PROBLEM: VolunteerMatch, an online service that matches volunteers and organizations, had operated for about a year when it faced a wrenching choice: either become a for-profit business, which would allow the organization to grow quickly by accepting investment from venture investors, or remain ...
One of the key questions in the social sector is: What kind of financing is needed to help build great organizations, i.e. organizations that genuinely succeed in solving problems and improve as they expand? George Overholser, the founder and managing director of Nonprofit ...
In our Big Ideas series, we check in regularly with top thinkers in the field of social innovation. We want to know what they're working on, what questions they're wrestling with, and what opportunities and challenges they see up ahead for the sector. Today ...
Two months ago, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett formally announced their new endeavor, the Giving Pledge. Each man pledged to give the majority of his billion-dollar fortune to philanthropic causes. They then urged others to follow suit. In a short time, the program ...
Search for the hashtag #socent and you'll find wide-ranging interest in social entrepreneurship on Twitter. Here's a roundup of a few thought-provoking tweets from the last week: Social media news blog Mashable (@mashable) informed us about this brash new website that had flown ...
Everywhere, people are working on innovative solutions to pressing social problems. Often, though, those stories can be difficult to track down. Which is why we’re scouring the Web to bring you weekly links highlighting who’s solving what and how. Soap Operas for... Global ...
Who made the shirt you're wearing? Were the cloth cutters or seamstresses treated fairly? Did the factory comply with reasonable environmental standards? If you have no clue, then check out the work of Alice Tepper Marlin. She believes we all have a right ...
Summer. For some kids, it means freedom, swimming, endless days and lasting memories; sadly, for many it can also mean falling far behind at school. Researchers call it "summer learning loss," and while it touches students at all grade and income levels, its ...
I swung by the 92Y Tribeca here in New York Tuesday evening for a cool book event: Nancy Lublin, author of the new book Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business, in conversation with the Economist's Matthew Bishop, of Philanthrocapitalism fame. Lublin founded ...
All around us people are working to solve pressing social problems, but these stories can be difficult to track down. So we'll be scouring the Web regularly to highlight a few of them. See below for this week's selections.