Center for Social Innovation

‘Blood money’ that became a force for good

The Peter C. Alderman Foundation uses rigorous analysis to outlast hundreds of failed nonprofits that were launched in response to 9/11.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Education, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Of Kids and Dogs

As charitable causes are brought to the fore front by the release of movies like “Slumdog Millionaire,” and celebrity actions like the prospect of adopting a new white house dog, questions of how intent should impact charitable decisions arise.

Resource: Blog Post

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It is a recession, and it could be a restructuring

The opportunity has come to reframe, rethink, re-set, and re-build some of the things we take most for granted.

Resource: Blog Post

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Art of Grantmaking

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2009

MONEY WELL SPENT: A Strategic Plan for Smart Philanthropy by Paul Brest and Hal Harvey Review by Susan Berresford

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Gratitude: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Expressions of gratitude motivate others’ prosocial behavior. When people are thanked for their efforts, they experience stronger feelings of social worth, which inspires them to engage in further helpful acts. In short, gratitude proves to be the gift that keeps on giving because it makes others feel valued.

Resource: News Article

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Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Why are Social Entrepreneurs Like Ginger Rogers?

Social entrepreneurs, those organizations and individuals who work to improve major social issues, don't have the networks and financial systems of traditional entrepreneurs, Sally Osberg, president of the Skoll Foundation told a Stanford MBA audience. Like Ginger Rogers dancing in a 1940's musical, they face the same issues as traditional entrepreneurs, but must do it backwards in high heels.

Resource: News Article

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Social Enterprise Pioneer Scofield Created the World Bank for the Poor

Social enterprises hold potential to "effect the kinds of changes our society needs right now," social entrepreneur Rupert Scofield told a Stanford student audience.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Cause Marketing, Online Giving, Philanthropy, Philanthropy & Responsible Investing, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Those with Less Give More

In this Spring 2011 Prosocial Behavior Research Column, Frank Flynn explores research showing that the most generous, trusting, and helpful people are not those with more money, but, rather, those with less. Individuals in lower socio-economic classes tend to act in a more prosocial fashion because of a greater commitment to egalitarian values and heightened feelings of compassion for others. Put simply, the life stressors and challenges faced by those who struggle economically often spur greater social cooperation. Might the "haves" take a lesson from the altruism of the "have nots?"

Resource: News Article

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Nonprofit Initiative Mentors Women Entrepreneurs In Emerging Markets

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program is helping women in 22 countries in the developing world start and grow businesses, Dina Habib Powell, who oversees the effort told a business school audience.

Resource: News Article

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Go Big or Go Home

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2008

One foundation’s approach to maximum impact. —By Kevin Starr

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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What’s Next: Good TV

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2008

Using TV as an engine for giving.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Rediscovering Social Innovation

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2008

Social entrepreneurship and social enterprise have become popular rallying points for those trying to improve the world. These two notions are positive ones, but neither is adequate when it comes to understanding and creating social change in all of its manifestations. The authors make the case that social innovation is a better vehicle for doing this. They also explain why most of today’s innovative social solutions cut across the traditional boundaries separating nonprofits, government, and for-profit businesses. —By James A. Phills Jr., Kriss Deiglmeier, & Dale T. Miller

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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We’ve Arrived. Now What?

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2008

Although the donor-advised fund industry is in a high-growth phase, all boats will rise if we worry less about competing with each other and instead find ways to work together. —By Kim Wright-Violich

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

The Equity Capital Gap

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2008

For-profit businesses can efficiently and quickly raise large amounts of money to fund growth and innovation by tapping equity capital—money that people invest in a company in return for ownership and a share of profits. The nonprofit world has no corollary, making it difficult, costly, and time-consuming to raise money. In this article the author explores ways that nonprofits and funders can create their own version of equity capital, and, just as important, develop an equity approach to doing business. —By Clara Miller

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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Fundraising Focus Critical During Slump

Time to turn to fundraising fundamentals.

Resource: Blog Post

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Heat Wave: Part 3

Major world leaders pledge big money to improve the lives of millions.

Resource: Blog Post

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Heat Wave: Part 2

Highlights from the Clinton Global Initiative.

Resource: Blog Post

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Government, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Heat Wave: Part 1

Clinton’s Global Initiative kicks off.

Resource: Blog Post

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

A Coffee Shop for the Social Capital Market

The social capital market aims to have a positive impact on the planet.

Resource: Blog Post

Video/Audio : All | Audio | Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Value Creation

The nonprofit sector delivers social value and the for-profit sector delivers economic value, right? Wrong! Speaking at Bridging the Gap, the 2005 Stanford Net Impact conference, Jed Emerson argues that value is non-divisible, whole, and blended. In this audio lecture, he invites us to think beyond philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and other limiting mindsets.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Community Foundations

[photo - James Head, Peter Hero, Richard Kiy]

Community foundations have become an increasingly common outlet for charitable giving and activities in the United States. In this panel discussion, community foundation leaders discuss innovative models for turning dollars into social change, as well as challenges faced by this important sector of philanthropy.

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Resource: Audio

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Corporate Philanthropy

How can philanthropy mesh with a company's core strategy? In this panel discussion, executives from cutting-edge corporate donors share the various strategies used by their companies to serve societal needs. They consider issues such as the value proposition of giving for shareholders, and whether for-profits' philanthropic efforts can be purely altruistic.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Leadership, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Using Entrepreneurial Approaches to Solve the Problems of Global Poverty

In turbulent times like ours, we need “hard-edged hope,” says Jacqueline Novogratz, the much-celebrated founder of the Acumen Fund. Affirming that the world is indeed a better place now than it was 40 years ago, she traces her own journey from a childhood witnessing racial inequities all around her in Detroit to a career leading the field of social impact investing. Novogratz rallies the community of Stanford business graduates to be part of the new generation of innovative problem solvers.

Resource: Video

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Opportunities In Environmental Area

How do environmental challenges create growth opportunities, new markets, and innovation? Two Goldman Sachs managers discuss how their investment firm is making the financing of corporate deals contingent upon the incorporation of increasingly stringent environmental criteria.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Community Foundations

Community foundations have become an increasingly common outlet for charitable giving in the United States. In this panel discussion, led by Julie Juergens, the director of the Center for Social Innovation, community foundation leaders discuss innovative models for foundations as well as challenges faced by this sector.

Resource: Video

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Value Creation

The nonprofit sector delivers social value and the for-profit sector delivers economic value, right? Wrong! Jed Emerson argues that value is nondivisible, whole, and blended. He invites us to think beyond philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and other limiting mindsets.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Expecting Returns

[photo - Graham Sinclair, Mike Dorsey, Lila Preston, Devin Zeller]

For years, many believed that socially responsible investments could simply not hold up to traditional investments. In this panel discussion from the Stanford 2005 Net Impact Conference, organized by the Stanford Business School, social capital market experts dispel the myths associated with socially responsible investing, and look toward the future of what is to come as more and more funds offer social choices.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Strategic Philanthropy

[photo - Christine Kawakami, Sally Osberg, Russ Hall]

A new generation of innovative philanthropists is helping to transform charitable giving. This panel discussion highlights the philosophy of three young, but outstanding, organizations in the strategic philanthropic field. Panelists emphasize the targeted use of wealth to address specific social challenges.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Value Creation

The nonprofit sector delivers social value and the for-profit sector delivers economic value, right? Wrong! Speaking at Bridging the Gap, the 2005 Stanford Net Impact conference, Jed Emerson argues that value is non-divisible, whole, and blended. In this audio lecture, he invites us to think beyond philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and other limiting mindsets.

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Community Foundations

Community foundations have become an increasingly common outlet for charitable giving and activities in the United States. In this panel discussion, community foundation leaders discuss innovative models for turning dollars into social change, as well as challenges faced by this important sector of philanthropy.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Philanthropy

How can philanthropy mesh with a company's core strategy? In this panel discussion, executives from cutting-edge corporate donors share the various strategies used by their companies to serve societal needs. They consider issues such as the value proposition of giving for shareholders, and whether for-profits' philanthropic efforts can be purely altruistic.

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Resource: Audio

Case Studies : All | Academic Cases

No Results Found

Topics:

The Shea Value Chain Reinforcement Initiative in Ghana

In 2009, software giant SAP funded an initiative that aims to reinforce the shea nut and butter value chain in Ghana. The program, which also involves microfinance organizations PlaNet Finance, Grameen Ghana and Maata-N-Tudu, uses microfinance, education, and information technology to improve the conditions of shea women. Since enrolling in the program, women have seen significant improvements in income. This case study examines program progress to date and makes recommendations for program improvements using a value chain development framework.

Resource: Academic Case

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The Kinetics and Michael J. Fox Foundations (B): New Directions

The Kinetics and Michael J. Fox Foundations both support research on Parkinson’s disease. This second case explores how these two organizations collaborate toward a common mission.

Resource: Academic Case

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

John Goldman: Creating the Next Generation of Philanthropists

John Goldman established the South Peninsula Jewish Community Teen Foundation in 2003, an innovative program that teaches Bay Area Jewish teens to run their own charitable foundation by developing mission statements, raising money, and distributing funds. As of 2009, the program has scaled to four chapters and raised and distributed $178,321 in funds.

Resource: Academic Case

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Creating an Online Information Marketplace for Giving

The best nonprofits don’t necessarily get the most money, observed William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Philanthropy Program officer Jacob Harold and president Paul Brest in 2007. From there they started exploring how they could improve the marketplace and how donors give their money. To that effect they hired consulting firm McKinsey & Company to explore the online information marketplace for giving space at a macro level, looking at trends and opportunities. Armed with data they then tried to figure out what to do.

Resource: Academic Case

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The Kinetics and Michael J. Fox Foundations (A): Partnering with a Purpose

The Kinetics and Michael J. Fox Foundations both support research on Parkinson’s disease. This first case describes the creation, mission, and strategy of the two organizations.

Resource: Academic Case

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

X PRIZE Foundation: Revolution Through Competition

The X PRIZE Foundation originated as prize competitions for significant development in the exploration of outer space. Several problems faced the organization as it began to focus on fields outside of space, including whether prize competitions could work in areas such as poverty.

Resource: Academic Case

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Economic Development, Environment, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Acumen Fund and WaterHealth International: The Role of Venture Philanthropy

The Acumen Fund provides modest amounts of capital, combined with business expertise, to help build enterprises that would serve the poor. The case describes the fund’s approach to helping address water resource problems in developing countries.

Resource: Academic Case

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Canary Fund and the San Jose Grand Prix (A)

The Canary Fund supports the development of methods for early cancer detection. This first case describes the choice to sponsor a high-profile racing event to raise funding and awareness.

Resource: Academic Case

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

A conference at Stanford brought together professionals from foundations to share best practices, discuss emerging innovations, and build professional networks. This summary presents key issues discussed.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Altman Foundation

The Altman Foundation was established to serve the people of New York City. By 2005, the foundation was poised to take its strategic philanthropy to the next level by implementing a broader system of research and evaluation.

Resource: Academic Case

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The San Francisco Foundation: The Dilemma of 1998 The Buck Trust (A)

Upon her death, Beryl Buck left $7.6 million for various charitable purposes in Marin County, Calif. The case discusses what happened to the Buck Trust money and the constituents involved.

Resource: Academic Case

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Asian Neighborhood Design A

The executive director of Asian Neighborhood Design, a housing and community development organization, attempts to quantify the potential financial and social return for investors in his nonprofit enterprise. The director applies innovative tools, including a true cost accounting framework and a social return on investment analysis.

Resource: Academic Case

Research Papers : All

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Venture Capital Should Invest in Improving the Health Care Safety Net

Young companies trying to enter parts of the health care industry by focusing on helping patients stay healthy and allowing safety net providers to use their resources have a hard time attracting venture capital funds that focus more on traditional profit. A recent article by two Stanford Graduate School of Business researchers argues that it's time to change this pattern.

Resource: Research Paper

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Government, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Social Pressures Affect Corporate Strategy and Performance

Social pressure plays a major role in determining corporate strategy and performance according to an award-winning paper coauthored by Professor David Baron. The researchers find that social pressure and social performance reinforce each other, greater social pressure is associated with lower financial performance, and financial and social performance are largely unrelated.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Should Charities Ask for Time Before Money?

Asking would-be donors for their time, not their money, is a better way for charities to increase donations, says professor Jennifer Aaker. Asking donors first to volunteer their time can positively shift their willingness to give both time and money.

Resource: Research Paper

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Capital Markets Fragmentation

This study presents fundamental concepts of markets, capital markets, and social capital markets. It also highlights select initiatives underway in early 2007 that sought to improve the functioning of social capital markets.

Resource: Research Paper

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Sustainable Capitalism

This essay explores how the lines are blurring between for-profit businesses and nonprofits that do social good. It outlines examples of companies that embody "blended value" and discusses barriers to sustainable capitalism, and the role of philanthropy in supporting it.

Resource: Research Paper

Courses : All

No Results Found

Innovators : All

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Leadership, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with Roger Coates

Roger is currently starting an investment partnership for affordable housing in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Jacqueline Novogratz (MBA '91)

In turbulent times like ours, we need “hard-edged hope,” says Jacqueline Novogratz, the much-celebrated founder of the Acumen Fund. Affirming that the world is indeed a better place now than it was 40 years ago, she traces her own journey from a childhood witnessing racial inequities all around her in Detroit to a career leading the field of social impact investing.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen (MBA '97)

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen explains how to make your giving matter more.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Brian Cox (MBA '93)

The poorest regions of the world pose high risks for microfinance. Brian Cox, President of MFX Solutions, discusses how currency risk education can increase the flow of resources to Africa and other high-risk regions.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Leadership, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Daryn Dodson (MBA '07)

Daryn Dodson is passionate about identifying and developing leaders with a social conscience. He has turned that passion into action by promoting entrepreneurship in post-Katrina New Orleans and in his current impact investment consulting role.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Government, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Activating Philanthropy Through Social Media

How can nonprofits leverage social media technology such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and blogs to support philanthropy? In this audio lecture, nonprofit consultant Beth Kanter talks about how she has done just that, thereby raising thousands of dollars to help children in Cambodian orphanages get to school. Learn how to get people involved in your cause, donate, volunteer, and solicit friends -- all with a few keystrokes.

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Resource: Audio

Topic :

Social Pressures Affect Corporate Strategy and Performance

Social pressure plays a major role in determining corporate strategy and performance according to an award-winning paper coauthored by Professor David Baron. The researchers find that social pressure and social performance reinforce each other, greater social pressure is associated with lower financial performance, and financial and social performance are largely unrelated.

Resource: Research Paper

Topic :

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Case for Stakeholder Engagement

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

Grantmaking initiatives often fail when the foundation remains isolated from its grantees and the communities they both serve. To remedy this problem, grantmakers must work more closely with their grantees, community leaders, and other important stakeholders. This engagement helps everyone involved gain a deeper understanding of the problems they are tackling, create new and better solutions, and build more effective organizations

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Merging Wisely

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

With the economy in turmoil, funders are increasingly pressuring nonprofits to merge. Yet mergers are not always the right path for nonprofits in financial distress. For a healthier nonprofit sector, funders should consider a wider variety of partnership options.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Power of Theories of Change

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

Improving the lives of disadvantaged populations—whether through better schools, after-school programs, or teen pregnancy prevention clinics—requires proven theories of change. The very development of a field depends on their diffusion, replication, critique, and modification. Yet some organizations refuse to articulate a theory of change and some funders think it would be intrusive to demand that they do so. The interests of all concerned are served by a developmental approach to creating and evaluating theories of change