Tag Archives: non-profit

An opportunity of a lifetime

Posted on March 14, 2009 | 1 comment

An interesting side effect of the global recession on graduating college students – more are considering taking time to get engaged in public service. A recent article in the Boston Globe observes

Instead of going straight into a 100-hour-a-week job at an investment bank, they are pursuing less lucrative but potentially more satisfying opportunities in public service, enrolling in record numbers in the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Teach for America.

In that article Harvard President, Drew Gilpin Faust observed.
“The path to Wall Street was so clearly defined, so if you weren’t sure what direction to go, this direction was filled with signposts and rewards,” Faust said in an interview. “But we are seeing two historic moments converge: this extraordinary financial crisis and this outpouring of interest in the public sphere.”

Faust said she hopes to tap alumni connections and join with other colleges to set up a recruitment process for public service that mirrors the way the corporate world woos students.

Sasha Dichter of the Acumen Fund ruminates in in his blog post The Other 690 : Continue reading →

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Posted in Philanthropy, Service, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation

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HBS SE Conference Keynote by Linda Rottenberg of Endeavor

Posted on March 4, 2009 | 5 comments

The opening keynote to the 10th annual HBS Social Enterprise Conference was a truly inspirational presentation by Linda Rottenberg from Endeavor, Inc.  Endeavor helps mentor and grow entrepreneurs in developing countries. It has screened over 18000 candidates and selected 400 entrepreneurs, who have generated over 86,000 jobs and $2.5 billion in revenue.

Linda traced the arc of social entrepreneurship as it accelerated over the past decade from an idea to formally becoming a key movement. Here are some of my notes from the session.

She pointed out that the long path was facilitated with three key developments.

  • When Bono became the symbol for AIDS in Africa with his RED Campaign, he made social activism cool
  • When Prof Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace prize, he instantly became the visible leader from within the field.
  • When Bill Gates went beyond establishing his foundation and stepped down from Microsoft to focus exclusively on his philanthropic work and presented his vision of Creative Capitalism, he made social entrepreneurship mainstream.

It is clear that government cannot solve all social problems. Businesses on the other hand are not always there to fill in the gaps. This is where social entrepreneurs come in. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conference, international development, Micro-enterprises, non-profit, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, sustainability, venture philanthropy

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ForSE 2008: Forum for Social Entrepreneurs – Ready to roll

Posted on October 9, 2008 | Leave a comment

The response to ForSE 2008 was as strong as last year and we had to close registration as we reached capacity. This promises to be an engaging and exciting event with a terrific line up of speakers and cases.

Will provide updates after the event.

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Posted in Conference, Education, non-profit, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation

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Get engaged in Charitable giving

Posted on September 30, 2008 | Leave a comment

I wrote an article recently on how Indian Americans can take a step towards increasing charitable giving. Equally applicable even if you are not an Indian American 🙂
I have reproduced the entire article below. Can be found on line at India New England News.

How Indian Americans can get engaged in charitable giving

India has a rich tradition of supporting public works, arts and architecture throughout its history and culture. From time immemorial the Rishis of the Upanishads have exhorted their disciples to engage in charity, to give according to their wealth with faith and humility. Over two thousand years ago the Emperor Ashoka undertook immense public works projects ranging from rest houses for pilgrims to hospitals and universities. In later times rulers like Emperor Akbar patronized the arts and architecture and were instrumental in building striking monuments that still stand as testimony to their largesse. In the South, the Vijaynagar Empire helped lift Kannada and Telugu literature to new heights and encouraged Carnatic music. Continue reading →

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Posted in creative capitalism, India, Philanthropy, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, venture philanthropy

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Building a Sustainable Food Supply

Posted on September 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

Here is the final track description for the upcoming ForSE 2008: Forum for Social Entrepreneurs on October 10th at Boston University.

Building a Sustainable Food Supply

Today’s attention grabbing headlines increasingly focus on the high price of oil, the availability of water and the spiraling cost of food. Governments, business and nonprofit organizations around the world have responded to these challenges with programs or policies designed to help farmers grow more food using less resources, grow food closer to where it will be consumed and provide a better economic outcome for farmers. Current solutions range from new business models connecting small farmers as suppliers of multinational food corporations to teaching communities low impact, high yield farming techniques. However, the move toward a sustainable food supply is only beginning and provides an opportunity to explore resource constrained solutions.

Topics to be addressed in this session include: increasing yield from existing acreage, solving market access barriers facing small farmers, reducing the resources and environmental impact required to produce food, and resolving distribution problems with locally grown food in the U.S. and globally.

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Posted in Conference, Education, Food, non-profit, Schools, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, sustainability, sustainable development

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