Moving markets

I’ve been thinking about philanthropic and social capital markets for several years now. (There are dozens of posts on the evolution of these markets on this blog and this was the primary topic – and title – of my 2004 book) We are currently in one of the most dynamic periods in this area that [...]

Field building – does the field matter?

I’ve written a lot about field building and read even more. Nowadays, the word “industry” is often substituted for field. I suppose I could take some credit for this – since a chunk of my 2004 book addressed the issue of philanthropy as an industry – and, as an idea that was ahead of its [...]

Buzzword 2008.9 – Social Enterprise

This next entry on the buzzword 2008 list – social enterprise – is a perfect example of the 20 year+ buildup that some buzz requires. The concepts and realities of social enterprise have been around for a long time (Bill Drayton founded ASHOKA in 1980). In 2008 the blending of discussions about social enterprise with [...]

Ideas to snack on

A conference to note – Social Innovation Conference in NY – The Feast (h/t Allan B) And something to read – this SSIR blog post on “pooled giving” – or lending teams, at Kiva. This takes donor collaboratives, pooled funding, etc. to the internet. It also may breathe new life into a 2007 buzzword – [...]

Failure Nau

The social business Nau is closing down. Why? It could not raise the capital it needed to keep growing. As the founders write in their going away letter: “Just as we could not have predicted the sudden groundswell of environmental consciousness that blossomed at the time we launched our business, we did not foresee the [...]

Trend Analysis for the Social Sector

I’ve written before about where we stand in developing philanthropic capital markets (I’m sticking with this term, instead of the more en vogue “social capital” markets” because social capital is a term that refers to “connections within and between social networks” – in other words, it is something different from philanthropic revenue for public goods). [...]

Trend Analysis for the Social Sector

I’ve written before about where we stand in developing philanthropic capital markets (I’m sticking with this term, instead of the more en vogue “social capital” markets” because social capital is a term that refers to “connections within and between social networks” – in other words, it is something different from philanthropic revenue for public goods). [...]

The problem we’d all like to have…or would we?

There is always a bit of a wink and a nod when philanthropists, foundation staff, or foundation board members tell other people what they do – “We give money away” or “We put capital into making society better.” Often the other person will wink and nod and say, “I’ll take some” or “Gee, tough job” [...]

On philanthropy and environmental change

(This post started as a response to The Green Skeptic’s comment on this post). In his comment, the Skeptic notes his shift to ASHOKA and social enterprise after years in nonprofit work – in his words: “Why? In part because of my frustration (stemming from my previous experience with The Nature Conservancy) with the slow [...]

Impact – commercial and public benefit

I have been watching, commenting on, and participating in the following two trends for years. Corporate social responsibility, its growth, spread across sectors, influence on double/triple bottom lines, and efforts to quantify and value socially beneficial corporate behaviors. Nonprofit, public benefit, nongovernmental uses of market-based strategies (earned income) to address sustainability, the growth of quantifiable [...]