Center for Social Innovation

Your Fundraising Needs to Change Now

State, corporate and foundation giving has decreased during the economic recession. Individual giving has increased every year despite recessions. For nonprofits to garner donations from individuals, a whole new set of capacities is required to reach potential individual donors.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Three Museums in One

The author interviews board chair, Frank-Paul King, about the decision to merge the three museums that now make up the Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas, Texas. King says it worked because "after it had been talked about on and off for a decade ... we created a vision for the Museum of Nature & Science for the next century."

Resource: Blog Post

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Technology’s Positive Impact on Human Rights

The author details a Web that tells stories and exposes human injustice and trauma rather than gossip. She proposes this exposure will help drive the change that is needed.

Resource: Blog Post

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Arts, Culture, and Religion

How the Workplace Works — or Doesn't — for Families

We've made progress, says economist Myra Strober, but the system and potential role models still sometimes fail us.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Environment

Jeffrey Ball: China’s Solar-Panel Boom and Bust

[photo - China’s Solar-Panel Boom and Bust]

How a mad dash into a burgeoning sector turned into a scramble for support.

Resource: News Article

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Lawrence Wein: Childhood Obesity Screening May Not Be That Useful

[photo - Childhood Obesity Screening May Not Be That Useful]

Professor Lawrence Wein, Jeffrey S. Skoll Professor of Management Science, explains why childhood obesity screening may not be that useful.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Entrepreneurship

Making a Profit with Ethically Sourced Diamonds

The cofounder of online jewelry retailer Brilliant Earth explains how she built her business.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Healthcare

Companies Emphasize the Environment Over Employees

A professor of organizational behavior argues that "human sustainability" may pay off too.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Merger Proposal

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2007

It’s summer. The wedding season is upon us, and many nonprofits are likewise feeling the urge to merge. But should nonprofits couple up, take the plunge, and get hitched? In this SSIR special, three articles explore whether, why, and how nonprofits should undertake mergers or other alliances. —By Kevin T. Kirkpatrick, Denise L. Gammal, & Don Haider

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

A New Era for Business

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2007

More and more business leaders recognize that their company’s future is increasingly intertwined with the needs and demands of society. But many executives don’t understand how to manage that changing relationship. In this article, McKinsey & Company consultants provide a model for incorporating sociopolitical issues into the strategic decision-making process. —By Scott C. Beardsley, Sheila Bonini, Lenny Mendonca, & Jeremy Oppenheim

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Microfinance Misses Its Mark

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2007

Despite the hoopla over microfinance, it doesn’t cure poverty. But stable jobs do. If societies are serious about helping the poorest of the poor, they should stop investing in microfinance and start supporting large, labor-intensive industries. —By Aneel Karnani

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

From the Bottom Line of Our Hearts

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2007

Why businesspeople don’t mention values when they discuss social responsibility.

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Resourcefulness Can Boost Nonprofit Advocacy

Review: Made to Stick

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2007

Simplicity is the golden rule for getting messages across, say brothers Chip and Dan Heath. Review by Judith Samuelson

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Many nonprofits may be reluctant to play an advocacy role because they believe they lack the resources or know-how, or because they fear they might put their foundation, corporate or public funding at risk. But advocacy work can make a big difference in shaping the public policies that affect nonprofits and their clients. Recent research shows investment in nonprofit advocacy and community organizing yields a big return in benefits for underrepresented constituencies.

Resource: Blog Post

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Why Innovation Matters

Mario Morino, chairman of Venture Philanthropy Partners, opines that nothing is more important for the long-term strength of our nation than driving greater levels of innovation across and between all sectors of our economy—for-profit, nonprofit, and public. Expounding on an colleague's anecdote that innovation is like a coral reef, Morino connects the metaphor to the dot.com boom in Silicon Valley as an example of a healthy innovation ecosystem. The solution for long-term social and economic success in America lies in a national strategy of combined efforts across all regions, disciplines and walks of life—similar to the combined efforts needed to create a coral reef.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Fundraisers Should Get More Respect

Fundraising professionals play instrumental roles at nonprofit organizations but get less pay and support than they need and deserve. The way a charity’s fundraising staff treats donors is more important than any other factor in determining whether givers give to a particular charity, according to Adrian Sargeant, Robert F. Hartsook Professor of Fundraising at the Center on Philanthropy. So if they expect to be more successful in their fundraising, nonprofits will need to increase their investment in fundraising, particularly in paying and supporting the work of their fundraisers and closing the pay gap between men and women.

Resource: Blog Post

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The Power of Vision: Review of “The Pollyanna Principles”

“For social benefit organizations to truly “work” we all need to be part of the design, the process, the success.” -Hildy Gottlieb

Resource: Blog Post

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New Publication: Merge Minnesota, a Great Resource to Any Nonprofit Investigating Mergers

“Merge Minnesota: Nonprofit Merger as an Opportunity for Survival and Growth” published by MAP for Nonprofits proves a useful source of information about the merging process of nonprofits.

Resource: Blog Post

Video/Audio : All | Audio | Video

Topic:

Speed and Agility Versus Cost

Randy Martin has been in the business of humanitarian disaster relief for 25 years. In this audio lecture recorded at the Stanford Effective Disruption Management Seminar, Martin shares some of the lessons he has learned on the front lines and investigates possible collaborations across sectors to enhance disaster relief operations.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Managing Risk in an Uncertain World

In this audio lecture, Leslie Lamb shares her company's approach to risk management with some of the main actors in humanitarian disaster relief operations gathered at the Stanford Effective Disruption Management Seminar.

Resource: Audio

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Laughter in a Time of War

In 2005, marathoner, juggler, and unicyclist Zach Warren traveled to Afghanistan to help children recover from the traumas of war, as part of the Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children. In this audio interview, Warren shares with Globeshakers host Tim Zak his observations about what it takes to rebuild an entire country.

Resource: Audio

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Using Supply Chain Innovations to Save Lives

In this audio lecture, Lynn Fritz, a few days after hurricane Katrina hit, shares his vision for the enhancement of disaster relief operations to a floor of highly engaged humanitarian disaster relief actors gathered at the Stanford Effective Disruption Management Seminar.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Education

The Next Generation of Digital Craftsman

As "chief architect" of PixelCorps, Alex Lindsay created a guild for the next generation of craftsmen: digital craftsmen. In this audio interview, Lindsay describes to Globeshakers host Tim Zak how PixelCorps is currently transferring skills in digital imaging and animation to regions in the developing world so that their workforces can capitalize on the coming media revolution.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Environment, Government, Leadership

Al Gore: Leaders Must Supply Vision, Values & Goals

The Stanford Graduate School of Business View from the Top Series hosted former Vice President Al Gore where he spoke to over 600 students on leadership, solutions for the climate crisis, and sustainable capitalism.

Resource: Video

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Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Perspectives from California

California, the ninth largest economy in the world, recently launched a new carbon cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, leads this program that could provide a model to support other regional or national efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Resource: Video

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US-wide Carbon Policy: Two MBAs' Perspectives

As part of the annual Conradin Von Gugelberg Memorial Lecture on the Environment, Mike Volpe, MBA '13, and Jake Saper, MBA '14, lay out an argument for a US-wide carbon policy.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Education for Everyone

Co-founder Andrew Ng, also the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Lab and an associate professor in computer science at Stanford, presented at the Leading Education By Advancing Digital (LEAD) Symposium held at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in September 2012.

Resource: Video

Topic:

James Sweeney: A Sustainable Energy System

James Sweeney, director of Stanford's Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, discusses green cities at a Stanford GSB conference.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Human Rights

Setting the Standard for Global Economy

Social Accountability International President Alice Tepper Marlin has been leading the push to create a credible, comprehensive, and efficient verification system for assuring humane workplaces around the world. In this audio lecture, she describes the strategies the Social Accountability International's SA-8000 standard has used to get global supply chain stakeholders operating on the same page when it comes to providing employees with safe, equitable, and financially beneficial working conditions.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Human Rights

Champion for Accountability

Transparency International is a global network with a mission to create a world free of corruption. In this audio lecture, Peter Eigen chronicles the experiences that led him from a directorship at the World Bank to the head of a movement to strengthen civil society by stamping out corruption. He reports on new incentives for good conduct that have made the elimination of corruption a cornerstone in the international effort to promote global equity.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Human Rights

Banker to the Poor

Muhammad Yunus started a movement that has lifted millions out of poverty. When he formed the Grameen Bank in 1983 and started giving out microloans, Yunus bridged the divide between business and social needs. In this audio lecture, he describes how he created microcredit, collateral-free lending, and began offering other business services to the poor. Yunus lays out the path to his extraordinary vision and success, which is driving global social change.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Healthcare, Human Rights

Innovator for the Poor

The beginnings of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) were fraught with uncertainty. Initially surviving entirely on donations, it has since earned back two pennies for every one it has spent on welfare activities, and is today the largest, self-reliant international NGO, employing more than 97,000 people. In this audio lecture, Fazle Hasan Abed reminisces about the organization's humble beginnings and shares the organization's achievements.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Philanthropy & Responsible Investing, Corporate Social Responsibility

Finding Philanthropy's New Sweet Spots

How can philanthropy have a greater impact on social problems? In this audio lecture, Katherine Fulton, Monitor Institute president, envisions a new era in which philanthropy will reclaim the American dream for communities that have been left behind. In a talk sponsored by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fulton reviews how philanthropy has changed over the last 10 years, and how the public and private sectors can work together to create social change.

Resource: Audio

Case Studies : All | Academic Cases

Topics:

Breaking New Ground: Using the Internet to Scale

Commissioned by KaBOOM! and authored by Katherine Fulton and alumna Heather McLeod Grant of the Monitor Institute, this case study looks at the challenges KaBOOM! faced and lessons the organization learned while pioneering an online strategy to scale its impact. This strategy involves giving away the nonprofit model online for free to empower others to act on KaBoom's behalf.

Resource: Practitioner Case

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

Topics:

Health Care, Economic Development

Can Oil Filters Improve Health Care?

For millions of people across Africa, motorcycles can be a key to effective health care. A well-maintained fleet of vehicles and motorcycles to connect patients, medical expertise, and medicine is sometimes the most vital link in the health delivery supply chain. A new case written for the Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum describes one successful program.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Kiva.org and the Power of Storytelling

This case details the founding story of Kiva, with particular focus on the way that Jessica Jackley and Matt Flannery have stayed true to the original mission by telling authentic stories about entrepreneurs in East Africa, and how those stories have influenced lenders and fellows.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

The "Tipping Point" and Green Dot Public Schools

Green Dot is charter management organization that is bringing high-performance to Los Angeles, an area traditionally plagued by dismal graduating case. This case explores Green Dots the advantages and disadvantages of transformative strategy to reach a 'tipping point' in Los Angeles' educational community.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

The Siebel Foundation and the Meth Project

This case details the innovative work of business executive Tom Siebel, who launched the Meth Project in 2005 to 'unsell' meth to first time users in Montana. The program used an innovative research-based marketing campaign and has since scaled to other states.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Canary Fund and the San Jose Grand Prix (B): Results of the First Race

The Canary Fund supports the development of methods for early cancer detection. This second case presents the results of the sponsorship created to raise funding and awareness.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Healthcare, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

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

Topics:

Environment, Nonprofit Management

Wild Salmon Center

The Wild Salmon Center was created to provide anglers access to excellent fishing in return for funding research and conservation. The case discusses the Center’s efforts to protect the pristine watersheds of the Kamchatka Peninsula by developing ecotourism to raise funds for conservation.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Gardenburger

The CEO of Gardenburger, a seller of veggie burger products and other food alternatives to meat, considers the company’s advertising strategy. He aims to take the company from the small health-food niche to the consumer mainstream.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Government

Transparent Markets: Promoting Public Values Through Private Enterprise

Luis Moreno Ocampo, an attorney who had fought human rights abuses in Argentina, views corruption in public procurement as the next major human rights issue. He established a company to collect and distribute information on public procurements to make the entire process more transparent.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

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

Topic :

Breaking New Ground: Using the Internet to Scale

Commissioned by KaBOOM! and authored by Katherine Fulton and alumna Heather McLeod Grant of the Monitor Institute, this case study looks at the challenges KaBOOM! faced and lessons the organization learned while pioneering an online strategy to scale its impact. This strategy involves giving away the nonprofit model online for free to empower others to act on KaBoom's behalf.

Resource: Practitioner Case

Topic :

Health Care, Economic Development

Can Oil Filters Improve Health Care?

For millions of people across Africa, motorcycles can be a key to effective health care. A well-maintained fleet of vehicles and motorcycles to connect patients, medical expertise, and medicine is sometimes the most vital link in the health delivery supply chain. A new case written for the Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum describes one successful program.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Kiva.org and the Power of Storytelling

This case details the founding story of Kiva, with particular focus on the way that Jessica Jackley and Matt Flannery have stayed true to the original mission by telling authentic stories about entrepreneurs in East Africa, and how those stories have influenced lenders and fellows.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

The "Tipping Point" and Green Dot Public Schools

Green Dot is charter management organization that is bringing high-performance to Los Angeles, an area traditionally plagued by dismal graduating case. This case explores Green Dots the advantages and disadvantages of transformative strategy to reach a 'tipping point' in Los Angeles' educational community.

Resource: Academic Case

Research Papers : All

Topics:

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Nonprofit Management

Supporting Equality in Education

How can a certain kind of behavior actually contributes to inequalities? Specifically, do children’s social-class backgrounds affect when and how they seek help in the classroom, thereby teasing out children’s own role in educational stratification? We consider how teachers may use such information to correct these dynamics, and thus contribute to more equal access for all children at school.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Government

Electoral Incentives and Partisan Conflict in Congress: Evidence from Survey Experiments

Does partisan conflict damage citizens’ perceptions of Congress? If so, why has polarization increased in Congress since the 1970s?

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Government, Healthcare

The Effect of Tax Preferences on Health Spending

Workers who earn just below the Social Security tax threshold receive a larger tax preference for health insurance than workers who earn just above it.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Using implementation intentions prompts to enhance influenza vaccination rates

Seasonal influenza leads to >200,000 hospitalizations and >8,000 deaths in the United States each year. The influenza vaccine is widely available at low cost and reduces mortality, morbidity, and healthcare costs. Nevertheless, many of those for whom vaccination is indicated fail to comply with CDC recommendations for vaccination. If low compliance is the result of careful calculations by individuals weighing the costs and beneﬁts of vaccination, it may be difﬁcult and expensive for policymakers and organizational leaders to increase vaccination rates. However, if low compliance is the result of forgetfulness or procrastination, low-cost interventions that use psychological tools may be effective at increasing vaccination rates and improving public health.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Automatic detection of omissions in medication lists

[photo - Collaborative Filtering of Medication Lists]

Evidence suggests that the medication lists of patients are often incomplete and could negatively affect patient outcomes. By predicting drugs the patient could be taking, collaborative ﬁltering can be a valuable tool for reconciling medication lists.

Resource: Research Paper

Courses : All

Topic :

Biodesign Innovation: OIT 581/3

The two-quarter Elective Course series provides lectures from a diverse group of faculty that expose students to the practical aspects of technology invention and development. The class features a presentation or discussion from one of the guest speakers or faculty. Students work in small project teams in the Biodesign prototyping lab or bench space, collaborating with the fellows of the program.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

The Power of Social Technology: GSBGEN 358

The goal of this seminar is to investigate how social technology (e.g., blogs, websites, podcasts, widgets, community groups, social network feeds) can change attitudes and behaviors in ways that cultivate social change. We study the strategies and tactics used by companies and causes that have successfully catalyzed social persuasion.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Economic Development

Strategic Thinking in Action - In Business and Beyond: STRAMGT 373

This seminar helps participants develop strategically informed action plans that are imaginative, inspiring, and workable in highly dynamic environments. Through informed debate and the writing and presentation of position papers, participants evaluate and hone their views on the seminar's critical themes.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Social Entrepreneurship: STRAMGT 369

This course focuses on the efforts of private citizens to create effective responses to social needs and innovative solutions to social problems. It equips students with frameworks and tools that will help them be more effective as a social entrepreneur.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Strategic Management of Nonprofits: STRAMGT 368

This course surveys strategic, governance, and management issues facing a wide range of nonprofit organizations in an era of venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. It introduces students to core managerial issues in the nonprofit sector, such as development/fundraising, investment management, performance management and nonprofit finance.

Resource: MBA Course

Innovators : All

Topic :

Kate Surman, MBA '04

Kate Surman, MBA '04, Administrative Director of Strategic Operations, Stanford Hospital & Clinics, discusses how she has leveraged the Public Management and Social Innovation certificate to take her career into a new direction.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Farm to Cup Merger Emphasizes Partnership & Economic Empowerment

[photo - Farm to Cup - Root Capital Lending]

A grassroots student effort led by Caroline Mullen, MBA ’12, Catha Mullen, MBA ’13, and Monica Lewis, MBA ’12, now has even more impact through a merger with Pachamama Coffee Cooperative.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Water World

Leading a Social Innovation Study Trip lands Robyn Beavers, MBA '10, in a new industry.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development, Healthcare

Jeremy Sokulsky, MBA '04

Jeremy Sokulsky, MBA '04, President, Environmental Incentives, discusses how he's drawing upon the tools and training he received from the GSB to help make a difference.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Cross-Sector Effort Helps People See Better

Vision care is something that is practically taken for granted in the United States, but that’s not the case throughout much of the world. Some 300 million around the globe suffer from correctable vision loss, leading, as Ashanthi Mathai, MBA '04, says, “to people accepting their vision impairment and adjusting their lives around it.” The result? A lower quality of life, restricted job options, and even further economic distress.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Leadership in an Uncertain World

Many nonprofit leaders today are on the brink of burnout. Their responsibilities are mounting and their resources are dwindling. In this audio lecture, Katherine Fulton, president of the Monitor Institute, advises nonprofit professionals to slow down, in order to assess the challenges ahead. She offers five leadership tips that enable nonprofit managers to go back to fundamentals, so that they can thrive in an uncertain world.

Resource: Audio

Topic :

Leadership, Nonprofit Management

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

Topic :

Nonprofit Management: The Art of Organizing Volunteers

"Every year, I say 'Never again,' but I do, and I love it." Does this sound familiar to you? Volunteer organizations enhance the quality of life, usually locally. But anyone who has been involved in a volunteer organization understands their fragility. BigTent, a platform for social groups, hosts 20,000 free, online forums with controls specifically for the needs of volunteer groups. Sheela Sethuraman talks with Laney Whitcanack, COO of BigTent.

Resource: Audio

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Environmental Sustainability for Small Businesses

When does a house painter learn about low VOC paint? Are high-efficiency lightbulbs always better? How can you reduce package waste and still meet client expectations? How can a small business owner keep up with sustainability issues? Now Intuit and eBay have sites where small businesses share their green knowledge. Amy Skoczlas Cole, who runs eBayGreenTeam, and Rupesh Shah of IntuitGreen talk about small business and green.

Resource: Audio

Topic :