 2:06 pm

  We will be hosting the Boston Twestival at Red Sky Boston - just outside Fanieul Hall. (The exact address is16-18 North Street, Boston.) Doors open for the event at 6:00PM (on March 25th - of course). Admission gets you one raffle ticket and you will have an option to buy additional tickets during the event.  We will also have a few items for a silent auction.  Check back as I’ll be giving shout outs to the amazing group of donations and sponsors we have for this event.

• Hey Mr. DJ!

  boston

  10 Sep 2009 | 11:03 am

  About a week ago, we put out the call for DJ’s, Bands, Entertainers to assuage the crowds at Twestival Boston. One man answered the call, the enigmatic @teh_center. I started coordinating with him, and immediately got 3 names back. His real name, his stage name, and his twitter moniker. Like I said, enigmatic. Which means, we found our DJ. So who is our man behind the virtual turntables? In his own words: I’m a 26 year old male raised in Western Massachusetts. Been in love with music since very young. Played saxaphone at age 10-12. Then at thirteen learned to play bass guitar then…

• Do You Have Your Tickets Yet?

  boston

  10 Sep 2009 | 7:37 am

  Tonight, Twestival Local Boston will be supporting SmallCanBeBig.org at OM Restaurant in Harvard Square from 6:30-10:00PM! Do you have your tickets yet? Remember, each ticket represents a direct donation to SmallCanBeBig.org! Look forward to seeing you there! -JW

• SmallCanBeBig, Or You All Rock!

  boston

  31 Aug 2009 | 6:41 am

  The results  are in, and Twestival Local Boston will be supporting SmallCanBeBig.org on September 10, 6:30-10:00PM at OM Restaurant in Harvard Square! SmallCanBeBig.org is a charity that uses micro-donations to help families on the verge of losing their homes, their health, their livelihood, or mobility because of a shortfall in their income. Local charities nominate the families for consideration, and SmallCanBeBig acts as a pass through for all donations. It is an awesome cause, and Twestival Boston is proud to partner with them! We have submitted SmallCanBeBig to Twestival as our…

• 

  Edinburgh Twestival 2009

• Any requests mate? Poptastic!

  edtwestival

  14 Mar 2010 | 11:36 am

  Greetings pop pickers. So, as we hurtle at great speed towards the main event, EdTwestival DJs Colin and Alan frae Idlewild would like to know what music you guys want to hear on the night. We’re looking for your very best requests - fire them straight at us @EdTwestival with hashtag #EdTunes and we’ll pass them onto the boys. Can’t guarantee they’ll all make the cut - it is most unlikely, for example, that the Birdie Song will be getting an airing (and anyone who suggets it will be water-ballooned on sight ) So, go on then - what’d be your top Twestival tune?

• Abra-Twa-Dabra!

  edtwestival

  12 Mar 2010 | 1:34 pm

  Mingling in the crowds at EdTwestival and entertaining Twestival goers with close-up magic will be Kevin McMahon master magician. You may recognise Kevin from somewhere. But to stop you from spending the whole evening in torment, I’ll let you know why that is. Five years ago Kevin appeared in the channel 4 show ‘Faking It‘, back then he was a shy radiologist. But the show  convinced him to make a dramatic change in his career plans. This summer from 7- 11 July he is bringing the UK’s first Magic Festival to the Scottish Capital. The festival will feature world-class…

• Tweeter Music

  edtwestival

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:47 am

  We have a new band to add to our already sterling playlist, with the inclusion ofShooting Stansfield (@shootstansfield) The band was only formed last September and they’re definitely no slouches, they already have their debut EP out. Shooting Stansfield have a unique sound courtesy of vocalist Stewart Douglas’ distinctive voice. The Edinburgh based band look to the Scottish Music scene for their influences, naming Frightened Rabbit, Biffy Clyro and Colin Hay amongst their influences. Also named as an influence are co-twestival performers Idlewild so maybe they can get some tips…

• Tweatments and, erm, Twhisky for EdTwestival

  edtwestival

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:56 am

  Hello all - just a quick post today, with a smattering of Edtwestival entertainment news… We’ve managed to persuade malt masters Chris and Lucas from the Edinburgh Whisky Blog (@EdinburghWhisky) to come along on the night, and lead a free whisky tasting! So, if you fancy a wee rest from the main event, you can slink downstairs into the Ghillie Dhu bar for some educating. More on that as it comes (and if you want to donate some whisky get in touch!) We’re also very grateful to Laura at Edinburgh’s Secret Beauty Garden (@secretbeautygdn ) who has agree to treat us…

• So, who’ll be making tweet music for EdTwestival?…

  edtwestival

  5 Mar 2010 | 7:56 am

  Ahoy! And a very happy Friday afternoon. With no further ado, it’s about time we announced the first marvellous musical acts confirmed for Edinburgh Twestival! First up is Mitchell Museum (@mitchellmuseum), Glasgow-based purveyors of ‘Junk Pop’ (?!) who’ve just released their first EP “We lost 1st prize”. Drawing influence from various American and Canadian experimental indie bands including Animal Collective, Flaming Lips, Wolf Parade and Modest Mouse, Mitchell Museum create an experimental pop sound with strong hints of folk, psych, and electronica. Also…

• 

  Stoke Twestival 2009

• Tickets

  stoke

  14 Mar 2010 | 6:03 am

  Just noticed that the Amiando link seems to be going to last year’s Twestival page. While we fix this, please use and share this link: http://uk.amiando.com/Twestival2010_Stoke.html

• Stoke Twestival - the plans so far

  stoke

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:57 am

  The global Stoke Twestival (= a festival organised through Twitter) is *definitely* going ahead this year on the 25th March. Once again it’s for a really great cause, Concern Worldwide, which will directly support education for children who need it most. We will be holding it in the sky room of the YMCA in Hanley which boasts some of the best views in Stoke, and entertainment is already being plotted by Carl Plant of bITjam fame and others working with the creative team at the YMCA. If you would like to be involved again, please speak out now and also go and buy a ticket - we’ve…

• March 25th 2010

  stoke

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:25 am

  The Stoke team is re-emerging form under snowy glaciers and getting ready for the second Stoke Global Twestival on March 25th. If you would like to be involved, please sign up here! Check out the introduction to Twestival

• Videos

  stoke

  13 Feb 2009 | 12:51 am

  @carlplant talks about Stoke Twestival

• Sponsors of February Twestival 2009

  stoke

  13 Feb 2009 | 12:34 am

  Raffle prizes (links to be added. Promise):Thank We’d like to thank all our sponsors and generous supporters for the first Stoke-on-Trent Twestival: The Leopard Hotel, our hosts The Burslem School of Art, providers of the PA Blurb, Stoke Bands, Pitsnpots, BBC Stoke & Staffordshire. All the following offered raffle prizes: The Regent Theatre - MOORCROFT - MARK BRERETON - AERIAL EYES - BADSHA RESTAURANT - BEAT THE COLD - THE GOLD DISC - ARTWAVES - DAYVE DEAN - Michelle Saxon

• 

  Hong Kong Twestival 2009

• New Logo & T-shirts By G.O.D !!!!

  hongkong

  12 Mar 2010 | 10:17 pm

  We are really excited to have a new Twitter logo designed by two young designers Adrian Leung and Edmund Ip of ad:ed design. You can follow them on Twitter at @adeddesign! Funny enough we met them one evening having a beer in one of Staunton’s Group’s venue’s Soho 8, and they were really excited to help out with the new Twestival Logo!  @JayOatway Hong Kong’s Top Twitter Tech Geek is behind the concept this year.  Thanks guys! We love it! And what could be more exciting for a young designer than to have your logo picked up by legendary Goods of Desire Hong Kong…

• Announcing The Twestival HK Blog Contest! Sponsored by Wildfire Apps!

  hongkong

  4 Mar 2010 | 11:20 pm

  Hey Hong Kong! We want to hear about your coolest experiences on Twitter, or maybe how it has led to new and interesting experiences off of Twitter! WILDFIRE PROMOTION BUILDER has agreed to be our Social Media Sponsor to help us run this contest. Once the contest is launched and underway, everyone will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite entries before Twestival on March 25. We will announce the winner at Twestival and the winner will receive a prize from one of our sponsors (yet to be determined!). Keep a look out for how to enter once we launch the application! 香港推特節 -…

• Twestival @ STAUNTON’S!!!! MARCH 25

  hongkong

  1 Mar 2010 | 10:26 pm

  Twestival is an event when the Twitter community across the globe made up 100% of volunteers gets together to raise money for charity.  Twestival Global which will take place on March 25 will be a day where over 200 cities will coordinate efforts around one cause. What will we DO at Twestival?? Twestival is meant to be a night of social networking and fun among the Twitter community and beyond.  Drinking, food, music and fun.  We will have an auction and lucky draw with lots of great prizes raising money for CONCERN WORLDWIDE.  Since this is the center of the digerati community of Hong…

• Twestival Global 2010! March 25 Save the Date!

  hongkong

  23 Feb 2010 | 11:04 pm

  Hey Hong Kong! It’s that time again when the Twitterati get together to raise money for a wonderful cause.  March 25 we will come together with over 200 cities across the globe to raise funds for Concern Worldwide. Concern focuses on many things, but Twestival has decided to donate to the education arm of Concern’s efforts. Concern’s education, and programs currently reach over 700,000 people in 25 countries across the regions of Africa,  Asia, and the Caribbean. It focuses on the poorest, most marginalized women and children and helps to provide them with rudimentary…

• How to get to TwestivalHK?

  hongkong

  11 Sep 2009 | 7:00 pm

  The only thing left for you to do now is show up and have fun! Here’s the Google Map you’ll need to find your way:

• 

  Dublin Twestival 2009

• The number 13… unlucky for some…

  dublin

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:35 am

  But none the less, 13 is now the amount of days left until the Dublin Twestival… exciting aint it. So what has happened this week? Quite a lot to be exact! New sponsors came onboard to support the Twestival and Concern Worldwide and we even hand some audilicious news, with the news that not one … not two …. but three fantastic bands will now provide the perfect theme tunes to this year’s Dublin Twestival! So, if you haven’t bought your ticket yet then I casually direct you to here to make sure you don’t get left outside on what is going to be an amazing…

• And now a quick word from Twestival sponsor the Odeon bar!

  dublin

  11 Mar 2010 | 10:13 am

  After talking with the guys in the Dublin Twitter Festival team, being part of this event looked like a great fit and knowing that all funds from this event were going directly to Concern Worldwide and being administered straight to the people who need them was something that really made sense for us to get involved with this year. We hope that everyone has a super night out on the 25th of March and we will all be on hand to help make this a Twestival to remember! A little bit about the Odeon Bar : The Odeon Bar & Grill is housed in the original Harcourt St Train Station and is open 7…

• Oh what have the Americans gone and done this time…..

  dublin

  9 Mar 2010 | 8:42 am

  Friday afternoon in twitter towers was much like any other, until shocking news started to come in to our twitter stream. In fact it was so shocking that one of our designers passed out, clean straight out… What you may ask was this shocking news that had unfolded in front of this poor souls eyes, who only moments before was thoroughly engrossed in his weekly design blog…. well…. the title of this post points to the culprit… or rather… culprits. Friday afternoon saw American twestival organisers lay down a challenge which can be seen here, however, if you are of…

• Tickets are a go for the Dubtwestival

  dublin

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:44 am

  Hello everybody in twitter land, Today see’s the launch of ticket sales for this years Dublin Twestival taking place on the 25th of March in the Odeon Bar, Harcourt St. Dublin 2 starting at 6pm. Things have already started with a bang with the Odeon very kindly sponsoring a raffle prize of a meal for two, a lovely sponsorship from the gents over at Dovetail and of course Fernando, our official Samba teacher (yes we now have our own official Dublin Twestival dancing division) more on this in the future posts…. So I ask you, I applore you, I beg you! to tell all of your friends,…

• 2009 Sponsors

  dublin

  5 Mar 2010 | 7:34 am

  Platinum Sponsors Silver Sponsors Raffle Sponsors

• 

  Oxford Twestival 2010

• Ben Walker - Back at Twestival again!

  oxford

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:45 pm

  After playing at the first Oxford Twestival, and excusing himself with a video message of support for Twestival from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for the second, Oxford’s Twitter troubadour Ben Walker is to join us once more for Oxford Twestival 2010. On the 25th March, Ben, famous for his solo work such as The Twitter Song, is very generously taking time out from playing Hammond organ with Little Fish, and will join us just after supporting rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures at the Royal Albert Hall! Don’t miss out, get your ticket now! Lyrics to The Twitter song and much more

• Meet the organisers - Graeme Hunter

  oxford

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:45 pm

  Hi there, Graeme here, very happy to help out with this year’s Oxford Twestival. I’m 38 and live here in Oxford with my wife Sarah. I’m a software developer by trade, and have a keen interest in blogging and social media, which are in part what led me to attend last year’s Twestival, and to volunteer for this year’s events. I’m also eager to support the efforts of Concern Worldwide, and their programme to support education in 28 of the poorest countries in the world. You can help too by donating, or attending Oxford Twestival on the 25th March 2010. Hope I…

• Meet the organisers - Adrian Phillips

  oxford

  14 Mar 2010 | 12:18 am

  Hi there. Sylwia got be involved in this years event and I’m very happy to be doing so. I’m 46, married with a daughter (Daisy) and live in Witney (the seat of Plastic Dave). I run an arts marketing agency called High, Wide & Handsome (you can guess which 1 adjective fits me) and a music site that promotes unsigned and small label artists called TunA the Day, which is fantastically good fun. OK, that’s enough shameless promotion. PLEASE support what we’re doing at Twestival, especially the evening gig!

• Help us by donating raffle items!

  oxford

  13 Mar 2010 | 3:54 pm

  One of the ways you can get involved, also an easy way to promote your project, brand or simply name  - is to give us items for raffle. Here is my book I am donating just for a start! Do join me - we will feature you on our blog and mention at the event! Thank you!

• Meet the organisers - Sylwia Presley

  oxford

  13 Mar 2010 | 3:35 pm

  Just a quick note on why I am getting involved in Oxford Twestival, again;)

• 

  Philadelphia Twestival 2009

• Fifteen days until Philly Twestival!

  philadelphia

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:18 pm

  Countdown to Philly Twestival Global 2010, Search for Concern: 15 days! What to expect: 7-7:30PM - assemble at National Mechanics to check in, get your wristband and 1 raffle ticket, form scavenger hunt teams, get your clues, buy more raffle tickets for $1 7:30-9:30 - bar crawl/scavenger hunt around Olde City! Tweet your answers to @phltwestival, enjoy the drink specials at the bars, buy more raffle tickets, find out things you didn’t know about your city! 9:30-10PMish - assemble back at National Mechanics, winning team is determined, prizes awarded, raffle, socialize and enjoy!

• Raffle prizes so far

  philadelphia

  22 Feb 2010 | 5:36 pm

  We’re so happy with the generosity so far! The winning team of the scavenger hunt will get first pick at the prizes, and then we will raffle off the remaining items. Each participant will receive one raffle ticket at check-in to the event, and will be able to buy more raffle tickets for $1 each. All money raised by the sale of raffle tickets will go directly to Concern Worldwide. Onto the prizes (Updated 3/1/10)! *a print from Ed Hall *a painting from Britt Miller *76ers tickets from Bill Lublin of Social Media Marketing Institute *a signed copy of Sally Hogshead’s book Fascinate:…

• Philadelphia Twestival Global 2010 information

  philadelphia

  1 Feb 2010 | 5:43 pm

  On Thursday, March 25, 2010, Philadelphia will once again participate along with hundreds of cities around the world in Twestival Global to benefit the charity Concern Worldwide. On February 12, 2009, 202 cities around the world, including Philadelphia, held the first Twestival Global to benefit charity:water. Over $250,000 was raised, resulting in over 55 wells being built in Uganda, Ethiopia, and India, directly impacting over 17,000 people. In Philadelphia, we held a Rock Band tournament with over 100 people in attendance and raising $1600 for charity:water. Twestival is 100% volunteer…

• Updated raffle prizes!

  philadelphia

  9 Sep 2009 | 7:20 pm

  Each attendee will get 1 raffle ticket with their admission ($10 in advance, $15 at the door). Buy your tickets HERE. Huge thanks to those who have donated raffle prizes so far to us! If you wish to donate a raffle prize, please DM @phltwestival or email phillytwestival AT gmail.com. *A copy of Chris Brogan’s new book, Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, donated by Chris Brogan *Two copies of The Ripple Effect by Steve Harper, donated by Steve Harper (book is not out yet, winners will get a certificate with Steve’s contact…

• Raffle prizes so far!

  philadelphia

  6 Sep 2009 | 9:06 am

  Huge thanks to those who have donated raffle prizes so far to us! If you wish to donate a raffle prize, please DM @phltwestival or email phillytwestival AT gmail.com. *A copy of Chris Brogan’s new book, Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, donated by Chris Brogan *Two copies of The Ripple Effect by Steve Harper, donated by Steve Harper (book is not out yet, winners will get a certificate with Steve’s contact information and will be mailed their copies of the book when it comes out) *Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by…

• 

  Glasgow Twestival 2009

• Please Don’t Stop The Music

  glasgow

  13 Mar 2010 | 7:09 am

  We’ll be announcing the lineup for the night at some point on Monday, but until then, we thought we’d share something just a little bit special with you: a Spotify playlist. We’ve decided this time around to have a limited number of live acts - this will allow people to mingle and actually hold real-life conversations with people they’ve met through Twitter. So, rather than have no music at all, or a selection of music picked by us, we’ve decided to open it up to you. Would you like to hear some @pink, or would you prefer some @iamdiddy? It’s (almost)…

• Getting Fresh & Fruity @twestival

  glasgow

  12 Mar 2010 | 12:38 pm

  Under the guise of the Smooth Tweetin’ Bar Stewards, iomart Hosting, headline sponsors of both the London and Glasgow Twestivals are giving Tweeps who attend both events the chance to get fresh and fruity. The company is providing a full blown smoothie bar at the London Twestival (Cable Club) and is offering a Twestival Fruit punch for revellers at the Glasgow Event (Lansdowne Bar & Kitchen). The five Hosting themed smoothies on offer in London include the On Demand Orange, Cool Cranberry Cloud, Berry Burstin’ Bandwidth, Hot Hosting Hootch & the iSoothie (made with Apple…

• iPad-tastic!

  glasgow

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:29 am

  The lovely folks over at Alienation Digital truly are awesome. Why? Well, they’ve just sorted us out with our main auction item. They’ve given us one of these: That’s right. It’s an iPad. It’s one of the most sought-after pieces of tech of 2010, and you can have a shot at owning it. There’s only one catch: you have to come to the Glasgow Twestival. We won’t be taking phone bids, we won’t be taking email or web bids, we’ll only be taking bids in person. So you will have to buy a ticket. Get your Twestival ticket here to be eligible to bid…

• And now, a word from our sponsor

  glasgow

  9 Mar 2010 | 6:16 am

  Earlier this afternoon, we announced that iomart Hosting would be the headline sponsor of the Glasgow Twestival Global 2010. We’re absolutely delighted to have their involvement, which stretches beyond a cash donation, but we’ll tell you more about that in the coming days… In the meantime, here’s some info about iomart Hosting: Glasgow headquartered, iomart Hosting is one of the UK’s leading providers of managed hosting services. From a single server through to private cloud networks, iomart specialises in the delivery and management of mission-critical hosting…

• Tickets!

  glasgow

  9 Mar 2010 | 12:52 am

  Yes, that day is finally here! The tickets for the Glasgow Twestival Global 2010 event went on sale last night at 18:00. There is an early bird rate of £5.00 which expires at midnight on Friday. From Saturday onwards, the regular price of a ticket will be £7.50. We’ll be announcing the lineup for the night VERY SHORTLY, so stay tuned! What? You don’t know where to get tickets? Click the ‘Tickets’ button above! The Tweegies Team

• 

  Rochester NY Twestival 2009

• Share Rochester’s Value of Education with the World! - Post by Jenna Kempie

  rochester

  14 Mar 2010 | 6:13 pm

  “Twestival - what’s that”?  That’s what I asked myself a year ago.  However, over the past year I’ve not only become an avid Twitter user, but also discovered what the true meaning of Twestival is and the large impact it makes beyond 140 characters…social good!  I am volunteering my time with Rochester, New York’s 2010 Twestival (@RocTwestival) for many reasons, but the most important reason to me is to help provide those less fortunate with the opportunity of education.  Education provides children with the chance to do great things and be great…

• Team Member Post, Jason Breese or Vision Ford - ROCHESTER

  rochester

  13 Mar 2010 | 9:52 am

  By @ROCTwestival Team member, Jason Breese. (http://jaybreese.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/twestival-why-i-am-onboard/ So as not to come off as negative, let me say, i love our country, and I love our world. I truly believe we are all made to serve, and serve in every capacity within us. Some of us have the financial resources to reach out to neighbors, communities and even countries. Others have a heart of compassion and a desire to touch hearts of people, with kind words and small acts of kindness. There is no right, wrong or best way of being a servant to others. Its just simply wrong to not…

• Entertainment, Drinks, Food, USTREAM, and more!

  rochester

  10 Mar 2010 | 11:18 pm

  200+ cities around the world (see map here) will rally on a single day (March 25) to raise money for a single charity (Concern Worldwide for Education).  Our goal in Rochester is to raise $5,000 from ticket sales & online donations from the Rochester Community (and surrounding towns).  We are a small city with a lot of heart for doing good - Our Rochester Twestival team (@RocTwestival) asks you to take a few moments to see what Twestival is all about before you say, “crap, another fundraiser!”. If you are like us, you have been hit up for a nickel here and a dime there, only…

• A list of the Twitter folks involved so far #FollowFriday

  rochester

  4 Mar 2010 | 9:50 pm

  We’ve been pushing around ideas for our 2nd Annual Global Twestival event here in Rochester for the past few weeks now.  If you are not familiar with a Twestival, it is a Twitter + Festival event to raise money for a single charity on ONE day, across the entire globe!  This year - we raise money (along with 130+ cities) for Concern Worldwide!  Our Event will begin at 6pm at lovin’ cup in Park Point at RIT on Thursday, March 25th!  This event will be streamed via uStream for those who cannot make it - and we’ll also have the luxury to visit other city events during our…

• Twestival Global 2010 - Rochester Twestival for Concern Worldwide

  rochester

  22 Feb 2010 | 9:08 pm

  On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness.  Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good.  All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects.  The Impact of Twestival On 12 February 2009, the first Twestival Global was held in 202 international cities to support @charitywater, who we saw doing incredible work to help the almost 1…

• 

  Columbia Twestival 2009

• Win a Google Nexus One from Twestival!

  Jen Reeves

  11 Mar 2010 | 11:02 am

  @CoMOTwestival just secured a Google Nexus 1 to be raffled off and raise money! This is an awesome display of support from the Columbia community. We are fortunate to have such great and supportive citizens in our town. Tickets will be $5 each. $20 will get you 5 tickets, and if you’re a student you will get 6 tickets woohoo! Did I mention it is specially engraved? Yeah, this is cool. We’ll let you know how you can get the tickets very soon. -posted by @CommercialScott

• Wondering about Twestival?

  Jen Reeves

  3 Mar 2010 | 9:59 am

  Check out this video, join in on our event and let us know how you can help us prepare for CoMo Twestival! Get To Know Twestival 2010! We have a location - but now we need your help on donations for auction items. We also need donations to help pay for the yummy Shakespeares Pizza we hope to serve during the party. Thanks in advance for your help! We’re really excited about this year’s event!

• Let’s get ready Columbia!!

  Jen Reeves

  15 Feb 2010 | 7:43 pm

  Hi everyone! It’s time to get ready for another Twestival. This year we’re going to plan it with more time… We actually have more than a month of planning. So if you remember last year (And if you don’t remember, that’s okay… Join in on the fun!) we have a lot of needs to get started. Top of the list: A location Entertainment Food Auction items People who want to join in on the planning People who want to join in on March 25th and help raise money! In the end, it’s great to have an excuse to bring the social media community together and do good at the…

• It’s Twestival Day!

  Jen Reeves

  11 Feb 2009 | 11:23 pm

  I’m awake early on Thursday morning to gather up “stuff” for our big event tonight. We officially have food, drink, plates, cups, plasticware from a couple of donors. We have a Wii, a monitor, chairs, music, a projector, a projector screen. We have TWO tables and five small tray tables. We have a few auction items - please bring more if you can!! If you have tables… please, please, please bring one! This event would go better with at least one more! (one for food, one for the silent auction and one for the Wii monitor) Please let us know if you can pitch in!!

• Twestival is TOMORROW!

  Jen Reeves

  11 Feb 2009 | 3:04 pm

  Thanks to the many people of Columbia, we’re getting closer to really making tomorrow’s event happen! From donations of Chevy’s chips and salsa to a pan of baked beans… we’ll have an interesting collection of food. (Does anyone want to donate BBQ? That would rock) There are so many fantastic videos emerging from the Twestival. Like this one about Twestival’s quest to make sure everyone has healthy water to drink. I highly recommend checking out the videos on Live Earth. I also high recommend enjoying the donated music from Twestival.fm. I’m even…

• 

  Nottingham Twestival 2009

• Nottingham Twestival Tickets on Sale Now

  nottingham

  15 Mar 2010 | 5:50 am

  Tickets for Nottingham Twestival are on sale now! Tickets are priced at only £5 with all proceeds going to Concern. If you are unable to attend, please consider making a £5 donation. We also have a super donation of £25 for those extra generous people. Tickets are being handled again by Amiando who take no fees and make ticketing easy. Buy your tickets and tell all your friends via Facebook and Twitter please!

• Bunkers Hill

  nottingham

  11 Mar 2010 | 1:07 pm

  We are pleased to announce that Bunkers Hill have very kindly offered to host Nottingham Twestival. Please show your support by following on Twitter and joining them on Facebook. Twestival tickets will be on sale soon.

• Second Volunteer Meetup

  nottingham

  2 Mar 2010 | 7:58 am

  The second volunteer meetup for Nottingham Twestival 2010 is taking place on Thursday 4th March at 6.30pm in The Malt Cross, St James St, Nottingham. We are looking for as many volunteers as possible to make sure that this Twestival is the best yet and raises lots of money and awareness for @concern. Twestival is also a great opportunity to meet up with all your Twitter friends. Getting involved by volunteering is even more rewarding. Please follow @nottstwestival, @twestival, @concern and follow the Nottingham Twestival blog for updates. Please spread the word and retweet as much as is…

• First Volunteer Meetup

  nottingham

  11 Feb 2010 | 4:30 am

  The first volunteer meetup for Nottingham Twestival 2010 is taking place on Tuesday 16th February at 6.30pm in Muse bar, Broad St, Hockley. We are looking for as many volunteers as possible to make sure that this Twestival is the best yet and raises lots of money and awareness for @concern. Twestival is also a great opportunity to meet up with all your Twitter friends. Getting involved by volunteering is even more rewarding. Please follow @nottstwestival, @twestival, @concern and follow the Nottingham Twestival blog for updates. Please spread the word and retweet as much as is polite!

• Nottingham Twestival is back!

  nottingham

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:52 am

  Nottingham Twestival 2010 is being held on Thursday 25th March 2010. We are looking for volunteers to help organise the event in the coming weeks. We are also looking for generous companies to donate raffle prizes and sponsorship. Please follow @nottstwestival for updates.

• 

  Manchester Twestival 2009

• Today’s Lesson: Education

  manchester

  9 Mar 2010 | 1:06 pm

  This is what it’s all about…. come and help us raise as much money as possible at Manchester twestival, for one fantastic cause.

• Sponsors, we salute you!

  manchester

  24 Feb 2010 | 1:29 pm

  So along with hundreds of other volunteers across the globe, we’re gearing up for this year’s Manchester Twestival; finding venues, seeking donations and of course, looking for sponsors who are willing to step up to the mark and support us in our efforts to raise money for a fantastic cause. And we’ve been really lucky that three fantastic companies have agreed to sponsor our event.  So please take a bow…. bmibaby, the funky low cost airline that flies from four UK bases: Manchester, East Midlands, Birmingham, and Cardiff to 30 European destinations. KMP Digitata, one…

• Your Twestival Needs You

  manchester

  15 Feb 2010 | 4:18 pm

  Everyone involved in last year’s Manchester Twestival should be exceedingly proud of themselves.  We raised over £4000 for an incredible cause and had a great time doing it.  We want to help make this year’s global Twestival even more successful and contribute as much as possible towards the chosen charity, Concern Worldwide. Be sure to keep Thursday, 25th March free and follow @MancTwester for the latest updates and ticket information (we sold out within five hours last year). Finally, but most importantly, as every twestival around the world is organised solely by volunteers…

• Over a grand and still counting

  manchester

  20 Sep 2009 | 11:34 am

  MancTwester Local saw people turn out from all parts of Manchester’s digital community - academics, agencies, client side. The charity auction got pulses racing with a Wii, a case of Tsing Dao beer, a box of goodies from Durex and a NorthFace ice wall climbing experience. Marv was on the decks till late and a good time was had by all. Big thanks to Sun Microsystems for sponsoring the event, McCann Manchester for organising it, Andy O’Brien for his compere skills and HouseBar9 for loaning us the bar. Over £1000 has been raised from the sponsorship, charity auction and ticket…

• Breaking the ice

  manchester

  8 Sep 2009 | 6:50 am

  Lucky lucky MancTwester. Brazen and NorthFace have just offered to give us tickets to an ice climbing session as an auction prize for Thursday night! Glad we’ve got a wide range of prizes now, something for everyone (we hope). Thanks again guys!

• 

  Richmond VA Twestival 2009

• Twestival 2010 Nears!!!!

  richmond

  9 Mar 2010 | 10:25 am

  Hello, Twestival 2010 Nears. Thursday, March 25 from 7 - 9:30pm at The Camel, 1621 W. Broad St. There will be celebrity bartenders. There will be song. There will be a mad crazy auction of enviable items. And there will be world wide competition. So Richmond, let’s celebrate Twestival for a great cause, Concern Worldwide on March 25th! Meet your friendly 2010 Twestival Team!!! @copelandcasati @thatjonesgirl @paulspicer @richmondmom @rvabusiness @byinviteonlyrva @jovanh @codearachnid TWESTIVAL 2010!!!! Sponsors!!!! Sponsors, here’s what you get: Levels of Sponsorship $350 Company…

• THANK YOU RICHMOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  richmond

  16 Sep 2009 | 6:13 am

  Richmond Twestival came together in an impossibly short amount of time to raise $2,215 of UNEXPECTED funds for @tricyclegardens in a crazy short amount of time! We would like to thank our Generous Auction Item Donors, Fabulous Sponsors, The Kind Musicians and Music Community that gave their songs to provide ambiance, and each of you that bought a ticket: 100% of your donation goes directly to Tricycle Gardens, who will build more community food-producing gardens because of YOU. Fabulous Sponsors Without these generous, fabulous sponsors coming together to support Twestival, our local…

• Richmond’s Twestival is coming up, September 11th at The Camel!

  richmond

  13 Aug 2009 | 4:52 pm

  Yes, Richmond, it’s TWESTIVAL TIME!!!!! This year’s beneficiary is a local Richmond nonprofit, Tricycle Gardens: “We see the evolving ecology of our city as an opportunity for residents to come together through the simple act of gardening.” History of Tricycle Gardens: “In the winter of 2001 a group of neighbors and friends founded Tricycle Gardens (501(c)3) in historic Church Hill, Richmond, Virginia. Sharing a commitment to community, urban ecology, and organic gardening, we transformed an abandoned lot into a beautiful and bountiful garden. With 16 individual…

• RICHMOND ROCKS! Let’s Make a Difference!

  richmond

  12 Aug 2009 | 10:27 am

  What is a Twestival? A Twestival or Twitter-Festival is a global series of events organized by volunteers around the world under short timescales via Twitter, which bring people offline for a great cause.  Twestival is run 100% by volunteers and independently from any not-for-profit; although the organizing teams do work closely to outline an achievable and measurable fundraising target.  Twestival also sets out to identify key skills of volunteers and match these with the needs of the cause; particularly communications strategy, tech integration and social media training. A Short History…

• 

  Stockholm Twestival 2009

• What Twestival is all about.

  stockholm

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:42 am

  Click here to view the embedded video.

• Stockholm Twesival 2010

  stockholm

  13 Mar 2010 | 12:15 am

  Putting the Social Back into Social Media

• Stockholm Twestival-logos

  stockholm

  11 Oct 2009 | 8:08 am

  Courtesy of Stockholm Twestival team-member Oscar (@leeldin), we’re proud to present official logos for the upcoming Stockholm Twestival! A veritable feast for the eyes, we’re very proud.

• Stockholm Twestival 2009 Hightlight-Reel

  stockholm

  27 Sep 2009 | 4:25 pm

  Probably not last, and definitely not least - we’ve got a little hight-light reel from the Stockholm Twestival. It was filmed, edited and made awesome by @marksu. Take a look! Click here to view the embedded video.

• 

  Austin TX Twestival 2009

• Dear Willie Nelson

  austin

  24 Feb 2010 | 8:30 pm

  "A Big Texas Welcome!" Your music has helped to inspire and shape Texans for decades. Put simply, you and your stories are part of what makes Texas great. To do our part to make Texas great, we’re working with organizers and volunteers all over the world to bring Twestival to Austin on March 25. Twestival is a world-wide event which is working to raise funds and awareness for Concern Worldwide this year, a group focusing on educating the world’s children, particularly those who aren’t given access to any education at all. Our hope is to make this year’s…

• Mark Your Calendar, Austin!

  austin

  12 Feb 2010 | 8:22 am

  March your calendar! This year’s Twestival is slated for March 25, 2010! Last year’s Twestival raised more than $750,000 for Charity: Water and other nonprofits all over the world. In 2010, organizers and volunteers are turning the focus to education and the 72 million children in the world who aren’t getting an education for one reason or another. Organizers have selected Concern Worldwide to be the recipient of this year’s fundraising efforts because of their comprehensive and well-respected approach to education. This is an issue that involves many different…

• Why You Should Join Us For That Thing Wesley’s Doing on Sunday

  austin

  8 Sep 2009 | 9:46 pm

  I have to admit it. I am not a fan of the word “Twestival”. It reminds me of Festivus, the day of holiday grievances on Seinfeld as well as a delicious Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor they should have never discontinued. If it sounded like “Lallapalooza” or “Woodstock”, we might have an easier time. Although Twestival has an odd name, it has a great cause which you should want to be a part of. Here are the top five reasons why you and your friends should join us at Buffalo Billiards for our benefit for Mobile Loaves and Fishes: 5.) If you are going…

• Tickets are now on sale!

  austin

  6 Sep 2009 | 8:40 pm

  Austin Twestival tickets now available: http://tinyurl.com/l7d6ln A family friendly event! Sunday, September 13, 2009 1 - 5 pm Buffalo Billiards 201 East 6th Street Austin, TX 78701 Benefiting Mobile Loaves & Fishes There will be an auction, door Prizes, a PS3, Wii, and XBox360, and much more!

• Who does Mobile Loaves & Fishes help?

  austin

  6 Sep 2009 | 8:38 pm

  Meet Peggy. We’re here to help Peggy and people like her off the streets and into a fulfilling life. Peggy We’ve helped Tony Carmona turn his life and heart around. Tony

• 

  Montreal Twestival 2009

• Des invités de marque pour la musique !

  montreal

  12 Mar 2010 | 7:02 am

  Nous allons avoir plusieurs invités de marque pour ce qui est de la musique lors de l’événement du Twestival Montréal ! Nous sommes honorés d’annoncer que David Usher (@DavidUsher) sera présent le 25 mars 2010 pour nous jouer quelques chansons accoustiquement. Il y aura aussi des DJs, dont Black Tiger Sex Machine, ShayDakiss (@ShayDakiss), Frédéric Savard et Julie D. De plus, le VJ Françis Théberge et son équipe de THIS IS NOT DESIGN. et autres… Thoma. Share Twestival Local:

• Big names for Twestival’s animation and entertainment!

  montreal

  12 Mar 2010 | 7:02 am

  This year at Twestival, we decided to take things up a notch. We will have a few local (and international) celebrities hanging around. First, we’re honored to announce that David Usher (@DavidUsher) will be in attendance on march 25th 2010. He will perform a few songs acoustically. There will also be DJs, like Black Tiger Sex Machine, ShayDakiss (@ShayDakiss), Frédéric Savard and Julie D. Furthermore, we’ll also have VJ Françis Théberge and his team from THIS IS NOT DESIGN. and more… pL. Share Twestival Local:

• Vous pouvez acheter vos billets maintenant ! / You can buy your tickets right now !

  montreal

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:55 am

  Il est maintenant possible d’acheter les billets en ligne ! Je tiens à vous mentionner que 100% des profits vont vers Concern WorldWide et cela, directement ! Nous ne touchons pas à l’argent pour les billets qui sont achetés via cette page. C’est grâce à l’outil Amiando que cela est possible. Merci beaucoup ! Il y a même une catégorie pour les gens qui veulent faire un don sans se déplacer lors de l’événement !

• Prenez soin de vos affaires: High Road Communication

  montreal

  11 Mar 2010 | 12:01 pm

  L’équipe de Twestival Montréal est fière de s’associer avec High Road Communications, notre deuxième partenaire “Or”. High Road Communications développe des stratégies de communications pour les entreprises des secteurs des technologies et mode de vie au Canada et aux États-Unis. Depuis 1996, High Road repousse les frontières des relations publiques traditionnelles grâce à des idées novatrices et une vision globale qui fusionnent tous les aspects du marketing et des communications. L’entreprise compte plus de 70 employés situés dans cinq bureaux à…

• Taking care of business: High Road Communications

  montreal

  11 Mar 2010 | 11:52 am

  Twestival Montreal is proud to announce High Road Communications as our second gold sponsor! High Road Communication is a Montreal-based communication strategy agency working primarily with clients in technology and lifestyle fields in the United States and Canada. Since 1996, High Road has pushed back traditional public relations strategies with novel ideas and a global vision that merges every aspect of marketing and communications. The company counts over 70 employees located in five offices in Toronto, San Francisco, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver and works with well established companies…

• 

  Dubai Twestival 2009

• Twestival Global 2010 - Registration

  dubai

  15 Mar 2010 | 5:25 am

  There have been several things brewing for the forthcoming Twestival Global and a few more exciting announcements lined up (all in good time folks!). Keep your eyes peeled out for them by following @DubaiTwestival so you’re constantly clued in! Meanwhile, as there are no ‘tickets’ for Twestival Global 2010, we urge you to confirm your attendance by filling out our registration form in order for us to have a fix on numbers.

• Twestival Global Video

  dubai

  3 Mar 2010 | 5:33 am

• Twestival Global 2010

  dubai

  2 Mar 2010 | 11:04 pm

  Last year, we’ve had an amazing response in Dubai to both our Twestivals: Twestival Global in February 2009 and Twestival Local in September 2009. Together, 202 cities participated in Twestival Global 2009 and raised over US $250,000 for Charity: Water leading to 55 wells built in EthiopiaIndia and Uganda. Meanwhile, 130 cities joined in Twestival Local to support causes that were closer to home - in our case, Dubai Autism Centre. Collectively, more than US $450,000 was raised worldwide to support 135 charities. It’s time to kick things into gear for the next Twestival Global on…

• @shopnship at Twestival Local (guest post)

  dubai

  11 Sep 2009 | 5:27 am

  Dubai Twestival Local was the ideal opportunity and event to connect with online fans. Shop&Ship - powered by Aramex, has a dynamic culture, always thirsty for new technology (a great fit with new media!). We’ve been keen to explore the social media arena and the Twestival will serve as a great venue to build up on this. Our quest for innovative solutions, to serve our customers better, is something we always aspire to and push! @shopnship has been live officially for one month now and this dynamic communication channel is being used as another customer support contact point for our…

• Why YOU matter to YOUR community

  dubai

  10 Sep 2009 | 6:54 am

  Dubai – you know *your* Twestival Local cause - @DubaiAutism. But do you really know what difference you could possibly make to your own community? Learn straight from the folks at Dubai Autism Centre why your contribution and presence at Dubai Twestival Local 2009 matters. See you on Saturday to Meet, Tweet & Give. And we know you’ll probably hear this a lot but THANK YOU!

• 

  Birmingham Twestival 2009

• A week’s holiday for two in Cyprus up for grabs!

  Mal

  14 Mar 2010 | 2:40 pm

  Thanks to kindness and generosity of Richard and Jill Horswill, we are offering a fantastic holiday for two in Cyprus as one of our raffle prizes. The week’s accommodation at an apartment at Majestic Gardens, not far from the brand new airport at Larnaca, is worth £245. The penthouse studio has air-conditioning, flat screen TV, satellite channels and DVD. It offers a relaxed getaway all year round and sunshine is pretty much guaranteed! A week is available at anytime to suit the prize winner, subject to availability. For more info, check out http://www.mycyprusholiday.co.uk/ and you…

• Why should you come to Brum Twestival?

  Mal

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:34 am

  Have you heard of Brum Twestival but you’re not sure what it is or why you should come? Here’s our reasons - feel free to tweet your own: Because it’s part of a global movement of Twitter festivals all taking place on Thursday 25 March, all tweeting, fundraising and having fun at the same time Because it’s for charity! 100% of the ticket cost goes to Concern Worldwide who are going to use the money to help children in developing countries attend school Because you might win a prize in our raffle Because you’ll meet people who you only know through Twitter and put…

• Meet The Team!

  Mal

  7 Mar 2010 | 7:53 am

  The team of volunteers organising Brum Twestival are: Jashpal Mall @jashpal Kathy Doyle @kathy_e_d Paul Taylor @theaardvark Sharon Taylor @kincowbag Chris Brown @crisbrown Mark Hill @cybrum Kate Hughes @katehughes You can follow us on Twitter and tweet us questions about anything to do with Brum Twestival - as well as following our official Twitter page @brumtwestival .

• Matrix comes on board as final primary sponsor!

  Mal

  7 Mar 2010 | 7:31 am

  Matrix Creative Marketing has come on board as Brum Twestival’s final primary sponsor. The Birmingham-based agency is on Twitter as @matrixltd so you can follow them there too. Thank you Matrix for your support!

• Become a fan of Brum Twestival on facebook

  Mal

  2 Mar 2010 | 1:52 pm

  We’re not just about Twitter, you know - we’re also on facebook! You can become a fan of Brum Twestival on facebook by clicking here . Feel free to share it with your facebook friends. Thanks!

• 

  Belfast Twestival 2009

• Ayudo! Aider! Hilfe! hjálp! cabhair! ajuta!

  belfast

  15 Mar 2010 | 6:37 am

  We still need your help for Twestival. Please, please, please if anyone can help by volunteering I will literally be eternally grateful. We need: a sound engineer who’s able and willing to take control of working out set lengths, changeovers, sound checks- all the stage management side of things basically. Someone to look after the door- taking tickets and money from everyone coming in. Someone to do the raffle. Of course, we still need lots of donations for the raffle. If any of you folks can help with that, it’d be super. On a kind of related note, I don’t know how many of…

• Latest news

  belfast

  14 Mar 2010 | 5:42 am

  Good news folks- Twestival Belfast is coming along rather nicely, even if I do say so myself! I was in Slide yesterday (@slidebelfast) and it really is one of the coolest wee bars i’ve seen in a while :D  It’s the perfect place for a twestival! Right above The Little Wing, we’re going to be able to have our own entrance and everything! Tickets also went on sale yesterday- if you’re planning on coming along I’d really love it if you can book a ticket- means we’re handling less cash plus you can do it through PayPal so it’s super-duper easy. AND it…

• Lets get cracking

  belfast

  12 Mar 2010 | 4:05 pm

  Well folks, lots of good news this week. First off, a lovely meeting with @illusivelu where we poured over the Fate guide to try and find a venue. I came home with a rather extensive list of new venues to try. Lots of calls later, Slide have confirmed that they are free on 25th! It’s on Ann Street in Belfast, above The Little Wing (which I have heard so many good reports from) and owned by the same people as Muriel’s and The Spaniard so it’s going to be an awesome venue! (I’m very excited to take a nosy round tomorrow) We also had a few prizes for the raffle confirmed…

• Yikes!

  belfast

  6 Mar 2010 | 1:51 pm

  It’s like three weeks until Twestival. This scares me more than you will understand. I really need your help if i’m gonna be able to make twestival happen this year…Maybe it’ll be less scary if i’ve a list of things we need and then YOU kind and wonderful folks can stick a hand in the air when you can help with it? Deal? Super! Sponsorship and prizes- we need stuff to give away. Anything. Well maybe not *anything* but meal vouchers, free sweets, gift vouchers, food (food hampers would be sweet), booze, gig tickets, free CD’s, games. Basically, anything you…

• 2010 is go…

  belfast

  1 Mar 2010 | 11:21 am

  Ok boys and girls, Twestival 2010 is on. March 25th, put it in your diaries now. Details are pretty sketchy at the minute, but the vision is basically a gig, with a few local bands, maybe a DJ or two, and lots of cute old fashioned games. Imagine sitting in a pub, chilling with a few people you know, a few you don’t and a few from t’internet, beers, good music and a stack of games (Uno, checkers, chess, jenga). What a better way to spend a night? Let it be as civilised or as messy as you wish. See, Twestival is for charity. I’m new to the whole fundraising thing, but I…

• 

  Liverpool Twestival 2009

• Check Out The Raffle Prizes So Far

  liverpool

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:35 am

  Because we love you, here’s a handy, easy to consult list of all the raffle prizes donated so far. We’re sure you’ll agree they are all fantastic and well worth the puny price of £1 per ticket which you would be churlish and short-sighted not to pay. You can buy your tickets here, and even donate more that the asking price because it’s all for a very good cause (making sure disadvantaged children get the education they need and deserve). In no particular order of greatness, you could win: The wonderful local artist and illustrator Sophie Green has donated a beautiful…

• What’s New Pussycat? This Cat-tabulous Raffle Prize, That’s What!

  liverpool

  9 Mar 2010 | 6:02 am

  Take a look at this! We’ve had yet another purr-fect prize donated to our Liverpool Twestival raffle. The wonderful local artist and illustrator Sophie Green has donated a beautiful Giclee print of her painting ‘Buddy’ (57 x 57cm). Tickets only cost £1, so put your busy day on paws for a moment and pad on over here to buy your tickets. If you’re feline generous you can pay or donate more for the tickets. It’s to help kittens children get the chance of a decent education, after all. If you haven’t bought yout attendance tickets for the event, then what kind…

• Yet More Great Raffle Prizes! W00t!!!

  liverpool

  2 Mar 2010 | 3:40 am

  Yes indeedy, we have more great raffle prizes to announce for this year’s Liverpool Twestival (25 March, Mood on Fleet Street, when and where pedants!) Tickets are only a quid, so with so many great prizes being donated, I’d buy a few if I were you. The latest shining jewels to be donated are: 1 x  Blackberry accessories bundle from 4MyBerry “The first stop shop for authentic Blackberry Accessories” A lesson vouchers worth up to the value of £130 from Presto Music School. You can also register for a free trial lesson on the instrument of your choice on their website.

• Liverpool Twestival Tickets Now On Sale

  liverpool

  1 Mar 2010 | 1:52 am

  Roll up! Roll up! Tickets for the Liverpool Twestival (25 March, Mood, Fleet Street) are now on sale. Tickets are priced at the more than reasonable £5 each. However, as ALL the proceeds go to helping others less fortunate than ourselves, there is the option to pay double. So all you lovely people with a spare fiver in your purse / wallet / pocket / shoe, cough up and feel the warm glow of helping your fellow man. Click here to buy tickets, or follow the link at the top of the page. You can also buy raffle tickets at £1 a pop. We’ve got some great prizes lined up already, including…

• Tasty Twestival Treats Tabled

  liverpool

  26 Feb 2010 | 2:57 am

  Food. Let’s be honest, we all love it, and providing tasty nibbles is often an event dealbreaker. So with this in mind, we’ve managed to get some top skoff lined up for the Liverpool Twestival (25 March, Moods, Fleets Street, fact-fans). Those wonderful people at Cromwell’s have agreed to lay on canapes for 100 people at the event. That means if we stop selling tickets at 50, we can all have double! Only kidding, we want as many of you gorgeous people as possible to come along. There’s going to be a party on my tongue and everyone’s invited!

• 

  Bristol Twestival 2009

• Video: Former England rugby star Gareth Chilcott takes us on a tour of the Bristol Twestival venue

  bristol

  12 Mar 2010 | 10:23 am

  Which Twestival is using a venue owned by a local celebrity? Bristol! The Tunnels, a fabulous space underneath Bristol Temple Meads station, has been given to us for free by its owner the former England rugby union international Gareth Chilcott. We met Gareth this afternoon and he took us on a tour of The Tunnels which you can see in the video below: Click here to view the embedded video.

• Video: Concern and Twestival 2010 featuring music donated by Moby

  bristol

  11 Mar 2010 | 5:01 am

  Click here to view the embedded video. To become part of the movement buy a ticket to Bristol Twestival 2010 for only £5.

• Phantom Limb to headline Bristol Twestival

  bristol

  10 Mar 2010 | 5:05 am

  We are thrilled to announce today that the headlining act for the Bristol Twestival is local band Phantom Limb. Destined to be huge, Phantom Limb formed in 2004 and have secured their place on the local scene as a genre-splitting, euphonic delight. They recently took their sounds beyond Bristol in a slot on last year’s World Stage at Glastonbury Festival, as well as several dates in Europe and America. Lead singer Yolanda Quartey and guitarist Stew Jackson co-wrote Will Young’s last single and were special guests on the Pop Idol winner’s last tour. They are also about to…

• Bristol Twestival: The animation!

  bristol

  8 Mar 2010 | 9:32 am

  Click here to view the embedded video. Many thanks to @PRBristolBlog for creating the animation.

• Prizes worth over £1,000 up for grabs in the Bristol Twestival raffle!

  bristol

  3 Mar 2010 | 7:58 am

  We have been truly overwhelmed by the generosity of the Bristol community in donating prizes for the Bristol Twestival raffle. Massive thanks to everyone who has given us something. The total value of donations so far is well over a grand! So what can you win? See below for the latest list in all its glory! Remember to win any of these fabulous prizes you have to be at the Bristol Twestival on 25 March so buy your ticket now here £200 of House of Fraser vouchers (donated by MyCelebrityFashion) A PlayStation 3 (donated by HyperlaunchDMG) Five goody bags packed with CDs, DVDs and film…

• 

  Barcelona Twestival 2009

• Win world class training sessions with former Chelsea trainer!

  barcelona

  15 Mar 2010 | 11:29 am

  Rob Brinded has been working in elite sport for 15 years, working with a variety of different sports from football to ballet. For 6 years, Rob worked with Chelsea FC, where he was Rehabilitation and Strength and Conditioning Coach. He then left Chelsea to set up his own company. You can read some testimonials here. You will recognise the names you see there! Training with the best does not come cheap- Rob’s usual rate is €100/ hour, but Rob has very kindly offered three FREE training sessions to Twestival Barcelona ticket holders. What’s the deal? Buy your Twestival ticket by…

• PROMO: Photo session/Session Fotografica para ti!

  barcelona

  14 Mar 2010 | 2:09 pm

  SPECIAL OFFER! Buy a ticket for Twestival before Wednesday and your name will go into a prize draw to win a photo session with professional photographer and Twestival organiser Tom Hayton: www.tomhayton.com OFERTA ESPECIAL! Compra tu entrada ANTES DEL MIERCOLES y participas a un sorteo de una session fotografica profesional! www.tomhayton.com

• Twestival Mediterraneum!Get a FREE week in Turkey!

  barcelona

  14 Mar 2010 | 6:48 am

  Apart from being “TWINstival Cities” with San Francisco we are now partners with Twestival Istanbul ! With a cool donation to “Concern Worldwide” you can get a fantastic holiday in Turkey kindly sponsored by Saylam Residence! Click here to read more details! We send a big HUG across the sea to our Twestival friends! Muchos besos from Barcelona! Gracias!

• Live Music @Twestival

  barcelona

  9 Mar 2010 | 5:23 pm

  La noche del Twestival vamos a disfrutar de Musica en vivo para todos los gustos! Ninette & the Goldfish Influencias: Sunny days, a cup of tea, Paris, love itself, life itself, pain and joy, That Good Ole Nashville Music… Also Ani DiFranco, Anais Mitchell, James Taylor, Joni Mitchel, Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, KT Tunstall, Bon Iver, Ben Harper, Tin Pan Caravan, Jeff Buckley, Damien Rice and Lisa Hanigan, Drive by Truckers, Marah, Jack Johnson, The Jayhawks, Pomplamoose, Led Zeppelin, Josh Rouse, Joseph Arthur, Bruce Springsteen, and too many others.

• Venue Confirmed! Twestival @ Gran Foc!

  barcelona

  4 Mar 2010 | 1:35 pm

  Twestival Barcelona 2010 tendrá lugar  en el Gran Foc, desde las 9pm hasta las 3am el próximo 25 de Marzo. El local es super centrico y facil de ubicar (@ Roger de Lluria, 23). Haz click aquí para ver el mapa. Estamos encantados de poder contar con el staff de Gran Foc, os mantendremos informados de las novedades. Twestival Barcelona 2010 will be held at Gran Foc, from 9pm to 3am on 25th March 2010. The location is extremely central and easy to reach (@ Roger de Lluria, 23), click here for a map. We’re delighted to be working with Gran Foc and will keep you all posted.

• 

  Toronto Twestival 2009

• Early tweeps tickets are now available!

  toronto

  10 Mar 2010 | 8:56 am

  We are ecstatic to announce that ticket sales are now open! Join your community for the third and largest Twestival Toronto yet! We’re working hard to bring you fun hosts, loud music, mix/mingle areas, big raffles, lots of cash bars, tons of Twitter fun, and an all-around exciting event experience. Act fast to get into a limited pool of early tweeps tickets at a discounted rate. Buy tickets now at the brand new http://twestivalto.com Learn more about the event, see the blog and tweets, and check out our coverage and sponsors. Thanks to the creativity and hard work of the team at Jet…

• Twestival Toronto 2010 – Launches this week!

  toronto

  9 Mar 2010 | 12:19 am

  Twestival (or Twitter Festival) is excited to announce it’s return for Twestival Toronto 2010. We will be joining hundreds of cities around the world to rally around the important cause of education in support of @Concern Worldwide. This comes after an amazing contribution from 700+ Torontonians of $16,000+ in 2009 (for @charitywater followed by @mealexchange), adding to the global total of $750,000+. Read the summary of February 2009 and September 2009. Many of your familiar Twestival Toronto faces, and a whole lot more new ones, are working hard to get the details together for Thursday,…

• You did it Toronto! Over $6000 raised for Meal Exchange.

  toronto

  13 Sep 2009 | 5:22 am

  We set out to heighten awareness about the issue of hunger in our city and a through volunteer run party, raise funds for an innovative organization who’s initiatives make an incredible impact and positive change in our own community. Twestival Toronto saw over 400 people participate in an amazing night time cruise, on a beautiful ship donated and run by the amazing team at Mariposa Cruise Lines. It was an awesome party! Our goal was to raise $5000 for Meal Exchange to be able to continue their amazing work; empowering youth leaders and running several initiatives giving food to…

• Tonight’s the night!

  toronto

  12 Sep 2009 | 7:04 am

  We’re only hours away from the magic and we couldn’t be more excited! We just wanted to share a couple more last minute details so you know where you’re going & when. The party starts at 7pm tonight down on Pier 6 where we’ll be boarding onto the Northern Star Cruise Ship. The boat will be docked right outside the Watermark Pub, which is at the Harbourfront Centre at 235 Queens Quay West. PLEASE BRING YOUR TICKET WITH YOU. The boat will be leaving shore at 8pm sharp, so make sure you arrive on time! It would be super terrible if you missed the boat. We’re…

• Exciting Last Minute Surprise!

  toronto

  11 Sep 2009 | 12:50 pm

  As if you needed another reason to join the party tomorrow evening, but we’ve just learned about an exciting appearance being made that we couldn’t bear to keep to ourselves. Joining us on the red carpet tomorrow evening will be none other than the ARGOS CHEERLEADER TEAM. Come meet the team! Join the party on the dock tomorrow evening 7pm and have your picture taken with some of the lovely ladies of the Argo’s Cheerleading Team! Get your ticket now! http://amiando.com/torontotwestival Share and Enjoy:

• 

  A Volunteer's Guide to Changing the World

• WE CAN DO IT!!!

  14 Mar 2010 | 8:55 pm

  Great post today from Seth Godin - here it is, copied word-for-word:We can do itToo often, it seems, this attitude is missing from teams, organizations or the community.It's missing because people are quick to opt out of the 'we' part. "What do you mean, we?" they ask. It's so easy to not be part of we, so easy to make it someone else's problem, so easy to not to take responsibility as a member of whatever tribe you're part of.Sometimes it's missing because people disagree about what 'it' is. If you don't know what you're after, it's unlikely you're going to find it.And it's missing because…

• Are You Sustainable?

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:19 am

  Sure, this presentation is about fish... but its not about fish, its about sustainability, and its worth every minute. Is your organization sustainable?(Hint: "I don't know anything about fish, I'm an expert in relationships"

• Nonprofit Gurus Share Highs and Lows of Their Careers

  1 Mar 2010 | 10:01 am

  This Month, Katya Andresen did a great job of featuring the Nonprofit Blog Carnival. She asked some of the top bloggers to share their stories on "highs and lows - great successes or flaming failures for their nonprofit careers.Make sure to check our her blog post: "Nonprofit Gurus Share Highs and Lows of Their CareersThis one was my favorite:Turns out you can’t just raise funds for anything you want. If you go to your donors with an offer they don’t associate you with, they just might ignore you in droves. No matter how great your work is.Charitable giving is complex. It works when a lot…

• You Matter - NOW

  25 Feb 2010 | 9:29 am

  The work that you are doing matters, and it matters in a big way.If you have the time, click through this presentation to see why...Also, take a moment to download, share and read the ebook, What Matters Now - its worth your time!

• Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Educate every child about food

  11 Feb 2010 | 3:11 pm

  This is his wish:Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Educate every child about foodFrom the TED Prize session: Jamie Oliver has announced his TED Prize wish.THE WISH:“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”THE PLAN:Set up an organization to create a popular movement that will inspire people to change the way they eat. The movement will do this by establishing a network of community kitchens; launching a travelling food theater that will teach kids practical…

• 

  Sublime Goodness

• Move Your Money Contest

  Christopher

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:56 am

  For the first time, I have to make a personal appeal, but it's for a good cause.Have you heard of Move Your Money? The movement was started by Huffington Post and is all about getting folks to...:..move their money out of the Wall Street banks and into community banks and credit unions. Community banks are typically more conservative about how they manage their money, they’re more closely connected to the people and businesses who live near them, and they’re more inclined to make loans they know will get paid back. In other words, they have the values that more people would want banks to…

• Separated Twins Reunite Decades Later

  Christopher

  1 Mar 2010 | 4:31 pm

  I love stories like this (and in my own backyard too!):A local woman has been reunited with her twin after 52 years.The family's story starts in Japan, continues with family scattered from Madison to San Diego, Calif., and ends with twins finding each other on the Internet.Watch the video recap:> Read the full story here (Channel3000.com)Related Sublime Goodness Posts:Co-workers Discover They Are BrothersMother & Son Reunite via MySpace...After 32 Years!Reunited Siblings Were Living Only 300 Yards Apart...Firefighter Meets Woman He Saved 40 Years Ago

• It's Not All Bad - 100 Things That Are Getting Better

  Christopher

  18 Feb 2010 | 6:22 pm

  I came across this list at CNN.com and aside from strange listings (#2-shapewear?), it's a nice read for you pessimists:> Read 100 Things That Are Getting Better (at Oprah.com)Random yes, but personally I do hope those crazy fees from the big banks go away (#10) and I somehow make it to the moon before I leave this earth for good (#3).

• "Major Leagues" by Pavement

  Christopher

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:52 am

  I've been thinking and listening to Pavement a lot recently - one of my favorite bands of the nineties. They broke up in 1999...but are actually and amazingly reuniting this year to play some select shows (one in Chicago even!).Anyway, they have a wealth of songs that would fit in the Sunday Sublime songs category, but it feels right to have a song off their last album included here on the blog.Close your eyes and listen:Have You Downloaded the Sublime Goodness Mixtape yet?

• "I Met the Walrus" - Video

  Christopher

  28 Jan 2010 | 7:58 pm

  As a Beatles fan (and John Lennon fan too), this video is really cool to watch and listen to. Enjoy.In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced him to do an interview. 38 years later, Levitan, director Josh Raskin and illustrators James Braithwaite and Alex Kurina have collaborated to create an animated short film using the original interview recording as the soundtrack. A spellbinding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit and timeless message, I Met the Walrus was nominated for the 2008 Academy Award for Animated Short…

• 

  Kiva Stories from the Field

• “Do You Know How To Run?”

  taylorakin

  15 Mar 2010 | 9:39 am

  On Thursday March 4th, the second Togolese presidential elections were held since the death of President Eyadéma Gnassingbé in 2005. After 38 years of uninterrupted rule, his son Faure assumed the presidency. Shortly thereafter, he held superfluous elections that resulted in a “democratic” confirmation of his leadership. The country erupted in civil unrest under the pretense of false electoral results, and hundreds were killed in the resulting violence. Faure's campaign posters dominate the billboards throughout Lomé That first election of the post-Eyadéma era certainly set a…

• Frigid Finance Part 2: The Realities of Mongolia’s Harsh Winter

  Beth Ritchey

  15 Mar 2010 | 5:13 am

  Mongolians are used to dealing with a cold winter – temperatures are typically in the -20s (F) with the winds can be brutal. This winter however, has taken on a deadly intensity. Summer droughts have combined with early and heavy snowfall to create what in Mongolia is known as a dzud. One of the harshest features of a dzud is the livestock’s inability to find or reach pasture under the snow, leading to mass starvation of the herds. This winter’s dzud has seen temperatures close to -60F and the UN is reporting that 2.7 million livestock have perished so far. The Mongolian government is…

• Kiva Lebanon: Two Models for Microfinance Success

  Nishita

  15 Mar 2010 | 12:30 am

  When I compare Lebanon to other countries in the region, it stands out on many levels—its religious diversity, economic resilience in the face of political conflict and war, vibrant and cosmopolitan urban life, and its varied approaches to microfinance. I have the great fortune to work with both of Kiva’s Lebanon field partners—Ameen s.a.l. and [...]

• Maxima “works,” because Maxima WORKS!

  marydear

  14 Mar 2010 | 9:24 pm

  If you think YOU work hard (well, you probably do) but so does my MFI…. I am a Kiva Fellow currently volunteering with one of Kiva’s Micorfinance Partner’s, Maxima, in Cambodia. MAXIMA MIKROHERANHVATHO CO., LTD was founded in March 2000 by a group of friends experienced in financial services.  They began their micro credit operations in [...]

• The working mothers of Benin (includes instruction video: how to strap a baby on your back)

  leznickiva

  14 Mar 2010 | 3:04 pm

  The one income family doesn’t exist in Benin.  Just like their moms and their mom’s moms, Beninese women enter the work force as soon as they’re able and keep going no matter what.  They’ll work through the rain, they’ll work through malaria, they’ll work while pregnant with all of their wares stacked on top of [...]

• 

  ItStartsWith.Us

• Napa Valley Trip (Part IV)

  Nate

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:16 am

  Yesterday we went to . . . wait for it . . . a couple more wineries! Yeah, there seems to be a theme here. What was really cool about the first one we went to was that we got to experience what it’s like to make a bottle of wine by hand. They have a bunch of different wine varietals in barrels, you do a bunch of research, test stuff out, then mix whatever you want together to make a blend. Once you’ve found something you like, you bottle it up, make a label, and BAM – you have a bottle of wine of your own creation. Pretty cool. What really made me smile was the fact that…

• Napa Valley Trip (Part III)

  Nate

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:50 am

  This morning I woke up around 6:00am, walked through some vineyards until I found a slight rise in the land, and then turned to the east to watch the sun rise over the hills of the Napa Valley. Serene, beautiful, peaceful. I spent the morning talking to a few of my cottage-mates, and now I’m sitting in a comfy chair, packed and ready to leave this house and move on to our next place. I have an hour to kill before we leave. Today’s post will be short and sweet, my own little break from ItStartsWith.Us writing and working on this trip. Yesterday we went to a couple of wineries, one…

• Napa Valley Trip (Part II)

  Nate

  10 Mar 2010 | 8:37 am

  My front porchThe Napa Valley is breathtakingly, achingly beautiful . . . even at the end of winter. Yesterday I met up with the group in downtown San Francisco and we drove up here to visit a winery and get situated in our cottage. I only have a few minutes to write this before we hit the road for the day, so I wanted to spend it talking about the caliber of people I’ve already met. I was just talking to Alison, one of my new friends here, and I mentioned that I have worked with a lot of different groups over the last year of ItStartsWith.Us, and my favorite one by far has been the…

• Napa Valley Trip (Part I)

  Nate

  9 Mar 2010 | 9:35 am

  Nate and Jenny at GoogleI’m going to try something a little bit different this week. Instead of sitting down and composing a well-crafted article, I’m just gonna write an off-the-top-of-my-head journal entry for every day of this trip. At least I’ll try, and hope I don’t get so busy that I can’t do it. This way you can all get a feel for how the ItStartsWith.Us project gets out and about in the community. So, here’s the entry for Monday (which was yesterday. bad start already). Rarely does a day work out much better than you think it will (at least in my…

• How Do You Define Success?

  Nate

  24 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  Today’s guest post was written by Emily Wood, a blogger from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I’ve been trying to think of the right way to describe her, and about the best I can do is to say that she’s REAL. Most blogs I read bore me after about three minutes, but I can get lost in Emily’s for an hour. She’s a good writer with an honest voice and a kind heart. I’m honored to give her the platform today. If you want to hear more from Emily, you can visit her site at http://emily-jane.net. I first moved to Canada when I was fifteen years old, leaving behind England, the…

• 

  The GiveWell Blog

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part III

  Holden

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:31 am

  Continued from Part I and Part II, these are my thoughts from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. Some of what I saw and discussed prompted me to rethink our frameworks for evaluating certain kinds of programs: Vaccinations. We’ve taken the “vaccination coverage rate” as a reasonable proxy for lives changed, since the evidence base for vaccines is so strong. But of course, “vaccination coverage rate” describes how many children received vaccines, not how many received functional and correctly administered vaccines. I was somewhat concerned that…

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part II

  Holden

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:14 pm

  Continued from Part I, these are my thoughts from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. Diverting skilled labor looks like a real concern. The COO of SEF stressed that one of SEF’s biggest challenges is human resources (i.e., continually finding good people to staff it). I can easily see how this would be. As I mentioned in Part I, I found that the nonprofits I visited were employing capable, impressive people with a combination of local background and well-above-average educational credentials and command of English. On one hand, seeing these staffers made me feel good…

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part I

  Holden

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:27 pm

  I previously posted “raw data” (pictures, audio, notes) from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. The next few posts will give my thoughts from the trip. First, a note on representativeness. I was only in Africa for two weeks; I was a complete outsider; I certainly don’t think that anything I saw “proves” anything about the programs or areas I was looking at. In many cases what I saw (and what I discussed with staff) prompted me to discuss and think harder about issues I’d already thought about a little. So as I share thoughts from the…

• Nothing wrong with selfish giving - just don’t call it philanthropy

  Holden

  8 Mar 2010 | 8:52 am

  Tactical Philanthropy has an interesting discussion of “non-optimized giving”: New Philanthropy Capital CEO Martin Brookes “confesses” to “wasting charitable funds” on a cause he doesn’t believe is the best, and Sean responds that “Under your logic, we should all feel guilty about all of our giving that does not go to the single best charity in the world … Be proud of yourself, Martin. You’re a great philanthropist.” I don’t think it’s wrong to make gifts that aren’t “optimized for pure social impact.”…

• Pictures/audio/notes from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique)

  Holden

  5 Mar 2010 | 11:56 am

  Between 2/10 and 2/23, I visited two of our recommended charities: The Small Enterprise Foundation (our top-rated microfinance organization and one of two winners of our recent Economic Empowerment Grant - note that our review is not yet available but has been drafted and will be published shortly) and VillageReach (our current top-rated charity overall). (Note that the posts I authored on our self-review and plan, which ran while I was away, were all written and scheduled before I left.) This trip was my first time in Africa; it was also an opportunity to have more in-depth conversations…

• 

  What Do You Stand For?

• New Research: Nonprofit Marketing Trend Tracker

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:00 pm

  As more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the U.S. vie for the attention of potential donors and supporters, the newly released 2010 Cone Nonprofit Marketing Trend Tracker reveals a powerful, if unexpected, ally for-profit companies. According to the new survey, more than three-quarters (78%) of consumers believe a nonprofits partnership with a trusted company or brand makes a cause stand out. We have long known such cross-sector partnerships benefit companies, but the results of this survey reveal the nonprofit is perched under the same halo. Not only do many consumers feel…

• Disaster Donations: Haiti vs. Chile

  4 Mar 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Donations for relief efforts in Chile pale in comparison to those for Haiti. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports in an interview that a mere $250,000 raised by Americans three days following the Chile disaster, which starkly contrasts the nearly $97 million raised three days following the Haiti earthquake. Despite experiencing a stronger earthquake, Chiles existing building codes and infrastructure better prepared it to cope with damages. However, several other factors may have influenced the difference in donations:Consumers Are Tapped Out Many Americans responded to the Haiti crisis by…

• Teach a Cause to Fish

  25 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  To infuse passion into a cause, organizations can look to this classic adage for inspiration - Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. In the cause-related marketing space, were seeing this concept play out as some organizations offer not just philanthropic dollars and product tie-ins, but the actual tools and infrastructure needed to empower consumers to rally their own supporters for the cause.  Case in point is the recently launched Bisquick Pancake Nation (Cone client), which provides consumers with the tools they need to…

• Guest Post: Driving Good Intentions to Greater Impact

  21 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  The following is a guest post by a Cone client. Evan Hochberg directs Deloittes national Community Involvement program where he provides strategic direction for philanthropy, volunteerism, pro-bono and workplace giving.  It has been 10 months since the Serve America Act was passed into law. During that time, the tremendous buzz created by President Obama and others on the subject of service has been palpable. However, much of the discussion has been focused on driving numbers volunteers and volunteer hours. Today, as the corporate giving community celebrates International Corporate…

• Going Beyond Wins and Losses, Sports Step up for Causes

  18 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Were getting our sports fix in 2010, bouncing from the Super Bowl right into the Olympic Winter Games. Luckily for us, cause marketers have reason to cheer, as cause connections with sports are gaining prominence. Street & Smiths Sports Business Journal even noted in a recent issue, as sports properties have grown in prominence, so has the sentiment that they must do more for the community, beyond wins and losses.  The immense passion and strong commitment required of both sports and causes make them ideal teammates, and cause marketing for sports can be approached in a number…

• 

  A Volunteer's Guide to Changing the World

• WE CAN DO IT!!!

  14 Mar 2010 | 8:55 pm

  Great post today from Seth Godin - here it is, copied word-for-word:We can do itToo often, it seems, this attitude is missing from teams, organizations or the community.It's missing because people are quick to opt out of the 'we' part. "What do you mean, we?" they ask. It's so easy to not be part of we, so easy to make it someone else's problem, so easy to not to take responsibility as a member of whatever tribe you're part of.Sometimes it's missing because people disagree about what 'it' is. If you don't know what you're after, it's unlikely you're going to find it.And it's missing because…

• Are You Sustainable?

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:19 am

  Sure, this presentation is about fish... but its not about fish, its about sustainability, and its worth every minute. Is your organization sustainable?(Hint: "I don't know anything about fish, I'm an expert in relationships"

• Nonprofit Gurus Share Highs and Lows of Their Careers

  1 Mar 2010 | 10:01 am

  This Month, Katya Andresen did a great job of featuring the Nonprofit Blog Carnival. She asked some of the top bloggers to share their stories on "highs and lows - great successes or flaming failures for their nonprofit careers.Make sure to check our her blog post: "Nonprofit Gurus Share Highs and Lows of Their CareersThis one was my favorite:Turns out you can’t just raise funds for anything you want. If you go to your donors with an offer they don’t associate you with, they just might ignore you in droves. No matter how great your work is.Charitable giving is complex. It works when a lot…

• You Matter - NOW

  25 Feb 2010 | 9:29 am

  The work that you are doing matters, and it matters in a big way.If you have the time, click through this presentation to see why...Also, take a moment to download, share and read the ebook, What Matters Now - its worth your time!

• Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Educate every child about food

  11 Feb 2010 | 3:11 pm

  This is his wish:Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Educate every child about foodFrom the TED Prize session: Jamie Oliver has announced his TED Prize wish.THE WISH:“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”THE PLAN:Set up an organization to create a popular movement that will inspire people to change the way they eat. The movement will do this by establishing a network of community kitchens; launching a travelling food theater that will teach kids practical…

• 

  How I changed the world today.

• Smithsonian Institute

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:11 pm

  I made my yearly membership contribution to the Smithsonian today. I believe in it. Just today I was telling someone that it was free and a great thing to do, and could possibly take more than a week to see. I've spent quite a few days there and haven't seen it all.

• kiva

  8 Mar 2010 | 10:21 pm

  I made two Kiva loans today. Loan Purchase of $25 to Hilda Yaneth Flores Nuñez (business id=180022)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Loan Purchase of $25 to Candido Ortiz (business id=177495)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

• Education Generation - Helping fund students

  6 Mar 2010 | 8:57 am

  I just helped out Adrian and Rosmery by paying for a bit of their tuition through Education Generation. The funding request is expiring tomorrow, so if you happen to have $20 you can donate to change someone's life....

• 1000th Kiva loan

  5 Mar 2010 | 9:49 am

  Just made my 999, and 1000, and 1001 Kiva loans. All to ladies called 'Julia'. Loan Purchase of $25 to Juliana Nduku Makau (business id=179269)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Loan Purchase of $25 to Julia Narda Aguilar Gomez (business id=178328)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Loan Purchase of $25 to Ana Julia Moreno Reyes (business id=179470)Counted towards Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

• Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA

  2 Mar 2010 | 9:08 pm

  I renewed my membership in my local SPCA. Its always nice to have somewhere to take injured animals.

• 

  Kiva Stories from the Field

• “Do You Know How To Run?”

  taylorakin

  15 Mar 2010 | 9:39 am

  On Thursday March 4th, the second Togolese presidential elections were held since the death of President Eyadéma Gnassingbé in 2005. After 38 years of uninterrupted rule, his son Faure assumed the presidency. Shortly thereafter, he held superfluous elections that resulted in a “democratic” confirmation of his leadership. The country erupted in civil unrest under the pretense of false electoral results, and hundreds were killed in the resulting violence. Faure's campaign posters dominate the billboards throughout Lomé That first election of the post-Eyadéma era certainly set a…

• Frigid Finance Part 2: The Realities of Mongolia’s Harsh Winter

  Beth Ritchey

  15 Mar 2010 | 5:13 am

  Mongolians are used to dealing with a cold winter – temperatures are typically in the -20s (F) with the winds can be brutal. This winter however, has taken on a deadly intensity. Summer droughts have combined with early and heavy snowfall to create what in Mongolia is known as a dzud. One of the harshest features of a dzud is the livestock’s inability to find or reach pasture under the snow, leading to mass starvation of the herds. This winter’s dzud has seen temperatures close to -60F and the UN is reporting that 2.7 million livestock have perished so far. The Mongolian government is…

• Kiva Lebanon: Two Models for Microfinance Success

  Nishita

  15 Mar 2010 | 12:30 am

  When I compare Lebanon to other countries in the region, it stands out on many levels—its religious diversity, economic resilience in the face of political conflict and war, vibrant and cosmopolitan urban life, and its varied approaches to microfinance. I have the great fortune to work with both of Kiva’s Lebanon field partners—Ameen s.a.l. and [...]

• Maxima “works,” because Maxima WORKS!

  marydear

  14 Mar 2010 | 9:24 pm

  If you think YOU work hard (well, you probably do) but so does my MFI…. I am a Kiva Fellow currently volunteering with one of Kiva’s Micorfinance Partner’s, Maxima, in Cambodia. MAXIMA MIKROHERANHVATHO CO., LTD was founded in March 2000 by a group of friends experienced in financial services.  They began their micro credit operations in [...]

• The working mothers of Benin (includes instruction video: how to strap a baby on your back)

  leznickiva

  14 Mar 2010 | 3:04 pm

  The one income family doesn’t exist in Benin.  Just like their moms and their mom’s moms, Beninese women enter the work force as soon as they’re able and keep going no matter what.  They’ll work through the rain, they’ll work through malaria, they’ll work while pregnant with all of their wares stacked on top of [...]

• 

  the Change.org Blog

• Announcing the Top 10 Ideas for Change in America

  Ben Rattray

  15 Mar 2010 | 12:02 pm

  After the submission of 2505 ideas and 209,950 votes, we’re happy to announce the 10 winners of the Ideas for Change in America competition. The winning ideas illustrate that the issues important to people across the country are much broader than those few that consistently dominate debate in Washington. Because they challenge the status quo, these [...]

• Turning Ideas for Change Into Actual Change

  Maria Tchijov

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:16 pm

  Ideas for change – we all have them. I, for one, would like to change my mailman’s annoying habit of forgetting to deliver my mail every couple of days. But, it’s a long road from saying something should be changed to making the change real. Take, for example, the Ideas for Change in America competition: over [...]

• Victory: The Huffington Post Pulls Pit Bulls From List of Dangerous Pets

  Maria Tchijov

  5 Mar 2010 | 12:43 pm

  We just received word that The Huffington Post has decided to remove pit bulls from its list of dangerous pets, in response to our petition. The 284 Change.org members and other online activists who sent emails to Katherine Goldstein, Huff Po’s Green Editor, convinced her that pit bulls don’t belong on the same list as [...]

• How do Change.org Petitions Make a Difference?

  Maria Tchijov

  5 Mar 2010 | 9:24 am

  A few weeks ago, I received a really interesting message from a Change.org member. This unnamed member asked a very simple and straightforward question: are your petitions real? An easy way to answer that question is to point to our Victories column. Clearly, our petitions get the job done. But, for us, simply getting the job [...]

• Change.org’s February Field Trips

  Maria Tchijov

  26 Feb 2010 | 12:14 pm

  Personally, I find February to be a pretty dreary month. Even if you haven’t spent the past few weeks digging out from the Snowpocolypse on the East Coast, the weather and holiday selection are probably enough to make you want to crawl into bed and sleep straight through to March. That feeling might explain why several [...]

• 

  So what can I do?

• Change the world.

  6 Oct 2014 | 3:52 pm

  How will you make our world a better place?* Health and education* Economics, social entrepreneurship, and microfinance* Food and water* Energy and technology* Women, children, and family* Environment, land, and sustainability* FaithAnd don’t forget to visit the So What Can I Do Bookstore. Your efforts can change the world.”Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mohandas GandhiPlease visit http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com to offer your comments and suggestions, forward this post, and peruse the archives. Thanks for reading "So what can I do", the public service weblog promoting…

• Join the So What Can I Do blood donation team.

  20 Jun 2009 | 8:40 pm

  I went to the Red Cross blood center today and gave a pint. Regular readers and regular donors know that blood donation is a fast and easy way to save up to three lives. You never know when you or someone you know will need blood. So please consider donating blood, platelets, or red cells. And if you do, you’re invited to join the So What Can I Do Red Cross Racing Team. Here’s how:• Visit redcrossracing.com .• After you register scroll to the bottom and click “Team Competition.”• Enter the So What Can I Do team code: O?67SO .• Remember to log your donations to win points and…

• Celebrate World Free Your Mind Day – June 19th.

  18 Jun 2009 | 9:07 pm

  I spent this Juneteenth thinking about what my family would have been like if my great-great-granddaddy Griffin Henry Belk hadn’t walked off that plantation when he did. I expect it would have made a huge difference, because when Griffin Henry Belk left, he was able to travel (searching for his parents), purchase land (160 acres for $11 in Ozan, Arkansas), and generally prepare to provide for his wife and five children to come. So I woke up Juneteenth morning and told my daughter about her great-great-great-granddaddy. Even though she’s only two, I expect it resonated with her, or will…

• Make Kiva microloans in the US.

  11 Jun 2009 | 9:04 pm

  I’ve written frequently about microloans - how the concept spread as a tool for economic development, how to lend and get your money back – sometimes with with interest, making a loan a no cost to you, etc. But my most popular post on the topic discusses microloans in the US. I’m pleased to report that there is now another option for those interested in making microloans in the US. Kiva now offers the opportunity to make microloans in the US. If you’re in the US, this is a great way to help your neighbors move ahead through entrepreneurship. And if you need a microloan, this means…

• Be the match: Join the Marrow Registry for free June 8-22.

  25 May 2009 | 7:58 pm

  Earlier today when I wanted to forward my post on cord blood donation, I realized that most of the links had gone dead. While updating them, I was pleased to learn about the upcoming Marrowthon from the National Marrow Donor Program. NMDP has set a goal of adding 46,000 new members to the marrow registry during this drive. Each new member increases the odds that someone with a life threatening blood disease will live, and live well – disease free.Joining is easy: just take the eligibility quiz, fill out a form, and swab your cheeks for a cell sample. (I had to give a bit of blood for…

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  Worldchanging: Bright Green

• Carbon Neutrality as Opportunity

  Alex Steffen

  14 Mar 2010 | 12:54 pm

  As you may have gathered, the idea of city-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 has gained a lot of steam here in Worldchanging's home base of Seattle. Our City Council has embraced it as a goal (though it's wrestling with the timeline) and some of our smartest people are wrestling with what carbon neutrality might mean and how it might be accomplished. Eric de Place offered one set of concerns here last week, exploring the example of Copenhagen -- which at this point has the world's most ambitious urban climate goal of carbon neutrality by 2025 -- and asking some tough questions about Seattle's…

• Outer Ring Suburbs and the Permanent Foreclosure

  Alex Steffen

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:55 pm

  (A quick little Friday afternoon note.) Discussion of planetary boundaries is pretty surreal everywhere these days, but in the United States, the disconnect between reality and rhetoric has reached what I think are pretty stunning proportions. Nowhere can this be better seen than in the discussions about how to "fix" the suburbs. Many still debate that anything about the American model of sprawl development needs fixing, but most understand that something has gone seriously wrong with the outer-ring suburbs that more than a quarter of American call home. It doesn't take a futurist to look at…

• Three great talks: Bill Dunster on future-proofing cities, Dan Hill on re-imagining them, Dan Barber on how to feed them

  Alex Steffen

  11 Mar 2010 | 12:37 am

  Here are three talks I found thought-provoking and inspiring. All three demand some attention (and probably some time after to ponder what was said), but all three are also new ideas from thinkers who are breaking new ground. Very worldchanging. Futureproofing the City: ZEDfactory; Foster + Partners; R/E/D from The Architecture Foundation on Vimeo. Dan Hill-Keynote: New Soft City from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo. Dan Barber on a remarkable food project: the sort of food shed every city should have. (and, of course, you might find these talks I gave in November interesting as…

• Urban Resilience for Dummies, Part 2: Failing the Milk Test

  WorldChanging Team

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:43 pm

  by Warren Karlenzig Last post I covered some guiding principles for urban resilience planning in the face of climate change and diminishing resources (especially fresh water and oil). Considering these guidelines, what aspect of U.S. metro development stands out as the most ill-advised and risky? Short answer: exurban sprawl. If the "Great Recession" taught us anything, it is that allowing the unrestrained sprawl of energy-inefficient communities and infrastructure is a now-bankrupt economic development strategy and constitutes a recipe for continued disaster on every level. "Shy away from…

• Industrial Strength Stormwater Fix

  WorldChanging Team

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:19 pm

  A blue-collar business embraces a green stormwater fix. by Lisa Stiffler Editor's note 3/9: This profile is now available in PDF format here. On Seattle’s 8th Avenue South in the Georgetown neighborhood, empty school buses and recycling trucks rumble by. Semis squeeze past each other. Cars are parked on the street’s gravel shoulder amid shoe-soaking pools of muddy rainwater. Georgetown’s busted streets and heavy-duty manufacturing plants seem like the last place where earth-friendly, sustainable stormwater solutions would take root. But this is the story of blue-collar industry…

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  Green Tech

• eMonitor home energy tracker drills deep

  Martin LaMonica

  15 Mar 2010 | 1:54 pm

  High-end energy monitor from Powerhouse Dynamics aims to give circuit-level details on electricity use to help people cut energy waste at home.

• Toyota, Nissan to standardize electric car rechargers

  Reuters

  15 Mar 2010 | 6:56 am

  Group called Chademo, which includes several automakers and Tokyo Electric Power, will set a standard for Japan and later aim for an international standard.

• Selling a car the iPod way

  Caroline McCarthy

  13 Mar 2010 | 3:24 pm

  Chevy is hoping to tap into the same sentiments that spark gadget fandom with its new Volt electric car. But is the crowd at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival the right audience? Originally posted at The Social

• 'Runaway' Prius: Questions raised about driver

  Brooke Crothers

  12 Mar 2010 | 4:01 pm

  The case of a "runaway" Prius in San Diego demonstrates how claims about electronic flaws requires investigators to look carefully at the human element too. Originally posted at Nanotech - The Circuits Blog

• 'Deep-energy retrofits' take root in homes

  Martin LaMonica

  12 Mar 2010 | 6:07 am

  The talk at an annual building conference in Boston is about how to reduce energy use in houses by more than 50 percent. Early pilot tests show it can be done, but with steep costs.

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  TreeHugger

• Life as You've Never Seen it on Planet Green

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:42 pm

  Image credit: DCI Life, premiering March 21, captures the most incredible moments in the plant and animal world—and you can catch the action on Planet Green....Read the full story on TreeHugger

• Is the Mainstream Media Ready to Cover Global Warming Again?

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:24 pm

  Image via NBC And Really Cover It? Over the last few years, the mainstream media seemed to tire of covering advances in climate science in any real depth. Instead, it turned to the admittedly more dramatic non-scandals du jour, easily debunked memes (the snow-in-winter-so-climate-change-is-false being particularly eye roll-worthy), and interviewing climate skeptics. It all seemed to serve to craft a 'Global Warming: Is It Real or Not?" narrative that was in theory more compelling tha...Read the full story on TreeHugger

• Help Make Farmers' Markets Universally Accessible

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:19 pm

  Image credit: Good Food stamps have left the world of paper and entered the digital age: Recipients can now claim their benefits with the swipe of a card. This system removes stigma and makes management easy, but without ubiquitous portable card readers it prevents many who rely on food stamps from visiting farmers' markets....Read the full story on TreeHugger

• Today on Planet 100: China High Speed Rail (Video)

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:04 pm

• Climate Disinformation Campaign Like Tobacco Industry's Pro-Smoking Campaign: Steven Chu

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:14 pm

  Okay, so it's not exactly a new metaphor. But it is a good one, and one with enough parallels to make anyone queasy. Which is why Obama's Secretary of Energy, Nobel laureate Steven Chu, is fond of employing it. He likened the ongoing efforts to confuse the public about climate science in order preserve the status quo--the United States' reliance on fossil fuels--to the efforts the tobacco industry used to confuse the public into thinking the science proving that smoking causes cancer was 'unsettled.' Here's what he said in a recent interview:...Read the full story on TreeHugger

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  Green Inc.

• For Renters, Solar Comes in Shares

  By KATE GALBRAITH

  15 Mar 2010 | 11:11 am

  Renters are usually out of luck when it comes to solar power, but a new solution is springing up, in which utilities build large arrays and sell shares to customers.

• Privacy and the Smart Grid

  By GREEN INC.

  15 Mar 2010 | 11:04 am

  Some groups are concerned that smart meters could be exploited by online marketers, government agencies and others.

• Nevada Wind Turbine Factory to Create 1,000 Jobs, Backers Say

  By JOHN COLLINS RUDOLF

  15 Mar 2010 | 9:06 am

  A consortium of Chinese and American renewable energy companies say they have chosen Nevada as the site of a 320,000-square-foot wind turbine manufacturing and assembly plant.

• Florida Company Builds a Safer C.F.L. Bulb, but Does it Matter?

  By LEORA BROYDO VESTEL

  15 Mar 2010 | 5:52 am

  The ArmorLite bulb won't release mercury when broken, but is mercury exposure really a problem with C.F.L. bulbs? Not everyone agrees.

• Health Costs of California Air Pollution

  By KRISTINA SHEVORY

  12 Mar 2010 | 7:03 am

  Air pollution in California cost federal, state and private health insurers $193 million in hospital costs, according to a RAND Corporation study released last week.

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  Social Citizens Blog

• Social Citizen Sighting: Daniel Kaufman

  Kari Dunn Saratovsky

  15 Mar 2010 | 1:31 pm

  This interview is part of our "Social Citizen Sightings" series, in which we highlight how people are using their creativity, idealism, and digital fluency to support their causes every day. Name: Daniel Kaufman Organization where you spend a lot of your time: One Percent Foundation Describe yourself in one tweet…or at least give it your best shot:  I am building a broad-based movement around next gen philanthropy by engaging Millennials+ in collective giving. #kindofcrazybutitworks What’s currently uploaded to your kindle or on your nightstand? Better by Atul…

• How Do Millennials Avoid Being Chumps?

  Kristin Ivie

  10 Mar 2010 | 6:28 am

  When I first saw the headline “Will Millennials become the chump generation?” I was gearing up for another intergenerational throw down. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were being accused of this time, but last time I checked with Fred Durst, being called a chump was not a good thing. After reading Robert Samuelson’s column in the Washington Post, I realized that it was a more of a warning than a criticism. Samuelson discusses the recent Pew research on Millennials which shows that our generation is taking the effects of the recession hardest of all. Thirty-seven percent…

• The New Dork: An Entrepreneur State of Mind

  Kari Dunn Saratovsky

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:37 pm

  Remember when being a dork meant you just weren’t cool? That was before “The New Dork” – a spoof of Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes’s "Empire State Of Mind" which pays homage to the rising generation of geeky entrepreneurs – or, what we like to think of as the new trendsetters.     While “The New Dork” just started hitting the interwebs this afternoon, it’s already being deemed the anthem for entrepreneurs, and why not? It paints a picture and tells the story of entrepreneurs doing what they love – and we think…

• Oversharing 2.0

  Kristin Ivie

  1 Mar 2010 | 3:50 pm

  Today's topic: oversharing. I will admit I'm a repeat offender. I can't count the number of times I've been enjoying a meal with a new acquaintance and inexplicably started sharing personal information in excessive detail. Before I know it, the words are just rushing out of my mouth like water from a broken dam, and there is literally nothing I can do to hold them back. Usually my oversharing is forgiven; occasionally I'm delighted to find it matched, or even one-uped, by the person across the table; and, yes, every now and then, it's met with visible discomfort and the notable lack of a…

• Young Donors Want More than a Party!

  Kari Dunn Saratovsky

  18 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Today’s guest blogger, Derrick Feldman, is CEO of Achieve where he provides guidance to organizations to help them develop new fundraising strategies. Today, Derrick focuses on the importance of engaging young professionals as donors in a more meaningful way.   Walk into a hip bar in a metropolitan area after work and there’s a chance that you’ll be greeted by a table draped with a banner bearing the logo of a local nonprofit. Over the music pulsing in the background, two young staffers will welcome you and offer you a name tag. On behalf of the nonprofit’s…

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  Change.org's Global Health Blog

• Using Mobile Phones to Fight Counterfeit Medicine

  Te-Ping Chen

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:26 pm

  When the headlines hit in Nigeria just over a year ago, they had an eerie congruence to them. Antifreeze Laced Teething Medicine Kills At Least 34 ChildrenMultiple batches of counterfeit teething medicine had killed dozens of children -- in some cases, kids as young as four months old. But while it was a shocking story, it was hardly a new one. In 2006, Panamanian children likewise became the casualties of a broken distribution system, after the government mistakenly distributed counterfeit glycerin from China (mixed into supposedly innocuous cough syrup). Similar stories abound. I've…

• Floating U.S. Hospital Sails Away From Haiti

  Te-Ping Chen

  15 Mar 2010 | 10:44 am

  It's as tall as a 10-story building, a floating medical marvel. Clocking in at about the length of three football fields, the Navy's hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, can hold some 1,000 patients and boasts every specialist available. (The only procedures that can't be performed aboard the sleek white vessel are open-heart surgery and organ transplants.) In Haiti, the ship was "a promise of hope anchored a mile out in the bay." But this weekend, two months after an 7.0 earthquake that killed 230,000 people, the Comfort returned to dock in Norfolk, VA. Not without criticism, of course. There…

• Humanitarians: Staying Strong in the Face of Constant Threat

  Meredith Slater

  13 Mar 2010 | 6:09 am

  When you decide to dedicate your life to humanitarian work in the field, remember this: Not everyone wants you to succeed. As an affiliate of the United Nations or a non-governmental organization, many people won't think of your work as simply providing security, distributing food or teaching children. Though most of the communities served are extraordinarily grateful for the humanitarian assistance they receive, there are plenty of individuals and groups who are not. Accordingly, humanitarians face the fear of kidnappings, hijackings and attacks every day. Take the peacekeepers who…

• Beer Makes People More Attractive...

  Eric Green

  12 Mar 2010 | 1:41 pm

  ...to mosquitoes. That's the finding of a new study that helps explain why mosquitoes seem more attracted to some people than others. Researchers -- who focused on a malaria-endemic area of Burkina Faso -- found that volunteers who drank the local brew were more attractive to mosquitoes than volunteers who only drank water. This study's goal was to understand how diet, beer in particular, impacts how attractive humans are to malaria's primary vector in Africa, Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto -- or An. gambiae (or mosquito) for short. Diet is thought to be an important part of body…

• Where There Are No Doctors

  Te-Ping Chen

  12 Mar 2010 | 8:47 am

  In western Uganda's Kyaka II refugee camp, as Laura wrote earlier this week, women are fashioning a living out of sanitary pads composed of waste paper and papyrus. It's a terrific exercise in ingenuity, if not necessarily one that begins to grapple with the bigger issues facing the camp -- like the fact that all of Kyaka II's 16,200 refugees are served by a single doctor. And that imbalance, while shocking, is hardly unusual. Elsewhere, that ratio deteriorates further. In 2007, Rwanda had just one doctor for every 20,000 people. In Liberia, that figure was one doctor for every 50,000…

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  Change Becomes Change

• We Can End Hunger

  Gina

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:45 pm

  Some really smart folks are working together to end hunger in America. It's a problem we all see in our communities every day and helping is something we can all do in a small or big way. WeCanEndThis is having a Digital Can Drive – March 4th thru March 17th, the Digital Can Drive rewards people who commit to take action: Give, Share, and Volunteer. Every person who commits can donate a digital can of food to the their state. On March 18, the Top 10 States with the most digital cans of food will each win a semi-truckload of real food. The three components of the WeCanEndThis campaign…

• Eco-Friendly Water Bottles

  Gina

  8 Mar 2010 | 9:50 pm

  Are you still drinking bottled water? There's many reasons most people made the switch to a reusable bottle that range from environmental to health reasons (remember BPA? and it's health concerns?). And when we did, sales of bottled water tanked. As you could imagine, the big guys that bottle up water would prefer we buy their product instead of using our reusable bottles with tap or filtered H2O. What's a beverage company to do?Well, the Denver Post shared news that these beverage companies are preparing to launch some greener options for bottled water fans. Here's a snipit from their…

• Bake Sale to Help Hungry Children in Our Communities

  Gina

  3 Mar 2010 | 11:04 pm

  You've heard it before: Childhood hunger is at an all-time high and increasing every day. What most of us probably don't even realize is that there is likely hungry children in your neighborhood, your child's school and your church. The signs aren't always obvious, but hunger is still there. Many of these hungry children rely on programs funded by donations from organizations and people like you and me for breakfast, lunch and after-school meals year-round. Did you know that many public schools  provide "school lunches" for children during the summer break? Or that for many, the lunch they…

• Pediatricians Want to Redesign Food

  Gina

  1 Mar 2010 | 8:11 pm

  It sounds a bit strange, doesn't it - "redesign food". When I first read the headline I thought maybe they were talking about genetically modified foods, but no, the American Academy of Pediatricians want hot dogs to come with a warning label. Hooray you say - nutrition warning labels on processed foods instead of nutritional marketing claims. Don't cheer quite yet. This warning label is about a choking hazard. Yes, the ones found on small toys or other items that can be potentially dangerous for children under 3. Would you be surprised to hear that the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council…

• Quick Tips for National Cancer Prevention Month

  Gina

  24 Feb 2010 | 7:39 pm

  The following was originally posted at Healthy Child Healthy World whose mission is to ignite a movement that inspires parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals. Cancer and chemicals are important issues for our family and this article provides easy tips to reduce our risk of cancer by reducing our exposure to chemicals. February is National Cancer Prevention Month and while most everyone focuses on diet, exercise, and quitting smoking as the core ways to prevent cancer – they’re forgetting another pillar of prevention. Reducing exposure to carcinogens in our everyday…

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  GOOD

• Pothole Onomatopoeia in Toronto

  Andrew Price

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm

  Last week, a group called the Urban Repair Squad painted sound-effect words—"Thunk!" "Oof" and the like—along Toronto's Harbord Street where potholes and other perils threaten cyclists. They're calling the project "Pothole Onomatopoeia." And as it turns out, the Urban Repair Squad has a profile on GOOD, where they explain their purpose: The action-hero drama of dodging obstacles and potholes, escaping devil-may-care drivers in super-fast cars, and braving the fierce, temperamental elements, may seem, and feel, quite comic. Unless you're face-down on the pavement. With some wit, we…

• Health Myths Debunked: TV Medicine

  GOOD

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:00 pm

  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5c_Y3d8c8s[/youtube] Think you know medicine because you watch House and Grey's Anatomy? Well it turns out those shows don't get things quite right. Dr. Puya Hosseini helps GOOD debunk TV medicine myths.

• Dispatches from Haiti: Quiet Heroism

  Tyler Marshall

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:30 pm

  This is a continuing series on the devastation and reconstruction of Haiti. As the story fades from the front pages of newspapers and trending topics on Twitter, we will endeavor to provide a continuing look at what is happening on the ground. Samuel Abelard is an unlikely hero. The graying 54-year-old father of four has been quietly lending a hand as he and his fellow Haitians rebuild the pieces of their broken lives. He has been working at an International Medical Corps-supported mobile medical clinic in two classrooms of a small Port-au-Prince teacher’s college ever since it was set up…

• "Coffee Party" Actually Much Mellower Than "Tea Party"

  Andrew Price

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm

  A new movement called the "Coffee Party" is getting underway as a left-leaning response to the amorphous, anti-tax Tea Party. It's gained momentum with the help of a popular Facebook page, and kicked off with live events in about 370 cities last Saturday. From the official Coffee Party Flickr page, it looks like the gatherings were calm, and attendees were largely unarmed. The Christian Science Monitorhas more on the movement's ethos: Tea partyers tend to berate the federal government as a whole . Coffee partyers seem to be more in favor of government involvement – as in envisioning a…

• Floating Golf Course To Be Built In the Maldives

  Mother Nature Network

  15 Mar 2010 | 1:30 pm

  Sea levels are rising, and the Maldives is taking notice. An estimated 80 percent of the atoll nation is no more than 3 feet above sea level, so climate change has been a popular topic with Maldives' president Mohamed Nasheed. The Independent reports that Nasheed, who has already led an underwater cabinet meeting in scuba gear to bring attention to his country’s dilemma, has proposed a floating golf course and convention center for his aquatic nation. The Indian Ocean island nation has signed an agreement with Dutch Docklands, which will being researching the possibility of the resort which…

• 

  Good Blogs

• Newspapers Applaud National Education Standards

  Nikhil Swaminathan

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:00 pm

  Last week saw the release of a draft of Common Core Standards, which could one day govern how kids across the nation are taught mathematics and reading. The document, developed by the state school superintendents, and urged on by the Obama administration with federal funding carrots, is open to the public for commentary until early-April. Once a final version is rendered, states will decide whether or not to adopt the guidelines for instruction in their schools. Texas and Alaska have already refused to sign on, as representatives of each state believe nationalization of school curriculums is…

• Pothole Onomatopoeia in Toronto

  Andrew Price

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:30 pm

  Last week, a group called the Urban Repair Squad painted sound-effect words—"Thunk!" "Oof" and the like—along Toronto's Harbord Street where potholes and other perils threaten cyclists. They're calling the project "Pothole Onomatopoeia." And as it turns out, the Urban Repair Squad has a profile on GOOD, where they explain their purpose: The action-hero drama of dodging obstacles and potholes, escaping devil-may-care drivers in super-fast cars, and braving the fierce, temperamental elements, may seem, and feel, quite comic. Unless you're face-down on the pavement. With some wit, we…

• Dispatches from Haiti: Quiet Heroism

  Tyler Marshall

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:30 pm

  This is a continuing series on the devastation and reconstruction of Haiti. As the story fades from the front pages of newspapers and trending topics on Twitter, we will endeavor to provide a continuing look at what is happening on the ground. Samuel Abelard is an unlikely hero. The graying 54-year-old father of four has been quietly lending a hand as he and his fellow Haitians rebuild the pieces of their broken lives. He has been working at an International Medical Corps-supported mobile medical clinic in two classrooms of a small Port-au-Prince teacher’s college ever since it was set up…

• Flying the Earth Flag in No Man's Land

  sunni

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:16 pm

  Flying the Earth flag in no-man’s land Launched in May of 2009, the SusBus brings education, awareness raising activities, and sustainable living opportunities to both traditional venues like schools and festivals, but more importantly to places like sports-related events, concerts, conventions and other non-green events. By Sunni Mace and Eric Carpenter, The Global View Foundation Posted Feb 2, 2010 !-- Article Body -- It started as an idea, a dream, a cause to fight for and not much more. Colorado Springs is not what anyone would call green or progressive, and has been the brunt of jokes…

• "Coffee Party" Actually Much Mellower Than "Tea Party"

  Andrew Price

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm

  A new movement called the "Coffee Party" is getting underway as a left-leaning response to the amorphous, anti-tax Tea Party. It's gained momentum with the help of a popular Facebook page, and kicked off with live events in about 370 cities last Saturday. From the official Coffee Party Flickr page, it looks like the gatherings were calm, and attendees were largely unarmed. The Christian Science Monitorhas more on the movement's ethos: Tea partyers tend to berate the federal government as a whole . Coffee partyers seem to be more in favor of government involvement – as in envisioning a…

• 

  Good Magazine

• Project: Foodstamps and Farmers' Markets

  GOOD

  15 Mar 2010 | 6:30 am

  Help devise a system for using food stamps to buy better produce. We all can agree that fresh fruits and vegetables are an essential part of good health. Yet access to fresh produce remains an enormous challenge. For people on food stamps, it’s an especially difficult one as there are few supermarkets in low income neighborhoods with sufficient offerings. Even thought more farmers’ markets are springing up across the country—and more than 750 farmers’ markets nationwide accept food stamps—other challenges remain. Foodstamps, of course, are no longer physical stamps but “electronic…

• Ride for the Trees: Biking from Paraguay to America

  Theo Schell-Lambert

  11 Mar 2010 | 11:00 am

  As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay, Samuel Hagler was stationed 12 kilometers from the San Rafael Reserve, a government-protected zone of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest. He soon found the term "reserve" didn't mean much: With the help of bribed officials, the old-growth forest was being destroyed to make room for farmland and pastures. So last year, Hagler launched the Ride for the Trees, a solo bicycle trek from Paraguay to the United States, with the goal of raising money and spreading the word—all while hauling everything from camp stove to laptop. Hagler acknowledges that the…

• See the Klean Kanteen Contest Finalists

  GOOD

  9 Mar 2010 | 7:22 pm

  Here are the 10 finalists in our contest for designs for the Klean Kanteen GOOD Earth Day Bottles. Check them out below and vote for your favorite design here. We'll count votes though Friday, March 12 and announce the winner on Tuesday, March 16. The winner will get five Klean Kanteen GOOD Special Edition Earth Day bottles sporting his or her design. From Henry Balanay: From Nancy Liang: From Nitin Garg: From Andy Mangold: From John Vertin: From Ryan Patterson: From Amy Beth Fierro: From Ian Collins: From Sarah Moore: From Andrew Varvel:

• Project: Design an Everyday Solution to an Extraordinary Problem

  GOOD

  9 Mar 2010 | 10:00 am

  At this point we have a pretty good list of the problems that exist in the world, and a decent-but-growing list of the causes. What we're lacking is a list of solutions. Some would say the pressure is on the scientists, politicians, and business leaders of the world to develop those solutions. But why not you? You know that riding a bike is better than driving a car, in the same way that reducing your beef intake is beneficial. Yet we have a hard time committing to these improved practices. With this project, we're hoping you will think about what's preventing you from acting on these…

• Transparency: Worldwide Arms Sales

  GOOD

  9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  The world arms trade is a multi-billion dollar industry with a strong economic impact on its major exporters. This is a look at the biggest international arms suppliers and buyers, and the United States's recent dramatic jump in market share. A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five Media.

• 

  Good Videos

• Health Myths Debunked: TV Medicine

  GOOD

  15 Mar 2010 | 3:00 pm

  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5c_Y3d8c8s[/youtube] Think you know medicine because you watch House and Grey's Anatomy? Well it turns out those shows don't get things quite right. Dr. Puya Hosseini helps GOOD debunk TV medicine myths.

• Health Myths Debunked: Fitness

  GOOD

  1 Mar 2010 | 1:30 pm

  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfLaVp3Br80[/youtube] Is running outdoors better than running on a treadmill? Should you exercise on an empty stomach? Holly Perkins helps GOOD bust health myths.

• Internet Retail

  GOOD

  21 Jan 2010 | 10:30 am

  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPy93HM1vPU[/youtube] More and more of our shopping is happening online. And in the digital marketplace, shoppers write and read millions of reviews each year, transforming the way we make buying decisions—and how companies make their products. Welcome to the information-saturated world of internet retail.

• How Much Do We Spend on Food?

  GOOD

  22 Dec 2009 | 11:00 am

  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reyxkSWUjLI[/youtube] Since 1949, the rise of industrial, processed food meant Americans could spend less on their meals. But those savings come with a high cost: obesity, diabetes, and big health care bills. Here's a look at the numbers behind our changing diet, and what we can do to make it better.

• Wireless Parking

  GOOD

  14 Dec 2009 | 1:49 pm

  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVq9pdam14M[/youtube] What if sensors on the street knew exactly which parking spots were free? Your phone could direct you straight to a free space and the city could use that real-time information for dynamic meter pricing, discouraging driving when car traffic is too high. San Francisco is already trying the idea. If it works, it will be good for motorists, for the city, and for the environment.

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  SocialEarth

• Excessorizing Just Got Way Cooler

  Ashley

  15 Mar 2010 | 5:08 am

  I was at a reggae beach party last night, mixing with the ridiculously good-looking and creatively homemade surfer crowd. (One of my most favorite, secret niches of the Basque Country). I say “homemade” not only because you know those muscles are so ocean-fresh that they still reek of saltwater, but also because almost everyone was [...]

• Singapore Launches New Youth Social Entrepreneur Program

  Ashley

  13 Mar 2010 | 4:06 am

  Singapore International Foundation has been around since 1991 carving out greater community understanding on the western seaboard, but this year marks the first time they’ve instituted a camp for young, aspiring social entrepreneurs. In partnership with Volans Asia, they’ve launched a three-day camp at the YWCA Fort Canning Lodge in Singapore to cultivate the basics [...]

• Hey High School: Take Your Best Moon Shot

  Ashley

  11 Mar 2010 | 1:11 am

  One of the greatest challenges of being a teacher is trying to convince your students why they should care about anything that you write on the blackboard. You have to bridge the gap between their current boredom and ten years later, when they will finally appreciate the utility of what they are learning. Yet there are [...]

• Have an Awesome Idea? Enter Weekly to Win a $1,000 Grant

  Guest Author

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:19 am

  The following post is from the beautifully articulated TBD email by All Day Buffet. Throughout the decades, one word has lasted to describe the unadulterated creative capacity of humanity: awesome. In a world increasingly overrun by the mundane, ordinary, and co-opted, who will defend the legacy of this essential quality? The Awesome Foundation for Arts and Sciences [...]

• What I’ve Learned from the Unreasonable Institute

  MikeDel

  9 Mar 2010 | 7:11 am

  If you haven’t heard of the Unreasonable Institute, you will. The Unreasonable Institute attracts, incubates, and finances young social entrepreneurs with bold ideas to change the world. Dan, Teju, Vladimir, and Tyler – the founders of Unreasonable – exploded onto the scene less than one year ago. Since then, they have achieved milestones that many [...]

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  Africa Rural Connect

• Africa Rural Connect Competition 2010: Join us to Celebrate!

  NPCA

  15 Mar 2010 | 10:13 am

  We will be hosting a world-wide celebration of the launch of the Africa Rural Connect Competition 2010 on Monday, March 22nd! Join us for a party in Washington, DC or a global Twitter conversation using the hashtag #ideasforafrica!

• Press Release: Africa Rural Connect Kicks Off 2010 Ideas Competition

  NPCA

  9 Mar 2010 | 1:44 pm

  After successful first year, National Peace Corps Association program to help rural Africa launches its second annual contest to generate online discussion 

• Meet Our Moderators

  admin

  9 Mar 2010 | 12:24 pm

  We want to introduce you to our talented ARC 2010 Moderators; they work to help grow your ideas and business plans!   Liz Pike

• Africa Rural Connect Video!

  NPCA

  9 Mar 2010 | 10:37 am

  Check out our new ARC video! Share it with friends and colleagues. Here are 5 easy ways: Email the link: http://bit.ly/dBzy1l Tweet the link on Twitter: http://bit.ly/dBzy1l Post the video on Facebook: http://bit.ly/dBzy1l Embed* the Video on the Blog Embed* it on your website * Press the arrow on the bottom of the video toolbar to find the Embed code.

• Where Did My Endorsements Go?

  NPCA

  1 Mar 2010 | 1:11 pm

  Africa Rural Connect is launching its 2010 competition on March 15th. This is essentially a brand new competition, separate from that of 2009. There will be some key differences in the winner-selection process that will allow new entries as well as keep old entries in the 2010 competition. 

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  Tactical Philanthropy

• Curmudgeonly Comments: Online Capital Markets for Nonprofits?

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  15 Mar 2010 | 9:13 am

  This is a guest post from George Overholser of the Nonprofit Finance Fund. This post follows the bullet point format George used when he wrote the Bullet Point Manifesto guest post last year. By George Overholser Someone recently defined nonprofit “mid-caps” as organizations with revenues in the $5 million to $25 million range. We need to keep in mind that the definition for for-profit mid-caps is 200 times as big:  revenues in the $1 billion range. This matters because there are metaphors flying around that we need our nonprofit mid-caps to provide more financial disclosure to the…

• Philanthropy Daily Digest

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:01 pm

  Grading How Obama Handled His Nobel Prize Winnings | Social Entrepreneurship | Change.org Nathaniel Whittemore grades president Obama's Noble charitable giving. He's gets some A's and some F's. (tags: philanthropy) The Social Brain | The Greater Good Blog New research shows our heads are filled with "mirror neuron" that make us empathetic. Some people have more than others. (tags: philanthropy) Obama Names Charities Receiving His Nobel Prize Money – NYTimes.com President Obama announces the nonprofits that will receive his Nobel prize money. It will be…

• What Drives Philanthropic Success?

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  12 Mar 2010 | 8:31 am

  Peter Frumkin is the author of Strategic Giving, an excellent book that I reviewed last year. Earlier this week, Peter wrote a post on the Philanthropy Central blog calling into question some of his own assumptions about what drivers are most important to successful philanthropy. Peter wrote: …I am increasingly troubled by a recurrent worry. It is a worry about what actually drives philanthropic success. Let’s define two categories of philanthropic processes. The first is technocratic, rationalistic, and ordered: It includes program positioning and issue research, alignment and…

• Philanthropy Daily Digest

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  11 Mar 2010 | 5:01 pm

  VPP | Chairman's Corner: 'Social Outcomes': Missing the Forest for the Trees? After his essay last month in which he worried that many efforts to measure nonprofit results have gone far off course, Mario Marino of Venture Philanthropy Partners returns with an essay looking at the "whys" and "whats" to measure rather than the "hows". (tags: philanthropy) NYC Human Services Data Project New York City is beginning an effort to encourage city resources to be deployed in data-driven ways. The project includes a number of foundations and a member of the…

• Does Logic Impair Philanthropic Effectiveness?

  Sean Stannard-Stockton

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am

  One of my favorite new (to me) blogs is the fantastically named Full Contact Philanthropy, authored by David Henderson, CEO of Idealistics Inc. and social enterprise consultant Dan Elitzer. In the wake my back and forth with Martin Brookes over the role of guilt in social investing, Dan left a comment that I want to share. My objection to Martin feeling guilty about making a non-optimized charitable donation focused on the need for empathy in philanthropy to not be displaced by logic. But Dan took the argument a step further and argues that ignoring the empathic urge undermines philanthropic…

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  Cause Global: Social Media for Social Change

• After Slacktivism

  13 Mar 2010 | 11:14 am

  Who says social advocates can't raise big money and forge lasting donor relationships online for their causes? Today's South by Southwest (SxSW) panel on slacktivism -- more elegantly and formally called Debunking the Myth of Social Media Fundraising -- offered a rousing antidote to the notionof ineffectual, click-and-give philanthropyUrban Dictionary defines slacktivism -- a portmanteau of the words "slacker" and "activism" -- as "a way of pretending to care while sitting ... in front of a computer playing WoW." Such detachment, the panelists asserted, is becoming less of a factor in today's…

• Where Ware

  13 Mar 2010 | 9:52 am

  It's all about location-smart social media this year at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin. Dozens of new start-ups launching there this weekend offer new ways to help people connect geographically in real-time, on the fly, using their mobile phones and devices. But just some of these new start-ups use social media for social good.Here are a few very new start-up social enterprises which have, so far, triggered some buzz among the more than 5,000 SxSW attendees (many want to "discover" the next Twitter or Foursquare):* Vicarious.ly is a real-time, location-based information stream that…

• Cause-washing: The New Black?

  11 Mar 2010 | 6:40 am

  We've all heard about green-washing, what Urban Dictionary defines as "when companies pretend to be environmentally friendly -- when in fact they are not." Now there's a new term -- cause-washing -- that's being used with increasing frequency in the blogosphere to describe inauthentic marketing-for-good.To talk about this and other new trends and challenges in the worlds of corporate responsibility and social enterprise, I sat down recently with the popular Harvard Business School marketing professor V. Kasturi Rangan, who moderated a panel in February on the subject at Harvard's Social…

• "You" Video

  11 Mar 2010 | 5:43 am

  And now for the next generation of bringing YOU into videos, check out the latest "Blue State" fund-raising appeal from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), in partnership with MoveOn.org and Brave New Films. Called "Glenn Beck Attacks," the campaign personalizes a video to include, well, you -- using a Facebook interface that "grabs" your photo with the click of your mouse.The video caption reads: "Fox host Glenn Beck spent much of the last week claiming that a normal, everyday progressive was linked to Stalin, Elvis, Joe Biden's cousin, and the guy who came up with the idea of…

• The Good Capitalist Party

  11 Mar 2010 | 5:42 am

  South by Southwest (SxSW), the annual social media and cause festival that brings thousands to Austin, Texas, each spring, is offering something new this year for social entrepreneurs and other social innovators: The Good Capitalist Party. It's a bottom-up event organized by Justmeans reader and social entrepreneur Martin Montero that's gone viral in the past week or two among those SxSWers looking to party and network around making business better.The event was originally to have been just another networking event at the festival, which is hosting more than 200 such side events this year at…

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  Sasha Dichter's Blog

• Which chorus?

  Sasha

  10 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  You’re probably hearing one of two choruses right now: “Slow down!  You’re not being practical.  That’s not possible.  I don’t get it and don’t see how we’ll get there.  You need to make things smaller, more clear, more well-defined, more actionable!!” *chirp* *chirp* *chirp* *chirp* (the quiet, soothing, pleasant, cricket-like background noise where no one’s telling you you’re crazy) Number two feels so much better, is so much easier and cleaner, and the people you like and respect (your Board, your boss, your co-workers, your team) give you their stamp of approval.

• Who works for you?

  Sasha

  9 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  Revolutionary question of the day – which I was asked, and am passing on: do I work for my boss, or does she work for me? And, as a corollary, does my team work for me or do I work for my team? What’s the difference?  Here’s one example: If the person who owns all the data and metrics on my team works for me, then I tell her: “you need to take ownership of operations, of making sure everyone is doing what they need to do.” But if I work for her, then I say to her, “OK, you’re the boss.  That means you’re THE person responsible for us reaching our goals.  I work for you, and…

• Out of time

  Sasha

  4 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  I just went to the hospital to visit some close friends whose baby will likely be born by the time this blog is posted.  It is five days before the due date, and when I asked how things were going my friend said, “It’s going great, but it’s been kind of sudden.” Because I was going to meet him after work, rather than heading home, I didn’t rush out of work in the way I normally do. Normally, my time is ruled by the strict deadline of the train I catch every day.  Without the deadline, I “just finished up a few things,” and I left work 45 minutes later than I’d planned.

• The gift you give

  Sasha

  3 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  There are two reasons I’ve been thinking and writing about generosity: first, I know I’ll be happier the more generous I am, so I’m practicing.  Second, by experiencing the rewards of my own generosity, I will be able to translate something I KNOW into something I FEEL. Let me explain. Most people don’t feel comfortable asking other people for donations to causes they believe in.  I’ve been told often, even by people who give a lot, that there’s deep discomfort in “hitting up my friends,” and I’ve witnessed fabulous nonprofit professionals who commit their lives to…

• Buddy can you spare $20?

  Sasha

  2 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  My generosity experiment from last December began on the NYC subway.  A homeless man asked passengers for money, I thought about giving, but then I rationalized and stalled just long enough to let myself off the hook.  When I walked out of the train I knew I had done the wrong thing. People who run ultramarathons –100 mile runs – say that in order to finish, they have to decide and commit before the race how they’re going to react to duress.  If they don’t have a plan, they will make decisions in the moment, based on fear or pain, that will keep them from finishing.  There’s…

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  High Impact Philanthropy

• Weekend Wrap-up: Presidential Philanthropy, Haiti News, and Upcoming Events

  impactsp2walden

  12 Mar 2010 | 8:42 am

  And just like that, another week in March has passed. As a heads-up, this weekend marks the start of Daylight Savings in the U.S.—remember to “Spring Forward” on Saturday night. In national news, I learned yesterday, from the Associated Press, that President Obama will donate a portion of his Nobel Prize award to two education organizations that were highlighted in Pathways to Student Success College Summit, featured on pg. 39, and the Posse Foundation, featured on pg. 51, will both receive $125,000. Additionally, $100,000 will be donated to AfriCare, an HIV/AIDS program funding…

• High Impact Philanthropy in the Downturn: Hunger – Donate a digital can for 10 States to win a total 1.5 million meals

  impactsp2walden

  11 Mar 2010 | 12:55 pm

  Last November, the Center released its latest philanthropic investment guide, High Impact Philanthropy in the Downturn: Focus on Housing, Health, and Hunger (A Guide for Donors). The guide provides examples of how donors can get “great bang for buck” by making a donations based on the Models In Practice we highlight in each section. Kat Rosqueta and Carol McLaughlin recently presented our guide’s findings for the Pauline Shaw Holsaert (PSH) Research Colloquium Series in the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2). Visit our facebook page for photos and a short video of…

• Blog Reaction: Philanthropy and Guilt

  impactsp2walden

  9 Mar 2010 | 1:20 pm

  Yesterday, I saw a twitter headline in my TweetDeck that read, The Guilt of the Social Investor, from the Tactical Philanthropy Advisors blog. Naturally, I followed the info trail and was surprised to be directed to a February blog post by Martin Brookes of New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) titled, I admit it, I’m guilty of wasting charitable funds. Gasp! Before I reached over my desk to phone the social investing police, I read the blog further to come to terms with Brookes’ admission. His guilt is linked to his knowledge and experience in philanthropy and social investing, and…

• Weekend Wrap-up: Haiti/Chile, Donor Humility, & Better Teaching

  impactsp2

  5 Mar 2010 | 1:53 pm

  Haiti/Chile: The role of experience Last week, we wrote a CBS news op-ed where we described the kind of  donations whose impact lasts long after the headlines and celebrity appeals end (Giving Donations that Transform Haiti).  In it, we describe effective models in education, health and livelihood that have the potential to move Haiti from recovery to long-term, sustainable development. Since then, an earthquake hit Chile with a geological force reported to be 500x more powerful than the one that hit Haiti. But the humanitarian crisis has thankfully not been as great, due to the capacity of…

• Weekend Wrap-up: “Info”lanthropy- What information matters to you?

  impactsp2walden

  26 Feb 2010 | 2:25 pm

  It’s the end of another long and snowy week but I had to fire off a few thoughts after reading two blog posts: Does information want to be free in philanthropy? (Tactical Philanthropy Advisors Blog, Sean Stannard-Stockton) What’s ours is yours, really! (The Communications Network Blog, Bruce Trachtenberg) I’m also curious about how others value information and what they hope to do with the information once it’s been read, discussed, synthesized, and so on and so forth. I made a few comments to Sean Stannard-Stockton’s post here, but I also wanted to include Bruce…

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  New Voices of Philanthropy

• Storytelling and The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears

  Paul Bachleitner

  15 Mar 2010 | 9:22 am

  The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears is a novel that I recently had the pleasure of reading by first-time author Dinaw Mengestu, an Ethiopian American. I’m a communications consultant and writer for philanthropy and nonprofits, and I’m also a creative writer. His novel drew my attention to how I often compartmentalize the two forms of communication when, really, one often complements the other. Compelling stories can personalize the broad-based change that social justice work seeks to create. Like Mengestu, the book’s protagonist, Sepha Stephanos, is an Ethiopian immigrant. But…

• The Price of Inaction

  Trista Harris

  7 Mar 2010 | 6:15 pm

  Last week I was driving my kids to school and noticed a chunk of ice near the lane where I was driving, as I got closer I realized that it wasn’t ice, it was a white bunny. It was covered with dirt and was unable to hop over the small wall of ice that the snowplow had left on the side of the road. So it was trapped between a wall of ice and four lanes of morning traffic. I was running late and kept going but thought that someone behind me would stop or maybe I could go back after dropping off the kids and put it over the snowbank. After I dropped the kids off at school, I checked my…

• Small Change: Why Business Won’t Save the World

  Trista Harris

  28 Feb 2010 | 2:50 pm

  The South Asian Philanthropy Project has a great interview up with Michael Edwards, Demos researcher and author. Some excerpts are below: We are delighted to have Michael Edwards as a guest at the South Asian Philanthropy Project.  Michael and I chatted recently about his new book, Small Change: Why Business Won’t Save the World, and the field of philanthropy in general. Michael is an independent writer and activist who is affiliated with the New York-based think-tank Demos, the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and the Brooks World Poverty Institute at Manchester…

• Next Gen Fellowship Available

  Trista Harris

  22 Feb 2010 | 2:55 pm

  Independent Sector is pleased to announce the second year of the American Express NGen Fellows Program, which builds the capacity of 12 under-40 professionals from IS member organizations to shape the future of the nonprofit community. Visit the IS website to learn more about the benefits of participation in the fellows program, the selection process, and how to apply. Applications are due March 29, 2010. NGen fellows will enjoy a series of exceptional opportunities over the course of nine months, including collaborating with other under-40 leaders, interacting with established mentors, and…

• Why Capitol Hill Meetings are Important

  Trista Harris

  16 Feb 2010 | 10:52 am

  Foundations on the Hill (FOTH) is an annual two-day legislative and public policy event in Washington, DC for foundation staff members and philanthropic leaders. We need Next Gen voices at this table! This year, FOTH will take place on Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 17. The event is co-hosted by the Council on Foundations and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers. During the event participants will receive a legislative briefing on policies relating to the philanthropic sector, discuss philanthropic partnerships and initiatives with key Hill staff and administration…

• 

  Blog for Change

• Announcing the Top 10 Ideas for Change in America

  Ben Rattray

  15 Mar 2010 | 12:02 pm

  After the submission of 2505 ideas and 209,950 votes, we’re happy to announce the 10 winners of the Ideas for Change in America competition. The winning ideas illustrate that the issues important to people across the country are much broader than those few that consistently dominate debate in Washington. Because they challenge the status quo, these [...]

• Turning Ideas for Change Into Actual Change

  Maria Tchijov

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:16 pm

  Ideas for change – we all have them. I, for one, would like to change my mailman’s annoying habit of forgetting to deliver my mail every couple of days. But, it’s a long road from saying something should be changed to making the change real. Take, for example, the Ideas for Change in America competition: over [...]

• Victory: The Huffington Post Pulls Pit Bulls From List of Dangerous Pets

  Maria Tchijov

  5 Mar 2010 | 12:43 pm

  We just received word that The Huffington Post has decided to remove pit bulls from its list of dangerous pets, in response to our petition. The 284 Change.org members and other online activists who sent emails to Katherine Goldstein, Huff Po’s Green Editor, convinced her that pit bulls don’t belong on the same list as [...]

• How do Change.org Petitions Make a Difference?

  Maria Tchijov

  5 Mar 2010 | 9:24 am

  A few weeks ago, I received a really interesting message from a Change.org member. This unnamed member asked a very simple and straightforward question: are your petitions real? An easy way to answer that question is to point to our Victories column. Clearly, our petitions get the job done. But, for us, simply getting the job [...]

• Change.org’s February Field Trips

  Maria Tchijov

  26 Feb 2010 | 12:14 pm

  Personally, I find February to be a pretty dreary month. Even if you haven’t spent the past few weeks digging out from the Snowpocolypse on the East Coast, the weather and holiday selection are probably enough to make you want to crawl into bed and sleep straight through to March. That feeling might explain why several [...]

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  In Search of Sanuk

• Because I’m a Girl

  Dwight Turner

  9 Mar 2010 | 2:16 am

  Yesterday, March 8th, was International Women’s Day. Many organizations have identified investing in girls as not only key to improving the status of women, but essential to the success in the fight against poverty. Today, I wanted to share this 2 minute video that shares some of the facts revealed in Plan Interntaional’s Because I Am A Girl Report. This holiday has also reminded me that everyday I am fortunate to be surrounded by courageous, inspirational women. They are key to the achievements of ISOS. To give you an idea, I went back and looked through our list of volunteers.

• Top Picks for Volunteering in Bangkok

  Dwight Turner

  4 Mar 2010 | 1:14 am

  Last Saturday our new location really jumped off to a great start. When we get settled in a little more you can expect a more detailed update from Chris. This week I want to tell you about Kirsty (aka Nerdy Nomad) whose hard work to produce an International Volunteering Ebook is in the final stretch. The ebook will be packed full of helpful steps to get people making a difference in exotic locales all over the place. A significant portion of the ebook will be interviews, free or low cost volunteering options, and reviews of paid opportunities. When it launches the book will be available for…

• From the Crossroads of Change

  Dwight Turner

  26 Feb 2010 | 9:39 am

  Tomorrow begins the expansion of the Sanuk My Saturday volunteering project into the Yommarat community. I’m excited, but we have a lot of work ahead of us. Looking for funding to sustain this project has forced me to articulate some of the goals I have. Today I want to share them with you, because you’re already investors in this effort through your comments, donations, and help spreading the word. 1. Build strong relationships - This is the most important part of what we’re doing. Why? Because it allows us to assess the specific needs of the families. For example, we found…

• Locked Out Volunteers [Photo Blog]

  Dwight Turner

  18 Feb 2010 | 4:27 am

  I hope everyone enjoyed Chris’s article on Helping Nu Nu Help the Kids last week. This week I want to share more photos from our Sanuk My Saturday project. These photos are from a Saturday when we had many new volunteers join. Everyone was pumped and eager to meet the kids– just one problem. When we arrived at the place we normally teach, the door was locked and whoever had the keys (I still don’t know who) was no where to be found. So we had to come up with a solution on the fly and a volunteer photographer documented it all. Enjoy the photos and remember you can donate $10…

• Helping Nu Nu Help the Kids

  Chris Castellani

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:00 pm

  This week, we’re featuring a special post by Chris Castellani. For a while now Chris has has a playing a big role in ISOS as the coordinator of the Sanuk My Saturday program. Expect to hear more from her and enjoy this week as she recounts her journey to the edge of a refugee camp near the Thai-Burmese border. Our journey started from Bangkok with an overnight bus to Chiang Mai, a short flight from there to Mae Hong Song, and finally a sangthaew (think taxi meets the pickup truck) ride to Na Soi, approximately 40 kilometers away. In the calm, scenic hills of Na Soi lies the Na Soi…

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  Asian Philanthropy Forum

• Aravind to receive $1.5 million Hilton Humanitarian Prize

  Dien Yuen

  13 Mar 2010 | 9:42 pm

  Aravind Eye Care System, the world's largest eye care provider, will receive the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize of $1.5 million this year at the Global Philanthropy Forum. The prize was established by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 1996 and "honors a charitable or non-governmental organization that has made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering anywhere in the world." Previous award winners include PATH, BRAC, Tostan, Women for Women International, Partners in Health, and Heifer International.Aravind performs 300,000 surgeries each year. 70%…

• Asian philanthropy news digest - 03/10/10

  Dien Yuen

  10 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  *  Robert R. Calingo was named Interim Chief Executive of the Asian Pacific Philanthropy Consortium. Bobby was previously the Executive Director of TeamEnergy Foundation Philippines and served on APPC's board since 2005. Bobby will lead APPC while the organization determines their direction.*  The Arts and Culture Development Office of the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts in Singapore has set up a new portal, give2arts.sg, to promote cultural philanthropy and by enabling on-line donations and volunteerism. There are 78 arts and cultural organizations listed so far.*…

• Forbes Asia names 48 heroes of philanthropy - 2010

  Dien Yuen

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  Forbes Asia released their list of 48 Heroes in Philanthropy for 2010. In its third year, the Forbes list features four individuals chosen from 12 markets in the region, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.John Koppisch, associate editor of Forbest Asia said the individuals chose are not the biggest givers but:"Instead we aim to highlight a varied group of generous people, some holdovers from last year but mostly new names who deserve recognition. By calling attention to these 48 we hope to encourage…

• Ingenuity Fund Challenge: Win Trip Abroad to Witness Grameen Foundation's Work

  Dien Yuen

  6 Mar 2010 | 2:44 pm

  by guest blogger, Seena Aras, Director of Online and Annual Giving at Grameen FoundationDespite incredible economic progress over the past two decades, Asia remains home to the majority of the world’s poor people. Grameen Foundation creates economic opportunities that help the world’s poorest, especially women, improve their lives and escape poverty. We focus on five core countries in Asia—China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines—where we have provided support for many years.   Together, these countries are home to more than 60 percent of the world’s poor people,…

• Funding Opportunity: Seattle International Foundation

  Dien Yuen

  2 Mar 2010 | 9:32 am

  The Seattle International Foundation is now accepting applications for its Global Program. The goal of the Global Program is to support and foster local organizations working internationally. The Foundation is interested in development projects in all regions of the world, although it has a special interest in Central America. Preference will be given to organizations based in the greater Puget Sound region and organizations based outside of Washington State are not eligible. The program is open to 501(c)3 organizations, or those with fiscal sponsorship, with an annual organizational or…

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  The Philanthropic Family

• Don’t Almost Give – Give

  Sharon Schneider

  12 Mar 2010 | 6:06 am

  Any of this sound familiar? I almost wrote a check to Partners in Health after the earthquake in Haiti. I almost offered to volunteer in my son’s classroom. I almost told someone who casually used the “r-word” to get a clue. I almost called my senators to let them know how I feel about the health care bill. I almost wrote a blog post about the Carson’s sale event to benefit Goodwill (Donate to Goodwill, get 20% off). Our character isn’t comprised of the things we almost did–it’s the accumulation of the things we actually did. Good intentions and…

• Friday, March 19 UNICEF Tap Project Benefit Dinner (in Chicago) to kick-off World Water Week

  Sharon Schneider

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:12 pm

  As a huge fan of Sunda (sushi restaurant) and, of course, water, I just had to pass this along. Please join Sunda & UNICEF Tap Project Chicago for a very special evening kicking off World Water Week, March 21-27. Join us in our new private dining room for a sit down, four course dinner from Executive Chef Rodelio Aglibot including wines, cocktails and more!  Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served at 7PM and dinner at  8PM. Cost is $100 per person including tax and gratuity, seating is limited. Proceeds go to UNICEF’s water and sanitation programs bringing clean water to…

• Scroogenomics

  Sharon Schneider

  20 Dec 2009 | 9:47 am

  Though the title of the book sounds crabby, Joel Waldfogel has a point that’s really about bringing joy to people we care about enough to buy presents for. The Wharton professor and author of “Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn’t Buy Presents for the Holidays” says in Time magazine that when we buy things for ourselves, we only pay what it’s worth to us. But when we buy things for other people, we’re more likely to overpay and throw the economics of value out of whack. It’s bad for us, because we overspend and tend to rack up debt. And it’s bad for…

• Donations Replace Dust Collectors

  Sharon Schneider

  14 Dec 2009 | 12:11 pm

  If you’re anything like my family, you’ve given up buying holiday presents for the adults. Rather than searching for novelties and decorative baubles (which my brother-in-law refers to as “dust collectors”), we just give money to charity instead. Actually, as it turns out, a lot of you are JUST like my family. The American Cancer Society recently did a survey of over 1,000 adults about their holiday plans. Key findings include: “This year, nearly half of adult consumers are at least somewhat likely to change conventional gifting traditions by asking for or…

• 25 Things You Can Do to Make a Better World for Women and Girls

  Sharon Schneider

  10 Dec 2009 | 7:40 am

  I wanted to share a list that calls us to use many of the assets we have to bring about social change that I briefly described in my last post, More Than Money, Part II. It goes without saying that you have power as a donor. But beyond that, I believe your power lies in these areas: You are a Consumer You are an Investor You are a person with a Reputation You are a person with Skills and Talents You are a person with a Social Network In fact, the list below makes me wonder if I missed a bucket:  6. You are a Citizen. Straight from the esteemed Chicago Foundation for Women, which is…

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  What Do You Stand For

• New Research: Nonprofit Marketing Trend Tracker

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:00 pm

  As more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the U.S. vie for the attention of potential donors and supporters, the newly released 2010 Cone Nonprofit Marketing Trend Tracker reveals a powerful, if unexpected, ally for-profit companies. According to the new survey, more than three-quarters (78%) of consumers believe a nonprofits partnership with a trusted company or brand makes a cause stand out. We have long known such cross-sector partnerships benefit companies, but the results of this survey reveal the nonprofit is perched under the same halo. Not only do many consumers feel…

• Disaster Donations: Haiti vs. Chile

  4 Mar 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Donations for relief efforts in Chile pale in comparison to those for Haiti. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports in an interview that a mere $250,000 raised by Americans three days following the Chile disaster, which starkly contrasts the nearly $97 million raised three days following the Haiti earthquake. Despite experiencing a stronger earthquake, Chiles existing building codes and infrastructure better prepared it to cope with damages. However, several other factors may have influenced the difference in donations:Consumers Are Tapped Out Many Americans responded to the Haiti crisis by…

• Teach a Cause to Fish

  25 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  To infuse passion into a cause, organizations can look to this classic adage for inspiration - Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. In the cause-related marketing space, were seeing this concept play out as some organizations offer not just philanthropic dollars and product tie-ins, but the actual tools and infrastructure needed to empower consumers to rally their own supporters for the cause.  Case in point is the recently launched Bisquick Pancake Nation (Cone client), which provides consumers with the tools they need to…

• Guest Post: Driving Good Intentions to Greater Impact

  21 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  The following is a guest post by a Cone client. Evan Hochberg directs Deloittes national Community Involvement program where he provides strategic direction for philanthropy, volunteerism, pro-bono and workplace giving.  It has been 10 months since the Serve America Act was passed into law. During that time, the tremendous buzz created by President Obama and others on the subject of service has been palpable. However, much of the discussion has been focused on driving numbers volunteers and volunteer hours. Today, as the corporate giving community celebrates International Corporate…

• Going Beyond Wins and Losses, Sports Step up for Causes

  18 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Were getting our sports fix in 2010, bouncing from the Super Bowl right into the Olympic Winter Games. Luckily for us, cause marketers have reason to cheer, as cause connections with sports are gaining prominence. Street & Smiths Sports Business Journal even noted in a recent issue, as sports properties have grown in prominence, so has the sentiment that they must do more for the community, beyond wins and losses.  The immense passion and strong commitment required of both sports and causes make them ideal teammates, and cause marketing for sports can be approached in a number…

• 

  Travelanthropist

• Weekly Radar: News & Stories Around the Web

  travelanthropist

  14 Mar 2010 | 10:42 am

  We’ve rounded up some interesting news and stories around the Web this week: Five Ways to Avoid Bad Travel Deals (SunSentinel.com) Thailand Within Reach (Chicago Tribune) What Not To Do in Pakistan (Matador) China to Build High Speed Rail Link to Europe (Budget Travel) Google Maps Thirty African Countries (PSFK)

• Top Three Emerging Travel Destinations

  travelanthropist

  11 Mar 2010 | 1:09 pm

  Cheapflights UK, a leading travel website has identified three top destinations based on searches on its website that are “the latest benefactors to the spoils of the recession.” “Perhaps the two most interesting trends to come out of the recession are a heightened global conscience and a thirst for exploration,” says Nadine Hallak, Travel Expert for Cheapflights UK, “Travelers are more up to going the distance not only in flight time, but also in adventure. Whether it’s helping to feed an economy that’s fighting to grow or getting better acquainted with ...

• Consumer Confidence Boosts Overseas Travel

  travelanthropist

  9 Mar 2010 | 10:17 am

  After a year of staycation or traveling close-to-home, travel providers are seeing a resurgence of international travel bookings for 2010. This means that U.S. travelers are feeling more comfortable with their job and economic situations. They are overcoming doubts about the economy as shown by their willingness to invest in travel, leave the office for longer periods, access discretionary funds, etc. At the very least these booking gains indicate their belief that things are stabilizing and that an economic turnaround is in progress. “Travel is the ultimate barometer of consumer…

• Poll Results: Volunteer Travel Preference & Experience

  travelanthropist

  4 Mar 2010 | 8:41 am

  We conducted an informal poll on our website to find out our readers' interest, preference, and experience with philanthropic/volunteer travel. Here are the results...

• Your Travel Booking Can Support Global Causes

  travelanthropist

  2 Mar 2010 | 9:51 am

  MASSIVEGOOD is a new fund-raising initiative aimed at raising funds for global health causes by allowing travelers to make “micro-contributions” when they book a plane, hotel, or car. MASSIVEGOOD uses the power of social media to help stop the millions of preventable diseases and deaths in the developing world. Travelers can make their trip really meaningful and connect with fellow contributors on the website, a social network for those committed to building a healthier world. MASSIVEGOOD will go live this Thursday. This hassle-free, easy-to-give model will work like this: a…

• 

  Being the Change I Wish to See

• Ugandan kill-the gays bill part 11: not to become law

  joubess

  13 Mar 2010 | 8:10 pm

  This article is part 11 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. The first 10 articles can be accessed at the following links:Part 1: Born in the USAPart 2: Horrific DetailsPart 3: American Silence is Deafening Part 4: HIV-AIDS Statistics in UgandaPart 5: State Dept Must Make US Policy ClearPart 6: Richard Cohen and debunking gay curePart 7: Evangelicals were for it before they were against itPart 8: Rick Warren forced to oppose Ugandan billPart 9: Condemn the bill to Uganda’s PresidentPart 10: The Family…

• Which health reform polls is Mitch McConnell reading?

  joubess

  12 Mar 2010 | 8:04 pm

  Not the mainstream polls taken recently. I just heard a piece on NPR where McConnell kept saying that the American people don’t want health reform, and if Democrats pass it, reform will hurt their election chances in November. Not true.According to a March 10, 2010 Benenson Strategy Group report, a large majority of Americans want reform, and if anything, they believe reform doesn’t go far enough.He also said that “forcing” the bill through reconciliation is unprecedented and it denies the “majority” in the Senate the right to vote on the bill. Last time I…

• Ugandan kill-the-gays bill part 10: “The Family” finally condemns the bill

  joubess

  23 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pm

  This article is part 10 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. The first 9 articles can be accessed at the following links:Part 1: Born in the USAPart 2: Horrific DetailsPart 3: American Silence is Deafening Part 4: HIV-AIDS Statistics in UgandaPart 5: State Dept Must Make US Policy ClearPart 6: Richard Cohen and debunking gay curePart 7: Evangelicals were for it before they were against itPart 8: Rick Warren forced to oppose Ugandan billPart 9: Condemn the bill to Uganda’s PresidentJeff Sharlet recently…

• 

  Change Your Life

• Who Do You Work For?

  Steven

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:00 am

  Photo by Andres Rueda By Steven Many of us would love to work for ourselves but such a step is unlikely, if not entirely impossible.  The problem with working for ourselves isn’t that we cannot do it, it is that our perspective on what it means to be our own boss is slightly skewed.  What if I told you that you could work for yourself without even quitting your job? That is exactly what I am going to tell you!  You can work for yourself without even quitting your job! How?  It is all about modifying your perspective on what it means to work for yourself.  When we think of working…

• Don’t Think About It. Do These 5 Things Instead.

  Tara Mohr

  10 Mar 2010 | 4:29 am

  Photo by Jacob Botter By Tara Sophia Mohr Most of us learned early in life that “thinking about it” is always a good idea. That is what reasonable, intelligent people do when they have a big decision in front of them, right? They think about it. The truth is that quite often, when it comes to the big questions in our lives — Should I take the job? Should I start the business? Should I marry her? Should I relocate? — thinking gets us stuck. By thinking, I don’t mean all neurological activity. I mean our everyday definition of thinking: the furrowed brow, fist at chin, solitary…

• 7 Tips to Beat the Winter Work Blues

  Karl Staib

  8 Mar 2010 | 3:30 am

  Photo by Shahram Sharif By Karl Staib When it’s cold we want to hibernate, stay tucked under the covers and just sleep. We know this happens every year, but every time winter sets in we get those blues that we can’t escape. It’s like Pepé Le Pew chasing after us. I know what I’m talking about because my winter blues were my arch nemesis when I lived in Pennsylvania. My depressive state would kick in from any little thing, a somewhat negative comment from a co-worker or a rejection of an idea at work. I always walked a thin line that could break at any moment. I was happy during the…

• 3 Ways Your Breathing Can Improve Your Productivity

  Christopher R. Edgar

  4 Mar 2010 | 3:30 am

  Photo by It’s Life By Christopher R. Edgar While we’re working, we often get so absorbed in our projects that we forget about our breathing.  When this happens, particularly when we’re under stress, we can lapse into restricted breathing—inhaling in short gasps, or shallowly into the upper chest.  What we don’t often realize is that how we breathe can deeply affect our efficiency and enjoyment in what we do.  In this post, I’ll offer three breathing techniques to help you stay focused and peaceful as you work. 1.  Breathe Through The Urge Productivity…

• How to Escape Mediocrity

  Vlad Dolezal

  1 Mar 2010 | 3:30 am

  Photo by dev null By Vlad Dolezal “Mediocrity is the worst enemy of greatness.” – Icelandic proverb Imagine you sit down on a hot radiator. In a few seconds, you will feel intense heat on your bum, jump up, curse, then go sit down somewhere else. And you’ll be ok. Now imagine you’re in an uncomfortably hot room. But you’re feeling lazy, and the discomfort isn’t quite enough to make you get up and open the window or turn down the heating. So you stay, uncomfortable, for hours… A lot of people live their life like that. Doing alright, not entirely…

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  Charitable Gift Giving Blog

• Have Lips Like Lady Gaga!

  steve

  13 Mar 2010 | 8:10 pm

  This MAC Viva Glam VII lipstick at Nordstrom was released only a few weeks ago and has already gotten some rave reviews on their site. Cosmetic company MAC worked with Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper, having them design their own lipsticks. Lady Gaga’s is a “bubble gum pink”, while Cyndi Lauper’s (also available on the site) is a “coral red”. Their demi-sheer with a slick, wet look finish, making lips look soft, smooth, and moist. The lipsticks are one-of-a-kind designs, with the familiar sleek MAC logo on the outside, and a stylized signature from the artists…

• Auction of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon Trial Evidence on eBay for Charity

  steve

  10 Mar 2010 | 8:40 pm

  It’s sad to hear all the stories of political corruption these days. But in Baltimore, the Maryland State Prosecutor’s office has done something very clever as far as turning something negative into something very positive. For those of you who may not have been following local Baltimore politics, Mayor Sheila Dixon has been in a lot of hot water of late. She was investigated and indicted on various charges of misappropriation, theft, bribery, and perjury. Among other things, the evidence showed that she took gift cards which were intended to be given to the poor, and used them to…

• Body Moisturizing Lotion which promotes healing thorugh art.

  steve

  7 Mar 2010 | 8:27 pm

  Kiehl’s ‘KAWS’ Creme de Corps is a body moisturizer formed under a partnership between Kiehl and New York-based artist KAWS.In the U.S., 100% of proceeds from sales of this lotion will go to assist RxArt, a non-profit organization which promotes healing through exposure to original fine art. RxArt brings art programs to pediatric hospitals.Spending time with sick kids and introducing them to beautiful fine art is a wonderful way to boost their morale, inspire them to enjoy the beauty in life amid the difficulty they’re going through, and help the healing…

• Fiji Water Home Delivery Discount Coupon Code / Promotional Code

  steve

  4 Mar 2010 | 8:59 pm

  I started drinking Fiji Water a few years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those snooty celebrity water snobs. I just happen to like the clear, clean taste of their water more than tap water or bottled water like Aquafina which is basically filtered tap water. There’s also something pretty cool about drinking water that came from an island in the South Pacific. Just as exotic as water from the French Alps, and much more exotic than a spring in Maine The back of the square bottle talks about how rainwater in Fiji filters through volcanic rock and collects into a…

• Lego Fallingwater Set

  steve

  1 Mar 2010 | 8:00 pm

  While visiting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin desert home in Scottsdale, Arizona a few days ago, I came across this in the gift shop. It is Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Fallingwater”. Bar none, it’s one of the absolute coolest Lego sets you’ll find anywhere. The first thing to know is that the kit is not for kids. No bright primary colors, pirates or Jedi knights here. Instead, you’ll find a Lego set that serves as a tribute to the nuances of the great work of architecture and as a nod to the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s great for…

• 

  The GiveWell Blog

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part III

  Holden

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:31 am

  Continued from Part I and Part II, these are my thoughts from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. Some of what I saw and discussed prompted me to rethink our frameworks for evaluating certain kinds of programs: Vaccinations. We’ve taken the “vaccination coverage rate” as a reasonable proxy for lives changed, since the evidence base for vaccines is so strong. But of course, “vaccination coverage rate” describes how many children received vaccines, not how many received functional and correctly administered vaccines. I was somewhat concerned that…

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part II

  Holden

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:14 pm

  Continued from Part I, these are my thoughts from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. Diverting skilled labor looks like a real concern. The COO of SEF stressed that one of SEF’s biggest challenges is human resources (i.e., continually finding good people to staff it). I can easily see how this would be. As I mentioned in Part I, I found that the nonprofits I visited were employing capable, impressive people with a combination of local background and well-above-average educational credentials and command of English. On one hand, seeing these staffers made me feel good…

• Thoughts from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique), Part I

  Holden

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:27 pm

  I previously posted “raw data” (pictures, audio, notes) from my recent visit to two of our top charities in Africa. The next few posts will give my thoughts from the trip. First, a note on representativeness. I was only in Africa for two weeks; I was a complete outsider; I certainly don’t think that anything I saw “proves” anything about the programs or areas I was looking at. In many cases what I saw (and what I discussed with staff) prompted me to discuss and think harder about issues I’d already thought about a little. So as I share thoughts from the…

• Nothing wrong with selfish giving - just don’t call it philanthropy

  Holden

  8 Mar 2010 | 8:52 am

  Tactical Philanthropy has an interesting discussion of “non-optimized giving”: New Philanthropy Capital CEO Martin Brookes “confesses” to “wasting charitable funds” on a cause he doesn’t believe is the best, and Sean responds that “Under your logic, we should all feel guilty about all of our giving that does not go to the single best charity in the world … Be proud of yourself, Martin. You’re a great philanthropist.” I don’t think it’s wrong to make gifts that aren’t “optimized for pure social impact.”…

• Pictures/audio/notes from my visits to Small Enterprise Foundation (South Africa) and VillageReach (Mozambique)

  Holden

  5 Mar 2010 | 11:56 am

  Between 2/10 and 2/23, I visited two of our recommended charities: The Small Enterprise Foundation (our top-rated microfinance organization and one of two winners of our recent Economic Empowerment Grant - note that our review is not yet available but has been drafted and will be published shortly) and VillageReach (our current top-rated charity overall). (Note that the posts I authored on our self-review and plan, which ran while I was away, were all written and scheduled before I left.) This trip was my first time in Africa; it was also an opportunity to have more in-depth conversations…

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  Everyday Giving Blog

• Leave The World A Better Place

  Scott Couchenour

  10 Mar 2010 | 8:43 pm

  I recently attended my son's National Honor Society ceremony at the high school where he attends. The ritual is for several seniors to present speeches dealing with character, leadership, service, etc. One speech, in particular, caught my attention. The presenter, student Beth Kerlin, delivered a simple, yet profound idea: leave the world a better place. I gained her permission to share it with you on this blog. I trust it inspires you to continue giving everyday of your life. "When I was about 6 years old and in the 1st grade I lived right next door to the church where my father was a…

• 47 Broken Hearts Repaired

  Roger Carr

  14 Feb 2010 | 7:14 am

  Would You Like to Save a Child's Life? 47 children's hearts have already been repaired. Right now, you have the opportunity to improve your life and help save another child's life too! Dr.ManiDr.Mani is not your average internet marketer. Yes, he is an expert on creating information products and marketing online. But what makes him unique is his passion to save children's lives in his home country of India. Dr.Mani is a heart surgeon who uses his writing and marketing expertise to raise money to perform heart surgeries.  The heart surgeries are done for families who have a child with a…

• New Social Network to Support Charity Walks

  Roger Carr

  11 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm

  A new social networking site was launched today that was created specifically for people who are passionate about charity walks. Joining and participating is free. It is the Charity Walks Network. At the Charity Walks Network there is a forum to ask and answer questions. There is a blog where each member can post personal thoughts and experiences. There is even a section to promote charity walk events."Now walkathon leaders have a place to go to connect with each other, share ideas, and benefit from the accumulated wisdom of the crowd," said Lee Garverick, author of www.walkathonguide.com.

• Don't Miss This 1-day Opportunity

  Roger Carr

  21 Jul 2009 | 5:44 am

  Frequently, I get comments like "You're everywhere on the Web" and "I was searching on the Internet and your websites kept appearing in the results."This doesn't happen by accident. It is also much less frustrating and less time-consuming if you have a world-class mentor who can guide you through the steps you need to take.Two of my mentors are David Perdew and Mark Hendricks. They are world-class Internet marketers and mentors. They are also available to mentor you in person, and David is allowing me to give you a $200-off coupon code that will get you access to this opportunity for less…

• Comic with Serious Message

  Roger Carr

  27 Jun 2009 | 11:03 am

  This was my first attempt at creating a comic. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

• 

  Asian American Giving

• Lee D. Hwang: Quality of Life Foundation

  Dien Yuen

  12 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  We are pleased to introduce Lee D. Hwang, Founder and Executive Director of the Quality of Life Foundation to our community. In addition to running a non-profit, Lee serves as the Executive Director of Hanover Investments LLC, and as Senior Advisor to the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. This very accomplished Harvard Law graduate shares the background and future work of the Foundation with us: 1. What is the mission of the Quality of Life Foundation? What are your goals? The Quality of Life Foundation is a small San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit startup that seeks to engage…

• Asian American Community Fund grants to 25 groups

  Dien Yuen

  10 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  The Asian American Federation raised $275,000 over two years to meet the dollar for dollar challenge of the Cultures of Giving Fund. The matching grant was completed at the end of 2009. The Cultures of Giving Fund was established by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to empower emerging donor communities. With the increase of funds for grantmaking, the Federation divided their Community Fund into three separate rounds. The first round of grants awarded $190,000 to 25 agencies for diverse programs supporting Asian American nonprofits that include advancing child welfare, sustaining classes for…

• Celebrating International Women's Day

  Dien Yuen

  8 Mar 2010 | 10:45 am

  Today is International Women's Day, a global celebration for the appreciation of women and for their social, economic and political achievements. There are many online and off-line events planned for today so I hope you will be able to take part, even if it is sending a tweet to a woman you respect and appreciate. We are doing our part by highlighting the work of three women in philanthropy today:Seena Aras is the Director of Online & Annual Giving at Grameen Foundation. She is promoting the Ingenuity Fund Challenge, a marketing challenge that allows participants to raise awareness of…

• Use metrics to lessen the guilt of not giving more

  Dien Yuen

  7 Mar 2010 | 12:13 am

  The 2010 PNC Wealth and Values Survey paints a gloomy picture for charitable giving. One in four wealthy Americans have cut their giving in the past two years. Yet, more than half say they "feel an obligation to give back to their communities." The report also points out several recent philanthropic trends. One in five donors changed the type of organizations or causes they support. The size of the biggest charitable donations have also dropped. One-third of all donations range from $25,000 to under $1 million now. Gifts of $1 million or more have shrunk to less than 1% compared to 15% two…

• Leadership development & Funding for NYC groups

  Dien Yuen

  3 Mar 2010 | 6:05 am

  *  The Committee of 100 is seeking applicants for their Leadership Development Forum. C-100's professional leadership forum is designed for individuals with at least 6 years of professional experience. Through the event, mid-senior level professionals will develop an understanding of strategies needed to advance in their careers by learning directly from prominent C-100 members. Members and professionals will be matched based on career interests and be seated in groups of 5-6 in a roundtable setting for an in-depth discussion. The event is on Saturaday, April 10, 2010, Palace Hotel in San…

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  Elephantbeans

• Live from India (mysore blogs, gettem while they’re hot)

  admin

  13 Mar 2010 | 5:26 am

  Finding the Strawberry: Tales of an ashtanga midwife-to-be …There is a lot that I never imagined possible that has happened on this trip. Unfortunately, I dont think that it would all translate in a blog. I have had numerous “ah-ha” moments and really grown in both my practice and in my spirit... A Second Dose of Ashtanga from Mysore …So, here I am, milling around waiting to wander down to the shala to do the only part of the Mysore routine that I really, really don’t like doing. For a led class, it’s prudent to arrive very early, at least 45 minutes, and wait on…

• 2010: The Year of Ashtanga Books

  admin

  7 Mar 2010 | 4:38 am

  The uncertainty of practice in 2009 and 2010 – Is the shala open?  Will Sharath be teaching?  etc. – seems to be coinciding with a sudden surge of literature on and of a yoga that has been notoriously silent (except in blogs and secret chat rooms of course). Speaking of which, the blog “On the Ashtanga path while on mother Earth” cued us in on a couple of recent additions to our Yoga Reading List 2010… (clipped from industry press releases, although we’d be happy to review some copies…) “A BOLD, EYE-OPENING CHRONICLE OF YOGA’S RISE TO…

• No fear, no paranoia

  Miss Bean

  5 Mar 2010 | 6:24 am

  “Mysore: Here, The Mind Is Without Fear People of various nationalities, their well-toned bodies glistening with sweat in the early morning sun, gather around Imran’s mobile tender coconut shop for a ritual drink in an upscale Mysore locality. There is natural as well as a cultivated calm as they respond to questions about their safety following the blasts at the German Bakery in Pune last week.” (read more) He who thinks him (the Self) to be the killer, and who experiences him (the Self) as the killed - both of them know not. He (the Self) neither kills nor is killed. [Bg.

• Yoga Stops Traffick

  admin

  24 Feb 2010 | 3:09 am

  [from the Odanadi website] Over the past 20 years Odanadi Seva Trust has rescued and rehabilitated more than 1850 children, carried out 57 brothel raids and brought 137 traffickers to justice. With your help, compassion and cooperation, Odanadi will continue to provide a place of sanctuary for the survivors of human trafficking and offer them a chance to rebuild their lives. From the grand entrance gates of Mysore Palace, YOGA STOPS TRAFFICK INDIA will be led by a group of young people from Odanadi, many of whom are survivors of slavery, domestic abuse and forced prostitution. Over the years…

• Ongoing Reading List: India + Yoga + Hippies

  admin

  21 Feb 2010 | 3:47 pm

  Just got finished reading the latest in the Indiafile genre, which surprisingly, was not chick-lit.  It was a bit boring though.  Sorry. Magic Bus And the list begins: The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters by various Are You Experienced? by William Sutcliffe Asia On My Mind by Sally Hovey Wriggins Dork Whore: My Travels through Asia as a Twenty-Year-Old Pseudo-Virgin by Iris Bahr Dreaming in Hindi by Katherine Russell Rich Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Fear and Loathing in New Jersey by Debra Galant First There Is a Mountain: A Yoga Romance by Elizabeth Kadetsky A…

• 

  The Adsideologist

• Chicken Noodle Soup

  Kevin Berardinelli

  7 Mar 2010 | 3:29 pm

  Chicken Noodle Soup By Kevin Berardinelli Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 30 Min Cooking Time: 2-3 Hours Description I’ve never made chicken soup from scratch before, so I figured it was about time. Looking at a few different recipes online, it seems one can get as creative as desired and there is no way to really mess up – perfect guidelines for a first time recipe! Ingredients 1 Whole Chicken Chicken Stock Baby Carrots (half a small bag or so) Yukon Gold Potatoes (a few small ones) Egg Noodles (1/2 lb or so) 1 Large Sweet Onion Fresh Parsley Grated Parmesan Cheese Marjoram,…

• The Personal Finance System and Reasonable Economic Fasting

  Kevin Berardinelli

  4 Mar 2010 | 7:41 pm

  Understanding personal finance requires more than a regular checking of balances and a paying of bills. It requires: Conscientious recognition of all inputs and outputs of your personal financial system Analytical recognition of the internal and external factors that contribute to changes in your personal finance system Deliberate manipulation of the controllable factors when your short and long-term financial strategies dictate necessary change(s) Careful planning for and reaction to the uncontrollable factors in order to mitigate risks to your system and strategy Personal finance can be…

• Curiosity, Passion, and Quantifying Human Characteristics

  Kevin Berardinelli

  16 Feb 2010 | 6:19 pm

  “You can’t light the fire of passion in someone else if it doesn’t burn in you to begin with.” – Thomas Friedman In his The World Is Flat, Friedman speaks to the growing need for curiosity and passion in today’s job market. Core intelligence, as historically measured by the Intelligence Quotient (IQ), is and will always be important, but in a flat world it’s the curiosity and passion that will matter most. Friedman references a Curiosity Quotient (CQ) and a Passion Quotient (PQ) that purportedly parallel the common IQ framework for scoring a…

• Learning In The Clouds

  Kevin Berardinelli

  11 Feb 2010 | 3:50 pm

  No, I’m not talking about daydreaming although I have previously expressed my love for and interest in daydreaming as a necessary practice. But here, I’m talking about education and the internet. It is well understood that education as a discipline has made positive strides in recent decades, but still has many leaps to take. There exists an issue of a profound educational gap between demographics, an issue of comprehensive standards through which student understanding can be measured, and an issue of standards and processes by which teachers can be evaluated for feedback and…

• Spectrum Logic

  Kevin Berardinelli

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:33 pm

  The visual representation of information is critical for both learning and teaching. To put something on paper and organize the information as to make visual sense – in words, lines, colors, and curves – is to recognize some understanding and to create a basis for new insight and discovery. Logic is the study of reasoning, the systematic approach to reaching a conclusion, or the examination of competing arguments with regards to a central issue or question. Logic can be broken down into deductive and inductive reasoning, one drawing conclusions from specific examples and the other…

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  Kiva Loans

• Jonathan Kipruto Chepno : Kenya

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:20 pm

  $50 of $1,050 raised. Started raising funds on Mar 15, 2010 Jonathan is thirty six years old, married and a father of four beautiful children who are all in primary school. He plants maize and after the harvest he sells the maize and gets income, he does not only do maize farming but has also diversified to horticulture which he has been doing for the last seven (7) years. His farm is at rock farm in Sergoit Location in Eldoret. This will be his second loan in KADET and was introduced to KADET by a friend who is already a client. Jonathan will use the entire loan for farming like buying…

• Saidu Rahim Bangura : Sierra Leone

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:20 pm

  $125 of $800 raised. Started raising funds on Mar 15, 2010 Saidu Rahim Bangura is 38 years old and owns a drug store at the centre part of town. He is married with one child and three dependents who are his wife's sisters. He started his business with a small table in which he sells his drugs and has now rented a store. His wife usually helps in the store when he is not around hence Saidu is seeking for a loan to purchase more drugs for his store and eventually use proceeds from his business to care for his family.

• Liza Kongato Chirichir : Kenya

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:10 pm

  $150 of $1,050 raised. Started raising funds on Mar 15, 2010 Liza Chirichir is a 56-year-old lady who is married to Mr. Joseph Chirichir. They have been blessed with nine children: Hilda (26 years), Jeptui (30 years), Kimoi (28 years), Henry (26 years), Winny (24 years; in university), Edwin (22 years; in university), Robert (20 years; in university), Kipngetich (17 years; in high school) and Gideon(12 years; in primary school). Liza is a farmer and she has been farming for eight years now. Her farming business generates a profit of Ksh 5,000 per month. She has no other sources of income.

• Ermatova Pati Group : Kyrgyzstan

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:10 pm

  $50 of $1,500 raised. Started raising funds on Mar 15, 2010 Paty is 57 years old. She is married and is a mother of seven children. Only the youngest son and daughter live with her. The rest of the children are grown up and live separately. Her husband is a farmer and does animal husbandry. Paty does retail sales of every day goods in her own store. The loan will be used to buy merchandise for the store. Layli is 52 years old, she is married. She has seven children: three sons and four daughters. She does farming together with her younger children. They grow mainly sunflowers and have been…

• Hawa Sesay : Sierra Leone

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:00 pm

  $125 of $400 raised. Started raising funds on Mar 15, 2010 Hawa Sesay lives in Tengheh town in Freetown with her husband and 4 children. She has 2 dependents. She has obtained 4 previous loans from LAPO,SL. Hawa Sesay is a very devoted business woman and hard working. With her previous loan she purchased more rice, oil, flower, sugar, onions, groundnuts, and salt for sale. She testifies that "the profit from the loans has been a great help for me I use it to educate my children and build a house”. She would indeed be grateful to kiva lenders because she envisages that with this larger loan…

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  Vital Voices Blog

• Secretary Clinton: UN Needs More Women in Top Jobs

  vital voices staff

  15 Mar 2010 | 2:21 pm

  In an address to the UN on March 12, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the international organization “needs more women in top positions as it strives to raise the profile of women’s issues and fights gender-based violence,” reports Reuters. In her speech, which commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on [...]

• SEVEN Opens Women in the World Summit

  vital voices staff

  13 Mar 2010 | 9:13 am

  On the opening night of Women in the World: Stories & Solutions, an audience of 300 witnessed a powerful portrayal of the lives of seven remarkable women in the Vital Voices Global Network during a standing room only stage reading of Vital Voices’ play SEVEN staring Meryl Streep. Full Daily Beast coverage.

• Honoring Men’s Voices to End Violence Against Women

  vital voices staff

  10 Mar 2010 | 12:51 pm

  There was not a dry eye last night in the POV lounge at the W in Washington, D.C., where Vital Voices and the Avon Foundation for Women hosted Men’s Voices to End Violence Against Women, a tribute to three extraordinary men who are making the world a brighter and safer place for women. CNN’s Candy Crowley [...]

• DVF Hosts Panmela Castro in Honor of IWD

  vikki

  8 Mar 2010 | 10:21 pm

  Tonight at the DVF Studio in New York, all eyes were on Panmela Castro–in a vivid green dress from the back rooms of a yet unseen collection, she stood out in the crowd gathered to celebrate International Women’s Day–not in the least because her hands were covered in dark fuchsia spray paint. Panmela is one [...]

• Honoring International Women’s Day 2010–Secretary Clinton’s Remarks and more

  vital voices staff

  8 Mar 2010 | 9:59 am

  Today, March 8, we celebrate International Women’s Day, joining with advocates and leaders around the world to recognize the progress made and obstacles that remain in advancing women’s equality. In a video address, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that this year “marks an anniversary very close to my heart,” referencing the 15-year anniversary of [...]

• 

  Kevin Asuncion's Blog - Push the World Forward

• StartingBloc Fellowship 2010

  Kevin Asuncion

  1 Mar 2010 | 10:56 am

  As some of you may know I have been recently selected as a StartingBloc Social Innovation Fellow for 2010 in NY.  What is StartingBloc and why should I care? Glad you asked! StartingBloc is a non– profit organization that takes students and young professionals (aged 20–29) and provides them with the training, education, and networks necessary to turn any career into a socially responsible one.  Fellows learn about corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, cross sector partnerships and sustainability from leading academics, corporate innovators, social entrepreneurs,…

• Be the Change Series: Face to Face not Facebook to Facebook

  Kevin Asuncion

  12 Nov 2009 | 11:15 am

  Please check out my guest post on Akhila Kolisetty’s Blog “Justice For All”  Face to Face not Facebook to Facebook, an opinion piece on online activism. Akhila is a Northwestern University undergrad studying Political Science and Economics. She is passionate about international human rights law and in the long run, hopes to be armed with a JD and work on access to justice and rule of law initiatives in developing countries. She loves writing and blogging of all sorts, traveling across the globe, burying herself  in books, writing poetry, and keeping up with art and fashion.   On her…

• Catch me on Alltop!

  Kevin Asuncion

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pm

  I was just recently added to Alltop, the social media site that aggregates the top blogs on a plethora of topics.  Catch me on the Social Entrepreneurship & Good channels!

• Social Entrepreneurship: A Growing Trend on Campus

  Kevin Asuncion

  30 Oct 2009 | 3:47 pm

  A story published last week by the Wall Street Journal documents the growing trend of top flight business schools offering instruction in the discipline of social entrepreneurship.  According to the article, business school administrators offer up two possible explanations on why social entrepreneurship is gaining more ground on campus.  Some  administrators believe that the rise is attributable to a generational progression of business students who were nurtured to be socially responsible, while other prominent pundits argue that a lack of traditional jobs has spurred an interest in…

• Scalability is not the Answer

  Kevin Asuncion

  30 Oct 2009 | 3:47 pm

  In a recent post by Nextbillion.net Emily Pittlon, PopTech! Social Innovation Fellow, asserted in response to questions of scalability, “I truly believe scalability is not the inescapable answer.  I believe it’s more important to move a million people to do one thing than make one thing and copy it a million times.”  I think she’s on to something.  Often times, when vetting potential sustainable solutions to development, the question of scalability reigns.  But I think the bigger question to be asked is how do potential solutions build local capacity to lead systemic change.  In…

• 

  Live United Blog

• Hunger in Contexts: Recommended Reading

  Liz

  11 Mar 2010 | 11:15 am

  I just finished reading the winter issue of Contexts, one of my favorite magazines. Contexts has much to recommend it. One of the more interesting articles in this issue was on hunger, wherein I learned that for the first time in human history, the world is home to more than one billion hungry people. Interestingly, the article suggests that hunger has less to do with a shortage of food than with a shortage of affordable or accessible food. In other words: We have plenty of food, it just isn’t going where it’s needed (or if it is, the people there can’t afford it). Population has…

• New Data About the Uninsured in Minnesota

  Liz

  26 Feb 2010 | 11:31 am

  The Minnesota Department of Health just published new data about uninsured Minnesotans. No surprise here: The number is growing. In 2009, nearly 1 in 10 Minnesotans (9.1%) was without health insurance. That translates into about 480,000 people—nearly half a million. Half a million people. In Minnesota. Without health insurance. That’s up from 7.2% of the population that was uninsured in 2007. Now this might not seem like a huge jump to you, but in terms of people, we’ve gone from about 372,000 uninsured in 2007 to 480,000 in 2009, a 28% increase in the number of people without…

• Our Community, Literally

  Liz

  11 Feb 2010 | 8:37 am

  Since the start of the year, for some unknown reason or whim I’ve been doing a lot of reading by association. In January it was Queen of Dreams, followed by The City of Dreaming Books, followed by The Little Book. I was going to follow up with The Little Women or Little Beauties, but then I kind of lost interest; the January book thing had run its course.  But before January was quite over, I had already started Definite Space by Ann Iverson and The Love of Impermanent Things, by Mary Rose O’Reilley. I once saw Mary Rose O’Reilley at the Hamline Public Library. She has a commonsense…

• The State of the Economy

  Liz

  28 Jan 2010 | 12:14 pm

  We’ve just posted the January edition of State of the Economy. This is a monthly publication that pulls together key economic developments both locally and nationally. It also includes the most recent data available about referrals made by United Way 2-1-1. A few highlights from our most recent issue: Both local and national unemployment rates remained steady in January at 10% (U.S.) and 7.4% (MN) respectively. Lender-mediated home sales averaged $124,000 in the Twin Cities in 2009 compared to $204,000 for traditional home sales. The Twin Cities’ housing inventory is down 22% from a year…

• The High Cost of Inequality

  Liz

  12 Jan 2010 | 12:22 pm

  Is inequality worse for us than poverty? That’s what Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett argue, sometimes convincingly, in their book, The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger. Wilkinson and Pickett examine income inequality across 23 countries. (Income inequality is measured in many ways, but one typical measure is to compare the income of the richest 20% of the population to the income of the poorest 20% of the population.) In Japan, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, the richest 20% are about four times as rich as the poorest 20%. At the other end of the spectrum (i.e.,…

• 

  Pamela Grow's Grantwriting Blog

• To Engage With Younger Donors … Connect With Them Where They Live

  Pamela Grow

  12 Mar 2010 | 4:05 am

  A recent joint study by Convio, Edge Research and Sea Change Strategies, “Early Signals on Mobile Philanthropy:  Is Haiti the Tipping Point?”pointed to some striking statistics on text giving.  Prior to January 12, 2010, “little more than $1 million had been raised via mobile text.”  Following the disastrous earthquake in Haiti, however, close to $50 million was raised through mobile giving. Text giving – along with “engaging” – seems to be the latest trend in the nonprofit world, with everyone wondering “what’s in it for…

• Where’s Your Social Media Manners?

  Pamela Grow

  11 Mar 2010 | 1:43 pm

  Marketing genius Dan Kennedy’s recent “No BS Information Marketing Letter Special Report” entitled “Don’t Waste Time,” had a great article called  Things Info-Marketers Don’t Give Time To, That They Should. I was particularly struck by item #2, Responding to fan mail. Dan notes that the people who write to thank you and share “their stories, share their opinions, relate to you on a personal level” deserve a response. Quite bluntly he states that an “automated, standard email response is the equivalent of peeing on their shoes and…

• Does Your Organization’s Thank You Letter Suck?

  Pamela Grow

  6 Mar 2010 | 3:31 am

  Recently I made a donation to a local arts organization. I’m pleased to say that, yes, contrary to the statistics, I did receive a thank you letter. Granted it arrived approximately four weeks after the fact. But I did receive one. Sadly it was the standard thank you letter. You know. The kind that begins:  “Dear Ms. Grow (makes me feel like my grandmother):  Thank you for supporting XYZ with your gift of $XX.  We are delighted to welcome you to our esteemed group of friends and supporters.  We look forward …  We greatly appreciate your support of our mission to…

• Nonprofit Blog Carnival: First Time High

  Pamela Grow

  28 Feb 2010 | 3:46 am

  Somehow I missed submission to this month’s About.com Nonprofit Blog Carnival, sponsored by Katya Andresen, but the topic of Nonprofit Career Highs and Lows was too good to miss. What’s the Nonprofit Blog Carnival? Glad you asked. I wasn’t quite sure myself what it was all about, despite the fact that I agreed to host November’s, so I gave Joanne Fritz of About.com a call a few weeks ago to learn more. The way Joanne explained it, the “carnival is a collection of the best advice and resources that consultants, support organizations, and nonprofits themselves are offering to the…

• Successful Fundraising – Not for the Thin-Skinned

  Pamela Grow

  25 Feb 2010 | 9:04 am

  You can’t please everyone so you gotta please yourself. Ricky Nelson I was reminded of this truism recently when the board president of an organization I am working with called to vent about their low Charity Navigator ranking. Apparently she had been contacted by a potential donor who said that he had planned on making a contribution, but, upon checking out the organization’s Charity Navigator paltry three star ranking, changed his mind. The fact that this particular organization receives over $2 million worth of in-kind contributions a year (a tremendous showing of community…

• 

  SproutLaunch: Good deeds to encourage acts of kindness. Good deed ideas daily!

• The Things I Am Thankful For:

  15 Mar 2010 | 4:09 pm

  Today's good deed suggestion was to make a list of five things you are thankful for so I decided why not post mine? I won't list everything I'm thankful for or we'd be here a while, but here is my top five in no particular order (err, well I guess my cats last since that may be offensive to some):I am thankful for my family.Through tons of phone calls, lots of advice from my dad, my mom worrying, my sister and brother thinking I'm crazy, I can say they have all been there for me.  Whether it's been participating in daily good deeds, giving me advice, sharing their ideas or…

• Non-Profit Highlight: Project Linus

  14 Mar 2010 | 1:57 pm

  Ok so I ran across this non-profit and wanted to tell everyone about them.  First of all, I love the name, who wouldn't! Secondly, and more importantly, what they are doing is fantastic. Here's some info directly from their site, check them out:The Project Linus Mission:Project Linus is comprised of hundreds of local chapters and thousands of volunteers across the United States. Each volunteer and local chapter all work together to help us achieve our mission statement, which states:First, it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are…

• Operation Smiley Face: Mission to Spread Smiles

  5 Mar 2010 | 5:00 am

  Check out Operation Smiley Face an organization whose mission is to spread smiles and acts of kindness.  You know that made me incredibley happy just learning about this group!  From lollipops to smiley face pins, they pass good deed doer's small tokens in an effort to keep encouraging kindness.Way to go Operation Smiley Face!  Your efforts are working, I'm smiling as I type :)

• UOWHO- Bracelets that are spreading change

  3 Mar 2010 | 5:30 am

  Check out this fun idea that helps spread kindness and gives you a daily reminder on your own wrist! The concept of UOWHO is simple, but holds a powerful message: make the world a better place, one nice gesture at a time! UOWHO is a rubber band bracelet that has 10 tabs on it. Each tab represents a good deed. You put the bracelet on and look for an opportunity to help some one in need. When the opportunity arises, you remove one of the 10 tabs from the bracelet and give your bracelet to the person you helped. You explain the purpose of the bracelet and ask them to continue the process.If…

• Pennies in Protest

  27 Feb 2010 | 4:16 pm

  Check out what these four amazing Richmond mom's came up with as a make you proud to be a human being, get your fired up to save the world, squeeze your loved ones a little closer SUCCESSFUL attempt to spread kindness during a time when the Westboro Baptist Church group parades hate through our cities.  Tell me if this just doesn't make you smile, cry or rejoice that kindness will trump this groups efforts to spread hatred.Visit Pennies In Protest. Here's a brief overview I pulled directly from their site:"People pledge $1 or $.10 (or even $.01 if…

• 

  Reject Apathy

• Holding Out for Justice

  10 Mar 2010 | 2:25 pm

  The wintry winds gusting between the buildings of downtown Oklahoma City got pretty dangerous last week. Sometimes they picked up tables, or caused bloody lips by hurdling dry erase boards through the air. Let's just say this wasn't the ideal place to try and end the longest running war in Africa.

• A Generation Changing

  10 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  No one rejoiced on the day Ratna was born. Her father grunted in disgust and turned away. A girl! Another financial burden he would have to bear, and then he would be required to pay a huge dowry to get her married. He wanted to take her to the river, throw her in, and rid the family of the curse. Ratna’s mother kept quiet. She couldn’t help but wonder if it might not be better to let her husband have his way than to condemn her baby daughter to grow up a poor Dalit, forever indebted to a landowner. It was Ratna’s grandmother, her father’s mother, who said, “No, let the baby live.

• Through the Eye of the Needle

  10 Mar 2010 | 5:00 am

  Author Kent Annan has been working the past several years to help change Haiti through education with the nonprofit organization Haiti Partners. Having split his time between Florida and Haiti for the past few years, he, like millions around the world, was heartbroken at the devastation caused by the earthquake. We talked to him between trips to Haiti about the people there, the media coverage and the next steps necessary for recovery.

• Discovering Hope Through Despair

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:00 am

  Sitting in the humid air inside a tent, listening to the palm leaves sway and the support poles creak, and with her hand clasped on her cheek, Zainabu can still hear the words ringing in her head: “You have been tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the micro-organism that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).”

• Michael Cory Davis // I Stop Traffic

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:00 am

  When actor Michael Cory Davis returned from filming a movie in the poverty-stricken areas of Bulgaria in 2003, he was distraught by the level of affluence and superficiality in the California city. While in Bulgaria, his eyes were opened to the issues of extreme poverty and sex trafficking.

• 

  Leap Anywhere

• Little Bee. Big Mystery.

  12 Mar 2010 | 3:50 am

  Albert Einstein once said that “if the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination … no more men!” Lets face it, Albert didn't get many things wrong in his life. His opinion on bees is pretty well founded: the humble honey bee is the main pollinators of all our crops. The worrying thing is their numbers have declined drastically in recent years.  So what is Plan Bee? Many people think that bees are struggling to survive due to our increased use of pesticides. So make sure when gardening…

• Daily Inspiration - Sport Relief

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:10 am

  We love inspiring stories and actions at Leap.  So here's a great and extraordinary one to start your morning off. Today Christine Bleakly is going to ski water (yes that's right) across the channel. Sounds fun, right? Well she's never done anything like this before and now has to embark on a journey across the icy waters of the English Channel.  As we mentioned before, people are doing amazing things like this for Sport Relief who raise money for poor and vulnerable people across the UK and for the worlds poorest countries.  So why not take part and rise to the Sport…

• Guest Blog - Care International

  11 Mar 2010 | 7:31 am

  This year, to mark the International Women's Day, we invited Ugandan Women’s Rights Activist, Judith Adokorach, to London, to share the experiences of women in northern Uganda, which experienced many years of violent conflict.  On Monday night, Judith spoke at CARE’s event in Southwark.   She highlighted her personal motivations for working on women’s rights – her narrow escape from abduction by armed men as a school girl, and her subsequent work, campaigning for better protection from violence for women, and increased support for survivors of sexual…

• 500 English Species Have Now Become Extinct

  11 Mar 2010 | 2:57 am

  A sad fact in today’s Metro, almost 500 plants and animals have become extinct in the past 2,000 years. The most have apparently disappeared more recently in the last 200 years, which have included the lynx, bears, wolves, the short-haired bumblebee and mouse-eared bat.  The study has warned that 1,000 other species, including the leatherback turtle, and pine martin are under threat. It seems most species have disappeared because of land management changes – industrialization of farming, habit loss, persecution and pollution.  Dr Tom Tew from Natural England said that…

• Your boss: "I'm giving you 5 days off a year to volunteer." Huh??

  10 Mar 2010 | 12:11 pm

    What would you think if your boss said: "Ok, you get paid 5 days off per year to volunteer, we encourage you to use them." It could happen sooner than you think.  Then again, maybe it won't. Our pal Damien over at the volunteering portal Timebank posted on their blog about the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NVCO) Manifesto calling for all companies to give 5 days off to their staff each year.  My thoughts: V interesting. More than anything 5 days sends an unequivocal signal to working Britain that volunteering should be front of mind.  The immediate next…

• 

  "With"isms from Lori Jacobwith, Fundraising Coach

• Four words to describe a great fundraiser. They might surprise you.

  Lori Jacobwith

  10 Mar 2010 | 6:53 am

  On a recent phone call with my colleague and friend Chad Brown, he used these four words to describe a great development officer, especially a great major gifts officer. And Chad would know, he’s been doing major gifts work for years and is currently a Donor Consultant, Major Gifts Officer with the Greater Twin Cities United Way in Minneapolis, MN. Priest. Someone who listens with discretion. It’s important when talking with people about money that information learned be held close to the vest due to all the important and private things that may be shared. CEO. The person with the vision…

• Nine Steps for Successful Fundraising Campaigns

  Lori Jacobwith

  3 Mar 2010 | 7:09 am

  The years I’ve spent fundraising myself, and coaching and training organizations to fundraise, have taught me what works and what doesn’t. Of course, there are far more than nine steps for how to keep supporters happy and giving at their full capacity, but the nine steps that follow have been derived from my own personal checklist when deciding to work with an organization. Download the FREE e-Book with case stories and tactics that outline each step. Use these steps as a topic of conversation with your staff and your board. These are important topics —add them as part of meeting…

• Blessing or Curse: Board Members & Fund Development

  Lori Jacobwith

  24 Feb 2010 | 7:03 am

  I believe successful development efforts have all board members participating in fund development in some capacity and I don’t just mean the “Hey, you’re doing a great job” cheerleading role. Being a board member is not just an honor to bestow on people who show up at meetings. Board seats are critical to the financial success of your organization. I can just feel some people squirming as I write this. I can read your mind, too: “But Lori, you don’t know my organization—my board can’t/won’t agree to that!” Are you sure? The reality is, without FULL board participation and…

• Is Your Organization Financially Savvy?

  Lori Jacobwith

  17 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am

  What does it take to BE financially savvy right now? Especially with continued uncertainty surrounding funding sources and for some, “off the charts” increases in the need for programs and services? Three things can help you be a financially savvy organization: Monitor, Stay Focused, and Ask Good Questions that lead to action. What to monitor? Throughout the year but definitely in times of uncertainty some things to take a look at: 1.  Financial track record. 2.  Be aware of changes to income source(s) and cost structures. 3.  Note how diverse & flexible your financial support is…

• What’s All This Talk About Social Media?

  Lori Jacobwith

  10 Feb 2010 | 6:23 am

  Social media. A conversation that’s happening at the speed of light these days on the internet. I attended an awesome seminar last week with @ChrisBrogan, author and marketing & Twitter guru at Best Buy HQ in Bloomington, MN. I found Chris Brogan is as quick witted and entertaining in person as he is on Twitter.  And I found him to be a fountain of knowledge about how best to use social media. One of the most powerful things he shared with us: The three main ingredients of social media are Listening, Connecting & Publishing. With a big emphasis on the listening. What social media…

• 

  Happy Baba's Blog for The Seekers of Inner Happiness

• Rejoice in the realization of golden Buddha

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:55 am

  It was year 1957, in Thailand. A group of monks were asked to relocate their monastery, along with a huge clay Buddha, to a new location in order to make room for the development of a highway through Bangkok. When the monks tried to move the giant idol with a help of equipment, the idol developed a crack. The head monk, who was concerned about damage to the sacred Buddha, decided to lower the statue back to the ground and cover it with a large canvas tarp to protect it from the rain. Later in the night, the head monk wanted to check the magnitude of the crack once again. He went to check on…

• Romancing with life is happiness

  5 Mar 2010 | 5:42 am

  Life is like all-knowing affectionate grandma. Sometimes life smiles at you and then, at other times, it makes faces. Sometimes life hugs you with love and then, at other times, it plays naughty pranks on you. Sometimes life kisses you on your cheeks and then, at other times, it pinches you softly and run away laughingly. Life just wants to play with you and wants to romance with you. It doesn’t want to spare you with any dull moments. Life wants you to teach the art of playing with it. Don’t take life too seriously. Only when you start appreciating life, begin to love it and start…

• Role of science and spirituality in our pursuit of happiness

  25 Feb 2010 | 6:35 am

  What do you think can contribute significantly in the pursuit of happiness- Science or Spirituality? I know that most of you would answer in favour of science. With its spectacular progress in last couple of centuries, science has definitely made human life much easier, healthier and comfortable with its innumerable inventions. Not only that, science has also provided human race with countless means of entertainment. It is no surprise that most of the younger generation is fervent enthusiast of Science.Another factor that helped you in deciding in favour of science might be the ignorance of…

• The spiritual significance of Kumbh Mela

  24 Feb 2010 | 6:01 am

  A significant spiritual event is in progress in the land of the mystics and seers – India. This congregation is happening in Haridwar after twelve years. Situate on the banks of river Ganges, Haridwar is hosting the Kumbh Mela from 14th January to 28th April, 2010. The dates are calculated based on the special astrological combination of zodiacal positions of Sun, Moon, and Jupiter. The references of Kumbh Mela are found even in the Puranas. So, we can infer that this holy event has been celebrated in India since time immemorial, even before the Puranas were written four thousand years ago.

• Poetry: I am conscious and blissful, the auspicious one.

  19 Feb 2010 | 6:09 am

  The sublime message of inner world that cannot be communicated with the help of pros, can beautifully be presented in the form on poetry. In one of such a glorious verse in Sanskrit, the proponent of Advaita Philosophy, Adi Shankara recited about his authentic and blissful nature. In these wonderful verses, the 8th century Saint attempted to negate his false Self and point at his own eternal conscious blissful Self. The mystics tell us that whatever you can see or witness with the help of your senses, cannot be you or your authentic Self. For example, you see your ears, your nose, your body,…

• 

  Tales from the sock drawer

• Can we really stop Aids in 5 years?

  Response to Dr Brian Williams' call to introduce ARVs earlier in treatment of HIV, in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.

• How to: Change the World

  A response to Akhilak Kolisetty's recent blog post, and reflection of what is needed to bring about lasting change in our world.

• Mzansi Fo Sho!

  Celebration and reflection on 20 years since the release of Nelson Mandela, and the demise of apartheid in South Africa.

• The Art of Sitting to Get Things Done

  Another practical lesson in learning how to look after yourself if you want to achieve your goals.

• 

  Leap Anywhere

• Little Bee. Big Mystery.

  12 Mar 2010 | 3:50 am

  Albert Einstein once said that “if the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination … no more men!” Lets face it, Albert didn't get many things wrong in his life. His opinion on bees is pretty well founded: the humble honey bee is the main pollinators of all our crops. The worrying thing is their numbers have declined drastically in recent years.  So what is Plan Bee? Many people think that bees are struggling to survive due to our increased use of pesticides. So make sure when gardening…

• Daily Inspiration - Sport Relief

  12 Mar 2010 | 2:10 am

  We love inspiring stories and actions at Leap.  So here's a great and extraordinary one to start your morning off. Today Christine Bleakly is going to ski water (yes that's right) across the channel. Sounds fun, right? Well she's never done anything like this before and now has to embark on a journey across the icy waters of the English Channel.  As we mentioned before, people are doing amazing things like this for Sport Relief who raise money for poor and vulnerable people across the UK and for the worlds poorest countries.  So why not take part and rise to the Sport…

• Guest Blog - Care International

  11 Mar 2010 | 7:31 am

  This year, to mark the International Women's Day, we invited Ugandan Women’s Rights Activist, Judith Adokorach, to London, to share the experiences of women in northern Uganda, which experienced many years of violent conflict.  On Monday night, Judith spoke at CARE’s event in Southwark.   She highlighted her personal motivations for working on women’s rights – her narrow escape from abduction by armed men as a school girl, and her subsequent work, campaigning for better protection from violence for women, and increased support for survivors of sexual…

• 500 English Species Have Now Become Extinct

  11 Mar 2010 | 2:57 am

  A sad fact in today’s Metro, almost 500 plants and animals have become extinct in the past 2,000 years. The most have apparently disappeared more recently in the last 200 years, which have included the lynx, bears, wolves, the short-haired bumblebee and mouse-eared bat.  The study has warned that 1,000 other species, including the leatherback turtle, and pine martin are under threat. It seems most species have disappeared because of land management changes – industrialization of farming, habit loss, persecution and pollution.  Dr Tom Tew from Natural England said that…

• Your boss: "I'm giving you 5 days off a year to volunteer." Huh??

  10 Mar 2010 | 12:11 pm

    What would you think if your boss said: "Ok, you get paid 5 days off per year to volunteer, we encourage you to use them." It could happen sooner than you think.  Then again, maybe it won't. Our pal Damien over at the volunteering portal Timebank posted on their blog about the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NVCO) Manifesto calling for all companies to give 5 days off to their staff each year.  My thoughts: V interesting. More than anything 5 days sends an unequivocal signal to working Britain that volunteering should be front of mind.  The immediate next…

• 

  ApplaUSe For A Cause

• Links for 2010-03-07 [Digg]

  CCOL4HIM

  Christina Aguilera designs eco-friendly car for Haiti Christina Aguilera has designed an eco-friendly car that is set to go under the hammer to raise funds for Haiti quake victims.The singer turned designer and joined forces with Chrysler to develop the new Eco Style car, the Daily Telegraph reported. Hey, watch this sick slide! Whoops... (gif) That's gotta hurt. OK Go's RUBE GOLDBERG INSPIRED MACHINE "... Adam Sadowsky, president of Syyn Labs (http://syynlabs.com/) to design a Rube Goldberg inspired machine in which they would base their music video around. After months of preparation…

• Using My Voice & Helping You Use Your Voice

  CCOL4HIM

  7 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm

  Image via Wikipedia Seed Newsvine Although this post might just as easily belong to my other blogspot blog, CCol4him's Claymania ; there are clear ties to this blog. 1. Programs for Children With Special Needs Make Local Newspaper The Chattanooga News Free Press recently featured 2 programs for children with special needs in an issue. One was an article about a karate class for children with special needs. Special karate - timesfreepress.com The second was an event announcement for the inaugural meeting of a group play date for kids with autism and their parents . It is held by The Parents…

• Links for 2010-03-06 [Digg]

  CCOL4HIM

  Durrr Durr! Man I Don't Feel So Well - What's Up Doc [pic] Pot Bunnies Are sequels the formula for success now?

• Welcome to Applause For A Cause-Updated

  CCOL4HIM

  4 Mar 2010 | 9:20 am

  (New Living Translation)from Bible Gateway.com " 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully" " This is a place for everyone to have around 15 minutes, more or less of fame to promote awareness for your favorite cause. One person can't do everything for all charities or even 1 charity, but we can all do our part, whether it's a big task or small-all are greatly appreciated. Please post a video on youtube or photobucket (or similar website) , a comment here, or a link to a blog…

• Links for 2010-03-01 [Digg]

  CCOL4HIM

  Scientists look to help children with autism find a voice When Ryan Wallace got a diagnosis of autism at age 2, his parents never thought they’d hear him speak.“He used to make noises. When he wanted something he would just point,” says Ryan’s father, Gerald David Wallace. “Or he would scream.”

• 

  The Levity Project

• It’s coming…..shhhh.

  Katie

  11 Mar 2010 | 6:52 am

  The Levity Project: Car Dancing Video will be here on Monday and with some great commentary from participants too!  Please visit and spread the levity into the world! In the meantime, The Levity Project is in West Palm Beach/Juno Beach on Sunday, March 14th at 3:00pm.  Actual location will only be given to registered participants.  Register [...]

• Monday Magic: What is giving YOU hope today?

  Katie

  1 Mar 2010 | 9:36 am

  Every day has moments of celebration and moments of challenge.  Somedays have more celebration and others have more challenge.  And the beauty of it all is that we wake up and keep being, and keep offering what magic we have inside of us to the rest of the world.  The best part is sometimes the [...]

• What Is That Dance In You?

  Katie

  25 Feb 2010 | 4:38 am

  Today, I am honored to have Lance Ekum from Jungle of Life writing about his experience choosing to dance his way through his days as part of The Levity Project’s Car Dancing Micromovement. Lance is a dear friend and such a great example of walking his talk….expanding his comfort zone to make a difference in [...]

• Are you listening to the music?

  Katie

  22 Feb 2010 | 4:55 am

  And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche A sweet video to start your Monday of a spontaneous act of levity by an elderly couple at the Mayo Clinic. May we all be willing to listen to the music that is being played [...]

• The Levity Project: Car Dancing Micro-Movement Is Coming Alive

  Katie

  16 Feb 2010 | 7:12 pm

  Alright Levity Project Players!  The time is now!  Please upload all of your 10-15 second car dancing videos this week! Please UPLOAD them to You Send It and send them to katie(at)thelevityproject(dot)com.  They are starting to roll in and they are fabulous! Why are we doing this?  Check out the original post here. This is a [...]