Scarcity can be a very nasty thing. People war over scarce resources: oil, water, investment capital. For social entrepreneurs and impact investors, the war is not life-or-death, but it often does have a profound effect on one’s livelihood. When people think there is not enough to go around, self-interest kicks in, as does short-term thinking. [...]
Aside from money and time, the things that people donate are often, well, unwanted. Used running shoes, clunker cars, and out-of-style clothing aren’t something that people actually miss once they’re gone. But now, thanks to a brand-new Facebook app, microfinance enthusiasts can donate something that’s near and dear to them—their profile pictures. The app was [...]
Here’s something short and sweet to cure you of your workaholic blues during the recession. These four Ghanian postal workers use the sounds of their machinery to demonstrate how to make work not feel like work. So what exactly are you listening to? The two men seated at the table slap a letter rhythmically several [...]
When I first found out about this year’s Microfinance USA conference from my friends over at California-based microlender Opportunity Fund, I wanted to go for one reason and one reason only: the conference’s focus on the U.S. side of the industry. Those who know me from my Main Street Microfinance posts know that I’ve got [...]
One of the greatest challenges of being a teacher is trying to convince your students why they should care about anything that you write on the blackboard. You have to bridge the gap between their current boredom and ten years later, when they will finally appreciate the utility of what they are learning. Yet there [...]
If you haven’t heard of the Unreasonable Institute, you will. The Unreasonable Institute attracts, incubates, and finances young social entrepreneurs with bold ideas to change the world. Dan, Teju, Vladimir, and Tyler – the founders of Unreasonable – exploded onto the scene less than one year ago. Since then, they have achieved milestones that many [...]
We sometimes assume a person’s class by the visual assessment that takes place in an encounter that may take all but a couple of seconds. If we see someone that is sleeping on the street, we assume that they are homeless. There are many levels of economic status in this day and age. The invisible [...]
One of the many challenges of my job as an English teacher in the Basque Country is to inspire a level of understanding in my students on just how big the world is. Now living in a foreign country, the spectrum of cultural differences seems obvious to me, but for my my students, the world [...]
In honor of the weekend and all of the mind-boggling, free-thinking that is coming out of the TED conference, I wanted to provide you with a little perspective on just how far we’ve come. “A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything” is a biro-pen hatched, animated flip book that more or less summarizes how far [...]
Social reality game designer, Jane McGonigal, has been proving to the world for awhile now that video games don’t have to be a waste of time and on March 3rd, with the debut of her latest work, EVOKE, she’s going to do it again. EVOKE is like SIMS on steriods. You think it’s difficult raising [...]
Although I thoroughly enjoy my fair trade coffee, the real day I’m waiting for is when I can fill up with fair trade gasoline. Oxfam and other humanitarian organizations are receiving a lot of glitter over the Haiti crisis, but I think it’s important to recognize some of the other campaigns they have been working [...]
The United Kingdom has never had the best track record for taking care of its wanes – from public school horror stories to the infamous Green Street Hooligans – they could do better, but they are trying. This week brings forth the application deadline for ThanksTo.com’s six week Social Enterprise Challenge aimed at helping UK [...]
Back in August, while I was visiting that Mexican village that is so close to my heart, I spent some time with one of the kids I met when I first went to that place. Adiel was one of the “lucky kids” of the village. His family, due to his sister marrying well, was able [...]
