News on The Edge
Welcome to the Social Edge update!
“Social entrepreneurship is hot and getting hotter as training programs, business plan competitions and idea challenges take off on college campuses,” writes Paul Lamb.
But he wonders whether the next generation of social entrepreneurs will really learn from formal training programs, or may instead form their own collaborative ecosystems and generate startup capital directly through crowdfunding. Join him in the conversation and tell us what these new collaborative ecosystems may look like.
Then join Jonathan Lewis who reminds us that “one out of seven people in the world is slowly starving to death –a de facto global concentration camp of hunger.” Policy wonks may call this “food insecurity,” but the Opportunity Collaboration founder was able to identify a grassroots organization growing anti-starvation gardens in South Africa.
Off to Bolivia where Kiva Fellow Julie Shea shares inspirational stories and important lessons learned during borrower visits, then to Nepal where Claudine Emeott explains how a Kiva partner does low-tech microfinance accounting.
Speaking of technology, Curtis Chang shares how you can get the most from your database: “Donor information is only one kind of data critical to nonprofits. You also need to track and analyze volunteers, clients, events, and much more.”
Sam Goldman, founder of D.light Design, recently told us how much he liked having competition: “It drives us to do better.” This week, he tells us why he dislikes copycats: “Pirated products have the potential to destroy any trust that we have developed.”
Sara Olsen, Founding Partner at Social Venture Technology Group, writes about Hollywood Style impact assessment, while Untangled wonders whether Internet access might be a human right.
He concludes: “Communication is how we create change, and change is what scares the people who are having a pretty good time at the expense of their fellow humans.”
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Join this Week’s Live Discussions
Training the Next Generation of Social Entrepreneurs
Business school programs, social innovation challenges, business plan competitions… Will the next generation of social entrepreneurs really learn from formal training programs, or will they emerge from their own collaborative ecosystems? Join Paul Lamb in the conversation.
Social Enterprise and the Death of the Welfare State
As draconian budget cuts in 2010 have led to violent protests across Europe, Rod Schwartz thinks that social enterprises will become a viable alternative to the state and private sectors. What do you think?
Dictionary of Links
Now is the time to share the links that made a difference to you and to tell us why you find them so useful. Join Charles (hipbone) Cameron in this unique collaborative exercise.
The Voluntourism Debate
The work we do in the developing world for less than six months may amount to nothing more than poverty tourism. Saul Garlick, Executive Director of ThinkImpact, wonders how can we establish more effective cross-cultural understanding.
Off the Grid Clean Energy
Bio-diesel, bio-mass gasification, solar, fuel cells, LED systems, distribution channels and scalable business models: Santa Clara University’s Eric D. Carlson shares what he has learned from GSBI alumni working on clean energy.
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Victor d’Allant
Executive Director, Social Edge
250 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301