Tag Archives: non-profit

Some thoughts on Clayton Christensens article on Social Innovation

Posted on August 3, 2009 | 10 comments

Clayton Christensen, who has written extensively on a number of strategic ideas, recently opined in The Huffington Post about the potential role the White House Office of Social Innovation could play. (The article was co-authored by Vanessa Kirsch who founded New Profit – an interesting organization itself espousing a venture philanthropy model) Continue reading →

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Posted in Investment, Philanthropy, Politics, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, Venture Capital, venture philanthropy

Tagged Clayton Christensen, Echoing Green, New Profit, non-profit, Office of Social Innovation, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, Social Investment, Vanessa Kirsch, venture philanthropy, White House, yunus

Obama’s effort to address Social Innovation

Posted on April 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

I had previously written about the impending Service Act and President Obama’s editorial support for this legislation.

Well the day finally arrived when this legislation was signed into law by the President. On April 21, 2009, at a signing ceremony attended by Senator Edward Kennedy, after whom the act is named, President Obama said:

“We’re doing this because I’ve always believed that the answers to our challenges cannot come from government alone.”

“Our government can help to rebuild our economy and lift up our schools and reform health-care systems and make sure our soldiers and veterans have everything they need. But we need Americans willing to mentor our eager young children, or care for the sick, or ease the strains of deployment on our military families.”

As part of the legislation, a new White House Office of Social Innovation has been created. Sonal Shah, most recently heading Google.org’s global development programs has been tapped to head the office. While we await the official announcement, philanthropy sites have been eagerly abuzz with the news.

Yesterday, Sonal addressed the Global Philanthropy Forum in Washington DC, where she was listed as “Deputy Assistant to the President and Director Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation”. In her remarks to the audience, she outlined the three key areas the new office would focus on.

To find out “what are the innovations that are taking place”
To provide money to innovative nonprofit projects
To promote national service and volunteerism

You can find more information about her talk and additional conjecture about the plans for this office at the Chronicle of Philanthropy site.

Sonal’s experience in the private sector and her work with non-profits together with the charter of the new office, provides innovative social entrepreneurs with a new opportunity for funding and support.

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Posted in non-profit, Philanthropy, Politics, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, venture philanthropy

Tagged Community service, government, non-profit, Service Corps, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, venture philanthropy

Two social visionaries from India

Posted on April 21, 2009 | Leave a comment

We were pleased to have Vibha Krishnamurthy and Ashish Karamchandani visit us in Boston on Sunday.

Vibha Krishnamurthy is the founder of Ummeed, (http://www.ummeed.org ) a first-of-its kind center addressing the needs of the estimated 35 million children in India with developmental disabilities. After completing her fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, Vibha moved back to Bombay determined to bring world class care to disabled children in India. She founded Ummeed in 2001 and it now supports over 1000 patient visits a week. Ummeed provides early diagnosis of development disabilities followed by in-house professional, medical and therapeutic care. It allows families to continue proper care and therapy at home by providing training and education programs for parents. For her tireless efforts to bring care to the disadvantaged, Vibha was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2007. http://www.ashoka.org/fellow/4900

Vibha’s husband, Ashish Karamchandani is a visionary in his own right. Ashish returned to India to head Monitor’s Indian consulting office where he spearheaded an effort within Monitor to address the challenges of global poverty with market based solutions. He was successful in starting a new area of research within Monitor, Monitor Inclusive Markets, (http://www.mim.monitor.com) that he now leads. The group has brought scientific and business approaches to providing market-based solutions and has initiated financially-sustainable enterprises to address the needs of the bottom 60% of the income pyramid in India. Their work has identified housing as one of the key areas where market based solutions can alter the social and economic landscape of the country. Ashish has recently published a comprehensive report “Emerging Markets, Emerging Models,” based on their solid fact-based research. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health, India, international development, micro-finance, non-profit, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, sustainable development

Tagged Ashoka, Boston, Health, international development, micro-finance, non-profit, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Social Investment, sustainable development, Sustainable ventures

Interview on Social Entrepreneurship

Posted on April 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

I was recently interviewed by New England’s largest e-magazine for South Asians, lokvani.com about my views on social entrepreneurship. You can find the full interview at their site here.

“The passage of the Edward Kennedy Serve America Act this week marks the coming of age of Social Entrepreneurship (SE)” says Raj Melville, who is one of the co-founders of the TIE-SE SIG. He talked to Lokvani about this concept which combines for-profit and non-profit work by entrepreneurs to address a social issue in a sustainable and scalable manner. It has now become the new buzz word. (from Lokvani.com)

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Posted in Micro-enterprises, micro-finance, microfinance, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, sustainable development, venture philanthropy

Tagged micro-finance, non-profit, Philanthropy, Service, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation, sustainability, sustainable development, Sustainable ventures

A new era of service by Barack Obama

Posted on March 19, 2009 | Leave a comment

I am reproducing the entire text of an editorial by President Barack Obama that appeared on TIME Magazine’s website today.

It was a precursor to the news later in the day that one of the two pieces of Service based legislation – the GIVE Act – was passed with a strong bi-partisan majority of 321 to 105 in the House. The senate version of the bill – the Kennedy/Hatch Serve America Act – is awaiting final approval. If the two bills are finally reconciled and passed, they will, according to the New York Times, “be [the] largest expansion of government-sponsored service programs since President John F. Kennedy first called for the creation of a national community service corps in 1963.”

This is indeed a new era of Service

Continue reading →

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Posted in non-profit, Philanthropy, Politics, Service, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation

Tagged Community service, non-profit, Philanthropy, polit, Politics, Service, Service Corps, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Investment