I was perusing the web this morning, searching for more info on folks collecting comestibles for food drives. Oops. Many of them ended this week. In part, because once the food is gathered, organizations need time to sort, box, and distribute in time for Thanksgiving. But, of course, being the pushy broad that I am, [...]
Good
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What Gives!?
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Food Banks Never Close…
20 Nov 2009 | 12:04 pm -
Incubus: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
19 Nov 2009 | 10:12 amRemember how I told you how Incubus got their charity auction on with an eBay Auction this past week? Well they did, and the auction ended up raising over $16,000 for the Make Yourself Foundation. Just another day in the park for these cause rockstars! Jake Versluis has been working with Incubus since 2003, heading up [...] -
Celebrities, Causes, and Colbert…
18 Nov 2009 | 10:50 pmLast week on NBC Nightly News, their regular “Making a Difference” segments featured celebrities and the causes they support. Unlike the movie stars of 40 or 50 years ago who tended to align themselves with well-established, nationwide efforts, today’s celebs are using their fame to draw attention to smaller, more personal causes. In fact, many [...] -
The Power of Youth: Are You Feeling It?
18 Nov 2009 | 2:24 pmWith great power comes great responsibility. Especially when you’re a hot young star in Hollywood! Variety’s Power of Youth celebrates just that. The awesome campaign focuses on encouraging today’s top young actors and musicians to leave a legacy of compassion and philanthropy, and to use their positions of power to motivate others to do the [...] -
Hunger for Facts, not Myths…
18 Nov 2009 | 1:16 pmOur little online food drive here at WhatGives!? hopes to encourage folks to do more than just send a few cans of creamed corn to your kid’s school. We’d like to mix in a little awareness and understanding with that six-pack of mini fruit cocktails. Rehydrate.com is a great site for straightforward info about malnutrition around [...]
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Have Fun • Do Good
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Have Fun Do Good Day: 29-Day Giving Challenge
20 Nov 2009 | 9:08 amLong time readers of Have Fun Do Good probably already know about the 29 Day Giving Challenge created by my friend, Cami Walker.During the 29 Day Giving Challenge, you give away one thing each day for 29 days. It can be anything: time, money, something you already have, something you buy, a smile, a compliment, or a kind word.What you might not know is that since I first wrote about the Challenge in April 2008, Cami has published a New York Times bestselling book, 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life, and has appeared on the TODAY Show! Pretty cool, huh?I've completed the… -
Have Fun Do Good Day: Stretch!
19 Nov 2009 | 11:51 amDo-gooders need to take care of themselves, as well as others, and that includes taking care of their bodies.If I can make time to do yoga in the morning, I know it's going to be a good day. Sometimes I do it for 10 minutes, sometimes for 30 minutes, and sometimes I have the luxury of going to a 60-90 minute class. Either way, every little bit makes a difference.If yoga sounds intimidating to you, just think of it as stretching with a lot of breathing (:Above is a 4-minute video of the Six Movements of the Spine by Kimberly Wilson (who interviewed me recently) that you could probably do right… -
Vote Today, Watch on Thanksgiving: 2009 CNN Heroes
18 Nov 2009 | 1:52 pmIt's your last chance to vote for your favorite 2009 CNN Hero!A "Blue Ribbon Panel" selected the 2009 Top Ten CNN Heroes out of 9,000 nominations, and now you can choose the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year from their Top Ten. Voting ends Thursday, November 19 at 6 AM ET. The Top Ten Heroes are an incredibly inspiring group. You can watch videos about each hero, and learn more about their stories on the 2009 CNN Heroes voting page. Give their organizations a click below:Brad Blauser, Wheelchairs forIraqi Kids (One Person Can Make a Difference blog)Roy Foster, Stand DownDoc Hendley, Wine to… -
Have Fun Do Good Day: Do Something Nice for an Animal
18 Nov 2009 | 9:11 amI've been thinking a lot about animals lately, as I've mentioned in a couple recent posts, Midlife Food Crisis: What's Your Food Story?, and Love Animals? 9 Animal Rights Organization Blogs for Your Weekend Reading. What better way to have fun while doing good then doing something nice for an animal!We have an adorable, but needy cat, who gets very sad when we go out of town. She is still recovering from our being away last week, so early this morning I gave her a special treat, cuddle time in bed when it was still dark out (she usually isn't allowed in till we are awake). Oh, the purrs! -
Lovely Daily Show Interview with Jane Goodall
17 Nov 2009 | 10:10 amThe hubs and I have been catching up on our Tivo'd shows after our awesome vacation in Maine last week.On Sunday night, we watched a lovely interview on The Daily Show with Dr. Jane Goodall, who has a new book out, Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink.This little piece of the interview keeps coming back to me:Jon Stewart: Here's what I love about the work you do. You ooze compassion and helpfulness, and all those great qualities, but not extremism. You seem to have a very reasonable approach to the animal world and saving endangered…
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Riches For Good
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2009 Riches For Good Award Winners
10 Nov 2009 | 8:55 pmAs we go into the 2009 holiday giving season, I am highlighting and funding four organizations that I believe are well aligned with my career mission to “Improve the lives of underserved populations through sustainable distribution of products and services related to 1) health, 2) education and training, 3) financial services, 4) food, clothing, and shelter.” Health: Living Goods Education and Training: Room to Read Financial Services: Unitus Food, Clothing, and Shelter: One Acre Fund I have funded Room to Read and Unitus in the past, and I continue to be impressed with both… -
Where Does Idealism Fit Into My Busy Life?
3 Nov 2009 | 10:42 pmEver since my wife completed her medical training in mid-2009, I have been able to spend significantly more time with her, and consequently, I have had much less time to devote to Riches For Good (both the blog and the concept).This time shortage has been compounded since the birth of my first son, Grant, in August.During the last couple months, I have spent considerable time contemplating how to incorporate my idealism into my increasingly busy life, an issue I’m guessing that many readers of this blog also face...To direct me in my efforts, and to ensure that I’m spending time on the… -
International Social Business Program Rankings
23 Aug 2009 | 8:28 amBelow is my ranking of international social business programs. I started with the US News MBA rankings for top International, Marketing, Nonprofit, and Entrepreneurship programs. The top rated program in each field got 10 points, the 2nd ranked got 9 points, etc. Additionally, programs got 10 bonus points for each discipline in which they received a top 10 ranking. The results are below: School Int'l Rank Mktg Rank Non-profit Rank Ent Rank Int'lSoc Ent Rank University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 3 2 7 4 1 Stanford University - 4 2 2 2 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) 10 9 3 7 3 Duke… -
Adoption - Introducing Grant Gunderson
22 Aug 2009 | 3:49 pmGrant Gunderson - pictured at 6 days oldGrant Gunderson was placed for adoption with me and my wife on Friday, August 14, 2009. The adoption process has been one of many reasons why I have not been able to devote a great deal of time to Riches For Good in recent months. Although this is a diversion from topics related to global poverty, I thought I'd take a moment to share my joy with everyone.I certainly view adopting Grant as a way of spending my riches for good. And indeed, it cost a small fortune to adopt him, though the price was more reasonable through LDS Family Services than through… -
English as an Official Language
4 Jul 2009 | 7:36 amWhen I went to Zambia last October, I was surprised that almost everyone there speaks English, including most of the poor rural farmers I met. It was obvious to me that although I lived in Thailand for two years as a missionary during the 1990s and gained a proficiency in the Thai language, I was able to communicate more easily in Zambia from day one since English is my native language. It opened up the idea that it may be easier for me to do business in an African country (or start a social enterprise there) than I had previously anticipated.To open others' eyes, I'm listing all countries or…
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Good Guide
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Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Your Thanksgiving Dinner
18 Nov 2009 | 3:05 pmTurkeys labeled “Natural” may actually have been treated with antibiotics and fed corn and soy meal grown with synthetic pesticides. The USDA defines “natural” as a turkey containing no artificial ingredients such as added flavors or colors, and that is only minimally processed. It turns out, this leaves out a lot. A turkey labeled “natural” can be fed grains grown with pesticides and raised on a farm that uses pesticides on their fields. Antibiotics can be used not only to treat illnesses, but also as growth promoters. Look for turkeys that are USDA Organic or that say “free of… -
Surprised By the Turkey Ratings? So Were We!
17 Nov 2009 | 7:33 pmTurkeys – the food of American tradition and holiday memories – get a 3.8 (out of 10) on the GoodGuide health score?!?! . Hard to believe. And I have to admit, people around the GoodGuide office were surprised as well by the low ratings many top-selling turkeys received in our food rating system. In case you haven’t perused our ratings methodology recently, let me explain how we rate food products. GoodGuide’s health rating begins with a nutrition assessment called the “Ratio of Recommended to Restricted nutrients” (RRR). Put simply, this method calculates the ratio of “good”… -
GoodGuide Partners with Alice.com
17 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amWe’ve now made it even easier to find the products rated by GoodGuide through our new partnership with Alice.com. Alice.com is a young company which has generated a lot of buzz thanks to its innovative way of helping consumers purchase essential household items. We share a common goal of giving consumers the option to make smarter shopping decisions - so both sides jumped at the chance to partner. When you are shopping on Alice.com, you’ll now see GoodGuide product ratings next to a product, providing you with as much information as possible before purchasing. When you’re researching on… -
New iPhone App for Finding Nanotechnology
16 Nov 2009 | 9:04 amWe recently covered the discovery by British scientists that at least one nanomaterial may affect human cells at a distance. This is only one of the many human health and environmental issues associated with nanotechnology. Unfortunately, some companies are rushing to use nanotechnology without screening it for risks to human health. Now, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Nanotechnology Project has released a new application for the iPhone or iPod Touch: findNano. This app allows consumers to look up the Inventory with their phone to see if the product they’re looking at may have… -
Nano Health Effects at a Distance
9 Nov 2009 | 10:08 pmNanotechnology is increasingly in the news, both for the benefits that it could bring – and for the very uncertain risks it could pose to our health. Last week, British university researchers reported a startling result from a toxicology experiment. They exposed human cells to nano-scale cobalt-chromium and used a human cell barrier of 4 cells thick to protect the cells. To their surprise, the metal seemed to interfere with the DNA inside the cells, by sending chemical signals through the barrier. A medical law expert, Professor Thomas Faunce said, What [this latest research is] saying is…
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The Greater Good Blog
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The Unselfish Gene?
20 Nov 2009 | 2:51 pm“I feel your pain,” Bill Clinton famously told Americans when he was running for president. Now it seems that his message may have had as much to do with genetics as with politics: A new study, sponsored in part by the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC), has found evidence that empathy may be influenced by a single gene. In the study, led by neuroscientist Sarina Rodrigues when she was a post-doctoral fellow at the Center, nearly 200 participants took tests that measured their ability to identify and feel the emotions of others; they also provided DNA samples. When the researchers, who… -
Is Marriage Good for Your Health?
19 Nov 2009 | 11:51 amIt’s conventional wisdom that marriage is good for your health, and sure enough, many studies do show that married people are healthier. But a recent study by John Hopkins University social demographer Mary Hughes and University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, complicates things a bit: Divorce and widowhood, they find, can actually cause more damage to your health than never getting married in the first place Hughes and Waite analyzed data on a diverse sample of people between the ages of 51 and 61, looking at their marital and… -
The Charter for Compassion
12 Nov 2009 | 11:30 amWhen renowned religious scholar Karen Armstrong won the coveted TED prize, she was asked to make a single wish, one that the TED community would help her achieve. Her modest request? To unite the world around compassion. Now, one year later, she’s helped us all take one step closer toward making that wish come true. Today, Armstrong unveiled the Charter for Compassion, a call to restore compassion to the center of our values, our religious traditions, and our daily lives. The release of the Charter is being accompanied by events around the world meant to celebrate and promote acts of… -
Thinking Way Outside the Box
6 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amThose of you considering a stint in the Peace Corps, or just a big move overseas, take note: A recent study has documented a link between living abroad and creativity. In the study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers William Maddux and Adam Galinsky had people participate in a variety of tasks meant to measure their creativity, including a word association task, a drawing exercise, a test of their “insight creativity”—their ability to see problems from different perspectives and find hidden solutions—and a measure of their “interpersonal…
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How to Save the World
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The Environmentalist's Dilemma: No Point in Arguing
15 Nov 2009 | 3:18 pmBLOG The Environmentalist's Dilemma: No Point in Arguing The last two days in Ithaca at the (extraordinarily well organized -- thanks Sarah & Emily!) Net Impact seminar were an eye-opener for me. On the one hand, I really got the sense that the largely-young crowd of 2400 attendees was pretty naive about how much of an impact their actions will and can have on the social and environmental behaviours and actions of the corporations they work for (or hope to work for -- most are still students and few of them have entrepreneurial aspirations). The sponsors of the event, after all, included… -
Links and Tweets of the Week: November 14, 2009
14 Nov 2009 | 10:14 amBLOG Links and Tweets of the Week: November 14, 2009 Cartoon by David Sipress in The New Yorker PREPARING FOR CIVILIZATION'S COLLAPSE: How the Rich Can Stop Hurting the Poor: Sharon Astyk adds her own recommendations to the Transition Initiative's recommendations, in an interview with Vandana Shiva, to help reduce the exploitation of struggling nations: Do not buy or eat any industrial meat – period. Grain-fed meat raises the price of commodities in the poor world. Either give up meat or eat only grass-fed meat. Do not support biofuel production from foodstuffs or on… -
REPOST: Do We Really Want to Know? (with first 50 reader comments appended)
10 Nov 2009 | 10:27 pmBLOG Comments on November 4, 2009 post "Do We Really Want to Know?" not yet posted Because Radio Userland is capping comments at 50 per article, and because I wanted to capture these comments for posterity anyway, and because some people wanted to post more comments, I'm reposting my article from November 4, 2009, with the first 50 comments embedded at the end of the article, so there should be room for lots more now! -- Dave _______________________________________________________________________ BLOG Do We Really Want to Know the Truth? There's an interesting article by Elizabeth… -
Hacking the Tar Sands: Some Early Thoughts
10 Nov 2009 | 6:32 pmBLOG Hacking the Tar Sands One of the projects I'm proposing to undertake over the next few months is facilitating the organization of opponents to the Alberta Tar Sands and holding Open Space brainstorming sessions to identify creative, clever ways to disrupt and ultimately close down the Tar Sands without anyone getting hurt or arrested. This will take a lot of ingenuity, and I think I can contribute to that, but I also thought it might be useful to use a combination of Donella Meadows' "ways to intervene in a system", and business process analysis and risk assessment methodologies, to list… -
Links and Tweets of the Week -- November 7, 2009
7 Nov 2009 | 7:51 pmBLOG Links and Tweets of the Week -- November 7, 2009 What's wrong with this picture? The Standard & Poor's 500 Public US Companies' P/E ratio has historically traded at around 17, which assumes healthy growth in profits for big corporations indefinitely into the future. What, then, does a P/E ratio of 150 mean? It means that trillions of dollars of taxpayer money (which future generations will have to repay), given to financial institutions to bail them out, is being dumped into the stock market because it has nowhere else to go (bonds paying 0.5% interest, nope, real estate, nope nope…
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What's a BOPreneur?
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Conflicted on Conferences
24 Oct 2009 | 1:20 pmThere are a lot of conferences. And more and more are in the fields of social entrepreneurship, clean technology and green business. Just this weekend, one could attend Poptech in Maine, Social Venture Network in La Jolla or the Energy Justice Program in Boulder. Is this a good thing? What is all this conferring doing to make the world a better place? Here are a few issues that concern me. 1. It's hard to keep up. In the room in Boulder are people who would also be good participants in Maine. Some of the conversations seem to be similar. And we could sure use Esther Duflo in our conversations… -
A BIG Deal
11 Oct 2009 | 1:05 pmIn 2003, two guys (with whom I used to work) started a company. No big deal. Happens all the time.At first, the company looked at using some new vaccine delivery technology. Both guys had other jobs. But they wanted to build a company together. They had a start on the WHO, but not really the WHAT yet.But they were fortunate. One of them lived in a town where the Centers for Disease Control has laboratories. And where the land grant university has a number of scientists working on infectious diseases in the developing world. And a few non-profits that were working on products and services to… -
3 Billion Served?
22 Sep 2009 | 1:21 pmWhen I was a kid, the McDonald's signs kept me updated on how many billions had been served. The year I was born (1958), in it's 10th year of business, it hit 100 million. When I turned 5, McDonalds hit 1 billion. About the time I reached 6 feet, it reached 10 billion burgers. By 1984, when I graduated from law school, McD's reached 50 billion. A few years later it stopped counting.What does this have to do with BOPreneurs? Well, this simple metric illustrates a great example of scaling up an international business. Jim Collin's writes about the flywheel effect of gradual, increasing momentum… -
Definitions and Metrics (yawn)
8 Sep 2009 | 7:08 amSoCap09 had many sessions, blogs and tweets on metrics and ratings. And the "social entrepreneurship" field seems to have a fascination with definitions. Dare I say it is a morbid one? (I do.)Today, Ashoka x-posted Adrienne Villani's blog on the question: "can you be a social entrepreneur if you aren't the head honcho?" Why do we care so much who gets to wear this coveted badge? Does it actually make a difference where it counts- solving the issues of poverty, environment and health in the BOP? I'm skeptical.So, why do I think this fascination with definitions and metrics is "morbid"? Because… -
IDDS-y Bitsy
28 Jul 2009 | 12:18 pmA few random quotes and descriptions from the last few days in Kumasi.Bob Nanes (IDE Ghana): "You don't sell people a product, you sell them a dream. You may be making a chlorine water purifier, but you are selling them the vision of healthy children." At the KNUST university books store, there was a pile of World Bank books on African development for sale for 200 cedis. That is about $142. I guess they want to sell a lot of them. The store also had one copy of Good to Great, for 25 cedis. That title seemed to be harder to keep in stock. Hmmm.Bob Nanes: "Don't reinvent channels. There are…
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Gail Goodwin's Blog
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The Brilliance of Twitter (in 140 characters or less)
19 Nov 2009 | 9:02 amEach day on our website, InspireMeToday.com, we ask our Luminaries to share the greatest things they’ve learned in life, in 500 words. Yesterday, I wondered what folks would say if they have to pass on a lifetime of wisdom in just 140 characters. So, I asked this question on Twitter and here are some of the responses. This is also a great list of interactive real people that you might want to follow. We made all of the names live links to make it easy for you. If you like the wisdom, follow them, or just follow them all. Either way, I hope you enjoy the wisdom. ☺ Here’s the…
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The Road to the Horizon
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Let's have a taskforce !
19 Nov 2009 | 11:58 pmThis is part of a hilarious cartoon series by Helo. Check it out. -
Driving in Rome
19 Nov 2009 | 1:35 amIf you are used to switching from one highway to another using four parallel lanes, a smooth gradual exit and re-entry, then you will need to adapt to real life when you visit Rome.Driving here, is more about being creative, daring and above all: it's about being decisive.To switch from one highway to another, this road in Rome takes you through several backstreets of an area I would not like to drive at night. It has a four meter exit at 90 degrees, and a five meter long re-entry with virtually no visibility on incoming traffic. -
Snapped: Surf school in winter
17 Nov 2009 | 10:44 pmTaken half a mile from where I live. The remains of summer.The Snapped Series: mobile phone shots from the hip. -
Aidwork: Should you pay to volunteer?
17 Nov 2009 | 11:57 amI often get questions and feedback from people who want to get started as an aidworker. Recently, I got in contact with Jose Ramirez, 30, from Barcelona, Spain. He worked for several years as an architect in several offices across Europe, before he decided to call it quits. He wanted to take his life in a different direction, doing more fulfilling work in the humanitarian sector.As many people, he was struggling to find his way in. Where does one start? He decided to work as a volunteer, and was prepared to pay for the experience. An experience which turned out not to be what he had hoped… -
Snapped: Sunset at the Belgian coast
17 Nov 2009 | 5:50 amI was born and raised here: Oostende on the Belgian coast. Have you read my shortstory about Le Plat Pays? It's an ode to my roots.The Snapped Series: mobile phone shots from the hip.PS: Doesn't my iPhone make smashing pictures?
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Tactical Philanthropy
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Paul Brest & Paul Shoemaker Debate General Operating Support
20 Nov 2009 | 8:36 amIn my last post, I profiled Paul Brest’s new annual letter about the merits, or lack thereof, of general operating support grants. In the weeks before the annual report was released, Paul emailed a copy of the essay to a group of people who work in philanthropy. Paul Shoemaker of Social Venture Partners replied with extensive comments and a debate ensued between Shoemaker and Brest. With the permission and encouragement of both Pauls, I’m republishing an excerpt of the debate below. Just to be clear, any emails sent to me are strictly off the record unless permission is requested. -
Paul Brest on General Operating Support
20 Nov 2009 | 8:11 amThe newly released William & Flora Hewlett Foundation’s annual report includes an essay about forms of philanthropic support from the foundation’s president Paul Brest. In the essay, Paul pushes back against groups such as Independent Sector, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, who have advocated strongly for funders to provide nonprofits with general operating support rather than offering them restricted grants that can only be used for certain programs. On this blog, I’ve frequently argued in favor of general operating support as the default… -
Philanthropy Daily Digest
19 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pmGift Hub: Philanthropedia Phil Cubeta weighs in with a thoughtful post about Philanthropedia. (tags: philanthropy) What Capital When? | Blueprint Research & Design A new blog from Lucy Bernholz and her young, superstar employee Tony Wang. (tags: philanthropy) High Impact Philanthropy in the Downturn The Center for High Impact Philanthropy at University of Pennsylvania has quickly established itself as a leading philanthropy research group. Here's their newest report. (tags: philanthropy) Uninhibited conference attracts young CEOs – MiamiHerald.com "Summer Camp" for… -
Trust in Philanthropy
19 Nov 2009 | 6:56 amMy colleague Bill Somerville talks a lot about trust in philanthropy. Bill feels that funders do not trust grantees enough and that the reams of paperwork required by funders is simply a mark of their lack of trust. To the cynical person, trusting someone is equivalent to being naive. Trusting someone can be criticized as demonstrating a lack of rigor. But it turns out that trust is at the core of what makes systems function. From a recent Forbes article titled The Economics of Trust: Imagine going to the corner store to buy a carton of milk, only to find that the refrigerator is locked. When… -
Philanthropedia Sources Expert Knowledge
17 Nov 2009 | 7:08 pmThis is a guest post by Erinn Andrews, COO of Philanthropedia, which I blogged about in October. You can find my write up on their efforts here. Providing donors with better information—actionable and scalable—all in one place By Erinn Andrews Clearly, people care. If we look at charitable contributions in 2008, we see that individuals donated more than $250 billion to nonprofits. I assume donors weren’t forced to give away that money—they wanted to. But what goes through their minds as they decide where to write that check? And especially for newer, younger donors, with more than a…
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Skip A Lunch
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McHappy Day … Just One Dollar Makes a Difference!
16 Nov 2009 | 10:18 amDear readers, what a perfect charity that symbolizes Skip a Lunch. Just one dollar, not even half a latte! Let’s all get together and support the McDonald’s charity event known as “McHappy Day”, from November 10th to the 20th. Purchase a hand for $1 or certain food items and your dollar will help make a difference to a child in need. McDonald’s has raised nearly $150 million since 2002. You can donate online or learn more here. If you purchase a hand, take a photo with your mobile phone and email it to blog [at] skipalunch.com and we’ll post it here. Mmm, now… -
2009 America’s Giving Challenge
14 Oct 2009 | 12:45 pmThe Case Foundation, Causes, and PARADE magazine launched the 2009 America’s Giving Challenge on October 7th and has already surpassed 10,000 donations and raised $250,000. Imagine that, in just one week they’ve achieved this! Let’s get involved with this great program! Details on the 2009 America’s Giving Challenge: America’s Giving Challenge participants will compete for 30 days to bring in the highest number of donations for their nonprofit cause through the Causes application on Facebook. Causes that net the most donations will receive a total of $170,000 in prize money… -
Ask.com Breast Cancer Search for the Cure
13 Oct 2009 | 1:03 pmAsk.com has a great program running from September 13th to December 31st, 2009 called “Search for the Cure“. Ask.com will donate up to $100,000 in addition to monies raised by folks answering breast health questions and those who adopt the special homepage skin. From this program, Ask.com has pledged to invest at least $1 million through the “Search for the Cure” program and sponsorship of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure series. So, all we have to do is adopt the skin, answer questions, and make a difference! For those that are not aware, the Susan G. Komen for… -
The Fresh Air Fund – a Summer 2009 Update
22 Sep 2009 | 1:00 pmWow, The Fresh Air Fund had nearly 8,000 children enjoying their best summer yet. If you recall, we featured The Fresh Air Fund back in July for the NYC Half-Marathon they hosted. Check out the latest here. The Fresh Air Fund 2009 Summer Memories video is worth the visit. From their News Facts section: 2009 Summer Highlights: • Nearly 8,000 children enjoyed their best summers yet • 370 students participated in the Career Awareness Program • 11 counselors-in-training spent three days on the Appalachian Trail • 168 young people were Leaders-in-training That’s what I call a… -
Over the Edge of Waikiki for the Special Olympics
10 Sep 2009 | 11:47 amWow, this is not for the feint of heart! Raise $1000 for Special Olympics Hawaii and you’ll be able to rappel over the edge of Waikiki’s tallest building, landing at the Edge of Waikiki which is the Sheraton Waikiki’s new adult infinity pool and bar. Crazy huh? The Over the Edge of Waikiki event takes places on November 13th, 2009 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. You need to be 18 and less than 300lbs. to participate. Contact info: Kyle Karioka Special Olympics Hawaii PO Box 3295 Honolulu, HI 96801 Fax: (808) 943-8814 E-mail: KyleK@specialolympicshawaii.org Here’s a link…
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Timbuktu Chronicles
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Bijagós Guinea-Bissau
20 Nov 2009 | 4:38 amThe NYTimes reports on a largely unspoiled tourist destination:The Bijagós, with their rich, abundant and untroubled flora and fauna, are classified a United Nations World Heritage Biosphere Reserve: apart from the remarkable hippos, there are 155 species of fish, making the islands a premier though rarely frequented destination for adventurous sport fishermen; and there are dolphins, manatees, crocodiles, monkeys and striped antelopes. Of the world’s eight species of tortoise, the World Heritage Center says, five are found there.More herephoto courtesy of the NYTimes -
Juju Films
19 Nov 2009 | 4:11 amFrom the website:Juju Film's vision is a result of our passion in film, music, quality delivery and meeting the needs to provide an outlet for uniquely talented artists. As a global recording and multimedia venture we offer a broad array of local and international artists, as well as an impressive catalog of documentaries, short films, and rare footage. In all areas of our services our audience receive an additional benefit of gaining insight into socioeconomic and cultural awareness in Africa and its Diaspora. -
Mofaya-A musical
18 Nov 2009 | 5:39 amIn Haiya, Eric Wainaina’s traveling musical Mofaya:...is based on a ghetto story. The musical play which was showcased in New York City during the New York Musical Theatre Festival, run for almost two weeks featuring singers Valerie Kimani, Dan Aceda, Joshua Mwai, actress Mumbi Kaigwa and actor Peter King among others.HT Ory! -
Solution for Nairobi(or Lagos) Blackouts
17 Nov 2009 | 5:23 amIn Afrigadget:I love my juakali lamp and everyone that I know in Nairobi needs one of these lamps. Everything about it is so true to the juakali spirit – hand crafted using colourful recycled tins, and designed for a real purpose with a handle so you can move it around from room to room or hang it up.More here -
Health Tourism opens up-Holy Trinity Spa & Health Farm
16 Nov 2009 | 6:17 amGadling reports:...health tourism involves more than recharging your batteries on some serene beach. It's a chance to get medical treatment while getting away from it all. One place to do that in Ghana is the Holy Trinity Spa & Health Farm. Set along the Volta River, it's a cross between a resort hotel, ranch, and hospital, where you can take a dip in the pool, ride horses across African countryside, and have a physiotherapy session all in one day.More here
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Echoing Green Blog
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Be Bold Podcast - Episode 18 now live!
13 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pmIn the second edition of the Jobs for Change partnership, Britt Bravo interviews Anne Marie Ashburn, the Program Assistant for NOI, working closely with the entire NOI team to develop their organizing, technology, social change and movement building projects. In this episode, they discuss the following questions: If someone would like to become an online organizer for a nonprofit or political campaign, what skills do they need to have? What are the best resources, conferences, and networks for people to learn how to use social media and professional development in general? Don't forget that… -
Ensaaf In The News
4 Nov 2009 | 4:32 pmLast Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of India's anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Over 3,000 Sikhs were killed and many families were torn apart during four days following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. According to an Ensaaf press release, "survivors are still waiting for justice." Founded in 2006 by Fellows Sukhman Dhami and Jaskaran Kaur, Ensaaf continuously works to end impunity and achieve justice for mass state crimes in Punjab--a predominately Sikh state. In the October 28th Time Magazine article entitled "India's 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Waiting for… -
Guest Post: Disasters in the Philippines, Natural and Manmade
4 Nov 2009 | 3:11 pmThe following post was written by 2007 Echoing Green Fellows Kevin Lee and Gemma Bulos in response to the recent typhoons in the Philippines. September 26th 2009, Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) made landfall in Luzon dumping over 12” of rain in 6 hrs on Manila and other parts of the National Capital Region. This caused massive urban flooding, 280+ deaths, destroyed homes and shelters of millions of people. Five days later, typhoon Pepeng (Parma) made landfall in northern Luzon, devastating agriculture in the Cagayan Valley. It then hung around the north west coast making landfall two more… -
Thirty Days to Apply: Our Tweet Challenge Is On!
2 Nov 2009 | 12:53 pmEven though it's only Monday, today is an exciting milestone for two reasons: a) We just zoomed past 100,000 followers on Twitter. Wow! b) There are only thirty days left to apply for the 2010 Echoing Green Fellowship! Last week, we were approached by a terrific supporter and member of Echoing Green's Social Investment Council, Kathryn Corro, with a terrific challenge idea. For every Tweet about the Echoing Green Fellowship deadline that includes the tag #EG2010, Kathryn will donate $1 to our operating fund (up to $1000)! We’re looking high and low for this year’s BEST ideas for… -
Echoing Green Partners with Jobs for Change on new Be Bold Podcast
29 Oct 2009 | 1:46 pmWe’re excited today to take the wraps off an exciting partnership to grow and expand our career-focused Be Bold Podcast. Last October, when we launched the Be Bold Podcast, we never imagined that it would touch so many people interested in developing careers with meaningful impact. The first sixteen episodes have been downloaded thousands of times in over thirty countries, and we have been thrilled with the steady stream of terrific listener questions. To accelerate the growth and impact on the sector, we’ve partnered with the fine people at Jobs for Change. Over the next several…
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World Economic Forum
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Global Redesign Initiative country hearing on energy security closes in Qatar
19 Nov 2009 | 2:03 amThe World Economic Forum’s Global Redesign Initiative wrapped up its second country hearing on global cooperation and energy security in Doha, Qatar. The two-day meeting was the second of a series of three country hearings held in Geneva, Doha and Singapore. The 35 experts discussed how stronger international governance can effectively address the interlinked issues of energy security, economic growth and climate change. The meeting also addressed the nexus of energy and water - both being abundant locally but scarce globally - and the need for long-term nuclear security. You can watch the… -
Summer Davos to Return to Tianjin, China in 2010
17 Nov 2009 | 5:54 amThe Forum has agreed with the Tianjin Government, China that the city will host the fourth Summer Davos in its new downtown convention centre. The Summer Davos or Annual Meeting of the New Champions will take place 13-15 September 2010. The meeting will focus on creating sustainable growth, taking into account the economic challenges the world is currently facing. The event will provide a platform for the rising generation of global leaders to engage with the world's current crop of top business executives. The New Champions are led by the Forum's Community of Global… -
Programme of the Summit on the Global Agenda 2009
13 Nov 2009 | 12:48 amFor the second consecutive year, the World Economic Forum and the Government of Dubai will host the Summit on the Global Agenda from 20 to 22 November 2009. The Summit will bring together over 700 council members of the most innovative and relevant minds from over 90 countries – leaders from academia, business, government and civil society – to address some of the most pressing issues on the global agenda. Some of the key sessions listed below will be streamed live on Livestream, key quotes will be live tweeted on the Forum’s Twitter feed, and high resolution photos will be available… -
India Economic Summit 2009 Ends
10 Nov 2009 | 10:51 pmIndia’s security challenges are no different from those faced by other countries, Palaniappan Chidambaram, Minister of Home Affairs of India, told participants in the closing session of the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit 2009. “We are no more vulnerable than other countries,” he said. “We believe that we have the capacity to thwart any attack. Should there be an attack, we believe we have the capacity to contain it and respond in a swift and decisive manner.” Disruptions of law and order and the threat of terrorism “do not affect our capacity to promote investment… -
India Economic Summit - Baba N. Kalyani
6 Nov 2009 | 12:27 amBaba N. Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Forge, India, discusses the upcoming India Economic Summit 2009, which takes place in New Delhi from 8-10 November 2009.
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Green Parent Chicago
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EarthTalk: Fashion's Footprint
19 Nov 2009 | 7:15 amDear EarthTalk: Can you enlighten on the environmental impact of the fashion industry? As I understand it, the industry overall is no friend to the environment. -- Tan Cheng Li, Malaysia According to the non-profit Earth Pledge, today some 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used throughout the world to turn raw materials into textiles. Domestically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that one-quarter of all pesticides used nationwide go toward growing cotton, primarily for the clothing industry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers many domestic textile manufacturing… -
"A Taste of Fooditude" Debuts New Chicago Cooking Show for Kids
18 Nov 2009 | 8:12 amFooditude, a new food-focused show for kids age 8 to 12 based in Chicago, will debut with a fundraising screening and party tonight for parents and kids. The event, "A Taste of Fooditude" takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Architectural Artifacts on 4325 N. Ravenswood Ave. Producers and creators Jodi Balis, Cerry O'Tolski and Elise Jaffe hope the new show is well received locally as it features local kid chefs cooking and learning about food and nutrition, as well as guest appearances and visits with local chefs and business owners involved in sustainable living and… -
Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie: Warning - Not for the Faint of Heart
6 Nov 2009 | 7:38 pmAs I've mentioned before, our street has to be one of the friendliest in Chicago. From progressive dinners to impromptu cocktails and playgroups on the street, there always seems to be something going on and Halloween is no exception. After the trick-or-treaters have gone home to admire their loot, the adult treats come out in a meal contributed by multiple households, including ours.With a benefit for Healthy Schools Campaign on Thursday night, a tour of school lunch programs on Friday, and the Evanston farmers' market Saturday morning, I needed a relatively simple dish to make (or… -
What If You Could Only See Good Ads Online?
5 Nov 2009 | 1:23 pmAs regular readers of Green Parent Chicago know, we support a less commercialized childhood, favor a return to the outdoors and often feature discussion on pervasive marketing tactics invading our everyday life and destroying our connection to the natural world. At Green Parent Chicago,we made the decision to only feature businesses that offer ethical alternatives to the multitude of products filling our homes and the earth's landfills with waste, products that support efforts to help level the playing field for workers and the environment. Recently, DoGood Headquarters contacted us about… -
It's You vs Winter: Keeping the Cold Outside
3 Nov 2009 | 6:15 pmAre you Interested in saving money on heating costs this winter while reducing greenhouse gas emissions?Attend a FREE home weatherization workshop sponsored by the City of Chicago Department of Environment and the Chicago Conservation Corps.All attendees will receive a FREE weatherization kit (with pledge to return installation confirmation card), and training on the installation of the kit contents. This workshop is open to all City of Chicago residents. All attendees are eligible to enter a raffle to win an American Express gift card. RSVP to youvswinter@gmail.com to reserve your…
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Acumen Fund Blog
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Melissa Richer at New York for Acumen Fund (NYfA)
20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amAs part of its ongoing series of informal chats, New York for Acumen Fund (NYfA) recently welcomed to our group Melissa Richer, founder of the Ayllu initiative. Envisioned as a series of small gatherings to discuss and highlight specific approaches to tackling global poverty,the series provides participants the opportunity to engage directly with thought leaders, innovators, and practitioners in the field of social entrepreneurship. Melissa gave an overview of the history of the Ayllu Initiative, its model, and the ways in which it aims to achieve its goals. Ayllu, she explained, will serve… -
Bargaining power: why the poor are still losing out in the market system
18 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amThere are two key drivers of the welfare of small dairy farmers: milk productivity of their cattle and the price per liter of milk that they can fetch. While the productivity of cattle can be enhanced by improving the gene pool of cattle through artificial insemination, providing better quality feed and improving the farm management practices, increasing the revenue per liter of milk sold would require relatively more radical changes in the value chain of the dairy industry. With the price for milk, small farmers face a daunting challenge. They own less than 5 heads of cattle individually and… -
Things Fall Apart and the African Leadership Academy
11 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amIn the mid 1950s, Chinua Achebe, then a mid level employee of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS), began work on an epic and in many ways unprecedented novel, the story of several generations of Nigerian men. The idea for the work, which would later be condensed into the single, sharply propulsive narrative of the noble though hubristic Okonkwo, came to Achebe while still enrolled at the University of Ibadan. Then pursuing a degree in English literature as part of that school’s first class of students, Achebe had been chosen for admission to the new institution based on the exceptional… -
Cohort Experiment (9 of 9): Alumni Development
6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amAnd so the cohort experiment continues, though with this blog post reaches its online conclusion. In the penultimate post in the series, Nicole discussed the critical variables involved in designing leadership programs, in a discussion that we hope was helpful in considering the development of your own leadership programs. As we reach the end of this series, on the nature and the role of cohorts in leadership programs, we find ourselves confronting the after or extended life of our programs. In other words, what do you do once the program finishes? Needless to say, this question demands a… -
PVRI and UHEAL: Announcing New Eye Care Investments in Kenya and India
5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amAcumen Fund is excited to announce two new investments, both in the field of eye care. PVRI (Pushpagiri Vitreo Retina Institute) based outside Hyderabad, India, and UHEAL (Upper Hill Eye and Laster Centre), in Kenya, both focus on specific forms of preventable ocular damage. With similar business models and parallel aims, through our investment in these complementary enterprises, Acumen Fund seeks to identify and and share best practices across continents, while building an effective model for delivering eye care to the poor. Loss of eye sight has a tremendous economic and social impact on…
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PSD Blog - The World Bank Group
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Weekend Reading
20 Nov 2009 | 12:52 pmRegulatory failure, special interests, and financial sector lobbying: European Union edition. Negative interest rates on T-bills: This time is different. "The fact that oil is trading at $80 a barrel in this climate should tell you that it is trading more as a financial asset than on supply/demand imbalances". California is doing its part in the fight against deflation, one university at a time. The recession is having quite an impact on migration trends in the United States. Plus, our People Move blog looks at new remittance data. Tyler Cowen describes these two posts from Paul… -
The Curious Indian Entrepreneur
20 Nov 2009 | 8:20 amI attended a session from yesterday's Entrepreneurship and Growth Conference on "Indian Entrepreneurial Success in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom". RAND corporation's Krishna B Kumar attempted to explain the extraordinary successes of Indian expatriate entrepreneurs in these three countries, arguing that much can be attributed to observable differences such as education, family ties, and choice of sector. In the United States, the typical Indian entrepreneur has an average business income that is… -
Today in Capital Controls
19 Nov 2009 | 9:12 amYesterday I suggested that emerging market economies, rather than the United States, were better poised to criticize China's currency policy. It looks like, rather than criticizing China's policy, many are simply trying replicate it. Brazil and Taiwan are leading the way: Asian currencies came under pressure on Thursday as a move from Brazil to further curb foreign inflows sparked fears that other countries would follow suit. Brazil moved overnight to close a loophole that had allowed investors to avoid a 2 per cent tax on foreign investment in equities and bonds announced… -
In search of PSD’s “holy grail”
19 Nov 2009 | 7:44 amThe “holy grail” for those working in PSD is the scalable and sustainable business model that engages the poor while delivering social and developmental outcomes. Finding the PSD grail will potentially empower large numbers of poor men and women to find their own way out of poverty as well as generating, on a commercial basis, socially desirable goods and services. But there have been many false trails in the quest for the PSD grail. Among them are supply chain development initiatives that remain external to the economic lives of the poor, and heavily subsidized models… -
Is the US the appropriate renminbi critic?
18 Nov 2009 | 1:23 pmFree Exchange has observed over the past few days that the blogosphere, financial press, and political punditry have put forth a plethora of opinions about Chinese economic policy. Let's take a look at some of the latest: Bill Owens argues for closer cooperation in just about everything: The US-China relationship is a vital interest for the two countries and the world. Throughout history, great powers have tended to become adversaries. Now, for a few years, we have a chance to break that cycle. It will take strong and enduring commitment on both sides. But a new and…
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Wokai News
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Wokai Beijing - November “Drinks For A Better World” Recap
16 Nov 2009 | 10:08 pmNearly 80 Wokai supporters gathered at the Beijing chapter’s “Drinks for a Better World” event Tuesday night at the Blue Frog bar in Sanlitun. The event featured guest speaker Erika Helms, executive director of the Jane Goodall Institute in China, and a noticeably diverse crowd ranging from Chinese college students to expat professionals, all sharing a common passion for microfinance in rural China. -
Client Visits: Mountains, Mud, and More Mushrooms
14 Nov 2009 | 8:58 amAfter a day of visiting three Wokai clients, I have concluded one thing for certain: the life of a loan officer in rural Sichuan is never easy! Three short visits took the vast majority of the day, largely due to the isolation of the various houses and the rather treacherous paths required to get to [...] -
Wokai SF and Oriented - Recap!
12 Nov 2009 | 9:08 pmOn the eve of Halloween, Wokai and ORIENTED welcomed the Bay Area to Happy Hour at the Hotel Sofitel. As promised, none of us dressed up, but one entrepreneur on our site did get the remainder of her loan completely funded from the contributions of that night. Her name is Gerile – Gerile meaning “glorious.” Gerile [...] -
Wokai Featured on Phoenix TV!
11 Nov 2009 | 6:45 pmWokai was recently featured on Phoenix TV - a Hong Kong based Mandarin Chinese broadcast network that airs in over 53 countries across the world. Check out the feature! There's an interview with Casey Wilson, Co-Founder/CEO of Wokai, and a good overview of the history of microfinance in China. -
Response to the recent NY Times Article about Kiva
11 Nov 2009 | 4:58 amDear Friends and Supporters, You might have read Stephanie Strom's article "Confusion Where Money Lent via Kiva Goes" in the New York Times a few days ago. This issue has been making the rounds since David Roodman's post a month ago. As a fellow "peer-to-peer" microfinance organization, we thought it was important for us [...]
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So what can I do?
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Change the world.
6 Oct 2014 | 3:52 pmHow 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 pmI 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 pmI 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 pmI’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 pmEarlier 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
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Oceans’ Ability To Absorb CO2 May Be Diminishing, New Study Says
20 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pmA study of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the world’s oceans from 1765 to the present shows that as humanity pumps more CO2 into the atmosphere, the capacity of the world’s oceans to continue absorbing carbon appears to be decreasing. Researchers from Columbia University and NASA estimate that since 2000, the proportion of fossil-fuel emissions absorbed by the oceans may have declined by as much as 10 percent. In effect, researchers say that industrial activity has been producing so much C02 since 1950 that the oceans are slowly becoming saturated with the gas. “The more carbon… -
Seattle as North America's First Carbon-Neutral City
20 Nov 2009 | 11:01 amLast week, I stood on the stage at Seattle's Town Hall and called on Seattle to become North America's first carbon-neutral city, dropping its per capita climate emissions to nothing by 2030. Since then, I've gotten a whole slew of great emails and calls from people who are thinking that goal through, and have questions. Mostly, folks have been wildly supportive, generally wanting most to know how they can help build the movement to do that. I'm a writer, not an organizer, and I don't have the plan, but I can explain a little more my thinking, and share some observations about what seems to… -
Companies Increase Commitment To Tackling Climate Issues, Report Says
20 Nov 2009 | 10:58 amMajor corporations in the U.S. have shown an increased willingness to voluntarily reduce their impact on climate change despite a sluggish economy, according to a new scorecard produced by the nonprofit group Climate Counts. Eighty-one of the 90 major companies assessed saw an average increase of 22 percent from last year’s scorecard, with Nike topping the list with a score of 83 out of a possible 100 points. Scores are based on 22-criteria in four general areas: measurement of impact on global warming; reduction of impact; engagement in climate-related public policy; and transparency. In… -
A Womb of One's Own
20 Nov 2009 | 10:31 amby Anna Fahey The womb is not free of toxic pollution. This week, the Washington Toxics Coalition released a study that should raise the ire of pregnant women like me. Their findings in a nutshell: developing fetuses spend their first nine months in an environment that exposes them to a range known toxic chemicals. That environment? Their mothers’ bodies. That means my body. The first-of-its kind study analyzed blood and urine samples from nine women in Washington, Oregon, and California during their second trimester of pregnancy, to test for 23 chemicals from five chemical groups. Their… -
How Carbon Markets Work in Europe
20 Nov 2009 | 10:28 amby Eric de Place In spite of what you may have heard, Europe's carbon market is working beautifully. The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been operational since 2005 and we're now getting a good look at how it functions. It turns out, it's a remarkable success story, both environmentally and economically. Let's briefly review the major pieces of evidence. 1. European Environment Agency. A November 2009 report finds that the continent is well on its way to meeting its Kyoto targets thanks in large part to its cap-and-trade program. In fact, by 2007,14 countries had already…
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Social Business Blog
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ClearlySo Expands Internationally: First Stop, Canada
18 Nov 2009 | 8:27 amNow ClearlySo is truly the “first global marketplace for social business & enterprise, commerce and investment”, with a non-UK local presence. Since launching ClearlySo in March, we have received numerous enquiries from parties all over the world expressing interest in working together. These have come to fruition this week, as Julie McDowell, CEO of ClearlySo Canada, will be making the formal announcement at the Third Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise sponsored by the Social Enterprise Council of Canada. Two questions readers could ask. First, why go global–is… -
The Breadth and Diversity of the Social Business and Enterprise Sector is the Key
15 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pmLast week we held our Fourth Annual Social Business Conference at Mary Ward House in London. Attendance was 30% up on last year and more than three times the size of our first conference in 2006. More important than the numbers attending, however, was the growing realisation, on the part of all of us, of how diverse the sector was becoming. Some observers seem uncomfortable with this diversity and urge the disparate sector to “get its act together”, by which they seem normally to mean that the sector should get aligned around one view on what social enterprise/business is, and to… -
The Simple Yet Effective Approach of NEIW, UKSIF and Timms
10 Nov 2009 | 3:43 pmEarlier tonight I attended the official reception at the House of Commons to celebrate National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW). Hosted by Hugh Bayley MP, organised by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) and sponsored by four financial institutions (Aviva, Coop, CCLA and Henderson), the evening called attention to this second, now annual, NEIW and the impact it has had begun to have on public consciousness. Listening to the speakers I began to consider how marvellously effective simple events such as these are–and how much better value-for-money they are… -
The ClearlySo Marketplace Surpasses Several Milestones
9 Nov 2009 | 9:56 amLast week I had lunch with a friend who told me, essentially, that “no man lives by pontification alone”. Rather, according to him, the tangible things we were doing at ClearlySo would reinforce the issues-oriented posts commonly published in this blog. In this spirit, I would like to tell you about four important milestones we have surpassed; in web traffic, in social businesses & enterprises (SBEs) on the site, at our upcoming conference and by virtue of our upcoming announcement to expand ClearlySo into North America. For those of you not familiar with ClearlySo, it is the… -
The Banks: State Aid versus Public Support (or RBS/Lloyds vs. Triodos)
5 Nov 2009 | 1:52 pmEarlier this week it was announced that RBS and Lloyds were due to receive another £30+ billion in support from the UK Government. We have become so inured to such injections, that many commentators hailed this as a positive restructuring and applauded the fact that RBS and Lloyds were being dealt with severely; bonuses to be restricted or deferred and certain businesses to be sold. The unexpectedly harsh treatment from Brussels prompted RBS’s CEO Stephen Hester to say he felt “bruised”, regarding the measures imposed. I may be alone, but this saga and the muted reaction to…
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Gimundo.com
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Viruses Can Be Used to Create Batteries
19 Nov 2009 | 7:17 pmThough you'd like to steer clear of swine flu, viruses aren't all bad: some can be used to create batteries. -
5 Ways Stress Can Help Your Health
18 Nov 2009 | 7:35 pmAccording to new research, stress brought on by day-to-day events can actually help your health, and may even extend your life. -
Colombia Uses Television Ads to Convince Guerrilla Fighters to Surrender
17 Nov 2009 | 7:09 pmAn ad agency in Colombia has created pro bono TV commercials in an effort to convince guerrilla rebels to disband—and it seems to be working. -
Six Ways to Make This Thanksgiving an Unforgettable Celebration
16 Nov 2009 | 8:04 pmThanksgiving's built on tradition—but if you'd like to make the holiday a little more memorable, here are some great ways to spice it up. -
Language-Learning Begins Before Birth
12 Nov 2009 | 7:01 pmAccording to a new study, a newborn baby's very first cry has the accent of his mother's language.
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How I changed the world today.
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busy, busy, busy
19 Nov 2009 | 8:36 amI am finding that now that I NEED the income from my hobby business (SO has been out of work for 6 months now), I am spending as much time as possible on it. Always something else to do. And I have a level of anxiety that I never had with a guaranteed paycheck, even though the business is doing fine and able to pay the bills. But something might change...Anyhow, that's one of my excuses for not keeping up with this blog. Sorry. I have been doing things, I've been advertising for our local food drive this weekend, and trying to get friends to come help out and box food. I'm also working on… -
loans to Julia
16 Nov 2009 | 8:24 pmI made a few Kiva loans to Julia's today. Loan Purchase of $25 to María Julia Asencio Escamilla (business id=152155)Counted towards NOVICA.com Loan Purchase of $25 to Julia Beatriz Castellanos Ochoa (business id=152314)Counted towards NOVICA.com Loan Purchase of $25 to Juliana Dorende (business id=148117)Counted towards NOVICA.com -
Novica loans to artisans
12 Nov 2009 | 9:28 pmI donated today to NOVICA's new loans' to artisan's program. Its a microlender with 0% interest to provide supplies for artisans. Many of these artisans do traditional artwork, so it helps keep cultures alive.I made loans to Pedro and Maria 1 Artisan Loan for Nono Supriatna -
Helping a sewing business
11 Nov 2009 | 9:20 pmI made a loan today to someone a bit like me.Badarbirvaa Batdulams is 44 years old. She lives with her parents and her seventeen year old son in the Uvurhangai Province of Central Mongolia. The family lives together in a "ger," a yurt or traditional Mongolian nomadic tent. Batdulam supports the family by operating a sewing business. She wants to eventually turn her small business into a factory with several employees. Batdulam purchases materials for her business 1-2 times per month, depending on her customer’s wants and needs. She is requesting a 3,500,000 tugrug (approx. $2475 USD) loan… -
kiva
9 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pmI made a quick loan to theLas Margaritas Group in Boliva.
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NextBillion
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Vittana: Student Loans and a New Generation of Microfinance
20 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pmAuthored by: Manuel BuenoMicrofinance is widely touted as a major private sector success in tackling development. According to the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2009, microfinance now reaches more than 100 million people through more than 3,500 organizations. Nonetheless, like many forms of financing, microfinance is a coarse tool to lift people out of poverty insofar as it usually lends to people who may be willing to invest in the development of fixed assets, traditionally in farming or small businesses. More recently, microfinance products have tried to sharpen their… -
Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009
20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amAuthored by: Diana HollmannIt's Friday in the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Week! 20,000 events involving 5 million people around the globe are taking place this week lasting from November 16-22.On Monday, here in Washington, IFC held a one-day conference addressing the issue of achieving scale in entrepreneurship. The conference featured representatives from IFC and World Bank, the White House, the US Department of State, Kauffman Foundation as well as entrepreneurs. Michael Fairbanks from the OTF Group and Iqbal Quadir, founder of GrameenPhone and the MIT Legatum Center, were… -
Investor Management
20 Nov 2009 | 12:39 amOrganization: New Ventures IndiaLocation: Hyderabad, INNew Ventures India is a joint initiative between CII GBC and World Resources Institute aimed at developing the ecosystem for green SMEs and, in particular, facilitating capital transfer to green enterprises. New Ventures. The New Ventures program of the World Resources Institute runs in six countries: India, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Columbia. New Ventures reaches out to the green SMEs and entrepreneurs through a variety of outreach programs, identifies promising enterprises by engaging with them in a constructive dialogue and… -
Enterprise Management
20 Nov 2009 | 12:39 amOrganization: New Ventures IndiaLocation: Hyderabad, INNew Ventures India is a joint initiative between CII GBC and World Resources Institute aimed at developing the ecosystem for green SMEs and, in particular, facilitating capital transfer to green enterprises. New Ventures. The New Ventures program of the World Resources Institute runs in six countries: India, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Columbia. New Ventures reaches out to the green SMEs and entrepreneurs through a variety of outreach programs, identifies promising enterprises by engaging with them in a constructive dialogue and… -
Net Impact 2009: A Wrap-Up
19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pmAuthored by: Diana Hollmann2 days, 2600 participants and over 350 speakers on more than 100 panels - those are some of the stats of this year’s Net Impact conference. One thing is for sure: It was an intense and inspiring conference!Clean Technology at the Base of the PyramidOne of the two keynotes on the second day focused on clean technology at the Base of the Pyramid and featured Stuart Hart from Cornell University. He argued that there is still not enough attention paid to the commercialization and distribution of clean technology products and services for low-income…
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TakePart Social Action Network™
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Social Action Roundup
20 Nov 2009 | 2:57 pmParticipant Media presents entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Behind these films and issues, there are thousands of people nationwide who work tirelessly on campaigns that use the films as inspiration to make a difference. As a member of the company’s Social Action team, which develops initiatives that are inspired by the films, I’m excited to announce the first posting of a weekly blog of Sarah’s Social Action Snapshot, which will offer the latest updates on our campaigns and offer specific actions and tools, from our campaigns, for people to get involved in issues… -
My Last Post
20 Nov 2009 | 1:51 pmHi Readers! I’ve really enjoyed writing for this wonderful site over the past few years but, the time has come for me to leave the TakePart family. Although I will not longer be a Takepart.com blogger, I will continue to be a reader and supporter. And now here’s a oldie but goodie video I’d like to share in honor of my last post. Feel free to keep up with me on the web at giuliarozzi.com. -
New Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening, Too
20 Nov 2009 | 1:39 pmWell, it’s been an interesting week for women’s health issues: earlier this week Giulia noted that a panel is recommending fewer mammograms and starting later, and now, new guidelines are suggesting that women start getting screened for cervical cancer later in life, and that Pap smears are not needed every year. One of the reasons for the change is that overtesting can actually lead to very serious risks. Says Reuters: The recommendations are based on scientific evidence that suggests more frequent testing leads to overtreatment, which can harm a young woman’s chances of… -
Project Cuddle
20 Nov 2009 | 1:37 pmI will never understand how anyone could abandon a baby. Luckily there are folks like Debbe Magnusen around to help care for those children left behind. In 1996 after reading a newspaper article about the discovery of a dead baby in a file cabinet in Yorba Linda, Calif., in 1996, Magnusen started a hotline called Project Cuddle and announced on TV that women unable to care for their newborns could drop them off on her porch in Costa Mesa, California. Over the past 13 years Magnusen has rescued 661 babies finding most adoptive homes. And now her life will be the topic of a made-for-TV movie. -
Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 Years Later
20 Nov 2009 | 1:21 pmToday, November 20 marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the most widely ratified international human rights treaty. The UNCRC laid out the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights for children all over the world. The documented has been ratified by 193 countries including every U.N. Member State but the United States and Somalia. I was surprised to learn that the U.S. was not included in the 193 supporting nations. VOA News reports: Despite the success of the Convention in raising awareness of children’s rights…
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Social ROI: A Social Entrepreneurship Blog
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Online Giving
13 Nov 2009 | 4:56 pmCharities are tracking their users in social networks, virtual realms and other corners of the online universe to raise money by mixing the efficiency of life online with opportunities to promote brands and have a bit of fun. No one is certain how online giving will evolve, but some campaigns are reporting sizable fund-raising and a deeper and continuing connection with donors. Continue reading… -
Robin Hood: Targeting Poverty In New York City
9 Nov 2009 | 10:06 pmFour million New York City residents — half of the city — experience difficulty affording food. That’s twice the level in 2003. And that’s why Robin Hood is partnering with FreshDirect to deliver Food for Good: 15,000 meals to feed 120,000 New Yorkers who might otherwise go hungry this holiday season. Continued… -
MIT Legatum Center Accepting Applications for 2010-2011 Fellowship
7 Nov 2009 | 9:29 amThe Legatum Center is now accepting applications for the 2010-2011 Fellowship, with a deadline of February 10, 2010. Led by Professor Iqbal Quadir, the Center administers a competitive fellowship program for incoming and current MIT graduate students, across all academic and professional disciplines, who demonstrate the potential to create innovative, sustainable, for-profit enterprises that promote prosperity in low-income countries. The Fellowship provides financial assistance, business plan coaching, specialized seminars, and opportunities to engage with some of the world’s… -
Feed the Needy From the Comfort of Your Phone (via grubstreet)
2 Nov 2009 | 3:08 pmA couple of nonprofits are using technology to make foodie philanthropy easier this holiday season. First, for every $50 you donate via Fresh Direct’s website, Robin Hood will deliver a turkey and fixings to a food organization such as the Food Bank For New York City (Robin Hood is the bank’s largest supplier). Second, City Harvest has released its annual Great Food, Good Hearts guide of restaurants that support the organization. This year, you can search the 160 venues via your cell phone, by texting “city harvest” and any address to 69866 (you’ll then get a text back listing the… -
Can the world’s richest man feed the planet?
17 Oct 2009 | 6:21 pmInteresting article on Bill Gates: “Three-quarters of the world’s poorest people get their food and income by farming small plots of land,” Gates said. “So if we can make smallholder farming more productive and more profitable, we can have a massive impact on hunger and nutrition and poverty.” That’s exactly what the first Green Revolution accomplished in the Latin America and Asia. “But it didn’t go far enough,” Gates said. “It didn’t go to Africa.” Continue reading…
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JUST CAUSE - make some good news™
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Imagine There's No Healthcare
19 Nov 2009 | 9:25 pmImagine 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 -
JUST Chatting With Bill Hemmer
18 Nov 2009 | 6:39 pmLike most people, I have created a life in which I am, for the most part, surrounded by people who think like me. read more -
Maine Fishermen Think Outside the Net
16 Nov 2009 | 5:20 pmFishermen are among the most innovative people in the world. They have to be in order to make a living and survive as an industry. read more -
Philanthropic Journeys & Living Legacy
8 Nov 2009 | 11:34 amJUST Business read more -
Nest Seattle
27 Oct 2009 | 12:39 pmNest is a nonprofit organization that empowers female artists and artisans around the world. read more
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Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy - Institute for Food and Development Policy
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UN food summit ends in Rome with little progress made in fight against hunger
19 Nov 2009 | 10:33 amNovember 18, 2009 The UN Food Summit wraps up in Rome today. Leaders signed a declaration to end world hunger, but the meeting concludes without a firm commitment to fund the efforts. And critics say the meeting did little to address food pricing, agriculture development aid, or the effects that hunger has on women - all issues that are critical to confronting the needs of some one billion people who go hungry every night. read more -
Letter from Sierra Club to Bill Gates
15 Nov 2009 | 8:21 pmNovember 9, 2009 Bill Gates Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation PO Box 23350 Seattle, WA 98102 Dear Mr. Gates Sierra Club, the world's largest grassroots conservation organization, has concerns about your statement at the World Food Prize forum last month. You claimed that environmentalists opposed to genetic engineering of farm crops are against anything that increases yields. Nothing could be farther from the truth. read more -
Call for U.S. Leadership at the World Summit on Food Security
14 Nov 2009 | 9:25 amNovember 13, 2009 To: Alonzo L. Fulgham Acting Administrator and Chief Operating Officer U.S. Agency for International Development Ronald Reagan Building Washington, D.C., 20523-1000 Call for U.S. Leadership at the World Summit on Food Security read more -
Biofuels - Myths of the Agrofuels Transition: Parts I & II - a presentation by Eric Holt-Giménez
13 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pmPart I: http://www.vimeo.com/7447359 Part II: http://www.vimeo.com/7567548 Presenter: Eric Holt-Giménez, Food First Response: Peter Hess, Cornell University Cornell University, April 06, 2009 Producers: Jurden Alexander, Camera Wies van Leuken, Editor -
DEVELOPMENT: For-Profit Seeds Hurting Farmers, Biodiversity
10 Nov 2009 | 11:37 amBy Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Oct 23 (IPS) - Large biotechnology firms are not only depriving poor farmers of inputs essential for their livelihoods, but are also pushing up food prices, according to a new U.N. report. "Excessive protection of intellectual property rights in agriculture is an obstacle rather than an incentive for innovation," says Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, who authored the report released Tuesday. read more
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Chris Blattman
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My spider sense is tingling
20 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pmThe American Museum of Natural History is displaying a 11′x4′ tapestry woven made completely of spider silk. It took four years, required more than one million spiders, and cost $500,000 to make. “The spiders are harnessed … held down in a delicate way,” Godley says, “so you need people to do this who are very tactile so the spiders are not harmed. So there’s a chain of about 80 people who go out every morning at four o’clock, collect spiders, we get them in by 10 o’clock. They’re in boxes, they’re numbered, and then as they… -
Sub-Saharan dandies
19 Nov 2009 | 8:10 pmA new photo book by Daniele Tamagni explores the phenomenon of sapeurs, a clique of extraordinarily dressed dandies from the Congo. In the midst of war and abject poverty, these men dress in tailored suits, silk ties, and immaculate footwear. That from Jezebel, the mongo “celebrity, sex, fashion” blog, which manages to be uncommonly introspective: It’s hard to know how to read this particular trend: is this a post-colonial pastiche of the oppressors’ style of dress? Or an example of a subjugated and still impoverished people hoodwinked into spending untold sums on… -
Word of the day: Nonindifference
19 Nov 2009 | 11:07 amThe challenge of humanitarian intervention in conflicts, as former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan originally framed it, saw a bitter divide split Western from developing countries. When the Canadian-sponsored independent international commission held a regional meeting in New Delhi in June 2001, only the protocol officer from the External Affairs Ministry attended the reception hosted by the Swiss ambassador. India’s opposition was that strong. That is Ramesh Thakur on the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, now cutely reduced to R2P–what is probably the only UN acronym I like. -
Academic job market advice
18 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pmAs the job market for new economists and political scientists looms, I think last year’s advice still stands. -
Creative contract enforcement in Italy
18 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pmAssociating a brief, sharp pain with an event to be remembered is a strategy typical of of oral cultures. In medieval Italy marriage contracts were witnessed by the children of the town–bound to live longer on average–and each child was slapped once and simultaneously handed a sweet to ensure he or she remembered. That and many other interesting bits come from The Sicilian Mafia, by Diego Gambetta, an Oxford sociologist. This is a book I always wanted to read but only got around to recently. What’s the relation to the mafia? Gambetta uses the anecdote to explain initiation…
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...My heart's in Accra
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From compassion to action, from action to knowledge
19 Nov 2009 | 1:32 pmI’ve opened a lot of lectures lately – presentations about our Media Cloud research at Berkman – by complaining about the New York Times’s Africa coverage. I cite the fact that Japan tends to average roughly 8-10 times as many mentions in the paper of record than Nigeria in any given year, which is odd, given their comparable population size and importance. (I also mention that the Times is not alone – all US media outlets I’ve studied closely show this pattern – and that the Africa stories the Times runs are frequently excellent.) If the Times is… -
Bridging with Brian Lehrer
19 Nov 2009 | 7:29 amBrian Lehrer, the moderator of WNYC’s excellent morning show, has been kind enough to invite me onto his show all month long, appearing every Thursday morning. It’s been a somewhat insane month for me to participate. As Rachel explained on her blog, the last few weeks of her pregnancy have been a little tricky and scary, and I ended up doing one of our interviews from the parking lot of the local hospital. Rachel’s well and home today, and I have high hopes of broadcasting shows with Brian today and this coming Wednesday before she goes into labor! When we discussed what we… -
Samuel Bowles introduces Kudunomics
17 Nov 2009 | 11:24 amWarning! Professor Bowles’s lecture was rich in economic jargon, and I’m not an economist. And it had an unusally high idea density. It’s quite possible that I missed large swaths of what he was saying and misinterpreted what he did say. If something here seems obviously wrong, please use the comments section to gently correct me. Yochai Benkler introduces Samuel Bowles of the Santa Fe Institute as his “intellectual hero” referencing his ability to apply a completely different set of intellectual tools to problems, switching tactics each decade. The target of… -
links for 2009-11-16
16 Nov 2009 | 8:04 amGlobal Voices Online Japan: In a World with Automatic Translation Wonderful Japanese blogpost on the importance of automatic translation, and the benefits of translating the apparently silly and inconsequential (tags: anguage translation blogging search japan bridgeblogs) -
What if they stop clicking?
13 Nov 2009 | 3:33 pmWho pays for content and services on the internet? My friend Bo Peabody thinks we should be asking not just whether ad-supported journalism is feasible, but whether ad-supported social networks will work. In a Washington Post op-ed titled “Twitter.org?“, Bo leverages his experience founding and running Tripod.com to suggest that social networking sites are misunderstood as content sites, and won’t be profitable as ad-supported properties. He suggests that, because these spaces are critically important digital public spheres, we should consider supporting them as nonprofits…
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globalhealthideas.org
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Malaria vaccines: One step forward… Several steps to go
20 Nov 2009 | 12:21 pmObi Nnedu MD, MPH is an Infectious Disease Fellow at the University of Washington and has received a scholarship as a NIH Fogarty International Clinical Research Fellow to work in Kenya. He recently attended the MIM conference in Nairobi and shares some of his impressions here. The 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African conference was recently held in Nairobi. The world’s leading malaria scientists converged on the Kenyan capital to discuss strategies to eradicate malaria. Topics discussed were broad and ranged from treatment to drug resistance, from bed net use to… -
Forum 2009, No. 3: Site Visit to Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology (#GFHR09)
19 Nov 2009 | 5:20 amtodo: italics, bullets TITLE: Forum 2009, No. 3: Site Visit to Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology (#GFHR09) The Global Forum for Health Research “Forum 2009: Innovating for the Health of All” takes place this week in Havana, Cuba from 16-20 November. This is the third of a series of posts from the conference. The conference organized afternoon site visits to Cuban institutions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week. The hot ticket was a visit to any of the institutions comprising the West Havana Biotechnology Park (”Polo Científico del Oeste de La… -
Forum 2009, No. 2: South-South Cooperation & Scaling Social Entrepreneurship Models (#GFHR09)
18 Nov 2009 | 2:21 pmThe Global Forum for Health Research “Forum 2009: Innovating for the Health of All” takes place this week in Havana, Cuba from 16-20 November. This is the second of a series of posts from the conference. From Tuesday’s sessions, there were two parallel concepts related to developing countries assisting developing countries: governmental South-South cooperation and social entrepreneurs who have scaled their own models, a different form of South-South cooperation. In the morning, key ideas about governments helping each other: 1) Many partnerships, new and old. Cuba-Africa… -
Forum 2009, No. 1: Innovation Focus on Cuba (#GFHR09)
18 Nov 2009 | 2:18 pmThe Global Forum for Health Research “Forum 2009: Innovating for the Health of All” takes place this week in Havana, Cuba from 16-20 November. This is the first of a series of posts from the conference. Because of challenges to getting and staying online here, posts will be in dispatch format. That means delayed, linkless, medialess, error-prone, and far from comprehensive. The meeting opened Monday with a plenary featuring: -Gill Samuels, Chair of the Foundation Council, Global Forum for Health Research -José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera, Minister of Public Health, Republic of Cuba… -
5th MIM Pan-African Malaria Conference sets high expectations
5 Nov 2009 | 1:15 pmIn spite of heavy rains that slowed traffic to a crawl in Nairobi Monday morning, the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan-African Malaria Conference got off to a strong start. Wide ranging topics – everything from genetic mapping to eradication strategies to socioeconomic inequities of private insurance coverage for malaria treatment – have been discussed. The MIM website has a wealth of information on the conference proceedings. Detailed summaries and presentation links are available under “Session Reports“. My particular interest was on healthcare policy and…
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All Day Buffet
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Lovely Day: Meet the Human Brands
20 Nov 2009 | 10:05 amMiss the Lovely Day presentation last week? No worries, we’ve uploaded it to Slideshare for you to browse, and enjoy! Lovely Day // Meet The (Human) Brands Lovely Day creates and shapes brands for the 21st century. Hand in hand with the world’s greatest brands, we develop strategies for global brands to do well by doing good. Our strategic focus: corporate social innovation. -
Reinventing the Conference Model
5 Nov 2009 | 10:04 amI’m a conference junkie. I actually like going to (some) conferences. In the past month, I’ve attended Pop!Tech, Tribecon, and will be attending the Idea Conference next week. But, unlike most people. I like conferences for a specific reason. You won’t find me in the hallways networking and collecting business cards. And I find listening to the speakers as an added bonus. I like “inspiration” conferences because it allows me to sit back and think about life, business, relationships, etc. It’s a time for me to reflect and make huge decisions that… -
Human Brands Webinar
3 Nov 2009 | 9:30 amWe believe that corporations need to focus on “innovation” (not responsibility) and think about doing well by doing good. Why do we think that’s possible? Because business is run by people and, you may call us optimistic, but we believe people are inherently good. Join Lovely Day as we present a free webinar on insights, strategies, and examples of global brands and corporations creating world-shaking change! Lovely Day develops “corporate social innovation” strategies for global brands to do well by doing good. Because business is run by people and people are inherently… -
November 2009 Newsletter
2 Nov 2009 | 7:33 pmLOVELY DAY In partnership with Crush+Lovely, we’re excited to announce Lovely Day – the agency for (human) brands! Lovely Day will develop strategies for global brands to do well by doing good. We consist of thinkers and doers, strategists and creatives, change-makers and movers that will create and shape brands for the future. Join us as we present a webinar on insights, strategies, and examples of global brands and corporations creating world-shaking change! Webinar: Human Brands Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3 PM – 4 PM EST FREE, FREE, FREE! Register for webinar>>… -
Lovely Day
21 Oct 2009 | 7:00 amIn partnership with Crush+Lovely, we’re excited to announce Lovely Day – the agency for (human) brands! Lovely Day will develop strategies for global brands to do well by doing good. We consist of thinkers and doers, strategists and creatives & change-makers and movers that will create and shape brands for the future. Corporations need to rethink both where they focus their philanthropy and how they go about their giving. And we believe the most effective method of addressing many of the world’s pressing problems is to mobilize the corporate sector in ways that…
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GOOD Main
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Mapping Noise Pollution with Cell Phones
20 Nov 2009 | 1:18 pmCell phones usually contribute to urban noise pollution. But the folks at Paris’s Sony Computer Science Laboratory have created an app that lets any GPS-enabled phone help us understand the problem. Behold NoiseTube: Click here to view the embedded video. Serenity now! -
Air Travel Is for Polar Bear Killers
20 Nov 2009 | 1:12 pmHere’s a rather scathing PSA from Plane Stupid. (Note, if you get squeamish at the thought of seeing polar bear deaths depicted in a fairly gruesome—and slightly absurd—manner, or if you yourself are a polar bear, you might think twice about watching.) Click here to view the embedded video. Wow. Granted, each flight doesn’t literally kill a polar bear. This isn’t some sick inversion of the ringing bells that beget angel wings from It’s a Wonderful Life. But it does hammer home the increasingly annoying reality that most of the greatest technological advancements in… -
Are Opponents of Climate Action Hacking Climate Research Caches?
20 Nov 2009 | 12:18 pmFrom the folks over at TreeHugger: The email system of one of the world’s leading climate researchers was just reported to be infiltrated by hackers. Protected information and email messages sent from climate scientists at the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) began turning up on public websites today. Why the CRU was targeted is still unclear–though there’s speculation that with the global climate meeting in Copenhagen nearing, opponents of climate action may be going so far as to be doing illegal reconnaissance. Read the full post for more… -
Does Innovation Belong in That Recipe?
20 Nov 2009 | 11:38 amCookbooks often read better as literature than as technical lab manuals. That shouldn’t stop us from reading them, or from improvising our recipes. We no longer learn to cook solely from generations-old oral traditions. Our recipes don’t tend to get handed down from village bakers, local brewers, or blood relatives. So, when the holidays hit, chances are we’ll head to the bookshelves for ways to make stuffing or cranberry sauce. This approach is not without its pitfalls. As John Thorne—the “outlaw cook” known for his renegade newsletter, Simple Cooking, which has developed… -
What Can You Bring on the Plane With You These Holidays?
20 Nov 2009 | 10:26 amI often carry with me through airport security more than 3 ounces of toothpaste, in the hopes that I can helpfully explain to a TSA agent that toothpaste is not a gel, aerosol, or liquid, but is—by definition—a paste. Sadly, they have yet to try to take my toothpaste. Luckily for me and all travelers, the TSA knows how complicated deciding what fits into the ever-nebulous “gel, aerosol, and liquid” category, especially with holiday specific items, so they’ve published this helpful list of holiday foodstuffs not to bring on the plane: Cranberry sauce Creamy dips and…
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CRIN News Feed - Home - English
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UNICEF: The State of the World's Children Special Edition: Celebrating 20 Years of the CRC
19 Nov 2009 | 9:59 pmIn commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 2009, UNICEF is dedicating a special edition of its flagship publication The State of the World’s Children to child rights. The report broadly assesses the Convention’s impact on child -
EDUCATION: Portal for Human Rights Schools
19 Nov 2009 | 2:00 amHREA is very pleased to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) with the launch of a new web portal to promote understanding and application of a human rights-based approach to schooling. The CRC calls for all children to be treated w -
CRC20: Establishing a communications procedure for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
18 Nov 2009 | 6:41 pmThere is much to celebrate as we mark the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on November 20 – but children have so far been denied one crucial tool for safeguarding their rights. The CRC is the only core international human rights -
UN: The Six Grave Violations against Children during Armed Conflict - The legal foundation
17 Nov 2009 | 11:18 pmThe six grave violations against children during times of conflict, enumerated by the Security Council in its resolutions, form the basis of the Council’s architecture in protecting children during war. Monitoring and Reporting mechanisms set up around the world use this framework to gather&nb -
CLIMATE CHANGE: Briefings on children's rights and climate change
17 Nov 2009 | 9:34 pmThese briefings have been produced by the Institute of Development Studies, UK: Rights, Needs and Capacities of Children in a Changing ClimateClimate Change,
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Angel Covers
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2009 Gifts From the World Auction
15 Nov 2009 | 8:08 pmHi Everyone, This years Gifts From The World auction is up and running! There are more than 75 beautiful items from around the world. The auction is over on Friday the 20th, so bid soon. Every single penny raised will go to finish purchasing items for the children of Angel Cottage, including educational needs like desks, textbooks, and blackboards. We have raised more than $8,600 towards our goal of $10,000. We don't have far to go. With the holiday's right around the corner, this is the perfect opportunity to start some of your shopping! Click this link to view the auction! Please pass this… -
Thank you!!
10 Nov 2009 | 12:33 pmAs you know, the America's Giving Challenge ended Friday, Nov. 6. We were so glad to be a part of such a huge challenge. Our little grass roots organization raised just over $7,700 for the children of Angel Cottage and came in 22nd out of more than 7,100 organizations entered. Amazing! Sales of holiday card and donations received directly by us during the month of the challenge raised another $600. The children of Angel Cottage now have more than $8,300 of the $10,000 needed for the matching funds. I can't thank you all enough.In an effort to raise the remaining $1,700 needed for the matching… -
Let's Finish Strong!
5 Nov 2009 | 8:08 pmTomorrow at 1:00 MST ends the America's Giving Challenge. At the start of this challenge, we set a goal to raise $10,000. So far we have raised almost $7,600 through this challenge directly. We have also raised another $600+ through the sale of our holiday cards and other donations. Because of all of you, we have less than $2,000 needed before we reach our goal!Because of the more than $8,200 we have raised and the $4,100 matching donation, the children of Angel Cottage have new beds, a concrete wall is being built to create a safe play area, and tables are being built. Your generosity is… -
Before and After
2 Nov 2009 | 8:05 pmI just love before and after pictures! They tell a story better than any words ever can. You may remember the pictures of of the kids crammed in their bedrooms at Angel Cottage. The beds are end to end, side to side, in small rooms with 2 and 3 children sleeping in each. Today, I got the best "after" picture of the girls' room at the new Angel Cottage!I know that walking between beds seems completely normal. It is to most of us. But these girls have been living in very tight, very unhealthy rooms for the past 2 years because they have no where else to go. As soon as the kids move into the new… -
Moving forward
1 Nov 2009 | 1:52 pmThe America's Giving Challenge is moving forward and so is Angel Cottage. Beds and mattresses are being moved in and the paint smell is on the way out. Beatrice and I decided to wait a week for the home to warm up and the paint smell to leave. It got quite cold in there after lots and lots of cold water was poured on the new concrete to help it cure. The walls have been painted a bright, cheerful yellow, and the dining room floor is red.As the children prepare to move, we continue to work towards raising $10,000 for their needs. In the past 48 we have raised more than $250 and now only need…
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PopTech Blog
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Crowdsourcing Government Listening
20 Nov 2009 | 11:43 amThe federal government is just beginning to use social media to talk to citizens. What’s needed now, says Web entrepreneur Anil Dash, is a way for government to use social media to listen. Anil Dash at Web 2.0 Expo, photo by James Duncan Davidson and courtesy O'Reilly Media and TechWeb. Expert Labs—one of the more intriguing ideas to emerge from this past week’s Web 2.0 Expo in Manhattan—is a new nonprofit that will seek to bridge that gap. Its mission is to use the Web and expert online communities to crowdsource solutions to social problems that state or federal lawmakers either… -
FLAP Bag Update: Mozambique, Kenya, and Haiti
17 Nov 2009 | 3:14 pmEditor's note: PopTech staff Coco Rojas gives an update on the FLAP (Flexible Light And Power) solar bag project and who is helping us test it right now below--FLAP is a collaborative effort from PopTech, Timbuk2, and Portable Light Project. You can find out more about the project's history and field work on the FLAP FAQ page (including how to order the bag) and join the FLAP project on our community site, the Hub. FLAP received a tremendous response at the PopTech 2009 conference, and we are incredibly grateful to all the PopTech'ers who offered to help field test the bag. (Let us know in… -
VIDEO: Paul van Zyl, Alec Ross, and Erica Williams
17 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pmThis week, President Obama has spoken in China about openness and human rights, world leaders are meeting in Rome to talk about world hunger and food security, and it is Global Entrepreneurship Week, so we are releasing three PopTech 2009 talks on truth, politics and the art of diplomacy. Below, Paul van Zyl makes the case for an American Truth Commission, Senior Advisor on Innovation Alec Ross argues for an overhaul of U.S. diplomacy, and Erica Williams tells how the younger generations participate in politics. All three ask us to consider how we shape the future of the American political… -
The Twittering’s On The Wall
13 Nov 2009 | 3:49 pmUpon the 20-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city of Berlin has launched a remarkable “living” online memorial: the Berlin Twitter Wall. Using the hashtag #fotw, people can share their thoughts on the Fall of the Berlin Wall and tell the world “which walls still have to come down to make our world a better place.” The Web site scrolls messages along a backdrop of the East Side Gallery, a famous stretch of the wall still standing and painted with murals. By clicking "stop" and "play", older tweets are shown. A click on the cameras… -
Fellows Friday: Recent Tweets We Have Seen and Favorited
13 Nov 2009 | 9:18 amOur group of 2008 and 2009 Social Innovation Fellows is incredibly active--and they often work together and link to each other's work. Some of our favorite tweets from them in the past few days are below; you can follow them on Twitter on the PopTech SI Fellows List. Jason Aramburu of @re_char is tweeting from the NE Biochar Symposium today: Heather Fleming ( @heatherfleming) is attending the Aspen Design Summit this week (through tomorrow): Ken Banks ( @kiwanja) of @frontlinesms congratulated @Afrigadget (founded by 2008 Fellow Erik Hersman ( @whiteafrican)) and recently contributed to by…
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quoteflections
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Meet Paul Cornies of Quoteflections
19 Nov 2009 | 4:09 pmAfter almost two years of blogging, over 700 blog posts, (my online journal) and a following of 140 RSS readers (thank you for subscribing), I formally introduce myself. Paul Cornies lives in Leamington, Ontario Canada. Many of you know my signature on blog comments as Paul C.I have been a little tentative on the Internet, not sure how much of myself to reveal. And, yet, my regular readers know quite a bit about my personality, interests, and perspectives.Many of you know I retired from teaching last year, am currently teaching ESL and spending time with a newly arrived refugee family from… -
Sports Stadium Sells for Price of Condominium
19 Nov 2009 | 5:35 amThe Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan was an icon of its time. It was built in 1975 for $55 million and sold this week to Canadian investors for $583,000, 1% of its initial value.The Silverdome hosted a rich legacy:- the Detroit Lions of the NFL from 75-2001- the Detroit Pistons of the NBA from 1978-88- first round games of the 1994 FIFA World Cup soccer- 1979 NBA All Star Game- Super Bowl XVI on Jan. 24, 1982 when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 before a crowd of 81,270- Wrestle Mania III in 1987 with an attendance record of 93,000- 1994 the English rock band Pink… -
Boreal Biome: Precious Resource
18 Nov 2009 | 7:42 amCanada's vast boreal forest which stretches from Newfoundland to the Yukon holds a staggering 208 billion tons of carbon, or the equivalent of 26 years of the world's carbon emissions that spew into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.The report, The Carbon the World Forgot, says, "Future climate change protocols must be better suited to motivate stewardship of the massive quantity of carbon stored in forest and peatland ecosystems."Interestingly, North America's boreal forests, contain nearly twice as much carbon per hectare as tropical forests. The carbon has been "vastly underestimated"… -
Sex-ed Teen Texting
17 Nov 2009 | 5:16 amSex-ed in 160 characters? Several text messaging initiatives are reaching out to inquiring teens.Scarleteen recently began a text message service for its roughly 10,000 American visitors a day and will soon expand to Canada."With teenagers, texting is just huge," said Scarleteen founder, Heather Corinna, who's a former kindergarten teacher. Scarleteen is run by 15 trained volunteers, many of whom are studying in a health related field. They answer text messages through the use of a computer program.A similiar initiative is The Birds and Bees Text Line, opened out of the Adolescent Pregnancy… -
WISE: The Future of Global Education
16 Nov 2009 | 6:18 amEducation is rarely discussed within a global framework. The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) begins today in Doha, Qatar and is sponsored by the Qatar Foundation.The three day forum brings together 1000 renowned educational experts and decision makers from all sectors of society to shape education models for the 21st century.'By offering an ideal platform for debate and actions, WISE will focus on finding both new ways of addressing major educational challenges and solid ways of implementing sustainable solutions, tools, and practices.'It's interesting that the conference gathers…
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News at Tonic.com
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In 2011, All PS3 Will Be 3-D
I'm an old-school video game console person. Give me an Atari 2600 with a one-button joystick and a game of Homerun or Adventure and I'm a happy camper. Today's consoles have controllers with about 63 buttons on them, which just confuse and frustrate the bejeezus out of me. Yes, soon enough, I'll be shaking my fist, yelling at kids to, "Stay off the lawn!" This is my future.That said, reading today about the potential for Sony's PlayStation 3 to go 3-D by 2011 certainly intrigued me. According to this CNET gadget blog, Sony presented to investors yesterday, where they "underlined that… -
Doodle Bra Mania
A quirky invention by an Oregon high schooler has captured the attention of the country.Rachel Segal, an 18-year-old from Ashland appeared on "The View" Friday as part of a segment about teen millionaires, reports TheDailyNews.com. Segal, who is not quite a millionaire just yet, is sitting on a potential multi-million dollar business with her recent "Doodle Bra" invention.The white cotton bra, which costs $9.99, is designed to be colored with erasable, non-toxic, washable markers and stencils. Targeted to a teenage audience, the garment can be doodled and undoodled over and over, creating… -
No Holiday Decorating Budget? No Problem for One Illinois Town
OK, so the economy sucks. But that hasn't lessened the holiday glow for folks in Batavia. On the contrary, residents and business owners in this Illinois suburb have embraced the spirit of the season and banded together to decorate the downtown for Christmas when budget cuts meant the municipality couldn't do it for them, as had always been the case in the past. "It's the heart of Batavia," downtown business owner Katrina Roitburd told the Chicago Tribune. "I just feel like it's important to make it as special as it can be." Roitburd says her store, Katrina's Salon and Spa, will display white… -
'New Moon' Review: Mixed Emotions Make A Mixed Movie
You can't win if you're trying to adapt one of the most popular book series ever. All you can really do is just stay out of the way. And for the most part, Chris Weitz, the director of the second installment of the Twilight Saga, New Moon, does keep his cast, his direction and his special effects from interfering in the live-action, faithful adaptation of the book. Whether or not this is a movie that moviegoers at-large will enjoy is for someone else to say. This movie is for the fans of the books. Cast Lowdown: Robert Pattinson's acting as lead vampire Edward is demonstrably better than the… -
Cartoon Network Invites the Boys and Girls to Premiere
Cartoon Network held a premiere of the live action version of popular cartoon show, Ben 10: Alien Force, this week at the Warner Brothers studio back lot. Though the movie will have a television premiere and head to DVD a week later, the network wanted to host a full-scale event and invited some special kids to take part. If you haven't watched cartoons in a while, I'll fill you in: Its about a kid named Ben, who discovers the Omnitrix. It looks like a watch but it's really a mysterious alien weapon with the power to transform the wearer into 10 different alien species. Thus the "10," which…
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Gift Hub
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Dam Busting to Get a Flood of Giving Now
19 Nov 2009 | 2:13 pmIssues to be resolved to "bust the dam" holding back a wave of current gifts and grants. Organizations like Philanthropedia connecting ordinary donors with advice from experts on which nonprofits are doing great work in various categories. Organizations like Tactical Philanthropy who can get advisors paid for giving good advice about giving for impact in the context of family wealth. Organizations like my employer educating advisors and fundraisers to work more productively with donors and "proto-philanthropistis." Organizations like The… -
Elite Limited Liability Company
18 Nov 2009 | 7:30 pmCIA Secret 'Torture' Prison Found at Fancy Horseback Riding Academy. I note in passing that Seligman, the guy who wrote about learned helplessness and now happiness has this to say about the CIA's use of his material. Happiness, said Aristotle, is a life of virtue lived in a just society. What we have is pretty close, I guess. Look on the bright side. -
Philanthropedia
18 Nov 2009 | 5:23 pmQuite an interesting and well-considered approach to helping donors fund nonprofits doing excellent work in a given issue area. Philanthropedia, a nonprofit, canvasses experts in that issue area among foundation grantmakers. They provide area of interest funds to donors large and small.They also offer a gift card. The people associated with Philanthropediaseem to be mostly drawn from Stanford. I recently interviewed Dawn Kwan, Philanthropedia's Manager of Nonprofit Profiles & Social Cause Expansion. What is your sustainability model? Where do your revenues come… -
Bright-Sided, by Barbara Ehrenreich
18 Nov 2009 | 2:44 pmC.A. Fitts: I just finished Ehrenreich’s new book, Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Underminded America in which she describes the promotion and abuse of positive thinking by American institutions, including the media, medicine, downsizing corporations and growing churches, and the rest of us. -
I Who Am Blameless
18 Nov 2009 | 11:38 amIf you appreciate the writing and hijinks of Diogenes, Rabelais, Erasmus, Dryden, Swift, John Gay, or more recently Oscar Wilde, you become hyper-sensitive to the reality that all discourse has not only an intended audience, not only a payload of "content" to deliver via "style," vehicle or setup, but that all discourse limns, consciously or unconsciously, a speaker. It is a mercy that we have adopted as a polite convention that as an audience we will not become overly conscious of the speaker's foibles, much less his or her vice or folly. We hope that a like courtesy…
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TheGiveWell Blog
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Two charities, one microfinance institution
20 Nov 2009 | 2:44 pmWe’re looking for a good option for U.S. donors interested in supporting microfinance. We’ve been examining the largest, most prominent U.S.-registered charities in this area: Grameen Foundation, Unitus, Accion, Women’s World Banking, Opportunity International and FINCA. All of these are large organizations that list a variety of “partner” microfinance institutions. One thing that might surprise a donor in this area is that sometimes the “partnerships” overlap. For example, Women’s World Banking lists Enda Inter-Arabe in its network, and so does… -
Denying the choice
19 Nov 2009 | 6:44 pmGiveWell spends a lot of time on the question, “Should I give to charity A or charity B?” One of the things that has surprised us about the world of charity is how many people insist on answering, “Both” or “You can’t/shouldn’t be asking that question.” To them, all that matters is whether a charity does some good, not how much good it does or how it compares to other options. One statement of the idea comes from none other than the Jeffrey-Sachs led WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (footnote 24): Many have asked the Commission what… -
UNICEF Inspired Gifts: Revolution or Donor Illusion?
18 Nov 2009 | 8:36 amUNICEF offers you the chance to buy measles vaccines for 100 children for $27.10. And lest you complain that you’ve heard this one before, it assures you specifically that “While other organizations allow supporters to purchase ’symbolic’ gifts, Inspired Gifts are actual items.” Is this finally the “real personal connection” donors have been waiting for? We can’t say for sure. Unlike Kiva, UNICEF provides no information about where the money goes and what projects are in progress. But we can ask a few critical questions: There are many costs for… -
Quality of life in the developing world
17 Nov 2009 | 9:26 amWhen we argue that donors should give internationally, one of the most common questions we get is, “Sure, you may be able to save a life in Africa, but what type of life are you saving? If you save a child from malaria will s/he likely die from something else soon after? Will s/he suffer from other problems that significantly reduce his/her quality of life?” We recently published a report on standard of living in the developing world that tries to answer that question. It looks at what facts are available from relatively broad, plausibly representative studies to answer “what is… -
Not our last word on the Kiva controversy
16 Nov 2009 | 7:58 pmNathaniel Whittemore writes that it’s “time to move on” regarding the recent Kiva controversy. I disagree. It’s true that Kiva handled the criticism admirably, and made significant changes to its website to improve clarity for donors. It’s also true that Kiva has a stronger case than many for being generally transparent and impactful. Finally, it’s true that those of us who have been blogging about Kiva are a bit tired of the subject. But none of this changes the fact that many (I would guess the vast majority) of Kiva’s enthusiastic users don’t…
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The Hero Workshop
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A Way Of Life: More On Henry’s Handball
20 Nov 2009 | 6:29 am101 Great Goals has a roundup of press on the Hand of Gaul today. The summary is that Thierry Henry could have owned up, but that the normal thing to do in this sport (maybe any sport) is to cheat until the referee spots it. This is exactly the kind of environment in which a hero stands up. Some quotes from their post: “Thierry Henry is a liar and a cheat. He is also a footballer, and he stands out from his fellow professionals as a sheep stands out in a flock of sheep. It is a a fact of life — footballers cheat. Their duty, as they see it, is not to obey the rules but to do what is… -
Thierry Henry’s Handball
18 Nov 2009 | 4:23 pmThierry Henry fell from grace an hour ago as he deliberately used his hand to help score a goal for France in the dying minutes of an elimination game against Ireland for World Cup qualification. Henry has been held in high esteem by many in the soccer world (including me) for his grace, his fairness, and his efforts to fight bigotry in the world game. However, there is no denying he deliberately used his hand (and forearm) to keep the ball in play before passing it to William Gallas for the winning goal. I can understand reflex taking over in a situation like this. However, once the… -
Farscape vs Firefly
17 Nov 2009 | 8:50 amJohn Crichton: “I can’t be your kind of hero.” Crichton Snr.: “No, you can’t. But each man gets to be his own kind of hero.” It is this exchange in the first episode that could be used to describe the difference between these two science fiction TV series. That difference is down to the difference between the main characters. They are their own kind of hero, though truly, only one of them is heroic. Mal Reynolds captains the Serenity in “Firefly”He is a part time smuggler whose character seems lifted completely from Han Solo. John… -
Socrates the Hero
9 Nov 2009 | 3:55 amThis is a guest post from Ari Kohen, assistant professor at University of Nebraska – Lincoln. I met him through Twitter a long time ago after he was discussing heroism. He is currently working on a book-length project, The Moral Hero and the Mortal Hero, as well as articles on both restorative justice and the death penalty. You can read his bio here and his blog here. In my new book project, I make the argument that the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates is meant to stand as an example of heroism on par with more traditional heroes like Achilles and Odysseus from… -
Cameras and Heroes
8 Nov 2009 | 6:52 amWe need heroes-in-waiting around us more than ever. When a hero is needed are you going to do good, do bad, or do nothing? Or whip out your phone and post photos to Twitter?
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Article 13 Ltd.
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Telecommunications for Millennium Villages - Ericsson
15 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pmCSR case study: Exploring Ericsson’s efforts to bring connectivity to communities through its participation in the Millennium Villages public-private partnership. -
CSR strategy implementation and award launch - BMJ Group
8 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pmCSR case study: An insight into BMJ Group’s CSR strategy and the various initiatives it is implementing to reduce the company’s environmental impact and improve employee satisfaction. The case study also touches on the newly launched CSR awards which are intended to promote the uptake of best practice CSR in the healthcare sector. -
Carbon management programme - AMEC
1 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pmCSR case study: Focusing on AMEC’s carbon management programme, which seeks to reduce the company’s carbon emissions to combat the effects of climate change and meet the expectations of internal and external stakeholders. -
Supporting Care International through our Regional Support Programme
25 Oct 2009 | 3:30 pmArticle 13 media release: This year, the Article 13 team has chosen to support Care International as part of our Regional Support Programme. We have selected a range of gifts which will support Care International’s efforts to tackle poverty through avenues such as education, health and human rights. Article 13 frequently releases expert opinion pieces and corporate case studies on issues of poverty and social justice and a number of the most popular articles can be accessed through this media release. -
Siemens AG: integrating transparency & anti-corruption throughout the business
18 Oct 2009 | 3:30 pmTransparency in business case study 3: Our third transparency and anti-corruption case study looks at the new anti-corruption programme implemented by Siemens in the wake of a serious corruption scandal. The programme is contributing to significant changes in leadership culture, structure and communications.
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News at Tonic.com
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In 2011, All PS3 Will Be 3-D
I'm an old-school video game console person. Give me an Atari 2600 with a one-button joystick and a game of Homerun or Adventure and I'm a happy camper. Today's consoles have controllers with about 63 buttons on them, which just confuse and frustrate the bejeezus out of me. Yes, soon enough, I'll be shaking my fist, yelling at kids to, "Stay off the lawn!" This is my future.That said, reading today about the potential for Sony's PlayStation 3 to go 3-D by 2011 certainly intrigued me. According to this CNET gadget blog, Sony presented to investors yesterday, where they "underlined that… -
Doodle Bra Mania
A quirky invention by an Oregon high schooler has captured the attention of the country.Rachel Segal, an 18-year-old from Ashland appeared on "The View" Friday as part of a segment about teen millionaires, reports TheDailyNews.com. Segal, who is not quite a millionaire just yet, is sitting on a potential multi-million dollar business with her recent "Doodle Bra" invention.The white cotton bra, which costs $9.99, is designed to be colored with erasable, non-toxic, washable markers and stencils. Targeted to a teenage audience, the garment can be doodled and undoodled over and over, creating… -
No Holiday Decorating Budget? No Problem for One Illinois Town
OK, so the economy sucks. But that hasn't lessened the holiday glow for folks in Batavia. On the contrary, residents and business owners in this Illinois suburb have embraced the spirit of the season and banded together to decorate the downtown for Christmas when budget cuts meant the municipality couldn't do it for them, as had always been the case in the past. "It's the heart of Batavia," downtown business owner Katrina Roitburd told the Chicago Tribune. "I just feel like it's important to make it as special as it can be." Roitburd says her store, Katrina's Salon and Spa, will display white… -
'New Moon' Review: Mixed Emotions Make A Mixed Movie
You can't win if you're trying to adapt one of the most popular book series ever. All you can really do is just stay out of the way. And for the most part, Chris Weitz, the director of the second installment of the Twilight Saga, New Moon, does keep his cast, his direction and his special effects from interfering in the live-action, faithful adaptation of the book. Whether or not this is a movie that moviegoers at-large will enjoy is for someone else to say. This movie is for the fans of the books. Cast Lowdown: Robert Pattinson's acting as lead vampire Edward is demonstrably better than the… -
Cartoon Network Invites the Boys and Girls to Premiere
Cartoon Network held a premiere of the live action version of popular cartoon show, Ben 10: Alien Force, this week at the Warner Brothers studio back lot. Though the movie will have a television premiere and head to DVD a week later, the network wanted to host a full-scale event and invited some special kids to take part. If you haven't watched cartoons in a while, I'll fill you in: Its about a kid named Ben, who discovers the Omnitrix. It looks like a watch but it's really a mysterious alien weapon with the power to transform the wearer into 10 different alien species. Thus the "10," which…
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Worldchanging: Bright Green
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Oceans’ Ability To Absorb CO2 May Be Diminishing, New Study Says
20 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pmYale Environment 360: A study of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the world’s oceans from 1765 to the present shows that as humanity pumps more CO2 into... -
Seattle as North America's First Carbon-Neutral City
20 Nov 2009 | 11:01 amAlex Steffen: Last week, I stood on the stage at Seattle's Town Hall and called on Seattle to become North America's first carbon-neutral city, dropping its per... -
Companies Increase Commitment To Tackling Climate Issues, Report Says
20 Nov 2009 | 10:58 amYale Environment 360: Major corporations in the U.S. have shown an increased willingness to voluntarily reduce their impact on climate change despite a sluggish economy, according to... -
A Womb of One's Own
20 Nov 2009 | 10:31 amWorldChanging Team: by Anna Fahey The womb is not free of toxic pollution. This week, the Washington Toxics Coalition released a study that should raise the ire... -
How Carbon Markets Work in Europe
20 Nov 2009 | 10:28 amWorldChanging Team: by Eric de Place In spite of what you may have heard, Europe's carbon market is working beautifully. The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)...
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Social Citizens
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Putting Stock in Social Enterprise
19 Nov 2009 | 7:12 amAfter seeing young social entrepreneur William Kamkwamba speak recently, I wrote a post wondering how we can find and encourage young people in remote areas who have the potential to change the world. While I'm not sure this question has been fully answered, there are some exciting campaigns, programs and organizations working to capture the entrepreneurial spirit for good. Today is Social Enterprise Day, and this week (November 16-22) in 85 countries including Rwanda, Lebanon, and Bangladesh, efforts as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week are meant to inspire… -
The Role of Millennials in Reshaping a Sector
17 Nov 2009 | 9:33 amOur environmental resources are diminishing, our economy is crumbling, and according to a Washington Post Breaking News Alert that came in as I was writing this, “more Americans are going hungry” (49 million to be precise). Even as our problems seemingly become more and more complex, we are also being asked to take the reins, to look to the future and to predict what’s next for the nonprofit sector. We know that business as usual (if ever there was such a thing) is no longer going to cut it and it seems we’ll never go back to our pre-crisis standing. So, how do we take… -
Veterans and Volunteers: Why One Millennial Vet Serves
10 Nov 2009 | 2:10 pmGuest blogger Laura A. Moore is a Policy Analyst at Civic Enterprises, a public policy firm that helps corporations, nonprofits, foundations, universities and governments develop and spearhead innovative public policies to strengthen our communities and country. Today, Civic Enterprises releases All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service, a report based on the first ever nationally representative survey of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and their civic lives. Over 1.8 million men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them on multiple… -
Is Offline Action So 2000 And Late?
3 Nov 2009 | 10:33 amFor better or for worse, globalization and innovations in technology continue to make the world smaller all the time. As we grow more connected, our issues and causes are less defined by our physical neighborhoods, cities and countries. Millennials are more globally aware and invested than were our parents' generation and we have already mobilized to fight genocide, malaria, human trafficking, climate change, water shortage and other global issues for people they have never met and may never meet. We are reading the Economist along with the Washington Post, moving around every couple of… -
Where Are the iParticipants?
29 Oct 2009 | 1:34 pmAbout a week ago, I shared some of my high level thoughts about the state of online volunteer matching platforms. I expressed that online platforms for “good” need to be great. Because if they’re not, and we don’t make the experience as easy as possible for prospective volunteers, we lose a very important slice of folks we’re trying to attract. Call them what you will -- the unaffiliated, the unconverted, the I-want-to-give-back-but-don’t–know-where-to-start-“ers” these are people who are compelled by something they hear, or read, or…
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Operation NICE
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NICE Campaign: Charter for Compassion
18 Nov 2009 | 8:29 amI received an email from Brandi last week with a link to this wonderful campaign called Charter for Compassion, which was officially unveiled November 12, 2009.Here is a video of a reading of the charter:I particularly like this quote:"We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world."I encourage you to affirm the Charter for Compassion online as 16,555 others have (at the time I wrote this post). You can also Share the Charter's Message and Act with Compassion by sharing and reading stories on their site. -
NICE Assignment: Compliment a Stranger
17 Nov 2009 | 7:08 amHi everyone! How have you guys been lately! I know I haven't been around much, but I'm hoping to change that. I have so many emails from all of you with new things to post, and I just haven't made the time to do it. But I hope you know that you all (and this blog) are super important to me! :) I can feel a change in myself when I'm posting regularly. I feel happier and less cranky. So that alone should be incentive enough to do it, right? Right!Many of you know that I have trouble talking to strangers. Starting conversations with people I don't know gives me anxiety, even if it's to help them… -
RAOKA: Kindness
12 Nov 2009 | 6:19 amI'm back! I had an incredible time in Arizona with my fabulous friends. I think someone needs to invent a teleportation machine so I can see them more often than once or twice a year. Get workin' on that, wouldja?? Unfortunately, I brought something back with me aside from great memories. A cold. I've been coughing like crazy and struggling to make it through the days. And since it's tough to take days off after coming back from vacation, I'm attempting to be a trooper, while not breathing near anybody. But I've been neglecting you all far too often lately!So, I hadn't gotten around to my… -
EEP!
4 Nov 2009 | 9:01 amI owe you guys a RAOKA post today, but I'm going to have to keep you in suspense for a little while longer. I'm leaving for Phoenix this afternoon to visit two of my favorite girls and their families for a long weekend. But along with a few work emergencies that have kept me running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I haven't had time to do a write up. Forgive me!I promise to describe to you my month of kindness as well as introduce to you the theme for November next Monday! Have a spectacular week and weekend!!! -
NICE Assignment: Places I Love
2 Nov 2009 | 11:27 amHi guys! Did you all have wonderful Halloweens?? Mine was fun! I wish we would have had more trick or treaters though. We only got three. And I live in a perfect trick or treating neighborhood, so I was surprised. I remember when I was a kid, we went through at least 14 bags of candy every Halloween. It was awesome! I hope I never feel too old to dress up. I love it so much! Here I am on Friday night, as my favorite movie character of all time, Max Fischer from Rushmore. After trying to convince my husband to be him three years in a row, I decided to do it myself. :) Funny thing is that it's…
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Case Foundation - Investing in People and Ideas that Can Change the World
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With creative online giving campaigns, everyone’s a philanthropist
19 Nov 2009 | 5:59 amAs the end of 2009 draws near, nonprofits are standing at the ready with their year-end fundraising campaigns and are largely wondering the same thing: what impact will the tumultuous economy have on charitable giving? There are many schools of thought out there, and perhaps the most common is that we’re in uncharted territory, and it’s anyone’s guess. While that may be true, it’s not overly reassuring. One thing we do know is that we’ve never seen online giving campaigns quite like what we’re seeing sprout up this holiday season. For those of you who are regular readers of the… -
The hardest working mustache in nonprofits
12 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pmSo I’m growing a mustache—for cancer. Participatory fundraising has become popular for very good reason. We run races, we walkathon. And—around here anyway—we grow mustaches. Movember = Mo(ustache) + (No)vember Movember is just like a walkathon, but with facial hair. Enterprising mustache growers sign up, then fundraise for the cause. In the US, that’s cancer research: both the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Livestrong benefit from donations. Movember has spread to the English-speaking world from Austrailia. (Where mo is a common shorthand for mustache.) For a nonprofit, offering… -
All Volunteer Force: From military to civilian service
9 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pmJohn M. Bridgeland is President and CEO of Civic Enterprises, a public policy firm in Washington, D.C., and Mary McNaught Yonkman serves as Chief of Staff. Since the dawn of the 21st century, nearly two million Americans have served in our nation’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These servicemen and women have risked their lives on battlefields from Kabul to Baghdad, not as a result of government mandate, but as a voluntary act of courage, conscience, and commitment. They reflect the ethic of service that undergirds our nation’s founding and persists to our present day. As we found in our… -
The sustainable nonprofit video strategy
9 Nov 2009 | 9:22 amGuest blogger Michael Hoffman, CEO of See 3 Communications, is a leading authority in online video for nonprofits and a long-time consultant to nonprofit leaders on online fundraising and outreach strategies. There is something magical about video. Video brings your supporters into the world you live everyday; it lets people share the work you’re doing in their own communities; it can even turn a stale issue on its head. But video shouldn’t be magic—it should be strategic. Video requires the same kind of thoughtful planning that all your other communications, fundraising, and advocacy… -
Start your holiday giving with Halloween
6 Nov 2009 | 1:27 pmGuest blogger Elyse Berkowitz is an intern at The Case Foundation and a senior at the University of Maryland. It’s officially November and as our sugar-highs wane from this past weekend’s festivities, it’s time to start thinking about next year. Instead of pushing this year’s costume to the back of your closet, where it will likely collect dust for the next few years, donate it to someone in need. You can help out in several ways: Contact a school or hospital in your town, or in an underserved community, to donate kids’ costumes. Each fall, families, schools, and hospitals scramble…
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Ode Magazine
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Being the change I wished to see
18 Nov 2009 | 7:55 amBy: dderella In May 2009 my six-figure real estate job came to end, and I knew I had to embrace the change like so many others. My husband and I had been sitting on a trademark intellectual property for several years. We wondered, "if not now, then when?" I believe that all changes happens for the greater good of the soul. We decided to fully commit to developing Be the Light, Be the One™, a social brand and online presence that educates, inspires and supports personal health and global transformation. We strive to create new possibilities for ecological sustainability, social justice and a… -
Essential questions for loving relationships
17 Nov 2009 | 9:51 amBy: lexsisney Have you ever noticed how the work week tends to build up a dust of separation and isolation between you and your significant other? You’re doing your thing. Your partner is doing their thing. You’re both busy, doing your best to juggle the demands of work, home, family, kids, money, carpools, workouts, homework, meals, cleaning…basically managing the constant demands of modern living. You already know from experience that it’s so easy to fall into the trap of living together and “missing” each other at the same time. If you’re not careful, this dust of separation… -
Your personal parenting expert is within you
16 Nov 2009 | 3:27 pmBy: joyfulparent "Every stage in a child's life is there for a purpose. If we can respect and respond to her needs fully during each stage of her life, she can be done with that stage and move on." —Naomi Aldort There is a certain show with a certain nanny who is British (or is she?) that makes me very angry to even think about. I have only watched it a few times. I always have to turn it off because I end up yelling at the television! She is so far off base when it comes to having a loving, authentic relationship with your child. I feel sad that some parents buy into her advice. I have… -
Wanting peace
16 Nov 2009 | 2:49 pmBy: PeaceCorso Many years ago, when I first began the study of meaning, I struggled deeply with prosperity issues. You have to understand how I learned about money. When I was 28, I walked into my apartment one night in tears. My dear, blessed roommate asked me what was wrong. I wailed, “I bounced a check.” She asked me if I’d balanced my checkbook. My tears stopped momentarily and I asked, “What’s that?” “Haven’t you ever turned your bank statement over?” Her eyes were about to fall out of her head. I didn’t know there was anything on the back of a bank statement. A… -
The Underground Railroad to Success
16 Nov 2009 | 8:16 amBy: leaho Investing In Women (IIW) has awarded a $500 “stimulus package” to a female-owned business, The Underground Railroad To Success (URS). URS was started by Tanisha Cunningham in 2009 and helps foster care children prepare for adult life. Growing up in foster care herself, Cunningham saw the need for additional support, especially when children are no longer eligible for state run services. Soon after her foster care ended she began a career in child welfare, “I wanted to stay there because my passion had always been to give back, because I knew the struggles of living in foster…
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Causecast - Latest News
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Universal Declaration On Animal Welfare Makes Headway In Canada
20 Nov 2009 | 2:19 pmby SARAH NELSON, Contributing Writer Canadian Members of Parliament crossed party lines, last week, in a unanimous decision to adopt multi-partisan motion encouraging their government to support the development of a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare. The landmark decision is a significant milestone in the campaign to further the global protection of animal rights. If the Canadian government signs on, they will become the first North American nation to issue an endorsement. The Declaration is part of a global campaign spearheaded by the World Society for the Protection of Animals. WSPA… -
The World's First Sustainable Sushi Restaurant (VIDEO)
20 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pmby BRANDON BUCK, Causecast Video Producer Next week's going to be a little short for us here at the Causecast headquarters as we all go celebrate Thanksgiving. We've already covered how you can Adopt a Turkey for Turkey Day, but alternative, sustainable food options are available year-round, and more restaurants are popping up around the country all the time. Net Green News looks at Portland's Bamboo Sushi, the world's first sustainable sushi restaurant certified by the Marine Stewardship Council and Green Restaurant Association. Casey Hatfield interviews restaurant owner Krisofer Lofgreh… -
Idealist Launches Global Network
20 Nov 2009 | 1:07 pmby SARAH NELSON, Contributing Writer For the socially-conscious out there, you're sure to have stumbled across Idealist.org at some point. An off-shoot of the nonprofit, Action Without Borders, Idealist is an online resource for socially and environmentally conscious people to find ways to change the world. This is the kind of site you stumble across and say, "JACKPOT." The Idealist community is made up of more than 90,000 nonprofit organizations all over the world. It offers users access to volunteer opportunities, information on job openings with nonprofits and public service… -
Gobble Gobble Give: Feeding L.A.'s Homeless For Thanksgiving
20 Nov 2009 | 12:16 pmby ERICA LIEPMANN, Causecast Associate Editor Over the last 11 years, Echo Park resident Barry Walker has grown his Turkey Day tradition of feeding the homeless from a one man show to a huge community effort. Last year, Walker and the Gobble Gobble Give folks were able to bring a Thanksgiving meal to over 1,500 homeless people in L.A. In addition to a warm meal, Gobble Gobble Give distributes clothing and hygiene kits to the homeless they serve. This year, join the Gobble Gobble Give crew and lend a hand for local homeless on Thanksgiving! It's simple: Just bring a hot dish full of your… -
Yes Men Target Coca-Cola Company Over Bottled Water
20 Nov 2009 | 10:52 amby CLAIRE GRINTON, Contributing Writer The Yes Men have been creating humorous, over the top pranks together for the past ten years. Their unique brand of alternative activism has garnered a lot of attention, and their latest campaign is no exception. This time, Yes Men Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno took on corporate giant Coca-Cola over their labeling on Dasani bottled water, in hopes to encourage Coca-Cola to cite their water source on the label. And just what is that water source? Tap water. They took to the streets, posing as Coke representatives, with a mock campaign for Deception, the…
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A Volunteer's Guide to Changing the World
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Priority and dependencies of social media campaigns
18 Nov 2009 | 11:15 amChris Brogan just wrote a GREAT post on Prioritizing Social Media Efforts. I liked it so much I put it into a visual.Social media is a great way to build trust and provide value, and prioritizing your efforts will help you be more successful in accomplish both! -
I wish there was more mobile giving
17 Nov 2009 | 4:28 pmSometimes, people only need to be reminded or asked in order to give.Mobile couponing is an emerging trends that kindly reminds people to make purchases, and even provides discounts for doing so. In exchange for the coupon, the coupon recipient usually provides and email or phone number for ongoing communication from the provider. Recently, Sprint launched this campaign:Sprint Launches Movie Theater Mobile CouponsSprint has unveiled its new mobile coupon offering that will enable Sprint customers to receive special concession-stand savings at 500 participating movie theaters.The move… -
You Are Influential
11 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pmMy friend J.D. forwarded me a GREAT article called Leading a Life of Intentional Influence by John C. Maxwell. I highly recommend you read it, I have copied it below for your convenience:Leading a Life of Intentional InfluenceBy John C. MaxwellIn the classic Christmas film, It's a Wonderful Life, George Bailey is given a tremendous gift: the opportunity to see what life would be like without him. As he wanders through a world that has no memory of his existence, George is dismayed by the plight of his friends and family. Devoid of his influence, their lives lack the warmth and richness he is… -
Are you really reaching THAT many people?!
5 Nov 2009 | 3:53 pmHoly cow: 8% of internet users account for 85% of all clicks! -
4 Great How-to Web sites
4 Nov 2009 | 4:19 pmNext time you need help with something, try finding the answers at one of these great sites:Instructables.comInstructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with othersHowcast.comHowcast engages consumers to watch and share free, useful how-to videos and guides produced in-house at Howcast Studios, as well as by innovative media partners, trusted brands, and individual contributorseHow.comeHow.com is an online community dedicated to providing visitors like you the ability to research, share, and…
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Sublime Goodness
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Rescuing Baby Ducks from a Pool - Video
16 Nov 2009 | 5:54 pmSomething cutesy to start the week:Glad that some people are nice enough to try to get them out and also I like that the mama duck picks up on it quickly.I also didn't know ducks could quack that much.* Thanks to Angela for passing the video on! -
"Blue Light" by Mazzy Star
15 Nov 2009 | 8:07 amFor this Sunday Sublime song, it would have been too easy to choose Mazzy Star's beautiful hit "Fade Into You." But out of all three of their albums, the tune "Blue Light" always had a particular ethereal quality to it, even more so than usual. I love singer Hope Sandoval's voice, so effortlessly sublime.Close your eyes and listen: Have You Downloaded the Sublime Goodness Mixtape yet? -
5-Year-Old Daughter Climbs Ravine to Save Mother
10 Nov 2009 | 5:54 pmThis story gave me goosebumps:A 5-year-old Canadian girl saved her mother’s life after their truck drove off a cliff. Nikki Butler, 30, was driving through the Rocky Mountains with her daughter Mary when their truck skidded on black ice, flipped over the guardrail, and rolled four times before coming to rest at the foot of a steep embankment. Unable to wake her unconscious mother, Mary unbuckled her seat belt, crawled out the rear passenger window, and climbed 150 feet back to the road where she flagged down a passing truck. “I needed to save my mom,” said Mary, “because I love my… -
Piano Stairs - Video
5 Nov 2009 | 6:03 pmIn the spirit of the last post, here is another fun one I came across recently.How do you get more people to use the stairs instead of the escalator? Make them musical. Love it.Enjoy:It worked too - 66% more people used the stairs! -
Grocery Store Musical - Video
29 Oct 2009 | 6:13 pmThis video is genius - fun, creative, spontaneous in nature and smile-inducing. It was staged by Improv Everywhere, a New York City groups who "cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places" according to their website.Here are the details from the group on this "scene:"Six undercover actors burst into song in a grocery store in Queens. Three minutes and lots of silly choreography later, they returned to their roles as shoppers and stock boys. The mission was filmed with hidden robotic, lipstick, and wearable cameras.Enjoy :)> Watch a Behind-the-Scenes Video & Learn More About the Scene…
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Kiva Stories from the Field
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Zooming in and out on microfinance
20 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pmBy Thomas Gold, KF9 Dominican Republic For English version, click on “(more…)”, then scroll down. Après un mois passé dans la succursale de Samanà de mon institution de microfinance Esperanza, me voici, de retour à la capitale Santo Domingo, après une journée entière de voyage. Samanà ne se trouve qu’à un peu moins de 250km de la capitale, mais le manque d’infrastructures routières et le fait qu’une seule compagnie œuvre dans le transport de voyageurs, rendent un voyage des plus banals dans le monde occidental en une épopée d’une journée en République… -
The Passing of a Kiva Borrower
19 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pmSaahkem Dorothy Muyang. 1954 - 2009. By Dennis A. Espinoza, KF9, Grounded and Holistic Approach for People’s Empowerment (GHAPE) in Bamenda, Cameroon I was working at my desk when Kenneth, my roommate and GHAPE loan officer, answered his phone and heard that ten year GHAPE member and Kiva borrower, Saahkem Dorothy Muyang, had passed away after a bout with diabetes. Just glancing at Dorothy’s picture and noticing her beaming smile gives you an impression of who she was. She had a big heart, a deep love for her family and was very involved in her community. Needless to say, her… -
‘Tis Someone’s Season To Be Jolly
19 Nov 2009 | 11:58 amBy Victoria Kabak, KF9, Nicaragua As the holiday season fast approaches, I imagine many of you back at home are starting to make lists (checking them twice?) of presents or of people you’re going to buy presents for or even of presents you hope someone else gets you. It’s no secret that businesses in the United States – and in other countries – experience a significant uptick in sales in December. But I’ve learned in the past few weeks that this phenomenon isn’t unique to the United States or to developed countries. Many of the borrowers I’ve met with recently have expressed to… -
Coffee: A Love Affair
18 Nov 2009 | 7:04 amBy Karl Baumgarten, KF9, Costa Rica 4,000,0000 cups per year. 10,958,904 cups per day. 42 beans per cup. 460,273,968 beans per day. And they all have to be picked one by one by one. My fingers hurt just thinking about it. Every cup we make is the culmination of an incredibly involved process that we all should appreciate. Below is a video of the coffee process at AsoProLa, an organic coffee company which processes coffee from small scale farmers in Altamira, many of whom have micro-loans with FUDECOSUR Music by: JPMounier Introduction video: Coffee Insitute (1961) Last week, I had the… -
Connecting through prayers
18 Nov 2009 | 5:55 amBy Jeremy Lapedis, KF9, Guatemala I’m Jewish, but, before every meal at Manuel’s hous,e we say a prayer thanking Jesus Christ. Manuel is the director of FAPE, the MFI where I work in Guatemala, and I have been staying with him since arriving. He is also a pastor at a Baptist church. So I was surprised Thursday night when lifting my head, just after our prayer, I spotted a menorah on display. What is this doing here? Manual caught my gaze. “Oh, a friend gave me that. Do you know what it used for?” he queried. I attempted to impart what knowledge I had of the…
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Changed by Design
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The Project H Redesign of Hippo water transport
28 Oct 2009 | 6:06 pmIn a recent interview with Hippo Water founder Cynthia Koenig, we learned a bit more about the recent re-design of the Hippo Roller. It was a dream experience for this blog. The challenge In third-world countries, women and children must haul water over long distances in order to supply their communities with clean, safe water. Alternative sources like wells are only functional 6-8 months of the year, and well pumps are unreliable or fuel to power them can be difficult to obtain The first version of the Hippo Roller multiplied the hauling capacity of a single person but the cost of… -
Hippo Water: Smarter and ready to go further
14 Oct 2009 | 1:14 pmWe’ve had the fortune of interviewing Cynthia Koenig, founder of Hippo Water International, to learn more about their recent re-design and their latest plans to spread Hippo technology to more communities outside South Africa. Before we dig in, Hippo most urgently needs your vote for a much-needed scouting trip in India to exchange ideas and advice with other social entrepreneurs and establish critical distribution partners. The contest is hosted by JustMeans, offering an India Social Entrepreneurship Journey with Journeys for Change, for which Hippo Water is currently in the Top 5… -
Chicken a la Carte
22 Jul 2009 | 1:33 amSometimes, a well-told story can do just as much good for a problem as a well-designed solution. This principle attracted me to switch careers from engineering to advertising years ago…I’m still so far from becoming like the storytellers I so admire. This short film makes Ferdinand Dimadura one such storyteller. I won’t spoil it by telling you what’s in it, but I will say that people have been inspired to share this video so much that it has been viewed nearly 10 million times. In fact, I found this from my aunt who forwarded it to my entire extended family! View this… -
Three mobile solutions to development challenges
30 Jun 2009 | 8:00 amTwo thirds of the world’s 3.3 billion mobile phones are owned in developing countries. Social changemakers recognize this opportunity to reach those in need with information, tips, and resources that would otherwise be inaccessible at large scale. Here, we profile three innovative uses of mobile technology to combat developing world challenges. A Twitter tip informed me of Project Masiluleke in South Africa. Due to the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, individuals avoid getting tested and 90% of those infected are not getting treatment. In the KwaZulu Natal province, >40%… -
The Great Darfur Smokeout
1 May 2009 | 1:52 amThe Acumen Fund blog this week posted a call for solutions to the energy challenges posed by wood-burning stoves responsible for much of the black carbon causing 18 percent of global warming, according to the New York Times. Much of the third world uses wood as fuel because it is widely available and free, but the stoves they use to burn the wood are inefficient and produce large amounts of smoke and soot, causing major health and pollution problems. Acumen Fund’s main criticisms of alternative stoves like rocket stoves and solar cookers are as follows: There are lots of stove…
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ItStartsWith.Us
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Surprised By Joy: My Introduction To The Service Industry (Part II)
19 Nov 2009 | 9:47 amAll of us at the North Texas FoodBankRemember when I told you in Part I of this series that the whole mindset of the restaurant industry is “service to others?” Well, that kind of went in one ear and out the other at the time. I’ve heard plenty of corporate mantras before that pay lip service to community, values, helping others, etc. — but at the end of the day many of those companies are still just scrambling to make a buck any way they can. So you can imagine my surprise when I attended the People Report Best Practices Conference, and the first order of business (before the… -
Surprised By Joy: My Introduction To The Service Industry (Part I)
15 Nov 2009 | 12:33 pmI was at work a couple months ago when I got a Direct Message on Twitter from @luckypenny. “GM Nate – can you give me a call sometime 2day @KatColeATL + @vickie_frisbie + I have an idea for you.” [a phone number followed] I had no idea at the time how big of an impact this simple note would have on my life and my mission to change the world. So I didn’t answer it right away. I went about my business that morning – writing code, working with my employees, project management stuff, etc. I had one final meeting before lunch, and I arrived about 10 minutes early. So I pulled out my… -
Why 20SB Partnered With ISWU
11 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pmToday’s guest post was written by Derek Shanahan, one of the smartest guys I know. The two of us have been working on a way to bring our teams together for a while now, and we’re proud to announce that 20 Something Bloggers has become the first official partner of ItStartsWith.Us. Please read on for Derek’s piece of the story, or visit the new partner page to learn more and sign up. Hi everyone, my name is Derek and I run a blogger community called 20 Something Bloggers. Our community was started just over two years ago by Lisa Farlow when she realized it was difficult to… -
Decreasing Worldsuck: Peg Kerr
5 Nov 2009 | 7:47 pmToday’s guest post was written by Peg Kerr, an active member of our A-Team. She’s on a very cool mission to “decrease worldsuck,” and has a lot of interesting and easy ideas on how we can all do our part. I always knew I wanted to Do Something Important when I grew up. Life, however, sometimes doesn’t turn out quite as one expects. I had the misfortune to graduate from college in the middle of the 1982 recession, and as a result I got slotted into a succession of dead-end jobs that didn’t match my temperament or talents very well. I went back to graduate… -
Seeding Relationships: Tom Krieglstein
25 Oct 2009 | 6:51 pmTom and MariDo you ever think you’re doing pretty well in your chosen field, and then have a conversation with someone who makes you realize just how much more you still have to learn about it? I kinda felt that way this weekend. On Saturday I drove down to Chicago to watch Tom Krieglstein (@tomkrieglstein) give the keynote at a national Student Government conference. Tom is the co-founder of Swift Kick, an education company whose mission is to increase student engagement on college campuses. (Or “campi”, as I like to say. Go ahead, just add an “i” to any word to…
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The GiveWell Blog
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Two charities, one microfinance institution
20 Nov 2009 | 2:44 pmWe’re looking for a good option for U.S. donors interested in supporting microfinance. We’ve been examining the largest, most prominent U.S.-registered charities in this area: Grameen Foundation, Unitus, Accion, Women’s World Banking, Opportunity International and FINCA. All of these are large organizations that list a variety of “partner” microfinance institutions. One thing that might surprise a donor in this area is that sometimes the “partnerships” overlap. For example, Women’s World Banking lists Enda Inter-Arabe in its network, and so does… -
Denying the choice
19 Nov 2009 | 6:44 pmGiveWell spends a lot of time on the question, “Should I give to charity A or charity B?” One of the things that has surprised us about the world of charity is how many people insist on answering, “Both” or “You can’t/shouldn’t be asking that question.” To them, all that matters is whether a charity does some good, not how much good it does or how it compares to other options. One statement of the idea comes from none other than the Jeffrey-Sachs led WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (footnote 24): Many have asked the Commission what… -
UNICEF Inspired Gifts: Revolution or Donor Illusion?
18 Nov 2009 | 8:36 amUNICEF offers you the chance to buy measles vaccines for 100 children for $27.10. And lest you complain that you’ve heard this one before, it assures you specifically that “While other organizations allow supporters to purchase ’symbolic’ gifts, Inspired Gifts are actual items.” Is this finally the “real personal connection” donors have been waiting for? We can’t say for sure. Unlike Kiva, UNICEF provides no information about where the money goes and what projects are in progress. But we can ask a few critical questions: There are many costs for… -
Quality of life in the developing world
17 Nov 2009 | 9:26 amWhen we argue that donors should give internationally, one of the most common questions we get is, “Sure, you may be able to save a life in Africa, but what type of life are you saving? If you save a child from malaria will s/he likely die from something else soon after? Will s/he suffer from other problems that significantly reduce his/her quality of life?” We recently published a report on standard of living in the developing world that tries to answer that question. It looks at what facts are available from relatively broad, plausibly representative studies to answer “what is… -
Not our last word on the Kiva controversy
16 Nov 2009 | 7:58 pmNathaniel Whittemore writes that it’s “time to move on” regarding the recent Kiva controversy. I disagree. It’s true that Kiva handled the criticism admirably, and made significant changes to its website to improve clarity for donors. It’s also true that Kiva has a stronger case than many for being generally transparent and impactful. Finally, it’s true that those of us who have been blogging about Kiva are a bit tired of the subject. But none of this changes the fact that many (I would guess the vast majority) of Kiva’s enthusiastic users don’t…
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What Do You Stand For?
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Breaking Through Holiday Clutter with Value
17 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmThe following originally appeared in Cones inConetext quarterly newsletter. To read current or past issues, visit our Web site. Holiday-themed cause marketing programs have long been a staple for retailers to drive differentiation, loyalty and sales during a cluttered shopping season. This year, major retailers are raising the stakes by creating programs bigger and glitzier than years past. Weve already begun to see full-scale efforts launched by Macys, JCPenny and Walmart that push the needle on innovation and integration. Recently, providing consumers with value has been… -
The Giving Climate Unveiled
12 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmWith all the chatter about the ups and downs of charitable giving during the down economy, its refreshing to hear some definitive - and positive - news. According to the 2009 Giving in Numbers Report, released this week by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), corporate giving was actually up during 2007-2008, despite worries that corporations would back down from charitable commitments as the economic turmoil raged in the second half of the year. Whats more, the data show that companies got creative when the economy started to sink, opting for pro bono work and… -
Best Practices for Celebrity Engagement with a Cause
11 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmBrands and, increasingly, causes have been tapping celebrity supporters for years, and its become a tried-and-true promotional tactic. But its important for organizations to understand what theyll be getting and not getting when they bring a celebrity on board. The ripped from the headlines best practices below can help guide cause-celebrity relationships in todays environment. 1. Know your budgetIn many cases, even when a cause is involved, celebrities dont come cheap. Be realistic about your budget and crunch the numbers beforehand to make sure youre covering costs and meeting… -
Warming Up to Causes Online
5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmTemperatures are dropping and the holiday season is approaching, causing an outbreak of the warm and fuzzies. Yes, the giving season is upon us, and this year is already proving to be the most digitally driven to-date. Nearly every holiday cause campaign underway has an online component, thanks, in part, to growing consumer comfort interacting with brands via new media up 32 percent from 2008.Despite all the glittery online promotions, its important to recognize consumers are still hesitant to donate online. The 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study showed some American new media users are… -
The Power of Positivity
29 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pmThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is taking a results-driven approach to promoting American investments in global health efforts by releasing an advertisement centered on impact. The video, part of the Living Proof Project, will strike a chord with policy-makers, philanthropists and citizens alike not by centering on unmet need, but by highlighting true and measureable change: Polio cases reduced by 99%; Mother-to-child HIV prevention in 16 million pregnancies; Malaria cases down 50% in 29 countries. This approach instills confidence that funding saves lives. Aimed at…
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A Volunteer's Guide to Changing the World
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Priority and dependencies of social media campaigns
18 Nov 2009 | 11:15 amChris Brogan just wrote a GREAT post on Prioritizing Social Media Efforts. I liked it so much I put it into a visual.Social media is a great way to build trust and provide value, and prioritizing your efforts will help you be more successful in accomplish both! -
I wish there was more mobile giving
17 Nov 2009 | 4:28 pmSometimes, people only need to be reminded or asked in order to give.Mobile couponing is an emerging trends that kindly reminds people to make purchases, and even provides discounts for doing so. In exchange for the coupon, the coupon recipient usually provides and email or phone number for ongoing communication from the provider. Recently, Sprint launched this campaign:Sprint Launches Movie Theater Mobile CouponsSprint has unveiled its new mobile coupon offering that will enable Sprint customers to receive special concession-stand savings at 500 participating movie theaters.The move… -
You Are Influential
11 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pmMy friend J.D. forwarded me a GREAT article called Leading a Life of Intentional Influence by John C. Maxwell. I highly recommend you read it, I have copied it below for your convenience:Leading a Life of Intentional InfluenceBy John C. MaxwellIn the classic Christmas film, It's a Wonderful Life, George Bailey is given a tremendous gift: the opportunity to see what life would be like without him. As he wanders through a world that has no memory of his existence, George is dismayed by the plight of his friends and family. Devoid of his influence, their lives lack the warmth and richness he is… -
Are you really reaching THAT many people?!
5 Nov 2009 | 3:53 pmHoly cow: 8% of internet users account for 85% of all clicks! -
4 Great How-to Web sites
4 Nov 2009 | 4:19 pmNext time you need help with something, try finding the answers at one of these great sites:Instructables.comInstructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with othersHowcast.comHowcast engages consumers to watch and share free, useful how-to videos and guides produced in-house at Howcast Studios, as well as by innovative media partners, trusted brands, and individual contributorseHow.comeHow.com is an online community dedicated to providing visitors like you the ability to research, share, and…
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How I changed the world today.
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busy, busy, busy
19 Nov 2009 | 8:36 amI am finding that now that I NEED the income from my hobby business (SO has been out of work for 6 months now), I am spending as much time as possible on it. Always something else to do. And I have a level of anxiety that I never had with a guaranteed paycheck, even though the business is doing fine and able to pay the bills. But something might change...Anyhow, that's one of my excuses for not keeping up with this blog. Sorry. I have been doing things, I've been advertising for our local food drive this weekend, and trying to get friends to come help out and box food. I'm also working on… -
loans to Julia
16 Nov 2009 | 8:24 pmI made a few Kiva loans to Julia's today. Loan Purchase of $25 to María Julia Asencio Escamilla (business id=152155)Counted towards NOVICA.com Loan Purchase of $25 to Julia Beatriz Castellanos Ochoa (business id=152314)Counted towards NOVICA.com Loan Purchase of $25 to Juliana Dorende (business id=148117)Counted towards NOVICA.com -
Novica loans to artisans
12 Nov 2009 | 9:28 pmI donated today to NOVICA's new loans' to artisan's program. Its a microlender with 0% interest to provide supplies for artisans. Many of these artisans do traditional artwork, so it helps keep cultures alive.I made loans to Pedro and Maria 1 Artisan Loan for Nono Supriatna -
Helping a sewing business
11 Nov 2009 | 9:20 pmI made a loan today to someone a bit like me.Badarbirvaa Batdulams is 44 years old. She lives with her parents and her seventeen year old son in the Uvurhangai Province of Central Mongolia. The family lives together in a "ger," a yurt or traditional Mongolian nomadic tent. Batdulam supports the family by operating a sewing business. She wants to eventually turn her small business into a factory with several employees. Batdulam purchases materials for her business 1-2 times per month, depending on her customer’s wants and needs. She is requesting a 3,500,000 tugrug (approx. $2475 USD) loan… -
kiva
9 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pmI made a quick loan to theLas Margaritas Group in Boliva.
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Kiva Stories from the Field
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Zooming in and out on microfinance
20 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pmBy Thomas Gold, KF9 Dominican Republic For English version, click on “(more…)”, then scroll down. Après un mois passé dans la succursale de Samanà de mon institution de microfinance Esperanza, me voici, de retour à la capitale Santo Domingo, après une journée entière de voyage. Samanà ne se trouve qu’à un peu moins de 250km de la capitale, mais le manque d’infrastructures routières et le fait qu’une seule compagnie œuvre dans le transport de voyageurs, rendent un voyage des plus banals dans le monde occidental en une épopée d’une journée en République… -
The Passing of a Kiva Borrower
19 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pmSaahkem Dorothy Muyang. 1954 - 2009. By Dennis A. Espinoza, KF9, Grounded and Holistic Approach for People’s Empowerment (GHAPE) in Bamenda, Cameroon I was working at my desk when Kenneth, my roommate and GHAPE loan officer, answered his phone and heard that ten year GHAPE member and Kiva borrower, Saahkem Dorothy Muyang, had passed away after a bout with diabetes. Just glancing at Dorothy’s picture and noticing her beaming smile gives you an impression of who she was. She had a big heart, a deep love for her family and was very involved in her community. Needless to say, her… -
‘Tis Someone’s Season To Be Jolly
19 Nov 2009 | 11:58 amBy Victoria Kabak, KF9, Nicaragua As the holiday season fast approaches, I imagine many of you back at home are starting to make lists (checking them twice?) of presents or of people you’re going to buy presents for or even of presents you hope someone else gets you. It’s no secret that businesses in the United States – and in other countries – experience a significant uptick in sales in December. But I’ve learned in the past few weeks that this phenomenon isn’t unique to the United States or to developed countries. Many of the borrowers I’ve met with recently have expressed to… -
Coffee: A Love Affair
18 Nov 2009 | 7:04 amBy Karl Baumgarten, KF9, Costa Rica 4,000,0000 cups per year. 10,958,904 cups per day. 42 beans per cup. 460,273,968 beans per day. And they all have to be picked one by one by one. My fingers hurt just thinking about it. Every cup we make is the culmination of an incredibly involved process that we all should appreciate. Below is a video of the coffee process at AsoProLa, an organic coffee company which processes coffee from small scale farmers in Altamira, many of whom have micro-loans with FUDECOSUR Music by: JPMounier Introduction video: Coffee Insitute (1961) Last week, I had the… -
Connecting through prayers
18 Nov 2009 | 5:55 amBy Jeremy Lapedis, KF9, Guatemala I’m Jewish, but, before every meal at Manuel’s hous,e we say a prayer thanking Jesus Christ. Manuel is the director of FAPE, the MFI where I work in Guatemala, and I have been staying with him since arriving. He is also a pastor at a Baptist church. So I was surprised Thursday night when lifting my head, just after our prayer, I spotted a menorah on display. What is this doing here? Manual caught my gaze. “Oh, a friend gave me that. Do you know what it used for?” he queried. I attempted to impart what knowledge I had of the…
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So what can I do?
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Change the world.
6 Oct 2014 | 3:52 pmHow 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 pmI 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 pmI 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 pmI’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 pmEarlier 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
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Oceans’ Ability To Absorb CO2 May Be Diminishing, New Study Says
20 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pmA study of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the world’s oceans from 1765 to the present shows that as humanity pumps more CO2 into the atmosphere, the capacity of the world’s oceans to continue absorbing carbon appears to be decreasing. Researchers from Columbia University and NASA estimate that since 2000, the proportion of fossil-fuel emissions absorbed by the oceans may have declined by as much as 10 percent. In effect, researchers say that industrial activity has been producing so much C02 since 1950 that the oceans are slowly becoming saturated with the gas. “The more carbon… -
Seattle as North America's First Carbon-Neutral City
20 Nov 2009 | 11:01 amLast week, I stood on the stage at Seattle's Town Hall and called on Seattle to become North America's first carbon-neutral city, dropping its per capita climate emissions to nothing by 2030. Since then, I've gotten a whole slew of great emails and calls from people who are thinking that goal through, and have questions. Mostly, folks have been wildly supportive, generally wanting most to know how they can help build the movement to do that. I'm a writer, not an organizer, and I don't have the plan, but I can explain a little more my thinking, and share some observations about what seems to… -
Companies Increase Commitment To Tackling Climate Issues, Report Says
20 Nov 2009 | 10:58 amMajor corporations in the U.S. have shown an increased willingness to voluntarily reduce their impact on climate change despite a sluggish economy, according to a new scorecard produced by the nonprofit group Climate Counts. Eighty-one of the 90 major companies assessed saw an average increase of 22 percent from last year’s scorecard, with Nike topping the list with a score of 83 out of a possible 100 points. Scores are based on 22-criteria in four general areas: measurement of impact on global warming; reduction of impact; engagement in climate-related public policy; and transparency. In… -
A Womb of One's Own
20 Nov 2009 | 10:31 amby Anna Fahey The womb is not free of toxic pollution. This week, the Washington Toxics Coalition released a study that should raise the ire of pregnant women like me. Their findings in a nutshell: developing fetuses spend their first nine months in an environment that exposes them to a range known toxic chemicals. That environment? Their mothers’ bodies. That means my body. The first-of-its kind study analyzed blood and urine samples from nine women in Washington, Oregon, and California during their second trimester of pregnancy, to test for 23 chemicals from five chemical groups. Their… -
How Carbon Markets Work in Europe
20 Nov 2009 | 10:28 amby Eric de Place In spite of what you may have heard, Europe's carbon market is working beautifully. The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been operational since 2005 and we're now getting a good look at how it functions. It turns out, it's a remarkable success story, both environmentally and economically. Let's briefly review the major pieces of evidence. 1. European Environment Agency. A November 2009 report finds that the continent is well on its way to meeting its Kyoto targets thanks in large part to its cap-and-trade program. In fact, by 2007,14 countries had already…
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Green Tech
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Electric-car maker Tesla preparing IPO
20 Nov 2009 | 1:05 pmAn IPO filing for the electric-car start-up is expected any day, according to sources. Public offering would be the first from a U.S. automaker since Ford Motor shares debuted in 1956. -
What drives China? Soon, cleaner fuel
20 Nov 2009 | 7:33 amStill, the world's second largest oil consumer is taking a cautious approach to introducing tougher diesel and gasoline specifications. -
Will consumers plug into home energy displays?
20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amDozens of companies are developing tools to ratchet down home energy use as part of utility smart grid programs, but nobody is sure which approach will stick with consumers. -
Al Gore: Our next power grid will be like the Net
19 Nov 2009 | 7:11 pmThe former vice president takes the stage at VentureBeat's GreenBeat conference in San Mateo, Calif. to discuss some of the challenges ahead for moving to the smart grid. Originally posted at Web Crawler -
Recycling e-waste: Who should pay?
19 Nov 2009 | 11:09 amStudy finds consumers love the idea of recycling to combat e-waste, but they don't want to foot the bill.
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GoodGuide - Home
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Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Your Thanksgiving Dinner
18 Nov 2009 | 3:05 pmTurkeys labeled “Natural” may actually have been treated with antibiotics and fed corn and soy meal grown with synthetic pesticides. The USDA defines “natural” as a turkey containing no artificial ingredients such as added flavors or colors, and that is only minimally processed. It turns out, this leaves out a lot. A turkey labeled “natural” can be fed grains grown with pesticides and raised on a farm that uses pesticides on their fields. Antibiotics can be used not only to treat illnesses, but also as growth promoters. Look for turkeys that are USDA Organic or that say “free of… -
Surprised By the Turkey Ratings? So Were We!
17 Nov 2009 | 7:33 pmTurkeys – the food of American tradition and holiday memories – get a 3.8 (out of 10) on the GoodGuide health score?!?! . Hard to believe. And I have to admit, people around the GoodGuide office were surprised as well by the low ratings many top-selling turkeys received in our food rating system. In case you haven’t perused our ratings methodology recently, let me explain how we rate food products. GoodGuide’s health rating begins with a nutrition assessment called the “Ratio of Recommended to Restricted nutrients” (RRR). Put simply, this method calculates the ratio of “good”… -
GoodGuide Partners with Alice.com
17 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amWe’ve now made it even easier to find the products rated by GoodGuide through our new partnership with Alice.com. Alice.com is a young company which has generated a lot of buzz thanks to its innovative way of helping consumers purchase essential household items. We share a common goal of giving consumers the option to make smarter shopping decisions - so both sides jumped at the chance to partner. When you are shopping on Alice.com, you’ll now see GoodGuide product ratings next to a product, providing you with as much information as possible before purchasing. When you’re researching on… -
New iPhone App for Finding Nanotechnology
16 Nov 2009 | 9:04 amWe recently covered the discovery by British scientists that at least one nanomaterial may affect human cells at a distance. This is only one of the many human health and environmental issues associated with nanotechnology. Unfortunately, some companies are rushing to use nanotechnology without screening it for risks to human health. Now, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Nanotechnology Project has released a new application for the iPhone or iPod Touch: findNano. This app allows consumers to look up the Inventory with their phone to see if the product they’re looking at may have… -
Nano Health Effects at a Distance
9 Nov 2009 | 10:08 pmNanotechnology is increasingly in the news, both for the benefits that it could bring – and for the very uncertain risks it could pose to our health. Last week, British university researchers reported a startling result from a toxicology experiment. They exposed human cells to nano-scale cobalt-chromium and used a human cell barrier of 4 cells thick to protect the cells. To their surprise, the metal seemed to interfere with the DNA inside the cells, by sending chemical signals through the barrier. A medical law expert, Professor Thomas Faunce said, What [this latest research is] saying is…
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TreeHugger
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The Week in Pictures: Rot-Proof Apple, Surprises at GreenBuild, Bacteria Lights Up Landmines, and More
22 Nov 2009 | 3:01 pmFrom the news that scientists have created a bacteria that lights up around landmines to the development of a rot-proof apple--that stays fresh for 4 months--a lot happened this week in green. A new study called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) shows that putting money into protecting wetlands, coral reefs, and forests is a better investment than gold, Lloyd visited GreenBuild 2009 in Arizona, and readers sent in photos of the one green object they just can't live without for our weekly slideshow. Find out what else happened in the world of green this week in our photo… -
How to Make Nano Solar Cells from Powdered Donuts (Video)
20 Nov 2009 | 1:01 pmIt's friday and we know you need something to keep you busy for the weekend, so here's the perfect thing. As the efficiency (and business case) for nano-based solar technology continues to ascend, isn't time you got in the game? Don't worry, it's not as easy as it sounds; in addition to powdered donuts, you'll need some Passion tea from Starbucks and a bottle of Everclear. Even if the cells don't work you've got some good provisions to keep you busy till Monday. Enjoy....Read the full story on TreeHugger -
Split Carbon Costs of Deforestation Between Producers & Consumers to Slow Felling Forests
20 Nov 2009 | 12:43 pmIt's probably no great secret to TreeHugger readers at this point that part of the reason carbon emissions in developing nations are rapidly rising is partially because manufacturing of goods for export to the developed world. In fact in China at least one-third of total emissions and about 50% of emissions growth in recent years is directly tied to goods consumer in Europe and the Uni...Read the full story on TreeHugger -
Rolls Royce Could Launch an Electric Phantom In a Year
20 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pmPhoto: Rolls Royce Does It Matter? Depends How You Look at It... Autocar reports that a source inside the company told them that Rolls Royce could have an electric version of its Phantom super-luxury car on the road by the end of 2010: "Internally it's thought that the near-silence of electric propulsion, and the fact that full torque is available from a standstill, would align perfectly with Rolls-Royce's core values. Engineers are currently hard at work making this a reality, although a running prototype has yet t...Read the full story on TreeHugger -
U.S. Military Wary About Offshore Wind Power Off Coast of Maryland
20 Nov 2009 | 12:11 pmPhoto: Wikipedia, CC Maryland Offshore Wind Development Martin O'Malley, the governor of Maryland, would like to see offshore wind power developed off the cost of his state, but the U.S. military has expressed fears that the turbines could "disrupt flight and weapon test ranges, as well as erroneously appear on radar as unidentifiable aircraft." Three military bases in the region are using that area in the Atlantic for training missions and flight tests....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Green Inc.
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On Our Radar...
20 Nov 2009 | 2:13 pmClimate change and national security, and other energy and environment coverage on the Web. -
India to Spend $900 Million on Solar
20 Nov 2009 | 11:28 amThe Indian cabinet approved a plan on Thursday that would vastly increase the amount of solar power produced by the country. -
Green Builders' Study Forecasts Job Growth
20 Nov 2009 | 10:57 amBuilding green could add hundreds of billions of dollars to the economy, according to a new report released by the United States Green Building Council. -
Study Says Air Cars are Inefficient
20 Nov 2009 | 10:21 amA paper from the University of California, Berkeley, concludes that compressed-air energy storage is a relatively inefficient technology when it comes to personal transportation. -
Siemens Chief Discusses Green Initiatives
20 Nov 2009 | 9:10 amPeter Löscher, chief executive of the German engineering conglomerate, answers questions about his solar and wind business and the American clean-tech market.
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Social Citizens Blog
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Putting Stock in Social Enterprise
19 Nov 2009 | 7:12 amAfter seeing young social entrepreneur William Kamkwamba speak recently, I wrote a post wondering how we can find and encourage young people in remote areas who have the potential to change the world. While I'm not sure this question has been fully answered, there are some exciting campaigns, programs and organizations working to capture the entrepreneurial spirit for good. Today is Social Enterprise Day, and this week (November 16-22) in 85 countries including Rwanda, Lebanon, and Bangladesh, efforts as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week are meant to inspire… -
The Role of Millennials in Reshaping a Sector
17 Nov 2009 | 9:33 amOur environmental resources are diminishing, our economy is crumbling, and according to a Washington Post Breaking News Alert that came in as I was writing this, “more Americans are going hungry” (49 million to be precise). Even as our problems seemingly become more and more complex, we are also being asked to take the reins, to look to the future and to predict what’s next for the nonprofit sector. We know that business as usual (if ever there was such a thing) is no longer going to cut it and it seems we’ll never go back to our pre-crisis standing. So, how do we take… -
Veterans and Volunteers: Why One Millennial Vet Serves
10 Nov 2009 | 2:10 pmGuest blogger Laura A. Moore is a Policy Analyst at Civic Enterprises, a public policy firm that helps corporations, nonprofits, foundations, universities and governments develop and spearhead innovative public policies to strengthen our communities and country. Today, Civic Enterprises releases All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service, a report based on the first ever nationally representative survey of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and their civic lives. Over 1.8 million men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them on multiple… -
Is Offline Action So 2000 And Late?
3 Nov 2009 | 10:33 amFor better or for worse, globalization and innovations in technology continue to make the world smaller all the time. As we grow more connected, our issues and causes are less defined by our physical neighborhoods, cities and countries. Millennials are more globally aware and invested than were our parents' generation and we have already mobilized to fight genocide, malaria, human trafficking, climate change, water shortage and other global issues for people they have never met and may never meet. We are reading the Economist along with the Washington Post, moving around every couple of… -
Where Are the iParticipants?
29 Oct 2009 | 1:34 pmAbout a week ago, I shared some of my high level thoughts about the state of online volunteer matching platforms. I expressed that online platforms for “good” need to be great. Because if they’re not, and we don’t make the experience as easy as possible for prospective volunteers, we lose a very important slice of folks we’re trying to attract. Call them what you will -- the unaffiliated, the unconverted, the I-want-to-give-back-but-don’t–know-where-to-start-“ers” these are people who are compelled by something they hear, or read, or…
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TakePart Social Action Network™
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Social Action Roundup
20 Nov 2009 | 2:57 pmParticipant Media presents entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Behind these films and issues, there are thousands of people nationwide who work tirelessly on campaigns that use the films as inspiration to make a difference. As a member of the company’s Social Action team, which develops initiatives that are inspired by the films, I’m excited to announce the first posting of a weekly blog of Sarah’s Social Action Snapshot, which will offer the latest updates on our campaigns and offer specific actions and tools, from our campaigns, for people to get involved in issues… -
My Last Post
20 Nov 2009 | 1:51 pmHi Readers! I’ve really enjoyed writing for this wonderful site over the past few years but, the time has come for me to leave the TakePart family. Although I will not longer be a Takepart.com blogger, I will continue to be a reader and supporter. And now here’s a oldie but goodie video I’d like to share in honor of my last post. Feel free to keep up with me on the web at giuliarozzi.com. -
New Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening, Too
20 Nov 2009 | 1:39 pmWell, it’s been an interesting week for women’s health issues: earlier this week Giulia noted that a panel is recommending fewer mammograms and starting later, and now, new guidelines are suggesting that women start getting screened for cervical cancer later in life, and that Pap smears are not needed every year. One of the reasons for the change is that overtesting can actually lead to very serious risks. Says Reuters: The recommendations are based on scientific evidence that suggests more frequent testing leads to overtreatment, which can harm a young woman’s chances of… -
Project Cuddle
20 Nov 2009 | 1:37 pmI will never understand how anyone could abandon a baby. Luckily there are folks like Debbe Magnusen around to help care for those children left behind. In 1996 after reading a newspaper article about the discovery of a dead baby in a file cabinet in Yorba Linda, Calif., in 1996, Magnusen started a hotline called Project Cuddle and announced on TV that women unable to care for their newborns could drop them off on her porch in Costa Mesa, California. Over the past 13 years Magnusen has rescued 661 babies finding most adoptive homes. And now her life will be the topic of a made-for-TV movie. -
Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 Years Later
20 Nov 2009 | 1:21 pmToday, November 20 marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the most widely ratified international human rights treaty. The UNCRC laid out the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights for children all over the world. The documented has been ratified by 193 countries including every U.N. Member State but the United States and Somalia. I was surprised to learn that the U.S. was not included in the 193 supporting nations. VOA News reports: Despite the success of the Convention in raising awareness of children’s rights…
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Change.org's Global Health Blog
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Climate Change Will Exacerbate Gap Between Rich and Poor
20 Nov 2009 | 11:18 amClimate change won't just hit the poorest the hardest, with those in developing countries bearing the brunt of climate change — losing access to crucial water supplies, and feeling the effect of rising sea levels. Climate change will additionally exacerbate gaps between the rich and poor. The effects of climate change is likely to reverse many of the hard earned and costly developments gains of the Millennium Development Goals. Specific setbacks will include increased water scarcity, and changes in the availability of food. Quite simply, climate change is the perfect storm. And oh yeah,… -
Spread the Word about Good Hygiene: World Toilet Day
19 Nov 2009 | 4:24 pmWorld Toilet Day isn't the easiest day of the activist's year to promote. But ensuring good public hygiene is a very effective method of slowing the spread of disease and illness. The problem is that toilets and adequate sanitation just isn't cool, and it isn't much of an aspirational campaign. The people behind World Toilet Day are trying to change that. They explain to Reuters that "It is a sensitive issue, but a serious one that has to be a shared responsibility of the government, companies and people." One method is to keep toilets clean on trains, in return for advertising space, thus… -
Gates Foundation: Celebrating Success and the Importance of Storytelling
18 Nov 2009 | 9:12 amThis is a guest post by Joe Cerrell, director, global health policy and advocacy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Too often in global health, we zero in on the obstacles and neglect to celebrate the successes. While the health challenges facing the developing world are very real, many poor countries are making real progress against diseases like HIV and malaria, often with support from the American government. That’s the message that Bill and Melinda Gates recently brought to Washington, D.C. In a presentation titled, “Living Proof: Why We Are Impatient Optimists,” they showed… -
What Next as Parasites Become Resistant to Best Malaria Treatment?
15 Nov 2009 | 2:29 pmMosquitoes are becoming resistant to artemisinin, "the only remaining effective drug in the world's arsenal against malaria's most deadly strain"? On the Thai-Cambodia border this is happening due to a rouge strain of malaria. The race is on to eliminate malaria before its too late — before more resistances are established around the world. Artemisinin hasn't been around for long as a purified treatment for malaria, but it has been used to fight the disease in China for thousands of years, and it has been taken across Southeast Asia for 30 years, allowing parasites longer to adapt. So how… -
Afghan Gov Fears Swine Flu: Not Enough Antivirals, Not Enough Graves
13 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amThe Afghan government has launched a swine-flu education campaign and declared an emergency after 11 people died of H1N1. You may think the government have more important things to worry about, but in Afghanistan there may not be enough graves to contain all the causalities, (due to the harsh winters, graves must be dug before the coldest weather sets in) and officials fear the effect the virus will have on their armed forces. Although only 11 people have so far died, the toll could rise considerably. The Health Ministry fears that over 6 million people would contract the virus, with 5 per…
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Change Becomes Change
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Reusing Those Cardboard Cereal Boxes
17 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pmI can always appreciate ideas that help us reduce, recycle or reuse things around here so that can lessen what goes out to the street for trash day each week and love that my kids are learning these lessons at school now too. This week, I came across this clever idea to reuse cereal boxes from Mike Lieberman at 365 Ways to Go Green. Used Cereal Box to Organize Plastic BagsMy roommate was going to throw his cereal box in the trash. I decided to use it to organize all of the plastic bags that are under the sink instead.Previously I used one of his old rice boxes to store seasoning… -
Cocoa Krispies Fights the Flu
12 Nov 2009 | 10:25 pmReally. Kellogg's says so. It's right here on the front of the box - look for yourself. Coincidentally, this packaging hit the shelves in May, just shortly after the first few cases of H1N1 (swine flu) hit the news and consumers started protecting themselves. Kellogg's says this new "immunity support" claim follows their new formulation for Cocoa Krispies where they added more vitamins. Whether you think this is opportunistic marketing or a genuine effort to help parents boost their child's immunity, you should know this: adding vitamins to products that aren't good for your child to begin… -
Donating What We Don't Need
11 Nov 2009 | 10:17 pmAs November arrived in the Pacific Northwest, it quickly became time to go through our winter gear to see what still fits, what doesn't and what needs to be replaced. Two years ago we bought the kids snow gear a size larger than they needed so we were fortunate to get through two seasons. Unfortunately, that means it's time for them to be replaced this year, along with the coats, winter clothes and shoes that no longer fit our growing little ones.Over the years, we've put these kind of barely-used items for sale at a consignment store, Craigslist or eBay to help fund the replacements. This… -
Helpful Information on the H1N1 Vaccine
10 Nov 2009 | 8:45 pmA few months ago I shared information with you from various sources on the H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine. Since then, we've watched the news each night with updates on the spread of the flu and shortage of vaccines, we've also heard more concerns about the vaccine and the unknown risk felt by many. Knowing that consumers everywhere are likely having discussions with their family, friends and doctors on this topic, the company I work for, Aisle7, just published an update on the H1N1 vaccine to educate and inform shoppers of our customers. You'll find the introduction to the article below. If you… -
Depaving the parking lot to put up a park
8 Nov 2009 | 10:52 pmDid I get the name of that song wrong? Just ask my husband, I'm always butchering songs. But this time, it was intentional. Think about it: pull up a parking lot to plant something green. Crazy? Maybe.But it's happening. We just watched a clip on our local news tonight where community members rallied to depave a local parking lot that wasn't being used anymore. They plan to use some of the land for community garden space and the rest will be green space to gather in and enjoy. Why? Lots of reasons, but a few include: Asphalt heats up the environment on hot days Run off water from the parking…
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GOOD Main
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Mapping Noise Pollution with Cell Phones
20 Nov 2009 | 1:18 pmCell phones usually contribute to urban noise pollution. But the folks at Paris’s Sony Computer Science Laboratory have created an app that lets any GPS-enabled phone help us understand the problem. Behold NoiseTube: Click here to view the embedded video. Serenity now! -
Air Travel Is for Polar Bear Killers
20 Nov 2009 | 1:12 pmHere’s a rather scathing PSA from Plane Stupid. (Note, if you get squeamish at the thought of seeing polar bear deaths depicted in a fairly gruesome—and slightly absurd—manner, or if you yourself are a polar bear, you might think twice about watching.) Click here to view the embedded video. Wow. Granted, each flight doesn’t literally kill a polar bear. This isn’t some sick inversion of the ringing bells that beget angel wings from It’s a Wonderful Life. But it does hammer home the increasingly annoying reality that most of the greatest technological advancements in… -
Are Opponents of Climate Action Hacking Climate Research Caches?
20 Nov 2009 | 12:18 pmFrom the folks over at TreeHugger: The email system of one of the world’s leading climate researchers was just reported to be infiltrated by hackers. Protected information and email messages sent from climate scientists at the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) began turning up on public websites today. Why the CRU was targeted is still unclear–though there’s speculation that with the global climate meeting in Copenhagen nearing, opponents of climate action may be going so far as to be doing illegal reconnaissance. Read the full post for more… -
Does Innovation Belong in That Recipe?
20 Nov 2009 | 11:38 amCookbooks often read better as literature than as technical lab manuals. That shouldn’t stop us from reading them, or from improvising our recipes. We no longer learn to cook solely from generations-old oral traditions. Our recipes don’t tend to get handed down from village bakers, local brewers, or blood relatives. So, when the holidays hit, chances are we’ll head to the bookshelves for ways to make stuffing or cranberry sauce. This approach is not without its pitfalls. As John Thorne—the “outlaw cook” known for his renegade newsletter, Simple Cooking, which has developed… -
What Can You Bring on the Plane With You These Holidays?
20 Nov 2009 | 10:26 amI often carry with me through airport security more than 3 ounces of toothpaste, in the hopes that I can helpfully explain to a TSA agent that toothpaste is not a gel, aerosol, or liquid, but is—by definition—a paste. Sadly, they have yet to try to take my toothpaste. Luckily for me and all travelers, the TSA knows how complicated deciding what fits into the ever-nebulous “gel, aerosol, and liquid” category, especially with holiday specific items, so they’ve published this helpful list of holiday foodstuffs not to bring on the plane: Cranberry sauce Creamy dips and…
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Good Blogs
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Mapping Noise Pollution with Cell Phones
20 Nov 2009 | 1:18 pmCell phones usually contribute to urban noise pollution. But the folks at Paris’s Sony Computer Science Laboratory have created an app that lets any GPS-enabled phone help us understand the problem. Behold NoiseTube: Click here to view the embedded video. Serenity now! -
Does Innovation Belong in That Recipe?
20 Nov 2009 | 11:38 amCookbooks often read better as literature than as technical lab manuals. That shouldn’t stop us from reading them, or from improvising our recipes. We no longer learn to cook solely from generations-old oral traditions. Our recipes don’t tend to get handed down from village bakers, local brewers, or blood relatives. So, when the holidays hit, chances are we’ll head to the bookshelves for ways to make stuffing or cranberry sauce. This approach is not without its pitfalls. As John Thorne—the “outlaw cook” known for his renegade newsletter, Simple Cooking, which has developed… -
What Can You Bring on the Plane With You These Holidays?
20 Nov 2009 | 10:26 amI often carry with me through airport security more than 3 ounces of toothpaste, in the hopes that I can helpfully explain to a TSA agent that toothpaste is not a gel, aerosol, or liquid, but is—by definition—a paste. Sadly, they have yet to try to take my toothpaste. Luckily for me and all travelers, the TSA knows how complicated deciding what fits into the ever-nebulous “gel, aerosol, and liquid” category, especially with holiday specific items, so they’ve published this helpful list of holiday foodstuffs not to bring on the plane: Cranberry sauce Creamy dips and… -
What Happens When Your Volt Runs Out of Juice?
20 Nov 2009 | 8:33 amApparently very little. A Times reporter took one out for a test drive past its 40 mile battery range. What happens is that the gas-powered generator kicks in—silently—giving more battery power to the car. Its not as if you suddenly switch to a gas-powered engine; you’re still using electric power, just not stored electric power. Indeed, even while the generator is on, accelerating is silent, as you’re just putting more battery power into the engine, not revving the generator. The test drive found some kinks still to work out (sometimes the generator becomes not silent, but… -
Ideas for Cities: Ped Shed over Drive Shed
20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amPed Shed over Drive Shed Cities could close and re-purpose or retrofit parking garages to create incentives for walking or riding bikes, mixed with unique spaces for work, play, art, learning, farming, and other sustainable, entertaining, and productive experiences. This is part 19 of a continuing brainstorm on the future of cities, inaugurated at the CEOs for Cities Velocity conference in September, 2009. We’ll post a new idea each day until we run out, at which point we’re counting on you to come up with something smart. Do you have a good idea for improving your city? Add it in the…
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Good Magazine
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Oren Moverman Shot The Messenger
19 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amA conversation with the director of a powerful new film about notifying families of our war dead. The Messenger tells the tale of a young soldier, played by Ben Foster (Six Feet Under, 3:10 to Yuma), who has just returned from a brutal tour of duty in Iraq. After he is charged with the task of notifying families when their sons and daughters die overseas, Foster’s character finds himself strangely connected to one of the widows he notifies, played by Samantha Morton, and he struggles with the ethical and emotional fallout of those feelings. The film (which GOOD helped develop and… -
Picture Show: Breach
18 Nov 2009 | 11:46 amIn the Spring of 2009, the photographer Richard Mosse traveled to Iraq, where he captured arresting images of U.S. soldiers working and living in what used to be palaces of Saddam Hussein. These visions of western soldiers at rest in imperial palaces are both intensely jarring and oddly playful, and they underscore the seemingly ineffable experience of downtime during a military occupation. The transformation of an imperial palace into a site of temporary housing also speaks to the notion that our histories are constantly being rewritten—architecturally, sociologically, globally, and… -
Transparency: The Effects of Bike Commuting on Obesity
18 Nov 2009 | 10:55 amThe average American is both overweight and spends more than 100 hours per year commuting, that vast majority of those hours being spent in a car. Are those numbers correlated? Could we help reduce our societal weight gain by encouraging more commutes by bike or foot? Our latest Transparency is a look at the number of active commutes in several countries, as compared to those countries obesity rates. A collaboration between GOOD and Lamosca. -
The GOOD Guide to COP15: Now What?
17 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amEven if you flew to Copenhagen, they probably wouldn’t let you in to the conference. But don’t despair: You don’t have to be a delegate to help stave off catastrophe. Keep track of the treaty: Negotiators are working on a draft treaty—raising objections, making changes, and shaping the fate of the world. Keep track of it at 350.org/treaty-tracker. Get to know the negotiators: Find out who will represent your country in Copenhagen and what they think. Adoptanegotiator.org has “trackers” from 11 countries following the meetings leading up to Copenhagen “so you can stay up to… -
The GOOD Guide to COP15: The Fire this Time: Copenhagen and the War for the Future
17 Nov 2009 | 8:00 amThat which is unsustainable cannot go on. Unsustainable things that are propped up too long snap and collapse suddenly. Our way of life is unsustainable. The sooner we transform our economy into one that can generate sustainable prosperity, the better off we’ll be, and with every passing day, the risks of catastrophe grow larger and more certain. We need change now. These shouldn’t be radical statements; they’re all demonstrably true. Yet they cleave right down the middle of what is fast becoming the largest generation gap in at least 40 years, a growing split between people under 30…
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Good Videos
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Targeting Gunshots with Acoustic Sensors
9 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pmClick here to view the embedded video. The ability to locate a shooting quickly can help police catch bad guys and save lives. In Richmond, California, acoustic gunfire detection is doing just that. With acoustic sensors distributed around the city, dispatchers can use the sound of gunfire to pinpoint where a shooting happened, the number of shots fired, and even the kind of gun that was used. -
What a Green Job Looks Like
3 Nov 2009 | 1:11 pmBuildings are actually responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than cars. But simply weatherizing houses and businesses can reduce their environmental impact and lower energy bills—while creating new jobs in the process. Everyone wins. Click here to view the embedded video. Created in partnership with Green for All, a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy, strong enough to lift people out of poverty. For more information on programs near you, visit www.greenforall.org. -
Emerging City Innovation
27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pmClick here to view the embedded video. Most of the world’s population now lives in cities. How can we make sure these urban centers are good homes for humanity? Cities from Bogotá and Rio de Janeiro to Seoul are leading the way, using fresh ideas to reduce pollution and waste; provide efficient, clean transportation; and support biodiversity. -
Reaction Housing
23 Oct 2009 | 2:13 pmIn the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it became obvious that America was frustratingly ill-prepared to house people displaced by a natural disaster. Michael McDaniel took this as a design challenge. His Exo housing system—inspired by the humble styrofoam cup—could be deployed quickly and cheaply to help us when we need it most. Click here to view the embedded video. -
Your Daily Water Use
22 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pmThirsty? So is everyone else. We’re headed for a water shortage. Here’s how a few simple choices can reduce your daily water use by 1,213 gallons. A GOOD Transparency video. Click here to view the embedded video. A collaboration between GOOD and Fogelson-Lubliner. GOOD and Whole Foods Market have teamed up to bring you a series of infographics and videos on what we eat: where it comes from, what’s in it, and what choices you can make to ensure you’re eating as well as possible. This is the first in a series of four videos.
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SocialEarth
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Creative Career Surgery’s New DVD Kit Teaches Social Entrepreneurship in School
20 Nov 2009 | 4:10 amSchool just got cooler thanks to 25 year old Shivani Mair. Her super savvy Creative Careers Surgery website, geared towards helping young people find meaningful careers, just put out one of the first ever social enterprise learning tools for use in schools across the UK. The “Create Yourself – Create Change” DVD Kit includes a [...] -
Quality Health Care is Saving the Rain Forest
19 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amAbout three weeks ago, I was flipping through the channels and landed on PBS. If you know me, I spend about an average of 1 hour per week by the television, and it’s usually to catch the most recent episode of The Office. However, this particular night, PBS caught my attention. What I saw on [...] -
BetterTheWorld Contest! Earn $4,000 for Charity, $2,000 for Your School
19 Nov 2009 | 2:38 amIf you haven’t joined the hottest online community for social change, now is a better time than ever. BetterTheWorld.com, a Web site/community that allows users to donate to nonprofits by surfing the Web, recently launched their Final 4 Contest where members can earn $4,000 for their choice charity and an extra $2,000 for their school. For [...] -
The Brave New Information Ecosystem
18 Nov 2009 | 2:40 amAs the news profession increasingly (and justifiably) frets about its future, the blogosphere/Tweetdom/listserve conversation typically boils down to this question: How will we save newspapers? (Often, more specifically, it’s How will we save The New York Times?) That’s a myopic and typically self-serving question, but it implies a bigger one: How will we sustain quality [...] -
Sustainability Setbacks: What Can We Do?
17 Nov 2009 | 4:16 amOur primary focus here at Social Earth is to deliver you good news about people and organizations who are dedicated to improving our world, but it would be unrealistic if every once and awhile we did not share our frustrations. For me and everyone else with an environmental conscience, this week was a particularly discouraging [...]
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Africa Rural Connect
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Ground Breaking Ceremony for E-Agriculture Project!
19 Nov 2009 | 11:17 amMacheru Karuku, 1st place winner of Round 3 tells us about the Ground-Breaking Ceremony for the launch of his Electronic Agriculture Project, turning his idea into action! -
Press Release: First European Wins Africa Rural Connect's Fourth Round in Online Ideas Competition
19 Nov 2009 | 10:21 amSwedish winner demonstrates global appeal of online contest helping rural Africa -
Round 4 Winners!
18 Nov 2009 | 7:33 amRound 4 of the Africa Rural Connect competition came to a close at noon eastern time on November 15th. This time around, our top 3 ideas, focus on varying projects in rural Kenya, Malawi, and Tanzania. -
Holiday Giving to all ARC Members!
11 Nov 2009 | 7:54 amThis Holiday Season, as a thank you to all members of the ARC Community for their participation, we have teamed up with Shea Yeleen International to offer a 10% discount on all Shea Yeleen International shea butter products. -
New Ways to "Follow" ARC
30 Oct 2009 | 1:29 pmIn recent weeks, we have added two new features to the site to make it easier for everyone to keep track of our developments. RSS Feed While we have long had an RSS Feed for the Updates on the site, we recently added an RSS feed for Ideas. This is a great way to keep up with any new ideas that are posted. You can use one or both of these feeds on your Blog, Website, or simply add it to your RSS Feed Reader. Where can you find the RSS Feeds? Simply click the RSS logo in your Internet Browser:
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Tactical Philanthropy
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Paul Brest & Paul Shoemaker Debate General Operating Support
20 Nov 2009 | 8:36 amIn my last post, I profiled Paul Brest’s new annual letter about the merits, or lack thereof, of general operating support grants. In the weeks before the annual report was released, Paul emailed a copy of the essay to a group of people who work in philanthropy. Paul Shoemaker of Social Venture Partners replied with extensive comments and a debate ensued between Shoemaker and Brest. With the permission and encouragement of both Pauls, I’m republishing an excerpt of the debate below. Just to be clear, any emails sent to me are strictly off the record unless permission is requested. -
Paul Brest on General Operating Support
20 Nov 2009 | 8:11 amThe newly released William & Flora Hewlett Foundation’s annual report includes an essay about forms of philanthropic support from the foundation’s president Paul Brest. In the essay, Paul pushes back against groups such as Independent Sector, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, who have advocated strongly for funders to provide nonprofits with general operating support rather than offering them restricted grants that can only be used for certain programs. On this blog, I’ve frequently argued in favor of general operating support as the default… -
Philanthropy Daily Digest
19 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pmGift Hub: Philanthropedia Phil Cubeta weighs in with a thoughtful post about Philanthropedia. (tags: philanthropy) What Capital When? | Blueprint Research & Design A new blog from Lucy Bernholz and her young, superstar employee Tony Wang. (tags: philanthropy) High Impact Philanthropy in the Downturn The Center for High Impact Philanthropy at University of Pennsylvania has quickly established itself as a leading philanthropy research group. Here's their newest report. (tags: philanthropy) Uninhibited conference attracts young CEOs – MiamiHerald.com "Summer Camp" for… -
Trust in Philanthropy
19 Nov 2009 | 6:56 amMy colleague Bill Somerville talks a lot about trust in philanthropy. Bill feels that funders do not trust grantees enough and that the reams of paperwork required by funders is simply a mark of their lack of trust. To the cynical person, trusting someone is equivalent to being naive. Trusting someone can be criticized as demonstrating a lack of rigor. But it turns out that trust is at the core of what makes systems function. From a recent Forbes article titled The Economics of Trust: Imagine going to the corner store to buy a carton of milk, only to find that the refrigerator is locked. When… -
Philanthropedia Sources Expert Knowledge
17 Nov 2009 | 7:08 pmThis is a guest post by Erinn Andrews, COO of Philanthropedia, which I blogged about in October. You can find my write up on their efforts here. Providing donors with better information—actionable and scalable—all in one place By Erinn Andrews Clearly, people care. If we look at charitable contributions in 2008, we see that individuals donated more than $250 billion to nonprofits. I assume donors weren’t forced to give away that money—they wanted to. But what goes through their minds as they decide where to write that check? And especially for newer, younger donors, with more than a…
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Cause Global: Social Media for Social Change
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Journey
11 Nov 2009 | 4:12 amBritish Actor Emma Thompson’s controversial and powerful new public art exhibit to raise awareness of international sex trafficking opened in New York yesterday off Washington Square in Greenwich Village, and it's hard to ignore. It is a line of seven railroad boxcars, arranged as if waiting to depart at any moment; degrading graffiti is slathered across them, meant to stigmatize the captives portrayed inside. Each car represents a different step in a woman's journey toward forced prostitution. In one, a bedroom is recreated, complete with peeling wallpaper, a scribbled price list for… -
Berlin Twitter Wall
10 Nov 2009 | 4:58 pmLast night marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of The Berlin Wall. To commemorate the event, the City of Berlin has created The Berlin Twitter Wall and is inviting people to share their recollections, as well as cite other such walls to human freedom that remain in 2009.So far, people in more than 35 countries around the world have twittered their thoughts to hashtag #fotw, including their memories of what they were doing on the exact day the wall fell—November 9, 1989. [Many recall watching the event on TV.]But not all tweets are looking to the past. Just days after the launch of The… -
Garbage Island
10 Nov 2009 | 7:47 amDon't miss Lindsay Hoshaw's spot.us piece in The New York Times on the expanding Pacific Garbage Patch -- what Hoshaw describes as a Texas-sized area of "light bulbs, bottle caps, toothbrushes, Popsicle sticks and tiny pieces of plastic, each the size of a grain of rice."This floating stew exists in far away areas of the Pacific Ocean. But the problem it poses is not as remote as it may seem. Photographer Chris Jordanused this fall's PopTech conference in Maine to unveil his latest project, Midway: Message from the Gyre, a series of photographs that he shot in September on Midway Atoll, a… -
Slow Money
8 Nov 2009 | 11:15 amThere is slow food, slow design, slow cities, and slow photography.And now? There is Woody Tasch. The former venture capitalist-turned-revolutionary, as he calls himself, is the guru of "slow money" - the name Tasch gives to his philosophy that combines a passion for social enterprise with the benefits of locally-grown food. Cause Global caught up with Tasch at New York University a couple of days ago, where he was speaking to social enterprise students about his new national campaign to persuade at least 1 million Americans to donate between $25 and $1,000 each to help create a grassroots,… -
Are We Still Here?
29 Oct 2009 | 2:01 amLast week in Maine, at PopTech's annual thinkfest, America Reimagined, writer Anthony Doerr read aloud an essay he wrote for the January/February 2009 issue of Orion Magazine called Am I Still Here?—about our always-on, Web-centric world. Neither too sentimental nor apocalyptic, it's a pitch-perfect reflection of this moment in our culture; Doerr got a standing ovation.[Go ahead. Take the five minutes away from your BlackBerry to read it. Guaranteed it will free up some time for you later.] Here's the text of it, from his reading:I HARBOR A DARK TWIN INSIDE. He’s a sun-starved, ropy…
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Sasha Dichter's Blog
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The next day test
20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amI gave a speech the other day that was fine. I said what I wanted to say, made the points that I wanted to make. But fine, I fear, is forgotten. Fine isn’t remembered when a person walks out of the room. Fine is checking the box. I think I went wrong in the preparation: spending so much time focusing on what I wanted to say, while forgetting to think about what I wanted to happen: what I wanted the audience members to do, to feel, to remember, to repeat to the next person. And not just 5 minutes later, but the next day or the next week. People don’t remember lists and plans. … -
Charter for Compassion
13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amBeautiful fulfillment of Karen Armstrong’s TED wish. You can get more information and sign and share the charter here. -
Original passion
12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amI recently came back from a weeklong trip to Europe and was swapping stories with my wife about the week. She admitted what I already knew, that my five-year-old son has started to really notice my absence when I travel for work. “But,” she said, “It’s actually really easy to explain to him why you’re away. I say to him that Daddy is out helping get money to help pay for things like safe water to drink or a safe place for a mommy to have her baby for people who need it. And he understands that and it makes sense to him.” First, I was overwhelmed by this kind of support from my… -
Pleasantly Persistent
11 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amSomeone left me a voicemail the other day in which she said, “I know we keep missing each other, so I thought I’d try again. And hope that you appreciate my being pleasantly persistent.” Somehow, the way she said it, it really worked. If outreach and building new relationships is part of what you do (and it is, no matter what you do), how you create the next conversation is always top of mind. Nearly all of us need to be reaching out more, to be building more relationships and cultivating them with more care. When you reach out to someone new, especially when you reach out cold,… -
One month later…the NY Times on Kiva
10 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amIn case you missed it, the New York Times has picked up the Kiva story. What I’m struck by is: The story was broken by David Roodman in his original blog post. How quickly the conversation spread online, including response by Kiva to the blog posts and changes to their website. The analysis is definitely deeper online than in the Times story, which almost feels like a story about the story. It took more than a MONTH from the time David wrote his post until the Times picked it up. For all the blogging/Tweeting buzz about the story, there’s been no real impact on giving to Kiva,…
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The World Affairs Blog Network
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Giving Social Enterprise a Chance
6 Nov 2009 | 10:22 amAs a side project to my day job, I’ve been exploring the world of Canadian public policy. Given the opportunity to participate in a very smart program for non-profits called the Max Bell Public Policy Institute - I’ve been opening my eyes ( & brain) to the world of social enterprise and public policy. In Canada, charitable organizations have the available structures (legal frameworks) to create related business. Related business activities help charities to diversify their revenue. There are two kinds of related business a charity can conduct 1) business that are… -
Why you need a Lawyer, a CPA, and a Philanthropic Advisor…
1 Sep 2009 | 9:39 amThe increasing professionalization of (Western) Philanthropy has left most of us, the average check writer, in the dust. Professionalization is not necessarily a bad thing, but it elicits a similar answer to questions of “why I am unable to do my husband’s treasury job” and “why I need a lawyer to help me buy a house”. Professional industries are complex - and its always nice to have a friendly guide. No matter your wealth, you can participate in philanthropy. The barriers to entry are lowering by leaps and bounds - and the spectrum is getting longer. … -
The Chicken & Egg Debate: High Performance vs. High Impact
19 Aug 2009 | 3:56 pmWhen the FP Article, A $9 Trillion Question: Did the World Get Muhammad Yunus Wrong? came across my Twitter feed this morning my first thought was, blasphemy! The praise and attention that Yunus and Soto have received over the past few years - collecting fans and converts of their teachings - make it hard to imagine that someone would write such a title, such a critique. And yet, there is merit in what Peter Schaefer writes. As of 2004, loans provided by microfinance organizations amounted to just $17 billion worldwide. This is a pittance compared with the potential credit requirements… -
Efficiency Meltdown
14 Jul 2009 | 2:24 pmMuch of what I’m reading these days - in blogs, in articles - seems to swirl around the idea of efficiency: measuring efficiency, metrics for efficiency, foundations granting to efficient non-profits…and on and on. I don’t actually set out to look for these articles, they are just there - alongside the many discussing how to best use Twitter for your non-profit. It is this fatigue with hearing the word efficiency that I began to rebel. One rebellious action, not writing my blog. With so many opinions out there around how to measure, who to measure, what to measure, or… -
The Philanthropist
25 Jun 2009 | 6:10 amWatching NBC’s premiere of The Philanthropist left me with more questions than answers. Luckily, I’m not the only one with conflicted views on the effect the show will have on philanthropy. Last night, we were saturated with quite a portrayal of white man’s guilt - where the most honest moment comes when our hero, Teddy Rist, is questioned on his true intentions. He never really tells us, but then again, neither do many philanthropists. The hero’s British accent, his American company, and the African music accompanying the intro, commercial breaks, and…
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High Impact Philanthropy
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Why This, Why Now: High Impact Philanthropy in the Downturn
18 Nov 2009 | 1:45 pmExcerpt from High Impact Philanthropy in the Downturn: Focus on Housing, Health, and Hunger (A Guide for Donors) Three years ago, the Center for High Impact Philanthropy was founded to provide analysis and decision-making tools to help philanthropists determine where their funds can have the greatest impact in improving the lives of others. Given the breadth and severity of the current economic downturn, the question we needed to answer was clear: Where can individual donors make a significant difference in addressing the suffering caused by the economic crisis? We began this effort in April… -
Press Release: Penn’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy: Focus on Housing, Health and Hunger During Economic Crisis
16 Nov 2009 | 11:49 amFrom Penn’s Office of Communications: November 16, 2009 PHILADELPHIA — The Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania has released an investment guide identifying where donors can make the greatest difference helping those suffering in the current economic crisis. “High Impact Philanthropy in the Downturn: Focus on Housing, Health & Hunger” targets three issues: preventing foreclosures, sustaining primary and preventive health programs and ensuring access to food. “This year, we’re entering the traditional giving season with foundation assets… -
Who’s Who at the APHA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia?
10 Nov 2009 | 7:32 amAre you at the American Public Health Association’s 137th Annual Meeting, currently taking place November 7-11, 2009, in Philadelphia, PA? Well, I’ll tell you who is there: Carol McLaughlin, MD, MPH, our global health director, and Kathleen Noonan, JD, director of PolicyLab and a senior fellow of CHIP. Carol had the opportunity to present, Prenatal HIV testing by undocumented immigrant women in Philadelphia’s Public Health Centers, at last year’s meeting. This year, Kathleen had the opportunity to present, the Importance of policy relevant research, on Sunday. This… -
1st Annual World Pneumonia Day: Monday November 2, 2009
2 Nov 2009 | 1:20 pmHello folks and welcome to November. I wanted to post a brief announcement to acknowledge the Hedge Funds vs Malaria and Pneumonia, Wear Blue Jeans campaign for World Pneumonia Day. You can find them on facebook and twitter, and also read a recent article by Dr. Orin Levine on the Huffington Post website here. Here are a few startling facts about the deadly impact of pneumonia on children: Pneumonia is the world’s leading killer of children under 5, excluding neonatal deaths. 2 main causes, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infections, are responsible for… -
High Impact Health Policy: What’s on the Agenda?
20 Oct 2009 | 11:37 amMy morning email inboxes were jam-packed as usual, though my eyes were drawn to two “Content Alerts” from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The first alert gave details of a September 2009 webcast on the Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity website, which features Dr. Risa LaVizzo Mourey, the President and CEO of RWJF. In the webcast, Dr. Mourey is interviewed by Mary Jo Walsh and their discussion highlights RWJF’s plans for influencing current public policy to improve access to health care and healthy lifestyle resources for low-income populations. Dr. Mourey…
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New Voices of Philanthropy
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When segregation is good
9 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amThis will become one of those posts that gets me in trouble but it won’t be the first or the last post that has done that, so here we go… When I decided to go to a historically Black college, there were a variety of factors behind that decision but the biggest factor was that I was sick of always trying to explain that racism really existed and I felt like I was spending too much time in high school being the “Black representative” on every topic. I developed a strong personal and educational footing at Howard because I wasn’t spending all of my time dealing with… -
All I need to know about management, I learned from Ace of Cakes
31 Oct 2009 | 10:47 amI am a big Ace of Cakes fan. The most obvious reason is that I like cake and they make cake. But that can’t be the only thing because Cake Boss makes me want to poke myself in the eye. I finally realized that I enjoy Ace of Cakes because it is one of the few examples on television of a happy workplace. Here’s what Duff and his team have taught me about good management: Give staff parameters but be flexible in process and final result. If a client asks for a cake that looks like a tackle box and it needs to serve 50 people, those are pretty clear parameters. Is the tackle box on a… -
Build Your Own Frankenmentor
22 Oct 2009 | 2:06 pmThanks to Dunechaser at Flickr for the image If you looked at my list of mentors you would probably be shocked. On that list you would see a couple egotistical jerks, someone that overshares to a degree that makes you cringe, some bad parents, terrible bosses, a self-promoting lunatic, and a lot of selfish spouses. These people aren’t my mentors because I have bad taste in mentors. They are my mentors because they have other amazing redeeming qualities and I only look to them for advice in the areas that they excel. Penelope Trunk gives great advice about how to move ahead in your… -
Big Picture vs Self Interest
6 Oct 2009 | 9:08 amOne of my pet peeves is when people and organizations shoot themselves in the foot because the lack the vision to see the big picture. This is especially obvious when it comes to many in the nonprofit sector fighing against a change in the charitable tax deductions of our wealthiest donors to help pay for health reform. Many of our organizations are serving the uninsured and underinsured. We deal with school children who misbehave because they have an undiagnosed hearing problem or a cavity that hasn’t been filled, we serve families that have gone bankrupt because they have an emergency… -
When good things happen to great people
4 Oct 2009 | 7:59 amEver since my son was 4 months old, he has been going to the best daycare in the world. I know most parents think their daycare is the best but mine really is and ABC agrees because they just selected our daycare provider for an Extreme Home Makeover! Philanthropy isn’t always about what you can do on your own. I would have love to build her a new house but I don’t have the resources but by all of the parents banding together and sending in many heartfelt entries to ABC we were still able to have the same result (OK a much, much better result that if we tried to build her a house…
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Asian Philanthropy Forum
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In Silicon Valley: N.R. Narayana Murthy on corporate philanthropy
15 Nov 2009 | 10:41 amN. R. Narayana Murthy is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor of Infosys and is now known as for his work on corporate philanthropy in India. He was recently in Silicon Valley, speaking at a fundraising event for Akshaya Patra Foundation. The Foundation provides meals to poor children in 5,700 schools in India. You can find the full story by Mercury News reporter, John Boudreau here. Mr. Murthy's lengthy accomplishments can be found here. An excerpt from the Mercury News interview on corporate philanthropy is below: Q You now speak out on the importance of corporate… -
In the Asian blogsphere 11/14/09
14 Nov 2009 | 3:17 pmThere are many blogs about philanthropy, NGOs, and social entrepreneurs in the Asia Pacific region. We have tried to list them in our "Alignment of Interest" column on our site. If you know of any other blogs we should include, please email us. We will be highlighting posts we think are of interest to our readers in our new "In the Asian blogsphere" tagline.* FYSE announced the selection of 100 young entrepreneurs and social Changemakers. To inspire more young people FYSE will profile Paragon fellows widely through an extensive network of more than 50 partners in… -
2010 Asia JusticeMakers competition - become a JusticeMaker fellow!
11 Nov 2009 | 2:36 pmLast year, the International Bridges to Justice hosted the JusticeMakers competition and we were excited to help promote their work. This year, we are even more excited because the competition is focused on Asia! The 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Competition is supported by the Lien Institute for Social Innovations and the purpose is to search for and fund grassroots initiatives in Asian communities to promote criminal justice and ensure the legal rights of all men, women, and children. How it works. A panel of eight judges will evaluate proposals based on a set of Judging Criteria, looking… -
Asian philanthropy news digest 11/10/09
10 Nov 2009 | 4:53 pmThis month's digest is focused on donors in the media. An interesting pattern can be seen with three of these donors - they are immigrants and support both domestic and international causes. The other two donors live abroad but are supporting programs in the U.S. Predicting donor behavior is becoming more and more complex. The lines between domestic and international giving are blurring. There are patterns emerging though and we hope to document some of them in the future. * Kai-Fu Lee introduced his new venture in China, Innovation Works, at the annual conference of the Asian… -
Job Listing for 11/6/09
6 Nov 2009 | 5:34 pmIndia Portfolio Manager, Hyderabad, India, Acumen Fund. Responsible for managing the healthcare portfolio in India, including current investments and the development of future investments in the sector and manage compliance and operations of the Acumen Fund India office. Charity Shop Adviser, Beijing, China, Volunteer Services Overseas. Help The I Do Kids Fund to set up and run the first charity shop in Beijing, China. The Fund was set up to help improve the living standards of disadvantaged children in China and to promote volunteerism. Asia Regional Director, New Delhi, India, Room…
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The Philanthropic Family
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More Than Money, Part II
30 Oct 2009 | 4:34 pmI wrote earlier today about taking inventory of your assets–beyond writing checks–to support your charitable causes. (Click here to review the checklist.) I’m still playing with these concepts, but as of now I see at least five categories that comprise your power to bring about social change. 1) You are a consumer Linking our consumer purchasing decisions with our values is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal as a community. If you have an iphone, arm yourself to make good purchasing decisions with the free goodguide app, which will allow you to type in the bar… -
More Than Money
30 Oct 2009 | 6:48 amI’m on a panel today at the Chicago Global Donor’s Network 6th annual Conference on International Philanthropy. More than Money: Expanding Your Philanthropic Toolbox. Many times donors think their primary contribution to the cause comes when they write a check. In fact, passionate, committed supporters bring so many more assets to the table besides their financial wealth–including their own networks, skills, reputation and so much more. In this session you will hear how different populations, including ordinary individuals, foundations, celebrities and businesses, can… -
Why Do You Give to Charity?
27 Oct 2009 | 8:34 amAccording to a new study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, differences in giving motivations can be explained by income and education. According to the press release issued last week: Among lower-income donors (income less than $50,000), the phrases that resonated as a motivation for giving were helping to meet basic needs or helping the poor help themselves. Donors with income between $50,000 and $100,000 were more likely than donors in either higher or lower income groups to say that they gave to “make the world better.” Among donors with income of $100,000 or more,… -
Running Late
12 Oct 2009 | 7:25 amLast week I was struck by one of those unearned privileges of wealth and power: the right to be running late. While visiting a nonprofit in downtown Chicago, I saw one of their donor relations folks in the hallway. In asking about her morning plans, she said she was rescheduling with a donor who ran into traffic and couldn’t make the meeting. We commiserated about the difficulties of navigating Chicago traffic for a bit and neither of us thought too much about it. Later that same day, I was scheduled to give feedback to a job seeker about her interview skills and she was running late. -
Five Ways to Become Happier Today
8 Oct 2009 | 7:10 amStudying and teaching about happiness is, as I understand it, a relatively new field of positive psychology. The new definition of “healthy” is not a neutral state marked by the absence of mental or physical illness (surviving), but a positive state of productivity and satisfaction (thriving). There is a web community called Big Think that brings thought leaders across disciplines together to share big ideas. This week, they featured a video conversation from Tal Ben-Shahar, a Harvard University lecturer on happiness on the topic of “Five Ways to Become Happier Today.”…
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What Do You Stand For
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Breaking Through Holiday Clutter with Value
17 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmThe following originally appeared in Cones inConetext quarterly newsletter. To read current or past issues, visit our Web site. Holiday-themed cause marketing programs have long been a staple for retailers to drive differentiation, loyalty and sales during a cluttered shopping season. This year, major retailers are raising the stakes by creating programs bigger and glitzier than years past. Weve already begun to see full-scale efforts launched by Macys, JCPenny and Walmart that push the needle on innovation and integration. Recently, providing consumers with value has been… -
The Giving Climate Unveiled
12 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmWith all the chatter about the ups and downs of charitable giving during the down economy, its refreshing to hear some definitive - and positive - news. According to the 2009 Giving in Numbers Report, released this week by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), corporate giving was actually up during 2007-2008, despite worries that corporations would back down from charitable commitments as the economic turmoil raged in the second half of the year. Whats more, the data show that companies got creative when the economy started to sink, opting for pro bono work and… -
Best Practices for Celebrity Engagement with a Cause
11 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmBrands and, increasingly, causes have been tapping celebrity supporters for years, and its become a tried-and-true promotional tactic. But its important for organizations to understand what theyll be getting and not getting when they bring a celebrity on board. The ripped from the headlines best practices below can help guide cause-celebrity relationships in todays environment. 1. Know your budgetIn many cases, even when a cause is involved, celebrities dont come cheap. Be realistic about your budget and crunch the numbers beforehand to make sure youre covering costs and meeting… -
Warming Up to Causes Online
5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmTemperatures are dropping and the holiday season is approaching, causing an outbreak of the warm and fuzzies. Yes, the giving season is upon us, and this year is already proving to be the most digitally driven to-date. Nearly every holiday cause campaign underway has an online component, thanks, in part, to growing consumer comfort interacting with brands via new media up 32 percent from 2008.Despite all the glittery online promotions, its important to recognize consumers are still hesitant to donate online. The 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study showed some American new media users are… -
The Power of Positivity
29 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pmThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is taking a results-driven approach to promoting American investments in global health efforts by releasing an advertisement centered on impact. The video, part of the Living Proof Project, will strike a chord with policy-makers, philanthropists and citizens alike not by centering on unmet need, but by highlighting true and measureable change: Polio cases reduced by 99%; Mother-to-child HIV prevention in 16 million pregnancies; Malaria cases down 50% in 29 countries. This approach instills confidence that funding saves lives. Aimed at…
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Travelanthropist
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Volunteering in Latin America on a Budget
20 Nov 2009 | 6:34 amLatin America is a beautiful region with a lot to offer and has long enticed budget conscious travelers with its lower prices. Stretching from the Caribbean Sea to the coast of Cape Horn, Central and South America offer extreme variety — from forests filled with wildlife, long stretches of Caribbean beaches, red-hot volcanoes, Mayan ruins and stunning waterfalls, the biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest to the peaks of the Chilean Andes, to the direst desert, to the ice fields of the Southern Patagonia Icecap. Latin America has vibrant and varied national ... -
Shop Good This Holiday with this Hip Fair Trade Gift Guide
19 Nov 2009 | 6:42 amDid you ever consider how we chose to live at home matter to people around the world? In our globally-connected world, our lifestyles (how we live, shop, eat, buy, etc.) have far-reaching effect. We can do good for people in, say, Southeast Asia without ever stepping foot in the region. How do we do that? We can use the power of the purse to help. If we integrate more fair trade purchases into our regular buying habits, then we could help reduce poverty around the world. The impact the average ... -
How to Profit Off the Poor to Eradicate Poverty
17 Nov 2009 | 9:51 amThere is a growing belief that one of the best solutions to eradicate poverty is through social entrepreneurship and small business economics. The premise is that being poor isn’t just about not having money — it’s really about the lack of skills and capabilities. Based on past experiences, people are sophisticated enough to recognize that handouts alone are not only ineffective, they cause dependence. There are a lot of buzz about turning free-market entrepreneurs on the poverty problem and not increase handouts. Another driver is that many non-profits are moving ... -
World’s Best New Hotels for the Buck
16 Nov 2009 | 10:06 amBudgetTravel.com unveiled their list of the most affordable new hotels around the globe. We’re not sure what criteria was used for the hotels to make the cut except that all the hotels are under $150. Sometimes it’s difficult to define affordability because to some $150 is very affordable, others not so. Sometimes a cheap hotel is just that — cheap. We reviewed the list and further refined it – taking into account hotel aura and amenities, location, and cost. We’ve identified 12 hotels on the list, with fabulous design and ... -
Weekly Radar: News & Stories Around the Web
15 Nov 2009 | 11:22 amAirlines, Hotels Face Bleak Holidays (Los Angeles Times) Hotels Find Keeping Travelers At Home Can Be Good Business (New York Times) Getting Hassled In Top Travel Spots: Preventable or Inevitable? (Matador) Winners Of 2009 World Responsible Tourism Awards Announced Today (Examiner) Marriott Accelerates Green Hotel Development (CNN Money) Maps And Travel : How Would You Map Your Travels? (Matador) Rebound From The Economic Crisis – The Emergence Of Social Business And Enterprise (TESTfunda) Harvesting Fog Provides Drinking Water, Food to Peruvian Slums (TreeHugger.com)
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Being the Change I Wish to See
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U.S. not really about equality
6 Nov 2009 | 10:29 pmI am angry and sickened by Maine putting gay marriage rights on a ballot. They just became state number 31 to overturn equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in a popular vote, after those rights became law in that state. How is it that gay civil rights are allowed to be put to a popular vote? How is this in any way legal? It is not legal. It is a direct violation of our Constitutional right to equal protection under the law. LGBT organizations are going about this issue completely the wrong way. This is a U.S. Constitution 14th Amendment issue. Section 1. All persons born or naturalized… -
Service Dogs, Prison Inmates and Wounded Veterans
3 Oct 2009 | 5:38 pmI am an occasional listener of NPR’s Fresh Air, and I happened to catch the “Puppies Behind Bars (For A Good Cause)” segment during animal week. Samba with Paul at the U.S. Capital Gloria Gilbert Stoga is the founder of Puppies Behind Bars, Nora Moran is a former inmate who participated in the program while in prison and went to work for the organization after serving her sentence. Paul Bang-Knudsen is a former Marine Corps corporal who was wounded in Iraq. The dog in the story is Samba, a small black lab and Bang-Knudsen’s service dog trained through the program. Dave… -
Tom Ridge back-peddles on his own book
18 Sep 2009 | 6:05 pmIf you haven’t read the previous posts I’ve written about war and peace, national security, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the atrocities that were committed under the Bush administration, please read through the categories “civil rights and justice”, “terrorism” and “war and peace”. This post is another piece of a huge chunk of history being made week-by-week as more information is uncovered about Bush administration policies; especially foreign policy, war policy, and blatant violations of the law and U.S. Constitution. Tom Ridge was…
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Change Your Life
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7 Keys to Successful Public Speaking
20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amThe year was 2001. I was asked to give a “toast” at my sister’s wedding; I reluctantly agreed to do so. The wedding day came and the wedding ceremony seemed to go by in a flash. Before I knew it, I was the next person to speak. My arm pits began to sweat profusely. I felt a cold chill run down my spine. I began to think of the thousands of the things that could go wrong. My heart started to pump blood as if my life was in imminent danger. I thought: “Why am I so nervous!” Have you ever felt this way? There was a time when I would literally “recoil” at the thought of speaking in… -
Want to Change? Stop Setting Goals.
18 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amImage courtesy of Jesse Millan One of the most widespread ideas in the world of personal development is SMART goal-setting – it seems to have seeped into every self-help, business development and corporate training program out there. Just in case you’ve somehow managed to avoid attending these workshops – or more likely slept through them – SMART is an acronym for a set of criteria that people are encouraged to use to get really clear on the outcome they’re aiming for when they’re setting goals, because this increase your success in achieving your goals. The SMART… -
10 Steps to Creative Career Changes
16 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amImage courtesy of Tiago Ribeiro A percussionist has a way of creating music out of a couple twigs and an iron pot. A dancer can turn an empty room into a mosaic of movement. Why not use your own inherent creative capacities to be the artist of your own life? We often feel trapped; unable to change directions while on the roads we travel. But just as a writer can overcome creative blocks when staring at a blank sheet of paper, we can all overcome the blocks that prevent us from seeing creative possibilities for our lives. I was an electrical engineer for over a decade before I decided to make… -
A Story of Change: The Slothful Genius
13 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amImage courtesy of MadMolecule I was (ok I’ll admit it, still am) a quite disorganized guy. In addition, I have a reputation for outstanding achievements at different competitions in the domains of physics, sociology, languages, chemistry, and so on. Due to this quite bizarre combination I was known as the slothful genius of the school. Now, regarding being a sloth – I admit my bad ways and do my best to improve. Regarding being a genius – oh boy, I don’t like to call myself one. Oscar Wilde, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi – they are the geniuses. I might earn… -
The Limits of Our Freedom
11 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amImage courtesy of h.koppdelaney Viktor Fankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning, ‘Between stimulus and response there is a space, and in that space lies all our freedom.’ In the most extreme conditions of privation imaginable, Frankl discovered that he was, remarkably, free to choose his response to any situation. I love this quote because it sums up the essence of my philosophy. I believe it is the cornerstone of a happy and effective life. A real, experiential understanding of this radical freedom is life changing, liberating and…
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Charitable Gift Giving Blog
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Organic Dog Collar that fights poverty in Africa
19 Nov 2009 | 8:51 pmHere’s a great gift for pet lovers that helps many others. The Ruffin’ It 100% Organic Cotton Dog Leash and matching Ruffin’ It 100% Organic Cotton Dog Collar are both made of 100% organic cotton, with earth-friendly dies and brass-plated clips.Both are tough and durable and machine-washable. Also, 10% of the profits from sales of these products will be donated to FORGE, a non-profit organization which fights poverty and AIDS in Africa. -
On November 20, 2009, buy a Mcdonalds Extra Value Meal and give a little extra
16 Nov 2009 | 8:05 pmOn Friday November 20, 2009, buy a McDonalds breakfast Extra Value Meal or any beef sandwich Extra Value Meal, and $1 from what you pay will go to help McDonalds’ charities, including the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile (which provides needed medical, dental, and educational services to over 100,000 children annualls), Ronald McDonald Houses (which provide families of critically hospitalized children a place to stay near the hospital where their children are being treated), and Ronald McDonald Famliy Rooms (which provide a comfortable place for families of critically ill children to rest… -
Kate Spade Women for Women Knits
13 Nov 2009 | 8:39 pmThe good folks sat Kate Spade have created a program called the the Hand in Hand program in partnership with Women for Women International. They sell various knit items, from dog sweaters to mittens to scarves. You can see them here:http://www.katespade.com/family/index.jsp?view=all&categoryId=3896905What makes these unique, other than their colorful and unique designs, is that they are all made by women in Bosnia who are war survivors. Proceeds will help them rebuild their lives. -
Recipes for a potluck lunch or dinner
10 Nov 2009 | 8:40 pmIf you’re like me, you are always at a loss of what to bring to those office potluck lunches or holiday potluck dinners. I mean, how many tuna casseroles and baked macarroni dishes can people stomach? Fret no more. This newly released cookbook, Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations: Entertaining at Home with New York’s Savviest Hostesses, is a collection of the fanciest, schmanciest recipes to come out of the most finest homes on New York’s Park Avenue, from New York Times columnist Florence Fabricant and some of the most celebrated hostesses of New York’s high society. The… -
Become a Toys R Us Fan on Facebook and help Toys for Tots
7 Nov 2009 | 8:23 pmHere’s a cool thing you can do for the holidays which will cost you nothing but will help a lot of needy kids. Toys R Us is doing a clever bit marketing where if you become a Fan of them, they’ll donate $1 worth of toys to Toys for Tots. Just visit this page: http://www.facebook.com/toysrus And click the “Become a Fan” button. Spread the word to your other Facebook friends! And of course, don’t stop there. Visit the Toys For Tots site at http://www.toysfortots.org/ and make your own donation of money or toys as well. In these difficult times, it’s all the…
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The GiveWell Blog
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Two charities, one microfinance institution
20 Nov 2009 | 2:44 pmWe’re looking for a good option for U.S. donors interested in supporting microfinance. We’ve been examining the largest, most prominent U.S.-registered charities in this area: Grameen Foundation, Unitus, Accion, Women’s World Banking, Opportunity International and FINCA. All of these are large organizations that list a variety of “partner” microfinance institutions. One thing that might surprise a donor in this area is that sometimes the “partnerships” overlap. For example, Women’s World Banking lists Enda Inter-Arabe in its network, and so does… -
Denying the choice
19 Nov 2009 | 6:44 pmGiveWell spends a lot of time on the question, “Should I give to charity A or charity B?” One of the things that has surprised us about the world of charity is how many people insist on answering, “Both” or “You can’t/shouldn’t be asking that question.” To them, all that matters is whether a charity does some good, not how much good it does or how it compares to other options. One statement of the idea comes from none other than the Jeffrey-Sachs led WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (footnote 24): Many have asked the Commission what… -
UNICEF Inspired Gifts: Revolution or Donor Illusion?
18 Nov 2009 | 8:36 amUNICEF offers you the chance to buy measles vaccines for 100 children for $27.10. And lest you complain that you’ve heard this one before, it assures you specifically that “While other organizations allow supporters to purchase ’symbolic’ gifts, Inspired Gifts are actual items.” Is this finally the “real personal connection” donors have been waiting for? We can’t say for sure. Unlike Kiva, UNICEF provides no information about where the money goes and what projects are in progress. But we can ask a few critical questions: There are many costs for… -
Quality of life in the developing world
17 Nov 2009 | 9:26 amWhen we argue that donors should give internationally, one of the most common questions we get is, “Sure, you may be able to save a life in Africa, but what type of life are you saving? If you save a child from malaria will s/he likely die from something else soon after? Will s/he suffer from other problems that significantly reduce his/her quality of life?” We recently published a report on standard of living in the developing world that tries to answer that question. It looks at what facts are available from relatively broad, plausibly representative studies to answer “what is… -
Not our last word on the Kiva controversy
16 Nov 2009 | 7:58 pmNathaniel Whittemore writes that it’s “time to move on” regarding the recent Kiva controversy. I disagree. It’s true that Kiva handled the criticism admirably, and made significant changes to its website to improve clarity for donors. It’s also true that Kiva has a stronger case than many for being generally transparent and impactful. Finally, it’s true that those of us who have been blogging about Kiva are a bit tired of the subject. But none of this changes the fact that many (I would guess the vast majority) of Kiva’s enthusiastic users don’t…
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Jamie and Dylan Chase
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Ever Feel Just Incredibly Blessed?
5 Nov 2009 | 5:06 pmAfter a month of traveling from Sonoma, CA to NYC for work, I came home to see this sign. The porch was decorated with ten beautifully carved, lit pumpkins. The whole house was clean, including the boys room, the dishes, fresh sheets. This is all the work of the amazing, magnificent (drum roll please) Jenny Arde. Jenny (pictured with beau Todd) is a single mom, like me. She owns her own business, again ditto. She is renting the spare room in my home and her son and Dylan are sharing a room while construction finishes on my investment house, the mother-in-law home on my property. She will move… -
$500,000, Einstein, NYC and a Long Lost Friend
25 Oct 2009 | 5:31 pmIt's my favorite work of art, because it comes to life in person. I haven't visited it in over ten years. It took $500,000 to get there and I arrived at the MET with the man who stole my heart as a boy seventeen years ago in high school. The art is Autumn Landscape by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The $500,000 is a US Treasury grant Melina, Scott and I (Credit Union Strategic Planning) landed to help immigrants in Harlem to lift themselves out of poverty. Did you know that immigrants are the poorest of the poor in the U.S. for three generations? And my renewed friendship is with one of the finest… -
Good Times
25 Sep 2009 | 11:43 pmDylan and I have hit our work hard, play hard stride. Dylan's grades have skyrocketed. He is taking caring for the pups seriously. And soccer is in full gear. My dear friend Karl Kilga (Claire and Travis' dad) is D-man's soccer coach. Karl works the boys out so hard they come home EXHAUSTED.The Kilga kids, Karl, Dylan and I have been close for years; I even taught Claire how to ride her bike. While the boys work the soccer field, Claire and I relax with the puppies, swing on the playground and taunt each other with double dutch jump rope challenges. With work in full gear (The US Treasury… -
Little Girl Games
17 Sep 2009 | 7:16 amI still like to play games, little kid games. I am talking about the kind of nonsense I played with Trista. Tuesday I attempted an old game silently in my mind as I drove D-man to school in a neighborhood filled with beautiful houses. It was a game of little girl imagination along the lines of how many kids do you want to have? What do you want to be when you grow up? It was which house do you want to live in? I always chose the little white one beside Dr. McDonalds' (both of them) office in downtown Bolivar. The one with the Bolivar sign in the front yard. It was the way they manicured the… -
Yo Quiero- We got a puppy dog!
8 Sep 2009 | 11:41 pmDylan has been asking for a Chihuahua for over a year. Not just any dog- a Chihuahua. As we've been living in peace and harmony with new rules and respect in the house I was actually thinking about it. During the past year, I've always said, "No way." I haven't really liked a dog since my dachshund when I was a little girl. And ooooh the responsibility (wrinkled brow and sigh.)Well the lesson at Genesis this week was about feeling joy. I almost felt like Rev. Charles was speaking right to me about letting go of the need to work too hard and taking life too seriously. Separately we had a great…
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Everyday Giving Blog
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New Social Network to Support Charity Walks
11 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pmA 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… -
Don't Miss This 1-day Opportunity
21 Jul 2009 | 5:44 amFrequently, 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… -
Comic with Serious Message
27 Jun 2009 | 11:03 amThis was my first attempt at creating a comic. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. -
2009 Fredericksburg Arthritis Walk
16 Jun 2009 | 5:44 amIf you were not able to attend the Fredericksburg Arthritis Walk this year, check out the below slideshow. Charity walks can be fun and provide support to your cause. If you are not involved in a charity walk, go to http://www.LetsMoveTogether.org to find an Arthritis Walk in your area or contact your favorite nonprofit organizations to discover if they host a walkathon you can join. -
Calling All Videographers Who Want to Make a Difference
26 May 2009 | 8:00 amVideo is a great medium to use for bringing attention to an important cause. You don't need to be a professional videographer or use expensive equipment to create and distribute effective videos. Would you like to have some fun while creating videos that can make a difference? The following are a couple of current video contests night you should consider participating in: Show Us Your Moves The Show Us Your Moves video contest is encouraging physical activity. It is a part of the Arthritis Foundation’s Let's Move Together campaign. Monthly winners of the contest receive a Flip Camera. The…
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BigBlueBottle
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Blocking Tissue Stiffening Enzyme Could Be Key To Preventing Aggressive Cancers
20 Nov 2009 | 8:00 amA team of scientists from the US and the UK have shown that blocking an enzyme called lysyl oxidase (LOX) that causes tissue to stiffen reduces the likelihood of abnormal but non-malignant breast tissue turning into tumors, suggesting that LOX and similar enzymes could be new targets for effective anti-cancer drug therapies. -
Stopping Tissue Stiffening Is Key To Preventing Aggressive Cancers
20 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amScientists have identified an enzyme that is crucial for turning abnormal but non-malignant breast tissue into tumours, according to a study published today in Cell online. Blocking the enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) reduced the chance a tumour would form, and also meant tumours that did develop were smaller and less aggressive. -
Is Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus A Risk Factor For Gallbladder, Biliary And Pancreatic Cancer?
20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amThere are minimal data assessing the relationship between diabetes and gallbladder, biliary and pancreatic cancer. Recent small studies have suggested an elevated risk of pancreatic cancer only in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). A research article published on November 14, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team, lead by Dr. -
Multidisciplinary Meeting On Urological Cancers
20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 amExperts agree that the urological cancer patient will benefit greatly if the delivered treatment is the result of a combined effort. Collaboration of experts from various fields is, therefore, necessary to take cancer-related research and medical practice to the next level. -
NICE Appraisal Of Sorafenib For Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma
20 Nov 2009 | 2:00 amThe National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising the use of sorafenib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients for whom surgery or therapies in the region the cancer arose have failed or are not suitable. In its latest draft guidance, published yesterday (19 November 2009), NICE does not recommend sorafenib.
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Asian American Giving
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Revisiting the "inside - outside leader" concept while searching for the next CEO
17 Nov 2009 | 8:40 amThe organization I work for is in the process of a CEO search. The executive firm is asking - what do we want from a CEO. Many books have been written about the topic of what non-profits look for in... -
In Silicon Valley: N.R. Narayana Murthy on corporate philanthropy
15 Nov 2009 | 10:39 amN. R. Narayana Murthy is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor of Infosys and is now known for his work on corporate philanthropy in India. He was recently in Silicon Valley, speaking at a fundraising event for Akshaya... -
Cherry Blossom Giving Circle Launches in Washington, DC
14 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amThe Cherry Blossom Giving Circle (CBGC), the first Asian American giving circle in Washington, DC, launched on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. Over 40 people attended the gathering at Current Restaurant & Lounge to learn more about the giving circle, DC’s... -
Fellowship opportunities 11/12/09
12 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amWe have three fellowship opportunities to share this month. The Deshpande Foundation is looking for fellows to work with non-profits in India. The Aspen Institute has positions for fellows in D.C. The 2010 Asia JusticeMakers competition will be starting soon.... -
Asian philanthropy new digest 11/09/09
9 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amThis month's digest is focused on donors in the news. An interesting pattern can be seen with three of these donors - they are immigrants and support both domestic and international causes. The other two donors live abroad but are...
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Give and Take
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What's Wrong With the 'Impatient Optimists'? [1]
20 Nov 2009 | 11:10 amTim Ogden is challenging the thinking of two of the world’s most prominent donors — Bill and Melinda Gates. As part of an effort to promote foreign aid, the Gateses describe themselves as “impatient optimists” — people who believe global-health programs have been successful, but expect them to do more and be faster at eradicating diseases and such. But Mr. Ogden, editor in chief of Philanthropy Action, says that if donors are too impatient, they run the risk of becoming cynical about what giving can achieve. He recommends a “patient optimism” —… -
Are Nonprofit Trustees Ready to Handle Today's Difficult Financial Decisions? Plus More: Friday's Roundup
20 Nov 2009 | 8:27 amGene Takagi a California nonprofit lawyer, asks whether nonprofit boards are prepared to handle the difficult financial decisions they face in the tough economy, on Nonprofit Law Blog. The public is debating the motives behind the Goldman Sachs Group’s $500-million philanthropic pledge, but its giving has helped charities in tough times, writes Charles Best, the founder of DonorsChoose.org, which has received support from Goldman. Mr. Best’s views appear on a New York Times blog that is debating the Goldman controversy. J.D. Lasica, a social-media consultant to nonprofit groups,… -
Goldman Sachs Pledge Not Enough? Plus More: Thursday's Roundup
19 Nov 2009 | 9:06 amGoldman Sachs Group’s $500-million philanthropic pledge will do little to quell public anger about the billions of dollars its employees are paid and its role in last year’s financial crisis, says Mark Gilbert, a columnist for Bloomberg News. Read The Chronicle’s article about the Goldman Sachs commitment. In response to a Wall Street Journal editorial, Luis Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation, defends his organization’s decision to support a charitable fund created by a teacher’s union, saying teachers are key to improving the nation’s public… -
Oxfam Ad Asks Donors to Give a [Bleep] [1]
18 Nov 2009 | 12:01 pmOxfam America is asking you to give a [bleep]. To promote giving during the holiday season, Oxfam America has produced a slightly bawdy, but funny, video. With a nod to the censored word, Oxfam suggests viewers donate $12, which will provide manure to impoverished farmers overseas. The slick advertisement begins with an earnest mom sitting with her child and saying to the camera: “I never knew how much difference I could make just by giving a [bleep].” She then extols her dry cleaner, parents at a playground, and others to follow suit. Eventually she is driving around a leafy… -
How Much Should Nonprofit Groups Spend on Marketing? [6]
18 Nov 2009 | 11:01 amNonprofit groups have a reputation for not spending much time telling their stories to potential supporters. With tight budgets and often lofty ambitions, marketing and communications often takes a back seat to fund raising and service delivery. But some marketing experts say nonprofit groups would actually raise more money and, in turn, deliver more services, if they spent more of their resources on marketing. Nancy E. Schwartz, a marketing and communications consultant in New York and author of the blog Getting Attention, told participants at a recent Chronicle online discussion that she…
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Elephantbeans
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How old is yoga? 50 or 5,000?
19 Nov 2009 | 2:53 amWaylon Lewis of Elephant Journal muses: How Old is Yoga? by Waylon Lewis, elephantjournal.com on Nov 18, 2009 Disclaimer: I don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m sure. So are you. If I’ve got something wrong, comment and I’ll make corrections to this elusive, enigmatic and ill-understood question as we go (that’s the wonder of the web—it’s a two-way street) ~ed. We American yoga students casually, commonly claim that history shows yoga to be at least 5,000 years old. Why? Because we’ve heard it from some yuppie hippie American dilettante, or read it in online somewhere, or… -
Mind. A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups for the Brain
10 Nov 2009 | 2:54 amMind A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups for the Brain By BENEDICT CAREY Published: November 9, 2009 at NYTimes It’s snowing heavily, and everyone in the backyard is in a swimsuit, at some kind of party: Mom, Dad, the high school principal, there’s even an ex-girlfriend. And is that Elvis, over by the piñata? Uh-oh. Dreams are so rich and have such an authentic feeling that scientists have long assumed they must have a crucial psychological purpose. To Freud, dreaming provided a playground for the unconscious mind; to Jung, it was a stage where the psyche’s archetypes acted out primal… -
Student sues over injury causing adjustment
4 Nov 2009 | 2:51 amYoga Workshop Handed Lawsuit for Improper Adjustment Injury, Are All Studios Doomed for Sue-dom? by YogaDork on November 3, 2009 More lawsuits! Improper adjustments! This time not as naughty as you’re thinking. Can we just be happy for a moment this is not about sexual assault? OK.. moving on. It’s suddenly a rocky road for Boulder, CO studio Yoga Workshop, Richard Freeman’s joint (he and his wife relinquished ownership and management earlier this year update: they took back ownership 9/09). News hit late yesterday that the studio is being sued by a former student due to instructor Luke… -
I need a yogi
31 Oct 2009 | 11:34 pmLoL -
Yoga: The True Path To Awesome Poops
24 Oct 2009 | 6:26 amPosted by Neal Pollack on Alternadad/October 15, 2009 Yoga: The True Path To Awesome Poops Yoga does many wonderful things. It clarifies the mind and provides a solid ethical foundation for a productive, happy life. For physical fitness and a way to make loving friendships that last, it can hardly be topped. It can be a path to spiritual ecstasy. But for me, one of yoga’s most profound benefits is also one of its most simple: If you practice regularly, you take awesome poops. read more
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Social Goodies - Where Business & Evolution Intersect
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Can a One-Person Business Really Make a Difference?
2 Nov 2009 | 8:02 amIt seems that when the phrase “social responsibility” is used in connection with business, it usually has the word “corporate” in front of it. If your enterprise isn’t a corporation, this can make socially responsible businesses seem like an exclusive club, where the one-person business isn’t welcome. Related posts:Doing Good versus Doing Well Check out the radio interview I just completed with co-authors...Socially Strategic Enterprise: Doing Well While You Do Good Did you ever see the Academy Award-winning movie “A Beautiful...Muhammad Who? (And What’s a Social… -
Climate Change: An Example of How Marketing Messages Spread
15 Oct 2009 | 2:00 amWord-of-Mouth is the most powerful marketing tool we have at our disposal. And businesses are not the only ones who can leverage this to their benefit. We all spread messages. Sometimes our own. But most of the time, the messages belong to someone else. Usually we're spreading those messages because of good intentions. Because we believe them to be true. And because we want to help those we love live better, make better choices, and gain a better understanding of the world. Related posts:5 Marketing Tips for Businesses that want to Change the World If I only had a nickle for every time… -
What Color is Your Business? (or, 9 Steps to Creating a Greener Workplace)
6 Oct 2009 | 10:45 amSo where do you start? Follow this 9-Step Plan to create something that’s perfect for your office... No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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The Adsideologist
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the mind as a map
18 Nov 2009 | 9:12 amThe human mind should work much like modern mapping and camera technology - zoom, pan, adjust, layer, interact - and export too.At any moment, the majority of minds fall into one of two categories: big and strategic, or focused and tactical. But as changing times require changing minds, the third category has emerged: the dynamic and balanced. This category can be seen as a mix of the first two, instantaneously being able to function based on the attributes of the surrounding medium.These minds are very much like new cameras, mapping applications, GPS tools, and related emerging technologies. -
make your own ringtone
7 Nov 2009 | 8:48 amMake a ringtone from any mp3 file in iTunes in under a minute.Personal Note: I say keep it on vibrate most of the time out of politeness for the general public, but use the ringtones for your morning alarm!1. In iTunes, find the song from which you want to make a ringtone. Write down the interval of time you wish to capture (e.g. the chorus from 1:13 to 1:27).2. Right-click on the mp3 file and select 'Get Info'.3. Go to the tab for 'Options', check the boxes for 'Start Time' and 'End Time', and input the interval you wish to capture in your ringtone. Hit 'OK'.4. With that mp3 file still… -
Update #4: This Year in Baseball
5 Nov 2009 | 6:46 amThis post is related to the following previous posts:Update #3: This Year in Baseball (October 26, 2009)Update #2: This Year in Baseball (October 5, 2009)Update #1: This Year in Baseball (July 24, 2009) This Year in Baseball (February 22, 2009)Well it was Yankees in six games. Pretty unreal feeling. Couple notes:Pettitte closed out all three playoff series (Derek Lowe also did it in 2004).I am extremely happy for Joe Girardi, even though I wish Mattingly had his spot.Teixeira gave the last out ball to Johnny Damon who had a few crucial hits this series but went out early with a strained… -
math in 2010 and beyond
3 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pmIf we want to fuel future growth and innovation in mathematics, three worlds must meet in the middle.In 2009, we see three distinctly developed worlds:The Communities: Math + People = Associations, Publications, Journals, Groups, Departments (ASA, IMS, WFU Math, etc.)The Connectors: People + Technology = Social Media & Social Networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, iPhone Apps, etc.)The Foundations: Math + Technology = Software/Web Applications (Wolfram|Alpha, SAS, R, Matlab, Mathematica, Statistica, etc.)In 2010, we need these three worlds to mold into one, unified experience. With whom… -
shapes and squiggles
3 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pmArmed with a pencil and paper, you can simplify about 99% of the world's problems.Despite a couple decades of extra-substantial technological growth, there are two things that can never be replaced: the pencil and paper. For the toughest analytical challenges, only so much can be done computationally to simply and digest such problems. For these challenges, the solutions should start with a pencil and paper. The first step in breaking down a problem is the conversion of the problem from the brain's three dimensional space to a the two dimensional space of paper. In mathematics, there are…
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Kiva Loans
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María Haydee Sequeira Valle : Nicaragua
20 Nov 2009 | 3:40 pm$0 of $250 raised. Started raising funds on Nov 20, 2009 María Sequeira has a general store in Managua's Ivan Montenegro market that she tends to every day from very early in the morning until nightfall. She is requesting financing to buy merchandise to stock her store and she hopes to receive the financing quickly so that she can meet her family's needs by improving the condition of her business.Translated from Spanish by Michael Bujazan, Kiva Volunteer -
Marisol : Peru
20 Nov 2009 | 3:40 pm$0 of $350 raised. Started raising funds on Nov 20, 2009 Marisol, 38, lives with her husband, Narciso, who constantly travels due to work, and their two sons: Cristian, 14, and Henry, 9, in their own home. She sells prepared food for which she rises very early in the morning to cook the delicious snacks and desserts her customers request. Marisol loves to cook and this is why she takes all the time necessary to prepare these delicious dishes. She feels that her work is profitable because she always has enough orders to produce satisfactory profits and this inspires her to aim for a larger,… -
Ines : Peru
20 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm$275 of $525 raised. Started raising funds on Nov 20, 2009 Inés, 39, lives with her husband, Nicanor, 50 and their 6 children: Miguel, 20, Pedro 17, Ruth, 15, José Luis, 12, Erika, 8 and Moisés, 5. She is a vegetable merchant, selling such items as: tomatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, etc. in one of the busiest markets near their home. She has had this line of work for two years now and has done quite well thanks to the effort she puts into her work. It isn't easy work, she comments, because she must go get her merchandise at "La Parada" (large, wholesale market located downtown) and then… -
Komla Kalepe Togbo : Togo
20 Nov 2009 | 3:20 pm$125 of $1,200 raised. Started raising funds on Nov 20, 2009 Mr. Komla Kalepe TOGBO is a farmer who was born in 1959 in Gamégblé. He is married and the father of six children. Only through farming, mainly cassava, does he derive the revenues enabling him to send his children to school and to cope with family expenses. After several years of work, his arable land is becoming depleted thus reducing his yields considerably. To remedy the situation, he's requesting financing to buy manure and to expand his plantation through plowing. This will increase his yields and his… -
Eya Dokita : Togo
20 Nov 2009 | 3:10 pm$525 of $1,025 raised. Started raising funds on Nov 20, 2009 Ms. Eya DOKITA was born in 1971 in Nyigbé, in southern Togo. She is married and the mother of seven children. She devotes all her time to agriculture to help her husband, who is also a farmer. Eya grows corn. To extend her arable land and to increase her harvests, she's requesting a loan, so as to have some plowing done and to buy manure to fertilize the soil. The revenues that she will earn from this will enable her to improve her family's living conditions.Translated from French by Dan Kuey, Kiva Volunteer
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Vital Voices Blog
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First Woman High Representative of EU Appointed
20 Nov 2009 | 8:22 amOn Thursday, November 19th, 2009 the European Union chose the leaders who would represent the EU to the rest of the world. In a great feat for women, Baroness Cathy Ashton, a former UK Labour Party member in the House of Lords, was chosen as the European Union’s Foreign Minister and the Vice President of [...] -
Chouchou Namegabe Honored at DVF Studio
19 Nov 2009 | 7:41 amOn November 17, Diane von Furstenberg hosted a luncheon at her studio in New York for Chouchou Namegabe, honoree of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award. Using her radio program, Chouchou has worked to give a voice to women who have been victims of human rights crimes in order to educate the public [...] -
From Congo to Westport: a Voice for Women -Westport Now
18 Nov 2009 | 1:58 pmVital Voices honoree Chouchou Namegabe of the Democratic Republic of Congo spoke at the Westport Arts Center in Connecticut on November 17. Photos and a summary of the evening are featured in WestportNow.com -
UN Population Fund: Impoverished Women ‘Bear Climate Burden’
18 Nov 2009 | 1:02 pmNovember 18- BBC News reports today on a publication issued by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which warns that the challenges posed by the climate change crisis will fall on the backs of the world’s poor women. A disproportionate burden is said to land on women, who are responsible for a majority of agricultural [...] -
Raise Your Voice for Beijing +15
17 Nov 2009 | 11:18 amIn preparation for the Beijing +15 conference, the United Nations is facilitating an online discussion forum to spread ideas and opinions on women’s rights. The conference serves to complete a 15-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, a plan that includes the promotion of equal rights and the advancement of [...]
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Kevin Asuncion's Blog - Push the World Forward
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Be the Change Series: Face to Face not Facebook to Facebook
12 Nov 2009 | 11:15 amPlease 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!
3 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pmI 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
30 Oct 2009 | 3:47 pmA 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
30 Oct 2009 | 3:47 pmIn 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… -
Mobilizing Idle Assets for the Greater Good
30 Oct 2009 | 3:46 pmIn the nearby city of Montclair, CA, a vacant lot sits idle. For years the lot was a vibrant place of commerce and activity, but the plaza closed down in 1996. Thirteen years later, the lot remains idle as ever. Whenever I drive by Montclair I always bemoan the lot’s inactivity, but always find myself envisioning what it could be. Due to the recent recession, cities around the United States are full of these very same vacant lots, unused buildings, and underutilized community assets. It’s sad see things with so much potential go to waste, but the point here is not so much about…
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Live United Blog
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A Fond Farewell to Lauren Segal
20 Nov 2009 | 8:09 amLauren Segal, president and CEO of Greater Twin Cities United Way, is leaving us at the end of this month for greener pastures. She kindly agreed to answer a few questions as she’s wrapping things up: What are you most proud of having accomplished while you were at United Way? Lauren: There are two things that come to mind. The first is the combination of the Minneapolis and St. Paul United Ways in 2001. No one expected it, no one thought it would happen or could happen—and we did it! It was great fun to build a whole new organization. The second accomplishment, without a doubt,… -
Bumpy Ride Ahead
11 Nov 2009 | 11:40 amThe new unemployment numbers took a lot of people, including me, by surprise: Unemployment rose from 9.8% in September to 10.2% in October. Is isn’t the increase that surprised me—all the economists have been saying the unemployment rate is going to continue its climb, even though the recession itself is likely over. Rather, it was the size of the increase. I had just finished my October State of the Economy the previous week, which included unemployment projections of 10% by December and a peak of 10.2% in February. So I wonder if it’s peaking early, or if it’s going to peak a lot… -
Community Window: Conversations with the Homeless
2 Nov 2009 | 12:16 pmAndrea Ferstan, our intrepid reporter impact manager in the area of homeless prevention, recently helped out with the Wilder Homeless Study count—interviewing people about the unfortunate circumstance they have found themselves in. (Every three years Wilder Research issues a report on homelessness in Minnesota, based on headcounts and interviews. This invaluable report gives us information about the causes, effects and circumstances surrounding homelessness, including specific subgroups such as youth, veterans, and older adults.) She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her… -
Hear Us Roar
23 Oct 2009 | 11:48 amIndra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo at World Economic Forum 2008 A couple of days ago I picked up the new Time magazine at Lunds (an impulse purchase I usually resist since I don’t even keep up with the magazines I subscribe to) because the cover story caught my eye—The State of the American Woman. It’s a fun article—lots of charts and graphs, lots of data, with comparisons to 1972 (when Time had a forerunner cover story—the New Woman). It was heartening in many ways. It is so easy to be focused on the glass is half empty (women still make only 77¢ for every $1 that a man… -
An Earthquake in St. Paul
15 Oct 2009 | 9:39 amThe Wilder Foundation announced some serious cuts yesterday—nearly a third of their staff and 35% of their budget. Gone. I first heard news of it yesterday morning. Vague, but specific enough to have the ring of truth. I felt stunned through most of the day. I know these people. I work with these people. The Wilder Foundation is a community institution with vital programming. They help thousands and thousands of people every year. It’s like hearing about an earthquake in another country where you have relatives but you can’t get through on the phone. And today it’s in the news and I…
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Pamela Grow's Grantwriting Blog
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5 Down & Dirty Tips to Ramp up Your End-of-Year Appeal
11 Nov 2009 | 6:03 amIt’s already November, and, if you’re working for an understaffed agency with too much to do and not enough time or resources, think twice before you regurgitate last year’s annual appeal letter and call it a day. First off, ask yourself a few questions: Will you be mailing out your letters in-house or using a mail house? If you’re using a mail house, what is their timeframe for getting the appeal out within your time frame? Will you be segmenting your mailing? By that I mean will you be mailing the same appeal to your board members as to your donors? Who will be signing the… -
6 Benefits of Using Twitter for Nonprofit
10 Nov 2009 | 3:57 am“Why should we?” “Twitter is just a bunch of noise about people eating lunch.” “Our customers aren’t online.” “We already have a website.” Sound familiar? There are plenty of reasons to avoid social media, it seems. It is true that there are a zillion time-wasting testimonials out there, and a plethora of pundits sharing little, if any, value to organizations and the causes they represent. I work for a non-profit think tank. We’re tiny, but we’re smart. With limited human resources, we have to constantly punch above our weight and consider smarter ways of doing… -
Fundraising Fun? You Betcha!
29 Oct 2009 | 8:21 amNonprofit blogger and Twitterer, Marc Pitman, recently twitted that “many see fundraising as an evil, a necessary evil but evil nonetheless.” I couldn’t agree more and, frankly, I just don’t get it! Fundraising is challenging, it’s people-centered, it’s constantly learning and evolving, it’s creative – fundraising is FUN! So why is it that so many nonprofit organizations, who have that unbridled passion for their mission, look with fear – or even disdain -upon the very work that funds their mission? Is part of the problem that… -
October 19, 2009 – Simple Tip of the Day
19 Oct 2009 | 3:59 pmRecently one of my client’s board members celebrated her birthday in style – in lieu of gifts, she requested that donations be made to her favorite charity. We publicly thanked her – on Twitter, Facebook and in our quarterly newsletter. If you’ve received a unique gift from one of your donors, make it a point to advertise it … you’ll stimulate other donors’ creative thought processes! Social Bookmarking -
Nonprofits and Employee Attrition – The Truth Hurts
14 Oct 2009 | 4:23 amThis unedited ad recently appeared, seeking a “Development Associate” for a local nonprofit organization. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 1) Development Office assistance • manage donor/gift records including processing gifts and reconciling with business office, receipting gifts and producing acknowledgments to donors • organize mail appeals several times a year including supervising volunteer crews if needed • provide database information for telephone solicitation as needed • prepare and distribute a variety of development reports as needed • maintain accurate and complete donor…
