Wayan Patut : Conserving Serangan’s underwater treasures
An interview with Indonesian Ashoka Fellow, Wayan Patut
Social Entrepreneurs Try to Offer Solutions to K-12 Problems
Social entrepreneurs, including U.S. Ashoka Fellow David Wish, are taking new approaches to address educational problems in the United States.
Leveraging Social Entrepreneurs to Do Business in Africa
Africa has a significant contingent of social entrepreneurs making social impact. This same group is also a significant asset for business. Social entrepreneurs understand Africa, and this is something businesses need to enter African markets successfully points out Nassir Katuramu, Program Manager for Venture and Fellowship in East Africa for Ashoka, the pioneering support organization for social entrepreneurs.
KIPP Founder Shares Story
Ashoka Fellow, Dave Levin, discusses the experiences that led him to found KIPP.
Unesco fetes Kenyan for linking villages with ICT
Ashoka Fellow, James Nguo, receives the Unesco-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication for the work he does through his Arid Lands Information Network (Alin) to connect remote villages with the rest of the world.
Case Study: Youth Venture In Berlin… How To Expand A Youth Entrepreneurship Program?
BERLIN – This Century-old factory building that once housed printing presses and food companies, now houses film studios, tech startups and social entrepreneurs, including high school social entrepreneurs.
Social entrepreneurs find needed guidance at Ashoka
Ashoka helps social entrepreneurs in Egypt take their ideas to the next level.
A New Wall Street: Silicon Valley Reimagines Banking
Read more about how Ashoka Fellow, Bruce Cahan, is creating a new bank paradigm through his high-transparency,impacts-aware bank project, known as GoodBank™(IO).
The business of changing the world
Social entrepreneurship takes center stage at Harvard's Social Enterprise Conference.
'Social innovators' to visit Dublin
Ashoka Ireland launches Change Nation, a platform that will accelerate several of the building blocks required to build an Ireland where everyone is a changemaker.
If organisations don't have changemakers they'll get left behind
In the first of a series of blogs exploring social innovation, Felix Oldenburg writes that true social solutions should breed co-creators rather than dependants.
New Teacher Center’s Visit: How US Education Has to Improve
North American Fellow, Ellen Moir, discusses how to improve US education.
Capitalism with a conscience
In difficult economic times, is it possible to create a profitable enterprise that also generates social value for communities?
Hippocampus Raises $1.5 Million from Unitus Seed Fund
India Fellow, Umesh Malhotra, has raised $1.5 million for his organization, Hippocampus. Umesh Malhotra, He says, "We intend to reach out to 500 villages with the fund raised. We shall employee more than 2000 people as teachers and reach out to 40,000 children in the next two years with the help of the fund."
Jobless generation hungry for change
High levels of youth unemployment require new solutions. Social entrepreneurship and social innovation can provide opportunities for youth to develop basic building block skills to avoid falling behind.
National Innovation Fund to be Operational by June-July: Pitroda
The 2012 Action for India Forum, attended by Ashoka's President Emeritus, Sushmita Ghosh, was a huge success. To support social entrepreneurs set up new business models to bring about change and foster all round innovations in different fields, efforts are underway to start The National Innovation Fund by June-July.
What is a social entrepreneur?
As the concept of social entrepreneurship spreads, Ashoka remains a leader in the field.
Innovators, tech gurus to galvanize Young Social Innovators
This weekend Ashoka will participate in the first ever Action For India Forum, focused on scaling social impact through technology at a day long session at IIT Delhi campus. In attendance will be 100 young social innovators. Those who leverage technology and show an outstanding impact over the next six months, will be eligible for five Action For India Growth Prizes, one each for education, healthcare, agriculture, energy and livelihoods. Ashoka will guide the evaluation and selection process.
Red Solidaria ("Solidarity Network")
In Argentina, Ashoka Fellow, Juan Carr, works to create a bridge between those who need any type of ... Read More [+] help and others who are equipped to provide it through his hotline.
Five Tools for Social Entrepreneurs
This article lists five resources - including Ashoka - that are designed to help social entrepreneurs get their enterprises off the ground and into the black. Read the full article here.
GOOD maker Challenge: Seeking College Changemakers
Ashoka U is partnering with GOOD Maker to find more budding leaders on university campuses across the country.
MFI Bandhan wins Skoch Financial Inclusion Award 2012
Ashoka Fellow, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, receives recognition for his work to alleviate poverty through education and microfinance.
Los líderes sociales también ganan
Led by Armando Laborde, Ashoka Mexico is seeing great success in spreading the notion of everyone a changemaker and involving community members in positive social change.
UK ‘social stock exchange’ takes next step as Big Society fund shares out £3.1m from dormant bank accounts
A new push in Britain has been made to develop a 'social stock exchange,' designed to improve access to capital for social entrepreneurs. This article references the work of Ashoka Fellows, Celso Grecco of Brazil and Tamzin Ractliffe of South Africa, as leaders in other efforts to establish social stock exchanges.
Ahige: Los hombres lideran la igualdad de género
Read more about the work being done by Spanish Fellow, Antonio Garcia Dominguez, to promote gender equality in Europe.
Los afrodescendientes del año en Colombia
Colombian Ashoka Fellow, Haidy Duque, was recognized as one of Colombia's most prominent Afro-Descendants for her work in the social sector.
El motor + poderoso del planeta
This article explores the rise of social entrepreneurship as companies and consumers place increasing value on positive social impact.
Giving to others with social entrepreneurship
Why ‘Solutions Journalism’ Matters, Too
Author David Bornstein discusses why it is important that journalists cover solution-oriented stories more often. He discusses why organizations like Ashoka and others that pursue social change, should appear more frequently in the news.
As Washington Fails, Private Initiatives Succeed
Ashoka's work over the past three decades is discussed as part of a growing “global-citizen sector” working to solve local and global problems.
Is Social Innovation the Future of the Economy?
Arnaud Mourot, managing director of Ashoka for French-speaking Europe, is part of recent public discourse on social innovation.
2011 Asian of the Year- Honourable Mention
Ashoka Fellow, Jack Sim's efforts to improve sanitation in his native Singapore and abroad won him honourable mention as Asian of the Year for 2011.
What Does 'Innovation' Even Mean?
"The first step toward coming up with better ideas is defining our terms when we talk about innovation, entrepreneurs, and creativity."
Social Entrepreneurship in Egypt: Challenges and Opportunities
Egyptian Fellow, Ehaab Abdou, discusses the three main challenges facing social entrepreneurship in the MENA region and in particular, in Egypt.
An Army of Giant Rats Unearths Peace in Africa
Read more about how Ashoka Fellow, Bart Weetjens, an industrial engineer and Buddhist monk, has trained Giant Pouched Rats to effectively detect explosives in minute amounts.
Israeli Entrepreneur Opens Online University in West Bank
An American online university started by Israeli Ashoka Fellow, Shai Reshef, has opened an operations center in the West Bank.
Ten Ways to Give With Your Family
Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, author of Giving 2.0, includes teaching your children about Ashoka's Fellows in her discussion of ten easy ways to help your young children make giving become a core value of their own.
Radical report pushes private capital towards social mission
Read more about how social entrepreneurship is being incorporated into movements to radically shift the way private investment is deployed for social benefit.
Message of hope, based on Steve Biko's philosophy of consciousness, goes global
South African Fellow, Pat Pillai, discusses his Life College program designed to reshape how youth think, by encouraging them to be bold, not allow themselves to be held back by poverty and not live with a sense of entitlement. Pillai is working to replicate the program in countries around the world.
Interview: From Crowdsourcing to CouchSurfing
US Ashoka Fellow Casey Fenton talks about founding CouchSurfing and its vision of sharing living space as a way to build appreciation of difference, respond to diversity with curiosity and respect, and spread tolerance to create a global community.
Social entrepreneurship and the next generation of giving
Ashoka's Bill Drayton, Kiva's Premal Shah, and Phil Buchanan of the Center for Effective Philanthropy speak about the power of the system-changing social entrepreneur.
When 'social enterprise' can mean more than one thing
Ashoka Changemakers knowledge expert Alexa Clay discusses the label "social enterprise." Originally used to describe a for-profit or non-profit organization that aims to address societal issues, the term is now being coopted by social media and networking organizations, raising the question of whether social-benefit organizations need to adopt a new name to avoid confusion.
Eduardo Balarezo: Outfitting Agents of Change at Lonesome George & Co.
Social entrepreneur and founder of Lonesome George Co., Eduardo Balarezo, discusses social entrepreneurship and his partnership with Ashoka's Youth Venture.
Generators of Change
Spanish Fellows Jean Claude Rodriguez Ferrera, Jose Maria Gonzalez Perez, and Beatriz Fadon join Ashoka President, Diana Wells, to talk about their careers as social entrepreneurs.
The Pyramid Within the Pyramid: Segmenting the BoP Affordable Housing Market
Read more about Ashoka's Housing for All Initiative.
How Sameer Hajee Has Shed Real Light in Africa
Sameer Hajee, winner of Ashoka Changemakers' Powering Economic Opportunity: Create a World That Works competition, speaks to Forbes about his enterprise, Nuru Light.
Radio Boosts Modern Farming
Ashoka Fellow Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu discusses mobile technology can connect rural farmers in Nigeria to promote sustainable agriculture.
Morocco: Mhammed Abbad Andaloussi Receives Global Citizenship Award
Moroccan Fellow Mhammed Abbad Andaloussi receives the Clinton Global Initiative's Global Citizenship Award for his work to improve education in Morocco.
Three Egyptian designers who are making waves
Egyptian Fellow Mohamed Abou El Naga is featured for his sustainable papermaking business, El Nafeza ('The Window'), which provides work opportunities to women and the disabled while recycling agricultural waste.
Agora Partnerships: "Optimism and Purpose are the World's Most Important Resource"
Ashoka US Fellow Ben Powell speaks with Rahim Kanani about the role of social entrepreneurs in combating extreme poverty.
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi: A Case Study in Leadership, Courage, and Conviction
Ashoka Senior Fellow in Afghanistan, Sakena Yacoobi, speaks about the Afghan Institute of Learning's model for social change.
With No College Papers, He Earned a Masters
Ashoka colleague Salim Mohamed's story of life, learning, and success against all odds.
Surfing the Radio Waves for Sustainable Agriculture
Nigeria Fellow Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu's innovative radio station for local sustainable agriculture.
Mexico reality TV show seeks to spur social action
Ashoka Mexico contributes to the success of a new reality TV show for Mexican social entrepreneurs.
Health Gets Mobile
Ashoka's David Aylward discusses the challenges and possibilities of mobile health technology and electronic health records for improving the efficiency, reach, and efficacy of health care.
Rioters or Deviant Entrepreneurs
Ashoka UK Fellow Annys Darkwa comments on the potential of redirecting the energy of Britain's urban rioters towards the creation of social good.
A Contest to Create Jobs
Ashoka Changemakers knowledge expert Alexa Clay and eBay Foundation president Lauren Moore speak about new innovations to create jobs and power economic opportunity on PRI's radio show 'The Takeaway.'
How Will Mobile Technology Help in Healthcare?
Ashoka's David Aylward comments on the value of mobile technology to improve the sustainability and effectiveness of healthcare in both the developed and developing world.
Ashoka's Bill Drayton Believes You Can Make a Difference
Watch a video interview with Ashoka CEO Bill Drayton about Ashoka's roots, the key characteristics of social entrepreneurs, and how changemaking is revolutionizing the workforce.
We Must Redefine the Role of Journalism
Ashoka Senegal Fellow Hamadou Tidiane Sy discusses the importance of independent reporting, and the changing role of journalism in the modern technological and political environment.
Steering Social Entrepreneurship
Ashoka India's Solomon Prakash and Manoj Chandran discuss Ashoka's work and impact in the country.
Social and Business: Creating Shared Value
Ashoka's Hybrid Value Chain concept and other approaches to collaboration between the business and social sectors.
Ashoka Brings Together Business and Social Sectors
Training in the Dark
German Fellow Andreas Heinecke conducts pitch-black management training to engender empathy and awareness in business executives.
Bill Drayton on Empathy and Leadership
Ashoka Founder and CEO Bill Drayton explains the power of empathy in a rapidly changing world.
Social Entrepreneurship on the Rise in Norway
Social entrepreneurship is gaining momentum in Norway, and Ashoka Fellow Hanne Finstad is leading the pack.
Blue Ventures Wins $100,000 Buckminster Fuller Challenge For Its Economic Model To Save Fish
UK Fellow Al Harris' Blue Ventures wins Buckminster Fuller Challenge.
Spain Honors U.S. Social Activist Bill Drayton
Bill Drayton is awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, the Spanish equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Ashoka’s Drayton: Education and the Future Marketplace
Ashoka founder and CEO Bill Drayton is interviewed about the new skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing, inter-connected, and entrepreneurial world.
Partnership to Further Global Quest by N.Y.U.
Ashoka Israel Fellow Shai Reshef's online University of the People partners with NYU's new Abu Dhabi campus to improve access to higher education.
The Dangerous Promise of Impact Investing
Ashoka's Europe and Germany Director Felix Oldenburg discusses the benefits and drawbacks of impact investing.
Saving the World on a Shoestring
Ashoka's Bill Drayton and others speak about the power of social entrepreneurs to leverage small investments to create massive social and environmental returns.
Healthpoint India Picks Up Sankalp Award, Investment
Ashoka Senior Entrepreneur Al Hammond's Healthpoint Services, supported by Ashoka, wins the Sankalp Award for innovation in rural healthcare.
A Book in Every Home, and Then Some
Ashoka Board Member Kyle Zimmer speaks about her organization, First Book.
Bill Drayton sees a world where 'everyone is a changemaker'
Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka, sits down with journalist Gregory Lamb to speak about the implications of an "Everyone a Changemaker" world, answering the questions:
- What sorts of organizational structures are needed to thrive in a fast-moving, interconnected world?
- What defines an entrepreneur?
- What is the relationship between entrepreneurship and business?
- How can people come to be changemakers? What role does education play? What about government?
Helping Hands
The Goal is to Encourage Prevention
Ashoka Trains Youth to Address Maternal Health Issues
Ashoka's fifteen Young Champions of Maternal Health--young entrepreneurs chosen for their work on reproductive health--collaborate and learn at a three-day Future Forum in Accra. Read more.
Towards a Hybrid Economy
Ashoka France Director Arnaud Mourot discusses the role of Ashoka's Social Lab and other initiatives in encouraging business-social partnerships for a hybrid economy.
What About American Girls Sold on the Streets?
United States Fellow Rachel Lloyd in the news. Read more.
Becoming an Egyptian social entrepreneur
Ashoka's Dr. Iman Bibars speaks on making social entrepreneurship a way of life.
One man's crusade to stop toxic sludge dumping in Indonesia
Indonesia Fellow Prigi Arisandi in the news.
Awards Season for Environmentalists
German Fellow Ursula Sladek in the news.
2011: The Year of Working Together
Be it at the Ashoka Globalizer Summit or Skoll World Forum, social innovators are coming together to discuss and work on solutions to social problems. Read more.
Tower Hamlets Social Enterprise CEO Elected Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum
UK Fellow Lily Lapenna in the news. Read more.
Women and the Revolution
What does the new democratic future hold for Egyptian women? Ashoka's Dr. Iman Bibars responds. Watch here.
La Banca para los Pobres
Venezuela Fellow Salomón Raydán in the news. Read more.
Social Entrepreneurs and Youth in Japan: Agents Against a Return to Isolation
Ashoka's recent launch in Japan is an important moment in the development of Japanese society. Read more.
Social Entrepreneurship: Harnessing the Market to Solve World Problems
Social entrepreneurship transcends typical corporate social responsibility activities where organizations try to look good. It's becoming central to any serious competitiveness strategy. Read more.
When Microcredit Won't Do
Guatemala Fellow Greg Van Kirk in the news. Read more.
U.S. NPO Seeks 'Social Entrepreneurs'
Ashoka opens its office in Japan, its first in East Asia, and announces Kashiwa Maki its Country Representative. Read more.
The $300 House: The Corporate Challenge
Ashoka's "Housing for All" project is an example of how to successfully bring business into social challenges. Read more.
Change You Can Invest In: Social Entrepreneurship
Ashoka featured for its pioneering role to advance social entrepreneurship over the past decades. Read more.
Social Entrepreneurs Share Hardheaded Business Lessons
The Ashoka Twin Cities Solutions Forum explores how business principles can be applied to solve social problems and brings two Ashoka Fellows to Minnesota. Read more.
Spreading Holiday Cheer with Charitable Donations
Ashoka is one of the recipients of Google's 2010 $20 million holiday gift. Read more.
Business Leaders Hold Forum On Social Responsibilities
The first ever social entrepreneurship forum for business leaders in Ghana has taken place at the World Bank office in Accra and Ashoka Fellows took a leading role. Read more.
Sonne Shines with Company for People with ASD
Denmark Fellow Thorkil Sonne in the news. Read more.
The Business of Hope
Ashoka featured for its work building a whole new "social capital" market around the world. Read more.
Innovative finance models for SMEs introduced
Romea je i letos nominována na cenu Gypsy spirit
G20 to commit millions of dollars for new, innovative SME financing models
G-20: Fact Sheet on a New Global Framework to Fund Innovative SME Finance Models
Ashoka Announces Fellow Partnership with P&G: An Example of the Future of Social Enterprise in Corporate Partnership
Social entrepreneurship growing on campus
Winner of Third Annual John P. McNulty Prize Announced
Global Heroes Lecture Series Featuring Dr. Sakena Yacoobi
Strengthen the Press Code to Strengthen the Media
Hybrid Value Chain Opens New Markets to For-Profits, Social Enterprises
The Top 20 Nonprofit Groups on Twitter
Philanthropy: Causes, the Socially Conscious Network
Ashoka's Bill Drayton shares his thoughts about how the financing system for non-profits needs to change. Read more.
100 Game Changers, Millions of Votes, Here Are Your Ultimate 12
Israel Fellow Shai Reshef chosen as Ultimate Game Changer in Education for 2010. Read more.
The D.I.Y. Foreign-Aid Revolution
Innovation Fund Offers Opportunity
Ashoka's President, Diana Wells, Ph.D., discusses the importance of the Social Innovation Fund and Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. Read more.
Social Entrepreneur Powers - and Empowers - Indonesian Villages
The $300 House
Women Deliver More than Babies
In Ghana Women are Riding Their Way to Power on Tractors
La falta de acceso a la información de las personas sordas
Proyecto de Maternidad Sardá apoyado por Unicef, para celebrar la Semana del Prematuro
Großes Potenzial entfaltet: JLU gratuliert der Gießener Initiative ArbeiterKind.de
Clinton Global Initiative - Were you Part of the 8 Million?
Entrevistas: Marcia Sigüenza, especialista en liderazgo transformador
Healthy Lunchbox Tips
El intendente Martín recibió al Dr. Abel Albino, cuya presencia fue declarada de interés municipal
Five Innovators Heading to CGI: Let Their be Light
Tune in to the other Salman Khan
Five Innovators Heading to CGI: An NGO Cementing Change
Sakena Yacoobi: Leader for Afghan Women's Health & Education
Vient de Paraitre- Rob Hopkins: Manuel de Transition
JetBlue Hosts Inaugural Swing for Good Golf Classic Business & Community Breakfast Panel Event
Assessing Nonprofits' Communications Capacity - An Online Self-Assessment Tool
A New Alliance for Global Change
Eyeglass for the World's Poorest
Social Entrepreneur Powers - and Empowers - Indonesian Villages
Fellow de Ashoka convoca a firma de compromiso individual por "la no violencia contra las mujeres"
Social Entrepreneurs Need Apply: Contest Seeks Innovative Solutions for Health Care Industry
Studio Guest of the Week: Felix Oldenburg
Al Hammond Shares the Latest in Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Innovations
Power & Influence Top 50
Eboo Patel- Interfaith Youth Core
The No Brainer That We Risk Missing
A Novel Approach to Mobilizing SME Capital--Let the Private Sector Lead
Imaginan un Mundo sin Ballenas
Sacha Domenech, Emprendedor de Ashoka, Ha Logrado Recuperar al 70 % de los Adictos Tratados con Etnomedicina
Human Rights Heroine
Global Award for m2m
Championing Innovators in Maternal Health
Sixteen young innovators selected as Young Champions of Maternal Health by Ashoka and the Maternal Health Task Force from thirteen countries.
Social Change Architect Starts Young
Bill Drayton visits Japan in Ashoka's search for young changemakers
Old Clothes, Fresh Hopes
A Haven on the Block: Do Gated Alleys Help or Hurt Neighborhood Communities?
Working Wikily
How to Deprogram Bullies: Teaching Kindness 101
The Productivity Deal of the Century
From the MENA Region: Ashoka and the Arab World Social Innovation Forum
New York University reconoce el rol histórico de Ashoka
Enhancing Lives And Dominating Markets
Core Messages for the U.S. and the Islamic World
Transforming the World from the Bottom Up
Tipping the World: The Power of Collaborative Entrepreneurship
First Person: Founder of Specialisterne
The World Needs More Social Entrepreneurs
La Méthode Des "Bancs De Poissons"
Miami Social Enterprise Conference: Why It Mattered
L’économie au service de l’homme
Rue Des Entrepreneurs
Students Benefit from Longer School Days
Les Nouveau Réseaux Du Business
In Retrospect: TEDxAshokaU
Top 25 Most influential Non-profit Tweeters
Socialize Your Cause, social media consultants focused on the citizen sector, have just published a list of the "25 most influential non-profit tweeters" and they placed Ashoka at number 15! We're glad to be in such great company - be sure to check out the full list for many inspiring social entrepreneurs and important organizations doing great work.
Finance's Next Opportunity: Social Investing
Omidyar Network Awards Grant to NewsTrust
Ashoka Partner NewsTrust has just received a grant of $100,000 from Omidyar Network to create web-based tools that help people become more informed and engaged in democracy
The Untapped Opportunity in Unformed Markets
Just Imagine: Speakers at Naples Conference Focus on Economy, Taxes, Healthcare
Innovators for the World: Ashoka Goes Global
Want an Idea, Sirji?
Building Better and Cheaper
Focus on Technological Innovation at Conference
Focus on Technological Innovation at Conference
Tech4Society is already garnering international media attention. Read more about what The Hindu has to say about the event in Hyderabad, India.
The Cost of Opportunity
New Year, New Job, New Radical
Engage People, Retire Things
Celebrate World Toilet Day Today
Expert Calls for Community Involvement in Schools
Pioneering Social Entrepreneur Pays a Visit to Seattle
A New Piece of the Puzzle
Alan Khazei: The Best Bet to Carry Ted Kennedy's Legacy Forward
Creating Opportunity: Engineering Course Empowers Princeton's Social Entrepreneurs
Microsoft Alumni Find Productive Niche in Non-Profits
Nonprofit Founder Talks Up Innovation
Water is Key to Reducing Maternal Mortality
MBAs Turn to Social Enterprise
Math is Not Hard: A Simple Method that is Changing the World
Trouble in Tribal Lands
City-Based Water Conservationist to Receive Jamnalal Bajaj Award
A Nobel Prize for Leadership?
Young Entrepreneurs Make Social Change Their Business
What am I Going to Do with the Rest of My Life?
Innovation a Top Priority at Clinton Global Initiative
Community Service 2009
Taking the Homeless Beyond Shelters
Extreme Do-Gooders - What Makes Them Tick?
Manna from Houston
President Obama To Highlight Innovative Programs that are Transforming Communities Across the Nation
Civil Rights Law Program Connects Israel and the US
Banking on Bankless Neighborhoods
Baby's Space Takes a Big Step Forward in Minneapolis
Enterprise Introduces a Whiff of Revolution
Profit for Good
Ashoka Aids Rural Development across Africa
Social Challenges
Synthesized Learning – Carnegie Mellon University
Change the World – Be a Volunteer
Making a Profit and a Difference
Skoll 2009: Preaching to the Choir
At Skoll’s Annual Oxford Confab, Capitalism in Shift
Skoll World Forum and the Social Commons: Amidst Oxford's Spires - and in the Twitter Feeds - the Order Is Changing...
The Visionaries
Value Added: The Nonprofit Entrepreneur
Khulisa Founder Wins Social Award
Oxford and Beyond - Future Forums Could Go Global
Search Institute a Beacon for Youth
Teach Teens About Social Enterprise, Says Ashoka Leader
Bangladeshi MSM Activist Awarded Ashoka Fellowship
Local Teen Introduces 'Social Entrepreneur' for Phillips Award
A Matter of Choice
15 Questions with Bill Drayton ’65
Introducing HOP-SIP
Katherine Chon and Derek Ellerman: Fighting Human Trafficking
Social Entrepreneurs Go Mainstream
Supporting Social Entrepreneurs
Socially Responsible Profits
Lighting up Rural Indonesia through Community-owned Hydropower Projects
Giving Justice to Vulnerable Groups
Nike Plays New Game
Obama Appoints Indo-American in Inter-faith Council
Making Dollars, Making a Difference
Use Internet To Ramp Up Social Entrepreneurship Reach
What is Your Legacy?
They Stuffed Rags into My Mouth to Stop Me From Screaming
After-School Music Program Hopes to Keep Kids in Tune
Where Agriculture is a Happy Story
Andy Lipkis: Rebel With a Cause
Gates Foundation Gives Ashoka $15M for India, Sub-Sahara
Novel Trappings
David Bornstein Details the Power of Social Entrepreneurship -- A Path To Changing the World
The Importance of Rangaswamy Elango
A Career of Doing Good to Others
Expansion Capital for a Better World
Carmen Aristegui Interviews Bill Drayton
Ashoka CEO Bill Drayton is interviewed by CNN en Español. Translated in Spanish.
Making Leaders Out of Students: Leominster Senior Creates Workshop
Group Honors Students for Leadership Exploits
Sreelatha Menon: Making Farmers Grow
The New Way to Give: Venture-Cap Charity
Epping Teen Uses Grant to Open Bike Repair Shop
“Crisis Due to Short Term Results Without Assuming Risks”
Brown Student Wins Youth Entrepreneur Contest
Microfinance Firm Entrepreneurs Associates Helps Nagaland's Small Businesses Grow with Old-Fashioned Financial Wisdom
Business From The Heart
Analysis: Local Connections are the Key to Success
15 Charities for Investors
“Social entrepreneurs don’t want to help. They want to change the world.”
Next-Gen Givers
Sir Ian Botham's Faith, Hope and Charity
The Steadfast One
Civic Engagement 'Glossary' Lists Lexicon of Giving
Women Trafficking & Arms Trafficking in India's Northeast Region
‘The opportunity is now to address existing problems and find different ways of meeting people’s needs’
Youths Propel A Push Toward Volunteerism
How Donors Can Maximize Social Returns
Where Mushroom Means Money
Social Entrepreneurs Can Help Cut Climate Risks
Talia for President
Some Promising News About the News
50 Visionaries who are Changing Your World
When Money Isn't Flowing, Invent Your Own
Unbreakable Ties
Geotourism Innovators Honored at Summit
Look Ma, Bare Hands!
Build Up for Green!
Hasanain Juaini: Planting for a Better Future
For This Generation, Vocations of Service
Government Must Wake Up to the Din
Read More.
The Strategy of No Surrender
Indian Americans Should Be Philanthropic Force
Firms Look at Open Source for CSR Ideas
Don’t Escape Reality. Change It.
Conquering Ability
Journalism of the Future: Ashoka and Social Impact
Starting Up: Funding Your Social Venture
What the Heck is a Social Entrepreneur?
Social Networks, The Century's Greatest Idea
Power To The Bottom
Teens sift through urban clutter, clean up neighbourhoods
A Road Map for Women in Retirement
Recognizing Elena Durón
Ashoka and the Art of Social Entrepreneurship
Social Entrepreneurship: Make Everyone a Changemaker
USA: Smart CEO Women
Better World Entrepreneurs
Ruben Pablos has been Selected as a New Ashoka Fellow in Argentina
Abolitionists Take on Slavery
Social Entrepreneurs: the New Hope
Bringing Childhood Back into Hospital Wards
Bank on Them
Ashoka Fellow Reclaims US$600,000 in Government Funds for Children
After the Tigers: Building a Competitive Citizen Sector
Plano Youth Honored at National Summit
Spreading the Gospel
Citi, Ashoka Launch Worldwide Search for Financial Solutions
MBAs Lift Non-profit Sector
Global Water Challenge Finalists Chosen
School for Social Entrepreneurs
A New Breed of Entrepreneur
Announcement from Ashoka Arab World
Read More
Social Enterprises: New Engine of Development – II
Groundbreaking Dialog in the Dark Exhibition to Make Its U.S. Debut in Atlanta
Making the World a Better Place
Musheshe’s Social Democracy Transforms Kagadi
Egypt Fellow
Read More
More than a Decade Generating Action for Others: Solidarity Network
Agent of Change
Social Entrepreneurship Projects: Ideas fuse!
Ashoka Innovators for the Public
Ricardo Bertolino, Ashoka Entrepreneur , Develops Programs that Affects 50,000 People
Shok to the System
The New Entrepreneurs
Yachana Lodge: Training Amazon Youth in Eco-tourism
Everyone can Change the World is Ashoka's Motto
Reporting from the Growing Inclusive Markets Forum
Every Child Counts
Her Love for Animals Keeps Gorillas, People in Bwindi Healthy
Just Rs 10,000: That's All it took for 27 'Changemakers' to Transform Hundreds of Lives
A Global Network of Entrepreneurs
Ecuador wins Geotourism Contest
Pati Ruiz, Ashoka Social Entrepreneur, Awarded by the Conservation of Biodiversity Foundation BBVA 2007
Josefina: the mother of 500 girls
Women Forging New Bonds to Break Old Chains
Charity Prize Fight
Launching a Business With a Cause
I Can't Throw In the Towel
Investments in People
Unleashing Potential
Three Water and Sanitation Projects in India Win Online Search
Surcos Patagonian, established by Ashoka Fellow Killmeate Roberto, Obtains More than 13,000 Signatures on Draft of Law
Senegal: Entrepreneurs Chosen For Unique Award
Too Little, Too Late For Bangladesh Democratic Roadmap
Musheshe's Social Democracy Transforms Kagadi
The Social Entrepreneur's Cup Awards Finalists Announced
Something to Shout About
Funding Philanthropy Through Innovation
Peruvian Nominated for the World's Children Prize
Social Entrepreneurs Think Outside the Box
"Im Bad! Im Slick!"
A New Template for Funding Philanthropy
India: Dance, dance, dance away the blues
Entrepreneurs With Ethical Fibre
Sing a Song for Literacy
Africa: Honouring Africa's Social Entrepreneurs
Charlie Rose Tomorrow - Billy Parrish
Root Capital Helps Grass-roots Eco-ventures
Honour for Nigeria’s Changemakers
Ashoka Sentisizes Farmers on Bumper Harvest
The Challenge of Social Entrepreneurs
PROFILE: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, CEO, Bandhan
Searching for Solutions to Slavery
We've Seen This Movie Before
Inter-American Development Bank Promotes Youth as Agents for Change
Future Player: Dr Joseph Adelegan
Awarding Social Innovation
Gretchen Zucker, Executive Director of Youth Venture, Rings NASDAQ Opening Bell
Lessons from the museum
Thoroughly Modern Do-Gooders
Social entrepreneurship is the future of philanthropy
Santa Ana's 'Taller' wins international recognition
We Are What We Drink Is What We Are
Faces of Social Entrepreneurship
Allegheny County's One Life founder up for honor
The Influencers
Bill Drayton named one of the top 25 people, trends and events in the business world
Let’s kick some ball……
Global Policy Change Starts with Students
Students: Take a year off!
Governance and anti-corruption: India ranks eleventh
The dream of Change
More and more there should be less differentiation between social and business entrepreneurs
Back-Alley Breakthroughs
The Age of Ambition
Davos 2008: Bill Gates' Creative Capitalism and Muhammad Yunus' Social Business
Global Water Challenge and Ashoka's Changemakers' Worldwide Search for Social Entrepreneurs with Solutions to Water Challenges
Thanks for Ashoka's Social Entrepreneurs
Sowing the Seeds of Civil Society
The Environment and the Law
Paying to Change the World
Competing for a Change
Capitalism for a Better World
Ashoka: The Convert and the Missionary
Who Said that Everything is Lost?
The Market for Good
Social Entrepreneurs
Clean Concept that Won Kenyan Global Honors
Intelligent Giving
The Problems Still Have Not Yet Ended
Social Entrepreneur Bill Drayton On His White House Years
International Network of Social Entrepreneurs in RP
Now the Good News...
Women are the Best Citizens
Anamaria Schindler Speaks to La Hora N
KKL Impresses Prince Charles
In Latin America There is No Culture of Investment of Wealth
To Change the World with a Business
Business Without Profit
Ashoka Elects More Innovative Social Entrepreneurs
Penitentiary Institutions Support Project that Reduces Recidivism to 10%
A Focus on the Criminal, to Prevent Crime
Without Responsibility
Rickshaws Drive Entrepreneurship
World Business Review
In Northern Nigeria, Interreligious Peacemaking Precedes Development
'Green' Processing Facility's Time has Come
The Inspiration Man
Ashoka and Empresas Polar Present Success Stories of Social Entrepreneurship
Abel Albino, Leading Servant
Root Capital Founder Wins Prestigious Non-Profit Fellowship
Escape to Education
Building South African Dreamfields
Smart Sister is Working
Stories of People Who Have Found Something New in Common
Abel Albino Chosen as Humanitarian Leader
Developing Social Entrepreneurship
Ashoka Inducts Hernando de Soto
A Blueprint for Social Entrepreneurship
Read more
Entrepreneur of the Month
Philanthropy is Important, but Long Term Plans are Better
Create Jobs or Create Extremists, Says Arab Minister
Shantiniketan and Aurobindo Ashram Inspire Bhopal’s Alternative School for Street Children
First Female Private Space Explorer Investing in Social Entrepreneurs in Turkey
The Realist Idealists
Using Innovation to Beat Social Injustice in Turkey
Mutual Economic Aid, a New Way of Uniting Communities?”
Growing the Citizen Base; a Necessity for NGOs
Spend More, Save Less: New Age Mantra
The Spirit Of Ants
Letter Response to “Microfinance Misses its Mark"
Creating High-Impact Nonprofits
Govt Plans Insurance Scheme for Disabled
Abed Gets Clinton Global Award
Bringing a Change Through Social Entrepreneurship
Youths Help Kids Learn Their ABCs
Charity Seeks to Extend Opportunities for Immigrants by Expanding Services
For a World Without Sorrow
Words Matter: Time to Switch
Rise of the Other Multinational
HARVARD 100 LIST
A Conversation with Bill Drayton
The Case for National Service
Global Social Entrepreneurship
A Catalan Youth is Selected as One of the Three Best Social Entrepreneurs in the World
Contests kick-start innovation
Liliana Mayo on 3G TV
MBAs Have Big Roles to Play in Non-Profits
Life of Hardship Becomes Template for Sharing
The Big Idea: Indian Philanthropy
They Add 2,000 Social Entrepreneurs
Ethnic Karen Woman Admitted as Ashoka Fellow
Charity that Offers Fair Profit
A Battle Cry for Social Change
Expressing Hope
Youth Venture Out to Make a Difference Socially
Business of Making a Difference Turns Profitable for Firms
It Can be Hard to Give Away Your Cash to a Good Cause
Not Just a Piece of Cloth
Argentine Youth Can Present Their Social Initiatives to be Funded
Bugün otellerden çok, çevre ve genç insanlar için girişimcilere ihtiyacımız var
Global Competition Seeks Disruptive Innovations in Health and Health Care
Plano Youth's Service Program Nets Him $5K Staples Spree
Victor Ananias: Pioneer of Turkey's Ecological Movement
World Bank Grants Hope
Words Matter
Youth Travels the World to Visit Social Projects
Bill Drayton on Social Entrepreneurs
Do the Math
Social Reform Moves into Marketplace
People Who Make a Difference on NECN
After 60 Countries Rai Finds Roots in Diktel
Rozdają Stypendia na Pomaganie Ludziom
Right to Information is Vital for Common Citizens
Can the state create real social entrepreneurs?
Has Prahalad Made it's Mark?
Social Entrepreneurship Yields High Returns
Mainstreaming of the mavericks
Discrimination Against Muslims
The Friend of Choco
The Serial Fixer
Students Gain a Solid Foundation to Build on
Thinks Big About the Little Guy
He was spending more time on his charity efforts, but Mr. Bigari said he had no thought of selling his McDonald’s franchises until he became an Ashoka fellow in late 2004. “This would’ve just been a cool hobby if Ashoka hadn’t come along,” he said...
Read the complete article here if you are a subscriber of Times Select, or read it on the media page at America's Family.
Encouraging Development
A Dreamer Willing to Change the World of People with Mental Disability
The man behind social entrepreneurship
‘Social entrepreneurship was an oxymoron, today it is different’
Moving the backward forward
Novel insights of the social entrepreneur
The legacy of Klaus Schwab
Everyone Can Be A Changemaker
William Drayton, the man who coined the term ‘social entrepreneur’, tells Sunday Times why the citizen sector is coming into its own globally — and how that will change the world forever
Vikas Singh & Swati Anand | TNN
As a boy, he started a popular newspaper for New York schools, campaigned against racism and read about Mahatma Gandhi with fascination. As a teenager, he trudged through rural India, watching the Bhoodan movement in action and pestering Vinobha Bhava with endless questions.
Back in Harvard, he coined the term ‘social entrepreneur’ to describe individuals who have the energy, determination and innovation of entrepreneurs, but focus on changing the way society works rather than setting up businesses. A stint at consultancy giant McKinsey gave him insight into corporate functioning and public policy-making. As assistant administrator at the US Environment Protection Agency, he created the blueprint which paved the way for emissions trading.
But William ‘Bill’ Drayton, change maestro and eternally-restless ideator, finally found his calling in 1980 with the creation of Ashoka — a venture which provides funding to social entrepreneurs and helps them network to maximise their impact. And yes, in case you’re wondering, Ashoka is named after another of Drayton’s idols, the great Mauryan emperor and humanitarian who was, albeit unwittingly, one of the world’s first social entrepreneurs.
Twenty-five years on, the man named as one of the 25 best leaders in the US retains a slender frame, and remains an ethusiastic evangelist. The two may be linked. As we wait to chat with him, his lunch gently congeals, a casualty of his determination to talk to all colleagues and admirers who surround him. The twinkle in his eye stays in place, as does the ready smile.
Finally, we closet him in a secluded corner, where he immediately takes on the ‘perception gap’ about the citizen sector, which is how he describes NGOs. ‘‘Almost no one knows we’re the world’s fastest-growing sector. The citizen sector now creates three times as many jobs as any other in OECD countries. Students from the best B-schools now seriously think about it as a career option. The biggest organisations in the citizen sector influence national policy. All this would have been unthinkable 25 years ago.’’
What caused this revolution? ‘‘From the Roman empire to 1700 AD, per capita income hardly changed. But then, a new economic model developed, which ignited a virtuous cycle of entrepreneurial innovation leading to productivity gains, leading to more entrepreneurs. The west broke out of 1,200 years of stagnation. Average per capita income rose 20% in the 1700s, 200% in the 1800s and 740% in the last century.
The rise of social entrepreneurs
He pauses for breath, then plunges on. ‘‘The business transformation had bypassed the social half of the world’s operations. By the 19th century, a few social entrepreneurs like Florence Nightingale appeared, but they remained islands. That began to change around 1980. Simultaneously, we had the communication revolution. Politically, the generals retreated in Latin America. Finally, the fall of the Soviet empire in 1989 changed the world forever. This was also a period which saw the coming of age of many generations in post-colonial countries like India. This new generation was better educated than their parents and not demoralised by corruption. They believed that they could do better, and they did. After all, it’s entrepreneurs who fix problems, because bureaucracies don’t make changes. In the last 25 years or so, social entrepreneurship has blossomed. Today, we’re entering an era when every single person can be a change maker.’’
How will this new reality impact individuals? ‘‘There’s a whole new range of career opportunities. Whether you’re 20 or 60, you have a chance to make a positive difference, tell your grandchildren you did something worthwhile. There is no glass ceiling because demand for talent is hugely outstripping supply. And you’re hooked onto a global network. You work together, share the best ideas. You can make something work in India, and then someone can pick it up in Indonesia, or Brazil, or Venezuela. This is a positive side of globalisation, and I think it will balance many of the imbalances. The other actors in globalisation are nation-states, who don’t function too well there, and corporates, who don’t provide adequate social representation. Now, we do. Why is there an international criminal court? Not because nation-states wanted it, but because 2,000 citizen groups got together and lobbied for it. Twenty years ago, there was a certain condescending attitude. People would say, ‘Oh, it’s a nice little bunch of people doing something in a village — a drop in the ocean’. They don’t say that anymore.’’
Talking business
How will businesses be impacted? ‘‘Business strategists who haven’t woken up to the emergence of a world in which everyone is a changemaker could be in for a big surprise, just like western companies were caught off-guard by the rise of Japan. Collaborating with the citizen sector and using its strengths to create hybrid value chains could be a huge source of competitive advantage. Besides, corporates could increasingly look at the citizen sector as a source of recruitment of proven innovators. At a structural level, businesses are increasingly going to have to remake themselves to become organisations of changemakers, because that will be the success factor. Look at companies like Google, which want every single employee to be creative. Companies which embrace this paradigm first, will be the ones that benefit.’’
Traditionally, hasn’t business had an adversarial relationship with the citizen sector? ‘‘There are stereotypes on both sides. But when the best entrepreneurs from both sides sit down together, they find lots in common. We’re now looking at both sides working together for mutual benefit. For example, in Mexico, it can take up to five years for a poor family to add a single room to their dwelling. But one of our associates tied up with cement manufacturer Cemex to give prefabricated units which can be added together to build that room a lot faster, at much lesser cost. Families get an additional room, and Cemex, customers it never did before.’’
Will mainstream financial institutions ever fund the citizen sector with the intention of making a profit? ‘‘I’m talking to a few people about it. Certainly if you look at Grameen Bank and other microfinance ventures, there’s no question there’s good business potential there.’’
What about the criticism that NGOs now routinely attract? For starters, many are accused of just being money-grabbing ventures? The response is straightforward: ‘‘Well, we have pretty professional donors now who tend to build relationships with the NGO and keep a close watch on how their money is being spent. Besides, this is a highly-competitive field where there’s intense rivalry for finance and talent. Organisations that don’t measure up to high standards don’t last too long.’’
There’s also talk of many NGOs being oneman shows which don’t have the managerial talent to scale higher? ‘‘That could be true of any sector. But I think truly great entrepreneurs either find colleagues who make up for their shortcomings, or find a way to improve their own performance so that they can get the job done. Fundamentally, this sector is driven by entrepreneurs. And even in the corporate world, it isn’t always a good idea to replace entrepreneurs with professional managers. Apple tried that and look where it got them. They had to get Steve Jobs back and, no surprises, they’re a force again.’’
Finally, how should governments react to the new superempowered citizen? ‘‘If you’re looking for the best solutions to public policy problems, you need to tap the citizen sector. Let’s say you’re in charge of public education. You really need to pull your socks up. Because across the world, billions of people have given up on public education altogether. If you want to remedy that, you probably need to work with citizens that are making a difference. But I concede that governments don’t always respond speedily to change. So we’ll need to constantly cajole, nudge and push.’’ Chances are, that’s exactly what he’ll keep doing — with not too many breaks for food and sleep, without ever losing that twinkle in the eye.
Youth Ventures
Profile: Sunitha Krishnan
The Green Gold Story
A global organization with a wonderful vision
Read the article in Japanese
ASHOKA is an organisation that supports social entrepreneurs worldwide; Mr. Mohammad Yunus, Nobel price winner 2006 - president of Grameen Bank, hugely praises the organization. ASHOKA, located at Arlington, Virginia USA.
Mr William Drayton mentioned that the reasons for increasing more social entrepreneurs are because it is challenging and far more interesting than normal business. The organisation supports 1800 social entrepreneurs in 60 countries worldwide in welfare, health care, education, etc.
Mr Drayton, born in 1943, worked for McKinsey Company after graduating law school. Then, he was engaged with Environmental problems in the environment office during President Carter’s government. Under Regan's government Mr. Drayton was so disappointed with the decreased budgets for environmental policy of the new government that he resigned from office.
He set up his own organization "ASHOKA" after his resignation in order to support people who worked on social environmental problems and welfare. Ashoka is named after a King who was respected by people for his work in 3BC.
Mr Drayton says that in order to be a social entrepreneurs you must have, not only good business ideas but also you must have determination and leadership. So, their selection process for fellows are very rigorous. The selection criteria are creativity for the business, continuance, impact on society, logicality. Candidates are interviewed for 5-50 hours and assessed as genuine social entrepreneurs.
142 people were chosen as fellows last year.
Fellows are provided full living costs for 3 years, enabling them to fully concentrate on their activities. Also, McKinsey and various Law offices will give them free support.
Mr Drayton comments strongly that the work of social entrepreneurs will influence the local society and the country, and be able to change and shape the society worldwide.
ASHOKA started the business with the funds of only $50,000 in 1980, but in 2006, the funds for the activities have been increased to $34,000,000.
The father of social entrepreneurs in USA, Mr. Draton says: There are no Japanese Fellows yet, but we are prepared to support Japanese social entrepreneurs any time in the future.
Bricks and Mortar
Transforming rural farming
'Normal Childhood' Sought by Palestinian Theater
This Doctor Specializes in House Calls
Read more here
Media Told to Help Solve Social Ills
Ashoka social activists call for more media coverage on changes in society
By Ary Hermawan
Jakarta --- The media should play a role in providing the public with solutions to their problems and be more sensitive to ongoing social changes, say social activists.
"The media should know where to place themselves when responding to new movements and changes in the society. Will they be mere audiences or actively involved?" Ashoka representative for Indonesia Mira Kusumarini said to The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a workshop for journalists here Tuesday.
Ashoka is an international body grouping leading social entrepreneurs who have contributed to solving social problems by providing solutions that change people's lives.
Mira said it was time for the media to serve as "the bridge between problems and solutions."
"The media plays an important role in the process of social change," she said.
Joyce Djaelani Gordon, an HIV/AIDS prevention activist and an Ashoka fellow, said the issues of social entrepreneurs were not interesting nor newsworthy enough for the media. "Gossip and politics are indeed more newsworthy," she said.
Both Joyce and Mira said the media did not pay enough attention to the dynamics and rapid changes in society.
Mira said that promoting social entrepreneurship meant more than writing profiles and telling success stories.
"People's profiles in the media usually focus on the backgrounds of individuals. Social entrepreneurs are those who change the system, whose works have had tremendous impacts on people's lives," she said.
Established in 1981, Ashoka has elected over 1,800 leading social entrepreneurs, including this year's Nobel Peace laureate, Muhammad Yunus, as Ashoka fellows, providing them with living stipends, professional support and access to a global network of peers in more than 60 countries. A hundred and twenty five Indonesians are members of the body.
For 20 years, Ashoka Indonesia has helped entrepreneurs convey their ideas and works to people in the hope that those ideas could be widely applied.
"We have been here for 20 years but many of our activities were not covered (by the media)," she said.
Among the Ashoka Indonesia fellows is information technology expert Onno W. Purbo. He was elected for his "central role in transforming Indonesia into a knowledge-based society".
Onno and his associates have been engaged in broadening access to and use of the Internet and advocating related changes in public policy. Other Ashoka fellows include 68H Radio News Agency director Tosca Santoso and education activist Butet Manurung.
Mira said she hoped that with support from Ashoka networks, the spirit of innovation, creativity and imagination as shown and practiced by Ashoka fellows could spread to others.
"We want people freed from their problems by helping them find solutions. Ashoka wants to spread that virus," she said.
How to Give Away a Million Dollars
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Slate 60, the magazine's annual listing of the 60 largest American donors to charity. As David Plotz wrote earlier this year, the idea behind the list is to fuse American generosity and competitiveness. This week, we are focusing on philanthropy to coincide with a conference of Slate 60 donors that the magazine is co-sponsoring with the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas. To kick off the discussion, we asked writers, artists, academics, and other thoughtful people a question: If you had a million dollars to give, who would get it? Their answers are below.
James Fallows, national correspondent, the Atlantic A million dollars is really an awkward number. If you said, "What would you do with a billion dollars?" we could talk about setting up new research institutes or huge change-the-world undertakings. If you said, "What would you do with a thousand dollars?" I could name a specific charity worth getting a little more help. But a million dollars is in the gray zone—too much to feel good about blowing on just any old charity, too little to allow you really to change the world.
I'm tempted to say that I'd use the money to buy as many acres of forest land as possible in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, the Congo, or elsewhere, because in the short run I fear that such ownership is the main way to keep the forests from being cut down. But I realize that on its own, that would probably yield parcels too small to make a difference. So, on reflection, I would probably divide the money between two organizations that have pioneered brilliant ways of matching entrepreneurship with good works of the environmental, medical, poverty-reducing, and democratizing variety, and that have delivered a lot of value per dollar spent. They are Ashoka and Global Giving. Each represents an inventive new model of deciding which projects to support, and each appears to work. I'd probably hold back $100,000 or so and give it to Medecins sans Frontieres.
Bill Drayton is one of Harvard's 100 "Most Influential"
It's Not Easy Being a Social Entrepreneur
Activism Isn't Just for Kids
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Bill Drayton Paints a Vision of Changemaking
Philanthropy Must Integrate to the Financial System
He is the creator of Ashoka, an organization that finances thousands of social entrepreneurs around the world. His revolutionary theory about the ethics of empathy.
Bill Drayton is not aware of the failed terrorist attack that took place in London just a few days ago. He is about to get on a plane back to Washington DC and he has no idea that he will not be able to take with him his carry on bag. “When you look at things the way I do, what is printed in the newspapers each day becomes less important”, explains this 62 year old man, slim, with thick glasses. He came to Buenos Aires to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of ASHOKA, the organization he funded in 1980 to provide support to those who do something to change the world. In these 25 years Ashoka has financed projects from 1.700 social entrepreneurs in 62 countries. After walking a few blocks down Plaza San Martín, he started talking with Veintitrés about his particular perspective on the world.
Your organization has been operating in Latin America for the last 20 years, what is your vision on the new leftist governments of the region and specially how do you see the Kirchner administration here in Argentina?
The end of the dictatorships has been essential for the explosion of the social sector in Latin America. In 1980, Brazil for example, had 5,000 citizenship groups. Today there are 441, 000. I am interested in understanding the history and the structural processes, not what was published yesterday in the newspaper. If you look at the newspapers of the last 200 years, they have always been focused in the daily events: the new personality, the war, the hurricane, the current president. But when I look at the history, none of that is what really matters. Who remembers who was Charles de Gaulle?, What is happening now in Latin America and in the world started in 1980. That sector of society that works with childhood, health, community development, human rights, went through a structural transformation with no historical precedent. When this process is finished, society will be very different, an then, who will be really interested in what is going on in the newspaper or who is the current president?
You said that the entrepreneurial sector has increased in a considerable manner in the last 200 years and that the time has come for the social sector. If this were to happen, what would you think humanity would reach: a new capitalism, a new communism?
I think that is to somehow underestimating my idea. 2000 years ago, individuals went through an agricultural revolution, whose result was a productive system
That resulted in few excesses. While a few accumulated these excesses, the rest of the people went through life working in the countryside and trying to survive. Even today we live in a world were a small portion of people dominate basically everything. From my point of view, the reason why 30% of the world population is marginalized responds to a certain inertia of the family expectations and the deep flaw of the educational system.
The cause of poverty lies in education?
The education system that we have today was created in 1990 and is based on the transference of information. The professor only measures how much the student knows about Spanish, maths and if he can handle the grade fractions. I remember that fractions were a nightmare for me. Nobody asks himself if that person is dominating those abilities that are really going to contribute to the life of that person. The rest of the information can be learned further on in life, but if a person fails to dominate abilities such as empathy from a young age, he never will. If the young people are not given the possibility to be powerful, how can we expect them to be and feel powerful when they are adults? We are trapped. I believe the revolution that we are going through in the social sector is a process that will set free.
What do you mean with “dominating empathy”?
It deals with changing an ethic which was based in rules, which in turn is useful for homogeneous communities, by the empathy ethics, to be used in a modern globalized world. Every time one is about to make a decision, one must think about al the people that is around him, not only the two or three people that they have in front, but a larger community. We must think “This action will cause a problem to these people”. If this is the case, one must change the action or cancel it. This is not easy to apply. Nonethess, it is necessary in a world in which rules are not enough. Everything changes too quickly and each group has their own rules.
I don’t think a lot of people dominate empathy, how can we achieve this change?
In Canada, Mary Gordon, a school teacher found a simple, efficient method to stop “bullying”, the physical and verbal abuse teaching children up too 14 years of age to develop empathy. Her method consists in taking a baby to a school classroom one hour per month, during a whole year. In these encounters, the baby is the professor and the students must understand what the professor is trying to say. One year old babies are very good at non verbal communication. As the children put themselves in the babiy´s place, they quickly develop a sense of empathy. They become emotionally educationally. After this monthly workshop, the bullying indexes decreased in every school where the method was applied. This is the power that a social entrepreneur has when he implements his idea.
Don’t you think we need a more radical change?
The point is that this the most radical structural change that I have ever seen. When the moment comes when there are millions of people with the freedom to generate change every time they see a problem, how will we be stopped? The idea of having international criminal courts rose from the pressure of thousands of citizen groups. Thanks to this initiative, for the first time in human history, you me and each person in this planet can appeal to a court which is above each national State. Now, other groups are asking themselves: “what do I have to do to create a similar institution for the environment, for example”. There is no way to stop this.
Which is your opinion on the large scale philanthropic initiatives such as the Bill Gates Foundation?
The amount of money of the Bill Gates Foundation is small compared to the needs of the world. The question is: is it being used in an intelligent manner? We have inherited a financial system destines to the citizen sector that is full of flaws. The important thing is that Gates is presenting an experiment dealing with new forms within the field of philanthropy. For example his foundation does not have a conventional board of directors. The foundation is managed by the family, as if it were a commercial enterprise. This allows them to manage things in a different way. It is a great challenge.
Which are the flaws in the traditional philanthropy?
That contrary to the successful firms, foundations do not listen to their clients, that is, those they must benefit. Any enterprise that does not listen to its clients, and is not willing to change roles, is dead. This is the important structural problem with traditional philanthropy.
You talked about using a financial perspective on social investment. How does that work?
I don’t think it is working too well nowadays and that is exactly the problem. But, what is the future? We will see a series of institutions that we still can’t imagine. I am very pessimistic in terms of the capacity of the foundations and the government agencies to make this transition. Because I think that we are dealing with a structural problem: they have inadequate or non existent nervous systems. Therefore, which is the great player we must include here? I believe it is the profit sector, the financial system. The challenge is to integrate philanthropy with the financial system. We need banks which are willing to provide credits, taking advantage of the opportunities that are being generated by the citizen sector.
Do you ever get tired of your work?
The thing is that this job is magical; it is not in the least bit tiring. I have the privilege of working with the best entrepreneurs of the world, the most friendly, ambitious people that are not cynical because they are changing the world. They are very creative, realistic and at the same time optimistic. But at the same time, sometimes I rest and take some time for myself. In my free time I enjoy traveling as a back packer. Probably ina few days I will travel to British Columbia or Canada.
The Brazilian entrepreneur Oded Grajew joked that you should be the next president of the United States, Have you really though about this?
Who would want to change the best job for one of the hardest? If you think about what is important from a historic perspective, this is the revolution of the social sector. During many years we lived in a world dominated by an elite. Now, we are about to change this. This is the place I want to be when that happens.
Core businesses can be socially relevant
Ashoka Foundation has pioneered the social venture capital approach in international development. This non-profit body is now working on the idea of corporate social responsibility. Sushmita Ghosh, former president and now member of Ashoka Foundation's Leadership Team, explains to Ritu Rohatgi what it entails:
Q: How can core businesses be socially relevant?
eBay and Google have done it and increasingly that's the way many corporates are headed. The core of eBay's business is what founder Pierre Omidyar elaborates as Global Economic Democracy. Today, it is clear that Omidyar's perception has paid off. In the beginning, many prophesied that his formula could not work when complete strangers have to deal with complete strangers. But it's now obvious that it does. This San Jose-based company has become the largest person-to-person online trading community. It used the web to create a totally new market in the form of an auction. After meeting him, I was convinced core businesses can be system-changing as well.
Q: Can the social sector ever become mainstream?
That's what we are working towards. We do not want NGOs. We want a citizen sector where merging happens and social needs become an automatic concern of each and every sector. It's about scaling it all up. It's all about changing the language, a matter of talking to the decision maker in a language that's dear to him: reach out to the market, make money while doing larger good.
Q: What is doing larger good for someone who is not an activist?
eBay made Jeff Skoll a billionaire. Now he is doing something very different — producing political movies like Syriana. Skoll saw that the films he loved didn't have much follow up in the real world and decided to provide an infrastructure that would allow movies to make a difference. His company Participant Productions creates partnerships with activist groups, organises an action campaign around each movie, and has set up a community website where people can become involved in group blogs with high-profile experts. Skoll describes Participant as a venture that straddles business and philanthropy. The mantra is how your core business can bring social change.
Q: How are you involved with it?
Ashoka has designed a Hybrid Value Chain framework to encourage social entrepreneurs and large businesses to join forces to serve low-income communities around the world while creating value for their organisations. Mexico, Brazil and India are our priority countries. Our full programme is deployed in Mexico and will be in India and Brazil this year. Entering into partnerships with innovative citizen sector organisations can create opportunities for businesses interested in entering low-income markets.
Turkey's born-again farmer
By Fazile Zahir
FETHIYE, Turkey - Organic food might change your life, but organic farming can change the lives of thousands. Nazmi Ilicali, born in 1953, grew up in the east of Turkey in the province of Erzurum, famous for its scorching summers and hard winters. Erzurum, one of Turkey's poorest districts, is where Nazmi's life has been spent enriching the barren lives of those around him.
First he trained as a teacher, and then he spent 25 years working in schools in and around his home town. After his retirement he found himself bored and at loose ends, and inactivity soon developed into such a serious drinking problem that his nickname around town became "Alcoholic Nazmi".
He struggled on and finally, with the help of his family and a burning new interest, he began to recover. Nazmi discovered farming, in particular organic farming, and the power of this raw contact with the earth and its produce pulled him out of his personal quagmire and led him to enhance the lives and livelihoods of thousands of other farmers in his area.
Nazmi is more than just a simple farmer, he is a born-again farmer with a zealous devotion to organic farming and a burning desire to organize other people around him to reap its benefits as well. As part of his rehabilitation he joined the Daphan Plains Organic Agriculture Project (set up in 1996) and grew to play a key part in the successful efforts of the organization.
He explains why, ironically, the poverty of this area makes it perfect for starting organic farming projects: "The earth in this area is especially suitable, because the local population is so poor that for years they have been unable to afford chemical fertilizers. The climate is good for organic agriculture, too. The frost and cold here even kill the eggs laid in the earth by insects, and because of that there is no need for pesticides - we have a totally chemical-free soil."
Soon after joining the Daphan project, Nazmi took a further step. "After doing extensive research, I decided that organic agriculture was the only investment with good potential in the east of Turkey. But I also knew that any efforts would have to be made in an organized way. When I first became involved three years ago, I brought 633 farmers together, and the European Community gave me the financial support to set up the Eastern Anatolian Farmers and Livestock Keepers Union. Now we have 3,000 members, and are still gathering members like an avalanche gathers snow."
Nazmi is the president of the union, which includes farmers from 12 different areas as members, and he has acquired a new nickname: "Organic Nazmi".
Each year he plans new measures to improve his union members' lives. This year union money will be spent on new farming tools that will be owned communally and lent out for poor farmers to use for free. Nazmi's new social conscience and sense of responsibility extend to all areas of his farmers' lives: "Because I'm a teacher, I place great importance on education. I believe that education is more important than profits. From now on every farmer should know how to use a computer and have an e-mail address. They should be able to communicate with their fellow farmers nationally and internationally. For those that want them, we are going to provide English lessons."
Nazmi's name and the success of the Daphan Plains project have spread worldwide. Last year the American Ashoka Entrepreneur Trust gave the project an award for "social entrepreneurship". This month a delegation from Japan came to visit, and Nazmi said, "They were very impressed. From now on our products will be found on Japanese dinner tables too."
Daphan produces organic wheat, rye, barley, white beans, green lentils, chickpeas and bulgur wheat. Its website, www.daphan.org, invites buyers to order the type of vegetables and pulses they want grown organically and, on signing contracts, Daphan will supply them. Next year in a new diversification the project will distribute 600 cows to its members so they can start farming organic meat and milk.
Nazmi explains that when they first started, the biggest problem they had was the packaging and processing of their organic products. Rather than allowing this to stall their progress, they built a small factory and made every member of the association a shareholder. The factory began to grind their own cereals into flour and package it. Their brand identity, sales and profit margins have all improved since.
The efforts of Nazmi and the Daphan Plains organic project are not just appreciated by the 3,000 farmers in the Erzurum area, the benefits stretch across the country to the urban sprawl that is Istanbul. The city council set up a program in 2005 that encourages rural villagers to stay in their home provinces rather than migrate to Istanbul. The Daphan Plains project and Istanbul council have recently come to an agreement whereby the council buys the project's organic wheat for the public bakery. Under the terms of the contract the city will take 10,000 tonnes of organic wheat, which will earn the project 1 million liras (US$675,000).
Kadir Topbas, the head of the Istanbul council, said organic farming projects had halted rural-to-urban migration in several areas around Erzurum. He underlined the importance of supporting these types of projects both locally and by the central government: "The government provides serious support to these projects. As a local council we have a five-year contract with the Erzurum area. We supply Istanbul residents with access to organic bread as a result and we plan to help these areas to market all their produce in the future. The success of these projects has resulted in more than 1,000 families leaving Istanbul and returning to their home villages."
Organic Nazmi is a happy man, and so are the people he surrounds himself with. Mehmet, one of his farmers, summed up the change in their lives by saying: "We go to our fields smiling now and breed our livestock with a lot of happiness. We are very proud of Nazmi and what he has done."
River ambulance to provide medical services to char people of North Bengal
A river ambulance is afloat on the river Jamuna to provide medical services to the monga-hit char people of North Bengal, reports BDNEWS. 'Friendship', a private charity organisation, will launch the medical service from the next month. The ambulance, to be run by an engine-driven boat, will cover Kurigram and Gaibandha districts in the first phase.
French citizen Yves Marre who is a naval architect and his wife Runa Khan Marre, who hails from Tangail, have been providing medical services through a ship-turned hospital called 'Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital' to the char people of North Bengal for the past three years.
Runa Marre is also an Ashoka Fellow. The Marre couple are the initiators of the river ambulance.
Runa Marre told BDNEWS that this unique ambulance, which is 20 metres in length and six metres in width, would at first be used to bring patients to the Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital from the remote char areas.
If necessary, critical patients would be sent to nearby district hospitals, she added.
Runa said it is the first ever endeavour to introduce this kind of ambulance service in our country. Such types of ambulance are not even available in the neighbouring countries, she added.
This type of ambulance is very useful in carrying patients to hospital on an emergency basis in the riverine country, she said.
According to her, more such ambulances need to be introduced in our country.
"We want to extend our support with a plan of the boat and other relevant consultancy services, if governmental or private initiators wish to introduce such type of ambulance service in the country, she said.
On how the patients from the remote char areas would be identified, Runa said, "We have provided one mobile phone set for each temporary health centre and other projects which we have established in the remote char areas almost on a voluntary basis. With the help of the cell phone, the news will reach within minutes.
She said, 'Joyark', a British-based organisation, is financially assisting the 'Friendship River Ambulance'.
Making a Difference
Looking for something to do in later life? These people are changing the world.
By SCOTT R. SCHMEDEL
We hear a lot these days about "the new retirement," a stage in life when older Americans embrace new careers and challenges or satisfy passions they've neglected for years. Some start a business, explore the globe, or hit all the golf courses.
But think about this: For some, the phrase means striving to better the world around them.
Civic Ventures, a San Francisco think tank, identifies these ambitious and resourceful folks as being among a new breed of "social entrepreneurs."
"They may have been business entrepreneurs in their middle years," says Marc Freedman, the organization's president. "Now they're worshiping a different bottom line -- a better society, enhancing the common good. If you create wealth, it's OK, but it isn't enough."
For many of these people, what they're doing is like starting a small business: They see a need for a service, form an organization, seek financing, and aim for an expanding venture that can help to support and perpetuate itself. You don't have to be a Bill Gates to join this club.
Last fall, in an effort to recognize and encourage this growing phenomenon, Civic Ventures introduced the Purpose Prize -- an award of $100,000 to go to each of five social entrepreneurs age 60 or older. Funds for the first three years of the annual judging are to come from $9 million donated by Bermuda-based Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation, in West Conshohocken, Pa.
The prize highlights the emergence of innovative altruism among older Americans. In a survey of 1,000 people age 50 to 70 that Civic Ventures commissioned last year, nearly three in five of those in their 50s said they wanted to use the next stage of their lives to improve the quality of life in their communities. Civic Ventures named the first 15 finalists for the prize in June, awarding each $10,000. It will announce the winners Sept. 5. Here is a look at four of the finalists:
ROBERT CHAMBERS
"I got sick watching low-income people being taken advantage of when they bought cars."
An electrical engineer with a varied career, including running his own business, 62-year-old Robert Chambers, of Lebanon, N.H., was an auto salesman for five years. Seeing some dealers prey on needy customers disgusted him.
In rural New England, a car is almost required to get to a job. Yet "most low-income people don't make good decisions about cars," Mr. Chambers says: They pay far too much to dealers for high-maintenance used cars; with no credit standing, they accept loans with interest rates of 17% to 35%. "I saw [salesmen] high-fiving when they got a $5,000 profit on a car that was going to die in a year."
So, after musing with a friend and talking to some bankers, in 2001 Mr. Chambers started Bonnie CLAC (for Car Loans and Counseling). It steers low-income people to buying new, base-model cars at prices and on loan terms equal to those obtained by people with more negotiating savvy and solid credit. Bonnie CLAC guarantees the loans -- more than 750 of them so far.
Mr. Chambers has arranged price and extended-warranty deals with a dozen auto dealers and interest rates with some banks. He says the average purchase involves a total, with financing, of less than $15,000, with no money down; a warranty; interest at just over 6%; and an $800 fee to Bonnie CLAC. The average monthly payment is around $270.
"We don't give things away, we give a hand up," Mr. Chambers says. "They have to work hard to achieve the rest." Buyers must have a job and be able to meet the monthly payment, and Bonnie CLAC gives them basic training in managing their finances.
Auto dealers and banks make a fair profit. Bonnie CLAC, a nonprofit, pays a dozen employees and doesn't rely on volunteers. The program has branches in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
The satisfaction for Mr. Chambers: "Once people get this stability, they can focus on other things besides getting to the job.... Many go on to better-paying jobs [and] get into the mainstream."
For more information, see www.bonnieclac.org.
MARTHA FRANCK ROLLINS
"I thought, how can God use an antiques dealer?"
Listen to 63-year-old Martha Rollins, of Richmond, Va., and you discover that she is driven by her nature and her religion to try to connect the poor and the privileged in ways that can "energize" both.
Ms. Rollins has a reputation for overcoming adversity, be it a balky horse or breast cancer. Four years ago, a longtime customer of her prosperous antique shop gave her a new challenge after hearing how urgently she wanted to rehabilitate former prison inmates. He offered a grant of $150,000 if she would start making her dream come true.
The customer's largess was like a starter's pistol shot for a sprinter. Within nine months, Ms. Rollins won a matching grant from her church's community fund; opened a used-furniture store in a crime-ridden district of north Richmond; and began a job-training program. Next, she broadened her mission to include raising the downtrodden and bridging the cultural gap between Richmond's white and black communities.
While her husband, a retired lawyer, took over the antique shop, she added to her nonprofit initiative with such side businesses as furniture restoration, a cafe, catering, home repair and moving -- ventures that provide training, jobs and revitalization for a blighted black neighborhood, and that produce revenue to keep things growing.
Ms. Rollins named her organization Boaz and Ruth, after a biblical couple who taught that giving and receiving become reciprocal -- a lesson she learned years ago. With degrees in religion and teaching from Duke University, she was bored as a young housewife and considered entering the Presbyterian ministry, but wound up running her own business for 30 years. During that time, she was active in programs to improve conditions for the poor, but wasn't content as a part-timer. Then, cancer surgery at 51 increased her need to realize her dreams, even as it slowed her pace.
Finally, the challenge issued by her customer made her think: "Maybe that's my gift, being a catalyst for other people to give money.... The [customer] found that their gift is to give seed money."
And the balky horse? Ms. Rollins remembers that episode when asked about the prospect of winning -- or losing -- the Purpose Prize: Her horse kept stopping at a jump, and, "My instructor said, 'That's because you're looking at the jump, not beyond it.' So if I look at the prize, I'm stopping my need to look beyond it, to share and give back what I already have received."
See www.boazandruth.com.
BERNARD FLYNN
"One of our goals is to get a place at the table for environmental concerns."
Barney Flynn's family was farming 1,400 acres of almonds and prunes near Red Bluff, Calif., when he got involved in flood control to protect the property. In 1989, the family sold 500 acres behind eroding levees along the Sacramento River to a federal agency for a wildlife refuge that would become a bulwark for the remaining farmland.
A nature lover, Mr. Flynn asked the agency to allow the river to breach its levees and to plant native trees to shore up the land. The agency responded with a contract for him to do the job.
Mr. Flynn, 71, is a Harvard University graduate who once worked as a computer programmer and is well-grounded in agricultural technology. He approached the tree planting as though it were his own commercial venture and applied orchard-production techniques to invent a new model for flood control, river restoration and wildlife preservation.
His success inspired him to spread the word to neighboring farmers and communities, ecologists, and state and local agencies. In 1998, he helped found River Partners, a nonprofit based in Chico, Calif., that is operated with businesslike efficiency by a fully paid staff to stimulate, plan and help carry out thousands of acres of river restoration in extended areas of California. About half of River Partners' projects involve competitive bids for government contracts, jobs from which it may make a profit. Any profits, though, are plowed back into paying overhead costs.
Mr. Flynn's broad purpose: "We need to keep our environment whole, a...concern that wouldn't ordinarily be dealt with by the economy at large."
And what he has learned for himself: "Involving yourself in...filling gaps left by our for-profit economy is a transforming experience. Just as important is what is going to happen to you. Forming a new organization in later years with younger people is an asset to personality development, and it transforms the way you look at the world, through the lenses of other people's eyes."
HERBERT STURZ
"I keep doing it because I think I can make a difference, and I get pleasure from doing it."
At 75, Herb Sturz has a résumé of public-service achievements that began in his 20s and won't stop. His imaginative nonprofits have left indelible marks all over New York City, on criminal-justice reform, affordable housing for the homeless, support for victims of abuse, and other vital causes.
While shunning elected office, Mr. Sturz has served as a deputy mayor for criminal justice and a chairman of the City Planning Commission. And he is a trustee of the Open Society Institute, New York, a foundation created by financier George Soros to promote democracy, education and human-rights causes. In sum, Mr. Sturz over the decades has forged a solid link between the lowly and the high and mighty.
His two current interests, as usual, are diverse -- at opposite ends of the life line. The After-School Corp., started with a challenge grant from Open Society, has sponsored programs in New York to help working parents keep their children off the streets. He is undertaking to develop such programs across the country.
The other enterprise reflects Mr. Sturz's own feelings about aging and service: "As I've gotten older, I've wondered about older people: Why shouldn't every person have a shot at working? Work is the heart and soul of a person's being." Yet retirees represent a little-used resource of skills and experience that could be tapped well into their old age.
Early in 2005, Mr. Sturz started ReServe to place restless retirees in part-time positions with social-service and government bodies that need qualified employees but are on tight budgets.
ReServists are paid an average of $10 an hour for 15 hours a week, Mr. Sturz says. "Money changing hands is very important.... We think the host agency will take them more seriously, [and] for some [part-timers] those funds will make a difference. "But we start with the individuals: If they feel the work is meaningful, that will keep them healthier and happier."
Growing self-sufficiency
A husband and wife's mission to heal the environment and free poor farmers from debt
When Payong Srithong was elected to the prestigious Ashoka Fellowship in 2000 for being a change-maker, he was not quite sure he fit the bill.
''I don't think I have made any significant changes to society,'' he said humbly. ''But I just hope that small attempts can lead to some big changes someday.''
Instead of joining the world of business in the big city, Payong and his wife, Raweewan, who both graduated from Thammasat University, have chosen to dedicate themselves to improving the well-being of ethnic Karen and needy Thai villagers in a community in Dan Chang district, Suphan Buri province.
''It was my intention to come back and work in my hometown, to use my knowledge to improve society,'' said Payong, a native of Suphan Buri.
For more than 10 years, the couple have been living in Ban Huay Hin Dam, a village in Dan Chang, promoting agro-ecological farming, which they believe is good for both low-income farmers and the environment.
In agro-ecological farming, farmers forego the use of chemical fertilisers and insecticides, and grow a variety of crops to ensure food security as well as to maintain the ecological balance of their farms.
''This is what our grandparents and great-grandparents did in the old days,'' said Raweewan.
Before the advent of modern, chemical-dependent farming techniques, Thai farmers usually grew a variety of crops mainly for their own consumption; only the surplus was sold for cash.
A major change in Thailand's agricultural system came after the introduction of the first National Economic Development Plan in 1961 under the regime of strongman Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, Raweewan pointed out.
To bolster Thailand's economic growth, the plan promoted commercial farming to produce exports through large plantations of single types of cash crops.
With the popular motto ''Work is money, money is work, they give happiness'', the Sarit regime aggressively promoted materialism to push for higher productivity.
The government's promotion of the use of agrochemicals to increase productivity, and the lure of money encouraged most farmers to jump on the bandwagon. Consequently, they ended up having to borrow money to buy high-yield seeds, chemicals and farm machinery. More often than not, their hopes for riches were dashed by the high investment needed and the low prices they received for their crops.
''Most farmers don't think about production costs or income and expenses, so they don't know whether their investment will be profitable,'' observed Rawee-wan.
In addition, farmers need large scale plantations to lower production costs. With low productivity and low returns, however, the ensuing debts can become large.
To clear the debts, farmers have to take out more loans so they can gamble with another crop. This cycle of debt can continue for years until they eventually lose their land.
Attaphon Jankrai, or Oay, a local farmer in Dan Chang, and his family were once in this debt cycle.
After the harvest, and after paying their debts, it was not uncommon for his family to be left with little or no money at all.
''We once got only 800 baht for three back-breaking months in our cornfields. Still we could not stop. It seemed that the more we worked, the deeper we were in debt,'' he said.
While farmers have to gamble with the weather and fluctuating crop prices, four decades of heavy use of farm chemicals have taken a serious toll on Mother Nature.
Huge quantities of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides do not only harden the soil, kill its living organisms and destroy its nutrients, but the chemicals also enter the food chain and ultimately harm people's health.
Payong and Raweewan want to help farmers break this vicious cycle.
Born into a farming family, Payong knows well what it is like to be caught in the cycle of debt. That is why he believes ecological farming and a self-sufficient way of life are the answer.
Though neither have degrees in agriculture _ Payong studied political science and Raweewan the law _ they first learned about agro-ecological farming from workshops, seminars and from reading lots of books on farming. Like the farmers, however, they have learned that the most important lessons come from experience.
Through their Project for Agroecology Development and Plant Genetic Resources Conservation, Payong works with the villagers in Dan Chang to rehabilitate the soil through the use of cover crops and organic fertilisers.
They grow fruit trees as a way to retain soil moisture and nutrients. They also grow a variety of perennial and seasonal crops so they have enough food all year round without having to buy from outside.
The farmers also grow agrochemical-free vegetables to earn an income.
In Dan Chang, Payong and Raweewan have developed a community-supported system whereby organic farmers sell their produce directly to consumers at pre-determined prices.
Under this system, growers and consumers provide mutual support for each other and share the risks and benefits of food production. Buyers enjoy fresh vege-tables without having to worry about chemical residues, while knowing that their support helps both the environment and needy farmers.
Meanwhile, the farmers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security and are relieved of the burden of marketing.
At present, there are 29 members of this small system: Nine are growers and the rest are buyers in Bangkok. More buyers are needed, however, so ecological farming in Dan Chang can become more stable.
In order to help urban consumers understand how their buying choices can directly conserve the environment and improve the farmer's livelihoods, the couple occasionally organise trips to Dan Chang so urban consumers can meet and talk with the rural farmers they are supporting.
With the couple's dedication, their efforts at promoting ecological farming _ which require a change of farmers' worldview and lots of hard work while promising no riches _ are slowly gaining ground.
But many farmers remain sceptical, Raweewan said. What's more, many urban consumers are still unwilling to pay more for organic vegetables. As much as they want to expand the number of farmers who are members, Raweewan and Payong refuse to entice them with money or material rewards.
Although their project receives funding from some foreign government's development programmes (such as Germany and Australia), they do not give seeds or plants to farmers for free. Instead, they sell them at low prices so the villagers will appreciate the value of what they buy.
''We won't do everything for them either,'' Raweewan explained. ''We encourage them to think and do things for themselves so they do not grow dependent on us.''
Of the 200 farmers Payong and Raweewan started working with, some have returned to commercial farming. But it is those who have not that have given Payong and Raweewan the inspiration to go on.
''They are the ones who are happy leading simple, contented lives. This attitude is the most important key to the success of ecological farming.
''They are the ones who understand that this farming method won't make them millionaires, but it will give them a happy, modest life,'' said Payong.
Raweewan added her favourite story: A tourist sees a fisherman relaxing in a hammock and asks ''Why don't you go fishing to earn more money to buy things and be happy?'' The fisherman replied ''Don't you see? I'm already happy.''
Oay _ the Dan Chang farmer _ who now uses agro-ecological farming methods, offers tangible proof: ''My parents and I are happier. Our health is better and we are so relieved that finally we can clear all our debts from growing corn through organic farming.''
Payong and Raweewan's years of community work with rural farmers, however, have come with certain stresses and strains.
As an intellectual, Payong is often frustrated that he rarely has time to read. As a farmer, he is also distressed that his garden looks shabby because he spends so much time running around co-ordinating things.
His wife, Raweewan, meanwhile, finds refuge in yoga, massage and meditation. Yet she refuses to give up her efforts to build a bridge between the farmers and urban consumers.
As an increasing number of city people want to get back to nature, Raweewan wants to set up a kind of sanctuary where urban people can learn organic farming techniques and how to take care of themselves with natural treatments, as well as how to live harmoniously with nature.
''I hope it can be a place where people from different backgrounds can share ideas,'' she said. Raweewan believes this is how change often starts.
To learn more about the Project for Agroecology Development and Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and the Dan Chang organic vegetable delivery programme, contact Payong or Raweewan Srithong at Agreco/PGRC, PO Box 15, Dan Chang, Suphan Buri 72180 or email agrology
Valley's Foster Kids Reconnect at 'Camp To Belong'
Mexicans could use a little help from friends
Peter Clark, SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR
PUEBLA, Mexico — It doesn't take long for an American in Mexico to realize that much of the solution to our illegal immigration concerns lies south of the border.
At the sight of stooped elderly women begging for change, it is hard to imagine that their grandchildren would think twice about sneaking into the United States if it meant they could send back enough money to give their grandmothers a little dignity in their golden years.
Fortunately, there is a growing national consensus in Mexico that Mexicans must provide their compatriots with better reasons to stay home and fewer reasons to risk their lives crossing the border. In fact, all five candidates in Sunday's presidential election found one point of agreement in their final debate: Mexico needs to create jobs to slow illegal immigration.
Although the incoming government will bear the greatest responsibility for making Mexico a place where Mexicans want to live, more citizens are taking the fate of their nation and neighborhoods into their own hands. But, whether they are holding the government accountable for addressing the nation's challenges, or working on their own to overcome them, they receive surprisingly little support from the United States.
For example, I recently met Ricardo, an iPod-draped recent college graduate who recounted his largely unsuccessful efforts to launch the Puebla state chapter of Tu Rock Es Votar, a Mexican version of Rock the Vote.
In a country that just six years ago held its first competitive presidential election in modern times, his efforts to promote political participation among young people could help consolidate democracy and pressure the government to provide for his generation.
Yet, as he struggles to get the group off the ground, he has received no strategic advice — let alone funding — from Rock the Vote. It's a missed opportunity for Americans, and not just to help out in Mexico; Ricardo likely could help Rock the Vote reach out to the growing population of young Mexican Americans.
Then there is Alma, the founder of a community library and reading program in downtown Puebla. She was concerned that children in the neighborhood, and throughout Mexico, had no place to borrow books and develop a love for reading. There is little question that a more literate citizenry would boost Mexico's economic productivity, begin to bridge the chasm between the wealthy and the poor, and raise the education level for those Mexicans who still decide to go to the United States.
But Alma has a problem. After starting the organization with her own money and international financing, she now relies solely on unpredictable government funding. Alma would love to get a check from an American library or foundation, but would be content with a lesson in the art of fundraising.
Finally, I met Martin, who spent years in poverty, catching and selling exotic birds, before he organized his fellow bird-catchers, built an ecological park with 136 bird species, and began fighting for stricter conservation policies. The process brought together previously isolated, uneducated and self-described unambitious families who now celebrate their first generation of high school graduates. Along the way, the park had the benefit of a grant from the Clinton administration's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and scholarships from the Ashoka and MacArthur foundations, although it now largely survives on admission charges.
These efforts represent just a small sampling of the diverse ways that Mexico's civil society is trying to transform the country. Although the outcome of those efforts will have a major impact in the United States in terms of illegal immigration, export markets and regional stability, U.S. funding and collaboration are sparse.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, for example, is spending only $27 million in Mexico this year, down $5 million from last year, while U.S. foundations send an estimated 1 percent of their grant funding to all of Latin America. Mexican foundations receive just 8 percent of their donations from the United States. Although Mexican philanthropists need to step up to the plate, the shortage of U.S. support means the Ricardos, Almas and Martins often are on their own as they strive for a more democratic, educated, prosperous and sustainable Mexico.
To see how serious the United States is about being a good neighbor and eventually stabilizing immigration, keep an eye on those statistics.
Clark is a master's degree candidate at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is in Mexico studying the nonprofit sector.
Uganda: Baryamujura Turns Fate into Success
Angela Nampewo
She was widowed in her 20s and left with four children to look after. She had to survive and do well at it
From the way she wears her clothes to the way she speaks, Maria Baryamujura radiates confidence and a certain boldness born of the knowledge that she can bend the world to her will. Indeed, she has moved small mountains in her time.
The daughter of the late Reverend and Mrs. Kamujanduzi was widowed in her 20s and left with four children to look after, Maria's part in life was cut out for her right from start. She had no choice but to survive and do well at it.
"Next month it will be 30 years since I was widowed," says Baryamujura whose husband, the late Amos Baryamujura was murdered during the Idi Amin regime.
Although it wasn't easy to balance being a breadwinner with raising children, Baryamujura went into business right after her husband's death.
"It was hard. These days, it's easier because there are examples, support groups. Then, people didn't know how to help us," she says.
Fortunately, she was not as clueless as other young women in her position at that time. "I thank God that young as I was, my husband had involved me in his business," she says.
Since then, Baryamujura, who holds a diploma in Environmental Science, numerous certificates in tourism, has been a farmer and a businesswoman, operating in various areas. She has done boutiques and hair salons but she has also done a bit of farming.
"I had a dairy farm with over 200 cows. I've always had an interest in tourism and travel. In the 80s, I trained in tour operations. I did rural tourism with a focus on poverty alleviation. Since 1997, I've been promoting community tourism inclusive of people and their cultures," she says.
Baryamujura runs COBATI (Community Based Tourism Initiative). With COBATI, Maria and her team have developed a programme called Homestead Tourism.
"We're registered as an NGO. We've been working with communities around national parks for example a village called Buhoma near Bwindi Gorilla National Park is practising community tourism. We're promoting farming homesteads. We're also looking at this programme to empower people to keep clean homes," she adds.
Before she went into promoting community tourism, Baryamujura worked as the Country Representative for Royal Swazi Airlines between 1994 and 1996. In fact it was through her work and travel with the airline that she came up with the idea to promote community tourism. She had seen how the Swazi people used their culture to earn an income from tourism.
"During my journey of life, I've seen hardships experienced by rural people. I found the kind of tourism that takes in everybody. In rural areas, that's where attractions are found. I have an interest to make rural areas better. Once a month, I go on Radio West and tell people to use community tourism to improve their lives," she says.
According to Baryamujura, her work with the rural communities is not about personal profit. After over 20 years in tourism, she would like to make a difference in people's lives and do something for which she will be remembered.
"Working in community tourism is not easy. There's no quick money. It's long term," she says. For her work in tourism, Baryamujura is one of three East African nominees for an award from the global body of leading Social Entrepreneurs, ASHOKA. In 200, she was a finalist in a Development Marketplace 2000. She got a certificate from the President of the World Bank.
Baryamujura has a number of achievements under her belt, not least of all, raising four children, providing them with a home and putting them through school.
Her first son is married. He's into banking and works for the American Embassy while one of her daughters works for Scotia Bank in Toronto and the other has just completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology. Her second son works with Balton Uganda.
"I found that I had these four children. It's not so easy bringing up children as a single mother. It's not something extraordinary but I thank God that I have been able to do it. You never have enough money. It's so important to provide a stable home. It's a challenge on you.
You have to be a role model. There's a lot of sacrifice. Sometimes you put your life on hold but it pays because when I look back, I ask myself, "now what can't I do? I've done it all. There's nothing I can't do," says Baryamujura, who spends part of her time mentoring widows. Her philosophy in life is that it doesn't matter how many times you fall, it's how you pick yourself up.
She challenges women to be knowledgeable, educated and economically independent so that they aren't at the mercy of others.
"Men should empower their wives. At the end of the day, their children are the beneficiaries," she adds. Baryamujura is also director of Eden International School, a secondary school in Mbarara.
"We decided to put this school in Mbarara. When you come to our school, all things are there. It is a school to be enjoyed. We have decided that even outside Kampala you can go to a good school. Wherever you are, you can make a difference. That's what we are doing in COBATI," she says.
In her spare time, the tour operator loves to read autobiographies and watching documentaries. She loves to travel and she loves herself, something that shows in her choice of clothes. "I like myself," she replies to compliments on her dress.
"I have plans. I'm in the process of putting up a community-training centre in Mbarara where I can give rural people practical skills. I have plans of putting up a community museum. I believe people's history should be documented. Soon I might even go into hotels," says Baryamujura, who also intends to go back to school and pursue a degree in Community and Rural Development.
War Orphans Fight to Rebuild Families
Social Entrepreneur Advocates For A Different Way Of Affecting Change In The Environment
Ashoka’s Founder Targets Changemakers
A Love of Science and a Vision to Save Millions Make Her Day
A DAY IN THE LIFE
A Love of Science and a Vision to Save Millions of Lives Make Her Day
By Kimberlee Roth
Today is one of only seven days this month that Victoria Hale is in her office, and she has a lot to do. She is trying to save the lives of half a million people.
It is an especially busy time for the 45-year-old founder and chief executive of the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit organization whose tagline sounds like an oxymoron: "a nonprofit pharmaceutical company."
The mission of Ms. Hale's six-year-old group is to find drugs to quash diseases that disproportionately affect the world's poor. It is working to develop drugs whose patents have expired or whose for-profit creators are not manufacturing them because the profitability of drugs for the world's poorest poor is low.
To accomplish her goals, she travels constantly. Tomorrow she begins a 10-day trip, but an important deadline looms. Ms. Hale is overseeing the preparation of the regulatory paperwork — to be filed in India in May — for the institute's first drug.
A lot hinges on the Indian government's approval of paromomycin, an antibiotic that treats the parasitic disease visceral leishmaniasis, also known as VL. The ailment infects half a million people annually worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, and can be fatal if left untreated. Countries that see high rates of the disease include Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal, and Sudan.
"Think about it," says Ms. Hale. "If our first project, the first thing we set out to do fails, who would fund us again? People will say, 'You see, it can't be done.' We have to have a winner."
The money for developing the regulatory paperwork and the paromomycin clinical trial data it contains was provided through grants totaling $17.25-million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle. The foundation also gave the institute a new $30-million grant in December to develop effective strategies for distributing the drug to patients, if it is approved, and to begin conducting clinical trials of paromomycin in children.
"Victoria's strength," says Regina Rabinovich, director of the infectious-diseases program at the Gates Foundation, "is leveraging philanthropic dollars toward drug-development work. Victoria has a vision of how to meld the two. The proof of that will be in the pudding. Paromomycin will be the first product out, and it will be a key milestone for this organization."
A Drug's Long History
After several morning meetings with staff members to discuss personnel issues and the materials she needs for a forthcoming presentation — and several "I just need you for five minutes; it's urgent" interruptions — Ms. Hale has a 10:15 a.m. conference call with a medical writer who is working on the regulatory paperwork. She explains to the writer how to find a long history of studies on the drug, whose patent expired in the 1970s, meaning that it is available to be manufactured by other drug makers.
OneWorld Health conducted a clinical trial on the drug in India in 2004 in collaboration with the World Health Organization and a nonprofit group from the Netherlands. As soon as Ms. Hale ends the call with the writer, she joins an hourlong conference call with two researchers who are volunteering their time to OneWorld to help it analyze data from the clinical trial.
During both calls, Ms. Hale's scientific and pharmacological background is evident — she holds a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of California at San Francisco, and spent four years reviewing new drug applications at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. She speaks easily of drug toxicities, methodological issues in research, and efficacious doses. She and the two researchers, a professor of clinical pharmacology and his graduate student, discuss paromomycin's effectiveness in fighting VL, and the professor talks about the changes in patients who have received the drug.
"Yes, yes," Ms. Hale says excitedly and gazes out her window, "the change."
Delayed Gratification
The need for change drives Ms. Hale, who grew up in Baltimore and has always loved science. Even as a child, she says, "I always wanted to make medicines."
She considered becoming a doctor but realized she could help more people by developing drugs. "I don't know the names of individual patients. That's not what making medicines is about," she says. "It's about saving millions of lives, curing millions of people, not healing one at a time. I'm a long-term-vision kind of person. Delayed gratification is fine for me. I'm willing to knock myself out for years because I know it's benefiting large numbers of people."
After working at the Food and Drug Administration, Ms. Hale joined the biotechnology firm Genentech in 1995. Three years later, she wrote a strategic plan for the nonprofit company she envisioned, but set it aside. She then left to start her own regulatory consulting business. At the same time, she searched for a project that could serve as OneWorld's first test case.
In the process, she visited the World Health Organization, in Switzerland, and learned of a promising program to treat VL that had been discontinued in the 1990s for lack of money. The drug at the center of the program, paromomycin, had been shelved before undergoing Phase III clinical trials, a step necessary for approval by Indian, and other countries', regulatory agencies. In contrast to other treatments that are expensive and can induce severe side effects, paromomycin was expected to yield the same results with fewer side effects, at a lower cost.
Ms. Hale flew to India to visit a doctor who was an expert in the disease, which can cause fever, anemia, an enlarged liver and spleen, and, if untreated, death.
"The horrendous poverty, the empty eyes of women in their 20s and 30s who looked so much older because of hunger and overwork — that visit convinced me to complete the trial," she says.
Visceral leishmaniasis is one of several diseases that are endemic to poverty-stricken parts of the world. Malaria, Chagas disease, diarrheal diseases, leprosy, river blindness, sleeping sickness, and others all take their toll among populations that can't afford preventive measures or cures. Given her industry background, Ms. Hale knew that formulations for effective drugs were available to treat many of them, but drug companies didn't necessarily invest the money to develop these medicines. The drugs' lack of profitability is the chief obstacle, she says.
'No Precedent'
People in developing countries, who make up about 80 percent of the world's population, represent only about 20 percent of worldwide medicine sales, according to a 2001 report by Doctors Without Borders. In the 25 years that preceded the report's publication, the organization found that only 13 new drugs were designed to treat tropical diseases, which primarily affect poor people. By contrast, 179 drugs were developed for cardiovascular diseases, which have nearly the same impact as tropical diseases.
It was hard for Ms. Hale to get others to see her vision at first. It took 10 months of discussions with the Internal Revenue Service to get charity status for the institute.
"There was no precedent for them to comprehend the concept of a nonprofit pharmaceutical company until we offered the analogy of public versus commercial television," says Ms. Hale, "which serve different audiences, provide different products, and are funded differently."
She also had to counter the skepticism of drug-company executives. "We weren't seen as a threat per se because we're small, but there was much confusion early on as to what we would do and how," she says. "Today we're in discussions with most major pharmaceutical companies about how they can engage in global-health projects with us."
In addition to paromomycin, other projects are under way. OneWorld's staff also works on promising therapies to treat pediatric diarrheal diseases. In addition, the organization's employees lead a collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley and a biotechnology firm to create a synthetic lower-cost supply of an anti-malaria drug currently in short supply. A $42.6-million grant from the Gates Foundation, given in 2004, supports the joint project.
A Hectic Pace
Ms. Hale and the institute's work have received wide attention from news-media outlets such as Newsweek, The Economist, USA Today, National Public Radio, trade publications, and others. She has been invited to speak several times at the World Economic Forum, an international nonprofit group that engages leaders in efforts to improve the state of the globe, and OneWorld's scientists routinely attend and present at international clinical and scientific conferences.
But the pace Ms. Hale has had to keep to engage so many parties since she started the organization in 2000 isn't sustainable, she acknowledges.
The staff numbers 50 employees but, until recently, when the organization hired two vice presidents, Ms. Hale and her husband, Ahvie Herskowitz, the institute's chief operating officer and chief medical officer, worked "six and a half days a week," she says.
Their jobs, she acknowledges, have often pulled the couple away from their children, ages 13 and 6. "Our two boys can look at our faces and tell whether we're present and with them or whether our minds are on work," she says. "We've given them permission to tell us when we're not present, and they do."
Thanks to a $615,000 Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship, Ms. Hale and Dr. Herskowitz are now searching for a new chief operations officer and a senior vice president for research and development. Dr. Herskowitz would remain chief medical officer.
Ms. Hale says concerns have been raised by OneWorld's staff members and trustees about her being "such a big founder, and they wonder what would happen if I were to get sick or die in a plane crash."
"I've read about founder syndrome, I've brought in consultants, and I keep coming back with, 'Let's have the funding,'" she says, meaning that more money is needed to hire other staff to take on some of the chores she performs. "Not everyone is going to come in and work without taking a salary." (Ms. Hale did not draw a salary during the institute's first two years; instead, she and her husband lived on their savings and obtained bank loans against their assets.)
Securing money for operations has been a challenge. OneWorld's annual budget hovers close to $30-million, she says, all of it from grants from foundations — primarily the Gates Foundation — and donations from individuals. And nearly all of it has been earmarked for specific projects, though that's beginning to change. Ms. Hale says the group is embarking on a new effort to find funds to help cover its general operating expenses.
Grant makers like the institute's approach, she says, but she believes the cost of its programs puts many off. Drug development is expensive, despite OneWorld's efforts to keep costs down. And the focus of its work is outside the United States, which might also deter grant makers. "We deliberately chose neglected diseases that others were not working on — VL, diarrhea, and Chagas. There has been little research done on these diseases, and limited money for research or development. We don't choose projects because money is available, we choose projects and then we go find funding."
'Make Them for Pennies'
At noon, Ms. Hale is back on the phone with an interviewer from Ashoka, an international nonprofit organization that supports social entrepreneurship, or the application of innovative techniques to solve social ills. She has been nominated for an Ashoka fellowship and is going through the selection process. She takes a few bites of the lunch her husband snuck in earlier as she fields questions about revenue, sustainability, and her organization's business model.
"If you look at antibiotics, even generics sell for tens of times their cost," she says. "We can make them for pennies."
Because the group starts with off-patent drugs, or drugs whose patents have expired, as it did in the case of paromomycin, or licensing rights donated by pharmaceutical companies, it saves some research-and-development costs. Without the need to turn a profit, it is not long before production costs can be recouped, Ms. Hale says.
And, she notes, perhaps by producing drugs that treat malaria and other diseases that affect more than just the poorest poor, OneWorld can generate some revenue through tiered pricing.
When she hangs up, she says her head is spinning. She is flushed and hoarse, too.
That level of enthusiasm serves her well, says Barbara Kibbe, vice president of program and effectiveness at the Skoll Foundation, in Palo Alto, Calif. Ms. Hale is "articulate, passionate, charismatic, intelligent, and experienced in the field in which she's trying to make change. She has deep experience in the pharmaceutical industry and tremendous credibility" in talking to big drug companies, says Ms. Kibbe. "They're impressed by her commitment — she took a risk and stepped out of a lucrative career."
Distribution Challenges
Following her noon conference call, Ms. Hale immediately begins another with an executive from one such company. They discuss how his firm might donate some much-coveted research documents supporting a OneWorld project.
OneWorld Health will rely on partnerships with government and private entities for the distribution of drugs too, not just their development. "We don't want to expand into distribution," Ms. Hale says during one of her many conference calls. "Our core skills are R&D."
Distribution may present a hurdle, says Ms. Kibbe. "Once a drug is developed and solutions are tested, the next challenge is to make sure it gets in the hands of those that need it. A distribution network is something Victoria and her team think and worry about and are addressing."
To build a network in India, Ms. Hale says, OneWorld Health is negotiating with nonprofit groups and government agencies whose identities she says she is not yet able to disclose. When and how the drug will be available to patients in India — and eventually in other countries with VL — will depend on the arrangements they finalize.
Ms. Hale sounds confident the hurdles can be overcome. In the car going home with her husband and a newly hired consultant they have invited for dinner, she talks about eradicating visceral leishmaniasis. And she does so consistently using the word "when," not "if."
But no matter how immersed she becomes in reducing diseases among the poor, she also wonders, rhetorically, how one can truly know global poverty as an American. "In some villages, people are lucky if a well has been dug," she says. "But once you've seen it and you know that you can do something, how can you ignore it and say, 'Let's go shopping'?"
"You can't take care of all two billion of the world's poorest poor at one time," she adds. "But you can go disease by disease and determine which you can succeed with."
School for Respect
Tijn Touber
Dina Abdel Wahab pioneered education where kids with special needs and “normal” kids learn from each other
“Listen,” said the pediatrician in a grave tone to Dina Abdel Wahab. “There’s something you must understand. Your son is retarded and will always be retarded.” Abdel Wahab’s son Ali was just three months old. Looking back, Abdel Wahab says, “The birth of a baby with Down’s syndrome is not traumatic in itself; the reaction of the people around you is.”
But the worst part for Abdel Wahab was that there was almost no information available in her home country of Egypt on what was wrong with her son. And she got no help at all, even from the doctor, who had failed even to tell her his diagnosis right away. It was during a visit to Washington, D.C., that she finally got answers to her questions. Doctors there told her that people with Down’s syndrome could become full-fledged members of society, providing early attention was given to developing their skills. Abdel Wahab returned to Egypt with a sense of hope and a drive to seek physical and speech therapy for her son.
Ali was a model of co-operation. He was eager to learn, and considerate of those around him—so his mother decided to put him in a regular nursery school. Once again, she ran up against a wall of ignorance. “Either they didn’t want to take him at all, or they asked ‘Are they aggressive? I don’t know if we can put them with other children,’” she recalls. When he was finally accepted into a school, the teachers treated Ali as an object of pity who couldn’t do anything at all. Abdel Wahab says, “They looked at me as the crazy mother who pushing her son too hard.”
It was then that she took her big step: She founded her own school, one where disabled children would be treated with respect while surrounded by “normal” children. In 2000, Dina Abdel Wahab opened the doors of the Baby Academy in Heliopolis, financed partly with her own resources, and partly through support from Ashoka, an international network for social entrepreneurs.
But good teachers for children with special needs turned out to be very hard to find in Egypt. Abdel Wahab’s solution was to recruit recent college graduates and train them using staff flown in from Canada, who showed them how to work with every child’s unique qualities. Abdel Wahab says, “It quickly became clear how good it was for the normal children as well as the disabled ones to go to school together. Special children learn from normal children, who in turn learn compassion, acceptance and helpfulness.”
These days, Abdel Wahab runs two schools attended by 400 children, 65 of whom have special needs. She also works closely with 10 other schools that accept disabled children.
And Ali? He’s a happy and sociable 8-year-old first-grader at the New Cairo British International School. “He’s doing very well,” says his mother, full of pride. “Much, much better than I ever expected.”
Turning Old into Gold
Rainman
Emprendedoras sociales de Ashoka
HLS Alum: Social Sector Growing
HLS Alum: Social Sector Growing
Published On Monday, March 06, 2006 2:01 AM
By PETER R. RAYMOND
Contributing Writer
________________________________________
The social sector—which includes non-profit and non-governmental organizations—has gone through a dramatic revolution over the last 25 years, growing two to three times as quickly in the United States as other industries, William Drayton ’65 told a packed audience at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum last Friday.
Drayton, a Rhodes Scholar, former Kennedy School professor, and Harvard Law School alum, spoke about Ashoka, an organization he founded in 1980. Ashoka—a social entrepreneurship group—is Drayton’s answer to close “the social and economic gaps between the northern and southern hemispheres, while accelerating the democratic revolution through the citizen sector in developing countries,” according to Ashoka’s website.
Drayton was introduced at the Forum by Gowher Rizvi, the director of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation and a lecturer at the Kennedy School.
“When you think about anyone who brought about a great change in the 20th century, one of them has to be Billy Drayton,” Rizvi said. “Drayton invented the term social entrepreneurship.”
Social entrepreneurs—or fellows, as Ahsoka calls them—are defined as people who have “a big new idea, creativity, entrepreneurial quality, social impact of the idea, and ethical fiber,” according to Ashoka’s website.
“[They’re] not there to...teach them how to fish but to build a new fishing industry,” Drayton said.
Ashoka started in India with a budget of less than $50,000. Today, it spends over $17 million a year financing over 1,700 fellows in 60 countries, according to the organization’s website.
Despite the progress, over the last 25 years in the social sector, Drayton said that this market is still largely underdeveloped.
“If you were to look at a supply and demand diagram, there is very high demand with low supply,” Drayton said.
He says that the importance of this sector is largely the result of enormous global inequality.
“Since the agricultural revolution, only three percent of the world’s people have been in charge,” Drayton said. “The richest 20 percent of the world’s population control over 80 percent of the world income.”
Drayton said that the reason social entrepreneurs are so important is because there is a need for new solutions to deal with the inequality problem.
“Nothing is more powerful than a new idea in the hands of a social entrepreneur,” he said.
In his talk, Drayton stressed that society needs to empower the world’s youth.
“We adults say we are in charge of everything, so where are young people supposed to get practice of leading and being powerful?” he said.
He said that adults have basically been conveying to youths that “we don’t think you are competent” and said that “this is what we used to tell women and African-Americans.”
Drayton indicated that social entrepreneurship is needed everywhere, not just in the developing world,
“Please recognize that everyone here can make a huge difference, he said. “You just have to have the will to do it.”
Interview with Bill Drayton
Listen to the Interview
Start a Revolution: Through GDLN, Ashoka and World Bank Institute Tap Social Entrepreneurs in Development
Start a Revolution: Through GDLN, Ashoka and World Bank Institute Tap Social Entrepreneurs for Development
“The job of a social entrepreneur is to recognize when a part of society is stuck and to provide new ways to get it unstuck.” Inspired by the philosophy that guides the Ashoka fellowship program, social entrepreneurs from Bulgaria, Canada, France, Tanzania, and the Unites States came together in a GDLN videoconference on January 30, 2006. Together with World Bank Institute staff in Paris and Washington, participants shared the creative approaches they are using to address development issues in their communities. The session was organized by the World Bank Institute’s Paris office.
Social entrepreneurs are people who are changing their communities through innovation and creativity. Take Canadian Mary Gordon, who talked about the “Roots of Empathy” program she created in 1996. The program engages children from kindergarten to eighth grade in rural, urban, remote, and Aboriginal communities. Teaching children about empathy, believes Gordon, builds their capacity to become compassionate citizens and caring parents. Ashoka supports leading social entrepreneurs such as Mary Gordon through a life-long fellowship program.
By connecting people like Mary Gordon through GDLN, the World Bank Institute team hopes to encourage a sharing process among Ashoka fellows around the world. In this first session, Gordon was able to explore with other Ashoka fellows how to apply the "Roots of Empathy" approach in post-conflict situations. Tanzanian fellows described how they are talking to young women about family planning. In Bulgaria, fellows are retraining female workers who have been laid off from jobs in the social, health, and education sectors. And U.S. fellow David Green is finding creative ways to make low-cost eye care and cataract surgery available to poor people in Egypt, India, and Nepal.
“Through our partnership with Ashoka, we can help people share with others how they are changing their communities through innovative ideas,” says Jean-Eric Aubert, lead specialist of the World Bank Institute’s Knowledge for Development program and the architect of the initiative. “And showing how these ideas solve concrete development problems is the best way to promote social entrepreneurship.”
Subsequent GDLN sessions will focus on specific issues and involve broader communities of social entrepreneurs. A first follow-up activity will likely take place in June 2006, involving Ashoka fellows, policy makers, and relevant World Bank teams such as the Community Empowerment and Social Inclusion (CESI) Program of the World Bank Institute.
For more information, contact Jean-Eric Aubert at the WBI Paris Office (jaubert@worldbank.org)
Visit Ashoka at www.ashoka.org
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The Man Who Insipres Rural Folks to be Self-Reliant
Bazlur Rahman
Sanowar, once a poor farmer of village Shakhipur in Tangail district, is now well off as he has been earning Tk 2.0 million annually from a nursery project.
Sanowar is a grand example how media can change life. The poor farmer took up the nursery project after being inspired by the popular TV programme---"Mati-o-Mansuh" (Men and Soil), produced by eminent TV journalist Shykh Seraj.
Like Sanowar millions of people across the country are now self-reliant and earning handsome amount of money taking cues from Seraj's TV programme that was first launched in 1982.
As the prime focus of the programme is on rural economy, particularly the agricultural sector, it has inspired the rural people, especially the peasants, distressed women and unemployed youth to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
"My programme has revitalised the agricultural sector including the poultry, livestock and pisciculture. The high level of current agricultural production has been the consequence of my effort partially," said Seraj in an interview with the FE.
"Thinking about the long history of Bangladesh agriculture's stagnant condition mired into formidable problems lowering the production capacity and level of production, I decided to dedicate my time and effort for the welfare of the patriotic farmers," he said.
Seraj said China is producing 13 tonnes of paddies per hectare of land while the country's current level of production is only 3.0 tonnes. Bangladesh has high potential to grow its current level of production again using hybrid seeds and modern technology, he added.
Shykh Seraj, son of Obaydul Huq and Ershadunnesa, was born in June 26, 1956 under the district of Chandpur, started his "Mati-o-Manush" programme in 1982 on state-run BTV. His programme is now telecasting on a private channel "Channel I".
At the initial stage of "Mati-o-Manush," Seraj made exclusive coverage on how had been the farmers made hostage to the hand of middlemen eating out the hard-earned outcome of vegetable production by farmers.
Contents of his programme include examine capacity of land to produce different segments of hybrid crops, suggestion to formulate policy guideline, inform the farmers about the newly invested crops and effectiveness of enacting laws related to agricultural expansion and modern technology, success of agro-scientists, agro-management during disaster.
For tireless sacrifice his programme has achieved popular recognition and brought reverend and prestigious awards totaling 15 in his 24-year long illustrious career including-Son of the Soil-2006, Ibrahim Memorial Prize 2006, Sheltech Award 2005, National Fisheries Award 2005, The Ashoka Fellowship (US), Young Asia Television Award, Poultry Prize 1993, Ekushey Padak 1995 and Rotary International Award in 1989, 1991 and 1993.
Starting with "Vegetable Production VS Farmers' Earnings" Seraj through his 95 serials containing 95 main reports, 65 short reports, 25 success stories and tips on agriculture and successful farmers including China, Japan and Vietnam, has brought drastic change in the country's the agriculture.
"Considering the country's low level of agricultural production compared to other countries I felt the need to disseminate my knowledge among the farmers and started this program," Seraj noted.
"I, considering the strategy; one sided move may not be successful, started bringing all the persons including policy makers, researchers specialists and decision makers involved in agriculture under same practical notion that new ideas and innovative mechanisms must be utilised here, observed the personality.
About poultry industry, he said commercial cultivation of poultry farm began in the early 1980s and the country is now self-sufficient in poultry production, which is generating employment opportunities for unskilled people and also saving foreign currency.
Seraj, a journalist of global repute in agricultural sector, has been bordering on different sub-sectors of agriculture with his innovative and conspicuous hindsight.
He claimed that country's agricultural production has doubled and in some cases tripled due to using hybrid seeds in different crops and his programme played a key role in inspiring farmers following modern equipment and sophisticated strategies.
Due to the failure of complying with World Health Organisation's code from hatchery to marketing stage, the country is faltering in shrimp export normally produced the coastal area, Seraj pointed out.
While focusing on his TV programme, he said many women have implemented vegetable garden and flower garden on yards, fish and duck cultivation into unutilised ponds, which have become a major source of their income changing the level of income and living standard as well.
Pointing finger to the gradual empowerment of the country's womenfolk by micro-credit support by different NGOs he said they became inspired by TV program and started the journey of struggle and now they are self-reliant in most cases.
He advocated for following tissue culture in increasing crop production that will help the country achieve self-sufficiency in food production and people would get vegetable throughout the year.
Shykh Seraj hoped that his programme would continue in days ahead with new thoughts and time-bound ideas targeting the down-trodden farmers staying at the periphery of the economy.
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Ashoka-Multinational of Giving
En 1980, Bill Drayton, un ancien consultant américain, crée Ashoka. Cette association soutient des "entrepreneurs sociaux" et veut débusquer les "abbés Pierre de demain". " Des personnes qui ont une idée novatrice, capable de résoudre un problème de société, et qui peut être copiée partout", explique Olivier Kayser, 47ans, représentant de l'association en France. Elles sont vulnérables pendant la période de lancement. Les entrepreneurs sont repérés par 80 "nominateurs" du monde associatif et de l'entreprise. Lorsqu'ils sont retenus, ils touchent une bourse équivalente à trois ans de salaire, leur permettant de se consacrer à leur projet.
David Green est un bon exemple. Un fonceur. Cet Américain travaillait dans l'humanitaire en Inde. Il obtenait gratuitement des grands laboratoires des lentilles intraoculaires afin d'opérer des personnes démunies souffrant de cataracte. De telles lentilles coûtent 600$. Un jour, les laboratoires ont décidé d'arrêter leurs dons... L'homme avait une idée : révolutionner la filière de fabrication des lentilles et des soins. Ashoka décide de l'aider. Il bâtit alors en Inde une usine de fabrication de lentilles (700000 par an...) à 8$ la paire ! Il passe aussi des accords avec un hôpital. Dans l'établissement, les médecins opéraient 125 cataractes par an. Ils pouvaient matériellement en effectuer 2500... Désormais, les très pauvres ne paient pas l'intervention, les très riches paient double. Grâce à son action, 400000 malades ont recouvré une bonne vue. Et l'entreprise, sans but lucratif, est viable. David Green s'attaque maintenant aux prothèses auditives.
Présente dans 48 pays, Ashoka a déjà aidé 1500 personnes. Taux de réussite : 95%. Dans 50% des cas, leur idée a été reprise dans la législation de leur pays. Les fonds d'Ashoka viennent surtout de chefs d'entreprise et de fondation. L'association dispose d'un budget de 20 millions d'euros par an. POUR EN SAVOIR PLUS - Ashoka, 27, rue de Berry, 75008 Paris. Tél. : 01 4
Indian Concept Providing Development Aid - for Germany
Ashoka helps launch social enterprises
Germany needs assistance to help itself. That is why Ashoka has recently opened an office in Germany in order to promote entrepreneurs with innovative social ideas that aim for sustainable social change. According to Konstanze Frischen, the head of the German office, the special approach of Ashoka is “to invest not in projects, but in the entrepreneur driving these projects.”
Ashoka was founded 23 years ago in India by Bill Drayton with a capital of 50,000 dollars. Today, Ashoka is a very successful international organization and has elected over 1,300 Fellows in 44 countries. 97 percent of the Fellows are still involved with Ashoka five years after being elected as Fellows - a success rate traditional venture capital firms can only dream of.
Ashoka expects to select its first fellows in Germany soon. The requirements are high. A candidate needs to have a new idea with a high social impact and the potential to solve a social problem on a national scale. Also, he needs entrepreneurial skills and high ethical fibre. "People who possess these qualities are desperately needed in Germany", says Frischen, considering the current political and economic environment.
The impact a social entrepreneur can have is breathtaking. Frischen reported the case of Fabio Rosa, who brought low cost electricity to large areas in rural Brazil. By using wood rather than cement poles, copper rather than steel wire and by engaging locals in the construction, Fabio managed to cut electrification costs from 7000 to 400 dollars per unit. He brought electricity to millions of peasants who could then start building their own electric wells, and increase their productiviy and standard of living. As a result, the flight to urban areas has been reversed - peasants who had moved to the slums of the cities are coming back to their villages.
But it is not only in developing countries that these entrepreneurial ideas are needed. When Ashoka launched its program in the US two years ago, J. B. Schramm was among the first to be elected as fellows. He had observed that kids from families with lower educational background are highly unlikely to move on to get a college degree. Schramm helps these students and their tacher familiarize themselves with the university environments, he holds workshops and "immersion weeks". The result is stunning: 75 percent more children from lower income families go to university and have much higher chances to move up in the social hierarchy. The reputation of their schools and univiersities increase, too. Konstanze Frischen hopes for these kinds of ideas in Germany as well: “Social changes are not only a matter for the government.”
Translated and abridged)
Tagesspiegel Article
by Dagmar Dehmer
06/02/2003
0 69 14 38. Courriel : olivier@olivierkayser.com
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American's 100 Best Charities
The Worth 100
To Give Well, Give Wisely
By Reshma Memon Yaqub
As more Americans are bearish about giving, charity is ever more needed. Get the biggest bang for your buck.
We live in a nation of tremendous luxury, yet every three hours, a child is killed by gunfire. Twelve million American kids live in poverty. A third of the women in the United States have been sexually assaulted. Around the world, 37 million people are refugees or have been displaced from their homes.
The facts are alarming. The good news is that we have the power to change them-with our words, with our actions, and, perhaps most important, with our money. That's why Worth, for the second year in a row, set out to identify those charities that are doing the best job, dollar for dollar, of mitigating these problems.
These have not been easy times for charities, however. According to Giving USA 2002, an annual report by the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, Americans gave $212 billion to charity in 2001, virtually unchanged from the nearly $211 billion they gave in 2000-but a decline of 2.3 percent in inflation-adjusted terms. More than three-quarters of this money, or $160.7 billion, was donated by individuals, and of that, nearly half came from those with a net worth of $1 million or more.
Essentially, the wealthiest Americans are the ones holding philanthropy together, but that support is getting shakier. A 2002 study by Phoenix Companies found that 69 percent of people with a net worth of at least $1 million feel obligated to give, down from 79 percent in 2001. Clearly, the combination of a two-year-old bear market and a slow economic recovery has made people insecure about their wealth. Corporations are feeling less charitable too: In 2001, they gave 14.5 percent less than in 2000. Donor confidence has also been eroded by scandals involving accountability at some charities.
Change is under way. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which audits just 1 percent of tax-exempt groups, has made a commitment to be more stringent. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a watchdog group in Arlington, Virginia, recently raised its standards, requiring charities to make budgets available to the public and spend 65 percent of revenue on programs (up from 60 percent). Charities are becoming more transparent about how they use donations, while donors are increasingly restricting gifts to certain programs.
We have made some important modifications to this year's list of the top 100 charities. Last year, we excluded religious organizations because they are not required to make their financial information public. This time, we made exceptions for four crucial faith-based groups, including the Salvation Army and Volunteers of America. We continue to require that charities be national or international in scope, be nonpolitical, and have a track record of at least three years. About half the groups on this list are new. The environment, health, and relief categories have been pared down; the education category reflects a new priority on K-12 public education. Human services is our only expanded category, reflecting an increasing reliance on these basic services. We've also added the arts, but because their impact is typically regional, we focused on five major cultural centers-New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
Exclusion from our list is not an indictment. Many more good charities out there are doing good work and deserve your support. But we are confident that the charities on this list will spend your money wisely and will do their best to change some of the grim facts of today's world that we all face.
How We Chose
The United States has more than 800,000 public charities, all trying in their own way to make a difference. We set out to find the 100 nonprofits that have had the biggest impact and see how those groups spend the money you invest in them.
Choosing among charities is never easy. We interviewed hundreds of philanthropy experts to come up with a preliminary list of some 200 nonprofits. We then asked those groups to provide detailed information on their programs and copies of their last three tax returns. All nonreligious charities with more than $25,000 in revenue are required to file IRS Form 990. In the case of charities whose 990s represented only their national headquarters, we agreed to use audited financial data for the entire organization.
For each charity, we took a three-year average of the percentage of its total revenue that is allocated to programs, administration, fundraising, and reserves for the future, and represented those percentages as dollar amounts per $100 donated. The annual revenue figure listed here is from the most recent year.
Some of the figures, however, can be deceiving. New organizations that are still establishing a donor base, nonprofits that serve less glamorous causes, and groups that get much of their revenue from government grants or that charge for services typically have lower fundraising costs. Groups that appear to be saving at an excessive rate may be forced to do so: Gifts can be restricted by donors, making that money unavailable for spending (sometimes permanently, as with gifts to an endowment).
Industry watchdogs recommend that charities spend at least 50 percent of revenue or 65 percent of expenses on programs and no more than 35 percent on fundraising. While seven nonprofits on our list spent less than half their revenue on programs, five of those had reserves that were at least 50 percent restricted; MoMA's were 45 percent restricted. The conservation groups' ratios are skewed because they are forced to report land acquisitions as a capital cost rather than a program expense. Each of our charities spends at least 65 percent of expenses on programs.
You can always find out more about any charity that interests you. Upon request, a nonprofit must send you its annual report and its three most recent 990s. The 990s for several hundred thousand charities are available at www.guidestar.org. In addition, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (703-276-0100) and the American Institute of Philanthropy (773-529-2300) publish free guides listing charities that meet their standards. Visit www.worth.com for links to these and other organizations that can assist with your philanthropy.
How They Spend Your Money
$50
FNDR $1 ADMIN $1 RES $1
For each $100 that's donated, here's what the charity directs to programs (example above), fundraising (FNDR), administration (ADMIN), and future reserves (RES). *DENOTES FIGURES FOR HEADQUARTERS ONLY.
The Environment
An old Cree Indian prophecy warns, "Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last river has been poisoned, the last fish caught-only then will you find that money cannot be eaten." Too far off to affect us? Maybe not. In the North Atlantic, Americans catch only half as much food fish such as cod, flounder, hake, and haddock as 50 years ago, for triple the effort, according to the Ocean Conservancy. Three percent of U.S. giving, or $6.4 billion, went to environmental groups in 2001, up 1 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars from the previous year.
Conservation Fund
$59
FNDR $1 ADMIN $3 RES $37
Conservation Fund works with companies, government agencies, and landowners to create solutions that make economic and environmental sense. In a poor North Carolina county, for example, it is helping residents to develop sustainable forestry and create an ecotourism industry. In Grayslake, Illinois, it worked with a developer to create a residential community that protects the landscape; because the homes are clustered, more than half the development's 678 acres remain open and protected. CF brings together leaders from conservation groups and businesses to discuss ways to work with one another, and it holds training sessions to build the leadership capacity of environmental organizations.
ANNUAL REVENUE $68.3 MILLION
703-525-6300, www.conservationfund.org
Conservation International
$45
FNDR $3 ADMIN $5 RES $47
Conservation International uses scientific and economic data to convince governments to set aside and protect biologically important lands. CI sometimes offers economic incentives as well and typically provides the money and technical support that governments need to enforce new protections. This year, with CI's support, Cambodia agreed to preserve a million acres that hold most of the country's large mammals and half its birds, reptiles, and amphibians. CI also helps communities develop sources of income that are environmentally friendly and advises companies on how to reduce their ecological footprints and still remain profitable. In 2001, it helped Starbucks devise new coffee-purchasing guidelines whereby suppliers who meet environmental standards are rewarded. The high reserve is due to restricted gifts.
ANNUAL REVENUE $68.9 MILLION
202-912-1000, www.conservation.org
Earthjustice
$59
FNDR $15 ADMIN $7 RES $19
Earthjustice does its most important work in the courts. Recent victories: In 2001, it convinced the Supreme Court to reject industry challenges to higher air-quality standards for soot and smog. This year, because of an Earthjustice suit, a federal court ordered the Federal Aviation Authority to reduce noise pollution over the Grand Canyon. Pending cases seek to reduce asthma-inducing pollution in California's Central Valley, enforce the Clean Water Act in dozens of states, and preserve a program to eliminate most road building and logging in roadless areas of the national forests.
ANNUAL REVENUE $21.5 MILLION
510-550-6700, www.earthjustice.org
Natural Resources Defense Council
$64
FNDR $9 ADMIN $6 RES $21
Even by environmentalist standards, this is a relentless group of lawyers and scientists. It was the NRDC that finally got a judge to force the Bush administration to turn over controversial documents revealing which energy executives had been invited to help shape national energy policy (the administration has yet to comply). And it was the NRDC that thwarted plans to build an international airport between Everglades and Biscayne National Parks. Farther from home, NRDC's BioGems campaign recently helped save Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve from oil exploration by a Houston company and helped protect Costa Rica's Talamanca coastal region from industrial development.
ANNUAL REVENUE $55.7 MILLION
212-727-2700, www.nrdc.org
The Nature Conservancy
$42
FNDR $6 ADMIN $6 RES $46
The Nature Conservancy identifies areas of land and water where plant and animal species need to be protected. It then buys and/or manages the areas-a total of 94 million acres in 29 countries. In 2001, the Nature Conservancy developed conservation plans with the governments of China and Micronesia. Note: The IRS requires the organization to report land-acquisition and land-management costs as capital allocations, not as program expenses, which appears to dilute the amount that TNC spends on programs.
ANNUAL REVENUE $731.9 MILLION
703-841-5300, www.nature.org
The Ocean Conservancy
$80
FNDR $16 ADMIN $12 RES $-8
The Ocean Conservancy is working to apply to the oceans the same conservation ethic that has protected special areas of our land. In 2001, it helped the Tortugas secure the status of America's first Ocean Wilderness area. This year, through its annual International Coastal Cleanup program, 800,000 volunteers removed 12.5 million pounds of trash from the world's coastlines.
ANNUAL REVENUE $7.9 MILLION
202-429-5609, www.oceanconservancy.org
World Resources Institute
$71
FNDR $4 ADMIN $13 RES $12
If you like your environmental groups less confrontational and more cooperative, World Resources Institute might be for you. WRI builds partnerships with governments, companies, environmental groups, and schools. It's working with the governments of Mexico City and Shanghai to reduce gridlock and air pollution and is helping corporations such as IBM and General Motors to increase their use of green power sources.
ANNUAL REVENUE $15.2 MILLION
202-729-7600, www.wri.org
World Wildlife Fund
$72
FNDR $10 ADMIN $4 RES $14
Out in the field, WWF conducts scientific research and tracks illegal trade in endangered species. At the policy level, it advises governments and international organizations on environmental policies and treaties. It works with corporations and communities to change harmful practices. It recently helped the Chinese government identify scientific substitutes for body parts of endangered species long used in traditional Chinese medicine.
ANNUAL REVENUE $118.1 MILLION
202-293-4800, www.wwfus.org
Relief and Development
Lines on a map don't mean as much as they used to. These organizations are on the ground-often at their own peril-providing emergency assistance to victims of disaster and war and implementing changes to allow poor communities to help themselves. The advocacy groups here push policy makers to step in when needed. Just a fraction of 1 percent of the U.S. government's budget goes to foreign aid; 2 percent of U.S. charity dollars went to international affairs in 2001, for a total of $4.1 billion, a 10 percent increase from 2000, adjusted for inflation.
American Refugee Committee
$91
FNDR $2 ADMIN $5 RES $2
Thirty-six million people are displaced annually by war and civil strife. ARC provides them with both health services and what it calls transition services-small business loans, legal assistance, counseling, and other support necessary to rebuild their lives. In Guinea, ARC's efforts include preventing sexual violence against women in refugee camps and teaching women literacy through classes on reproductive health. In Sierra Leone, it provided vocational training for combatants from the recently ended civil war.
ANNUAL REVENUE $28.7 MILLION
612-872-7060, www.archq.org
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
$43
FNDR $4 ADMIN $3 RES $50
Ashoka seeks social entrepreneurs whose work makes a difference in health, education, the environment, human rights, economic development, and civic participation. The entrepreneurs become Ashoka fellows and receive three-year stipends (hence the large reserve) and technical assistance designed to make them even more effective. A total of 1,200 fellows now operate in 44 countries. Projects include an emergency hotline for street children in India, the first community program for HIV prevention in Nigeria, and a program to teach computer skills to kids in Brazilian slums.
ANNUAL REVENUE $11.3 MILLION
703-527-8300, www.ashoka.org
CARE
$90
FNDR $4 ADMIN $5 RES $1
Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere provides the world's poorest people with lifesaving and dignity-restoring services, from emergency relief (food, water, and shelter) and long-term educational and economic initiatives. In Niger, CARE teaches women to build businesses through community savings groups. In Peru, it has helped citizens lobby for legislation guaranteeing basic education for girls. CARE is massive, with a budget that would suffice for some small countries, and it has a big impact. Through its efforts, 18.6 million people in 31 countries gained access to clean water and sanitation last year, and 2.6 million people in 42 countries were trained in agriculture and natural-resource management.
ANNUAL REVENUE $423.3 MILLION
404-681-2552, www.care.org
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières*
$82
FNDR $10 ADMIN $2 RES $6
A Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 confirmed what aid workers have seen in the worst places on earth: Doctors Without Borders fearlessly delivers emergency and long-term medical care in regions devastated by natural or man-made disasters. The organization's critical initiatives include focusing the world's attention on humanitarian violations and providing mental health care alongside physical care. It also demands medicines for diseases prevalent only in developing countries. (Drug companies sometimes halt production of such drugs when it's not profitable, or make drugs too expensive for developing countries.)
ANNUAL REVENUE $48.5 MILLION
888-392-0392, www.doctorswithoutborders.org
International Center for Research on Women
$59
FNDR $1 ADMIN $22 RES $18
Among marginalized populations, women are typically marginalized even further. ICRW works to improve the lives of poor women and to advance equality around the world. Its currency, however, is not material comfort, à la CARE, but information. Its data and analyses are regularly used by decision makers to create and adjust programs. ICRW is heavily committed to working with governments and international organizations to help them develop better policies to deal with problems that affect women. In West Africa, for example, ICRW is helping the U.S. Agency for International Development to establish cross-border trade by women. In India, it is educating the public and the government about domestic violence.
ANNUAL REVENUE $5.2 MILLION
202-797-0007, www.icrw.org
International Medical Corps
$92
FNDR $1 ADMIN $7 RES $0
IMC brings medical expertise to dangerous and remote regions torn apart by conflict or natural disaster, and helps build or rebuild local health care infrastructures. In addition to providing emergency medical care, it establishes training facilities for health workers and prepares them to meet the needs of local people. In East Timor, which had fewer than 20 doctors to treat a population of 900,000 after the country was all but destroyed in the process of achieving independence from Indonesia in 1999, IMC educated hundreds of health care workers. In Sierra Leone, IMC trained local surgeons to fix the scars of children who had been kidnapped, forced to serve as soldiers, and branded by warring factions. Much of the organization's work focuses on women and children, who constitute 80 percent of displaced survivors of war.
ANNUAL REVENUE $31.1 MILLION
310-826-7800, www.imcworldwide.org
International Rescue Committee
$85
FNDR $2 ADMIN $5 RES $8
The venerable IRC provides humanitarian relief (from water to schooling), resettlement help, and advocacy for refugees and internally displaced people. Some of these refugees are fleeing persecution; others are caught in the crossfire of war. The IRC helps reunite children separated from their parents during conflicts, particularly children who were forced to become soldiers. It helps up to 10,000 people find refuge in the United States annually (though it reports that because of policy changes in the wake of 9/11, the total number of refugees admitted this year may be at a 25-year low). The committee works in 30 countries.
ANNUAL REVENUE $156.1 MILLION
212-551-3000, www.theirc.org
Mercy Corps
$93
FNDR $2.75 ADMIN $4 RES $.25
Mercy Corps works on relief and development projects with local organizations in more than 30 countries. It helps communities solve problems that can lead to conflicts such as those involving access to water, markets, and education. In 2001, Mercy Corps gave 6,000 loans totaling $10 million to small businesses in Bosnia. In Indonesia, it gave hundreds of grants to community relief associations.
ANNUAL REVENUE $75.5 MILLION
503-796-6800, www.mercycorps.org
Oxfam America
$65
FNDR $15 ADMIN $3 RES $17
Oxfam supports community organizations that are working to combat poverty, hunger, and social injustice and to create sustainable change. One example: In Zimbabwe, where by some estimates half the population is at risk of starvation, Oxfam is operating a massive food-aid program in partnership with the Association of Women's Clubs. (When women have control over food distribution, Oxfam says, one result is the elimination of the sexual abuse and child exploitation that sometimes accompany such power.) With its size and reputation, Oxfam is also known for its effectiveness in speaking to (which is to say, pressuring) governments about making humanitarian assistance a priority.
ANNUAL REVENUE $28.4 MILLION
800-776-9326, www.oxfamamerica.org
Pact
$80
FNDR $5 ADMIN $12 RES $3
Pact works in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in a field it calls capacity building-that is, helping community organizations improve their delivery of services. In Mongolia, with Pact's assistance, local media were better able to report the economic news that Gobi Desert herders need to set their cashmere prices. In Nepal, working through a literacy program with local groups, it has helped 120,000 women to create their own village banks without outside capital. In Indonesia, it has helped 29 groups hold town meetings where citizens have resolved hundreds of local disputes involving taxes, transportation, land use, and water and fishing rights. Note: Pact's fundraising costs are folded into its administrative costs; hence the low number in the first category and the high number in the second.
ANNUAL REVENUE $17.3 MILLION
202-466-5666, www.pactworld.org
Refugees International
$80
FNDR $6 ADMIN $9 RES $5
Refugees International's advocacy teams travel to areas of emerging humanitarian crisis to assess the survival needs (food, shelter, supplies, and protection) of victims and then campaign for appropriate government solutions-and for the world's attention. This year, RI advocated for expanded peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan; last year, RI pushed for the United States' $320 million humanitarian aid package to Afghanistan (where RI had been sending assessment missions long before 9/11). RI's 2001 report that a lack of sanitary materials in Tanzanian refugee camps was keeping girls from attending school led the United Nations to commit to providing those essentials. In 2000, RI's early recognition of the needs of displaced Eritreans led to a quick response from the United States and averted a major humanitarian disaster.
ANNUAL REVENUE $2.2 MILLION
202-828-0110, www.refugeesinternational.org
Save the Children
$81
FNDR $11 ADMIN $5 RES $3
Save the Children's overseas programs in 40 countries include food aid (it sees the greatest need now in southern Africa), education (helping to rebuild schools and increasing girls' access to education in Afghanistan), health care (its recent State of the World's Newborns report describes low-cost ways to improve newborn survival rates), and economic-development programs. Save the Children focuses on mothers in particular, because when mothers thrive, so do children. Save the Children can teach other nonprofits a thing or two about marketing: The organization consolidates funds from its famous child-sponsorship efforts to benefit entire communities. All this effort is not dedicated strictly to people in the far reaches: In the United States, Save the Children provides more than 125,000 children with after-school programs.
ANNUAL REVENUE $173.3 MILLION
203-221-4000, www.savethechildren.org
The U.S. Committee for Refugees
$96
FNDR $3 ADMIN $3 RES $-2
Called the conscience of the refugee world, the USCR, a program of Immigration and Refugee Services of America, visits crisis areas to document the conditions of uprooted people. Its reports and its advocacy are significant catalysts for policy action. Its annual World Refugee Survey provides critical statistics about refugees and displaced people. The USCR is currently drawing attention to West Africa, where humanitarian programs are severely strained, and is urging the United States to restore its refugee resettlement program to pre-9/11 levels.
ANNUAL REVENUE $20.6 MILLION
202-347-3507, www.refugees.org
Health
Diseases can be cured, and they can be prevented. Medical science has developed the tools to treat or cure many of the sicknesses that used to carry a death sentence-tuberculosis, polio, malaria, and many types of cancer-but many more still haunt us. Most of these organizations fund research, educate the public, and lobby legislators in hopes of moving information about our current ailments from the medical books to the history books. Americans gave 8.7 percent of their gifts to health last year, or $18.4 billion, a 5 percent inflation-adjusted drop.
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association
$71
FNDR $14 ADMIN $7 RES $8
Our country is poised for an Alzheimer's epidemic. More than 4 million Americans have the disease, and the number could exceed 14 million by 2050. The Alzheimer's Association funded more than $16 million of research this year. The association advocates for increased federal funding of research and represents the interests of Alzheimer's families. Its recent victories include getting Congress to prohibit Medicare from denying coverage for medical services based on a diagnosis of Alzheimer's and expanding Medicaid's definition of homebound beneficiaries to include those who are in adult day care. Last year, ADRDA's Safe Return program located more than 1,000 patients who had wandered away from home.
ANNUAL REVENUE $163.2 MILLION
312-335-8700, www.alz.org
American Cancer Society
$63
FNDR $18 ADMIN $6 RES $13
The American Cancer Society, perhaps the most visible health-related charity in the country, never stops pushing. In 2001, it spent $130 million on research, successfully pushed for passage and implementation of 127 new laws at the state level (including laws mandating coverage for colorectal screenings), worked in a coalition to increase tobacco excise taxes in 18 states, and answered 1.3 million calls to a 24-hour information center. The ACS is widely respected as both a collaborator and a leader among the legions of voluntary health organizations.
ANNUAL REVENUE $821.7 MILLION
800-227-2345, www.cancer.org
American Diabetes Association
$74
FNDR $17 ADMIN $5 RES $4
More than 17 million Americans have diabetes (6.2 percent of the population), and more than 16 million have pre-diabetes. The ADA funds research, advocates for the rights of people with diabetes, and educates patients and health care workers. Partly because of the association's efforts, the National Institutes of Health has more than doubled its funding for diabetes in the past five years, to $770 million annually. The association is trying to convince pharmaceutical companies to buy access to a computerized patient-simulation program that can be used to test drugs. New outreach programs target African American, Native American, and Latino communities, all disproportionately affected by diabetes.
ANNUAL REVENUE $173 MILLION
800-342-2383, www.diabetes.org
American Foundation for AIDS Research
$65
FNDR $17 ADMIN $6 RES $12
Since 1985, amfAR has funded AIDS research. Its grantees have made major breakthroughs, including synthesizing the precursor to T-20 (also known as Fuzeon), a drug likely to win FDA approval soon. Current research projects include identifying new treatment options for patients who have developed a resistance to existing drugs and developing vaccines and microbicides. Asia is expected to be the next epicenter of AIDS, and amfAR is pushing for improvements in the health care infrastructure there and in medical providers' knowledge about AIDS. The new amfAR Global Link report, the first international compendium of HIV/AIDS clinical trials, is available online.
ANNUAL REVENUE $21.2 MILLION
212-806-1600, www.amfar.org
American Heart Association
$72
FNDR $18 ADMIN $7 RES $3
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly 62 million Americans are afflicted, and the goal of the American Heart Association is to reduce that by 25 percent by 2010. AHA funds research and advocates for legislation and funding to promote heart health. It develops courses to train the public and health professionals in administering CPR and in using automated external defibrillators, which can restart a heart.
ANNUAL REVENUE $502.7 MILLION
214-373-6300, www.americanheart.org
The Arc
$91
FNDR $6 ADMIN $10 RES $-7
The Arc advocates for the 7 million Americans with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities. It helps them gain access to services to which they are entitled (including appropriate public education) and educates the public about preventing the causes of retardation during pregnancy and early childhood.
ANNUAL REVENUE $3.4 MILLION
301-565-3842, www.thearc.org
Arthritis Foundation
$80
FNDR $12 ADMIN $7 RES $1
One in six Americans, including kids, has arthritis, making it the country's leading cause of disability. The Arthritis Foundation funded $28.5 million in research last year. It has begun to push for legislation to create arthritis public health programs in every state (five have programs so far), and it advocates for improved prescription coverage. In 2001, the Arthritis Foundation established a research alliance of pediatric rheumatologists to improve the lives of children suffering from arthritis and a grant program to promote early detection of osteoarthritis, the most common form of the disease.
ANNUAL REVENUE $132.7 MILLION
800-283-7800, www.arthritis.org
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
$53
FNDR $2 ADMIN $7 RES $38
Americans smoke 420 billion cigarettes a year, causing 87 percent of lung cancer cases and most cases of emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids aims to deter smokers by pushing for increased taxes on cigarettes. This year, 20 states and Puerto Rico imposed higher cigarette taxes. The organization is pushing for legislation to give the FDA authority over tobacco products and over the marketing of tobacco to kids. It's also steering states to use appropriately the $246 billion awarded to them by the tobacco industry in 1998 to fund prevention programs.
ANNUAL REVENUE $5.3 MILLION
202-296-5469, www.tobaccofreekids.org
March of Dimes
$74
FNDR $17 ADMIN $8 RES $1
The March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation is all about healthy babies. Last year, it funded $26.5 million for research into birth defects and also provided its usual potent mix of community services, education, and advocacy. Next month, the March of Dimes will debut a $75 million Prematurity Prevention campaign, with the goal of reducing premature births by 15 percent in five years. It has begun a program to help states expand their newborn screening programs. Through a pilot program, it also helps parents with babies in neonatal intensive care.
ANNUAL REVENUE $217.9 MILLION
888-663-4637, www.marchofdimes.com
National Mental Health Association*
$88
FNDR $3 ADMIN $5 RES $4
It's been a stressful year. The NMHA is dedicated to helping us cope. The association educates Americans about mental wellness and advocates for the 54 million people in this country who have mental disorders, including depression. It works with schools and communities to prevent violence, and it advocates for legislation to break down insurance barriers to mental-health care. Coalitions that are trained by NMHA rallied this year to reduce proposed funding cuts for mental-health services: In Missouri, $92 million in cuts were restored; in Illinois, $12 million.
ANNUAL REVENUE $11.6 MILLION
703-684-7722, www.nmha.org
National Organization for Rare Disorders
$65
FNDR $5 ADMIN $7 RES $23
A particular kind of stress comes with having what is known as an orphan disease-one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans. It's harder to find a doctor who is familiar with your condition, a drug company that finds your problem worth its research efforts, and other families that share your predicament. NORD is the advocate for patients with any of the more than 6,000 orphan diseases, which collectively affect 25 million of us. It acts as a network for single-disease groups, connects and informs families, educates physicians, and leans on legislators to provide funding and resources. The pending Rare Diseases Act of 2002 would provide a government office dedicated to rare diseases. The Rare Diseases Orphan Product Development Act of 2002, also pending, would provide $25 million a year for clinical trials of new drugs and medical tools.
ANNUAL REVENUE $3.6 MILLION
203-744-0100, www.rarediseases.org
Ronald McDonald House Charities*
$85
FNDR $7 ADMIN $0 RES $8
Since 1974, members of the 18 million families with sick children being treated away from home have found refuge in the 218 Ronald McDonald houses in 21 countries. RMHC also operates mobile medical units that give poor kids basic medical and dental care and that link them to health and insurance programs in their states. In two years, 12,000 kids in 11 communities have been helped. The bulk of RMHC's spending, however, is in the form of grants to groups that directly improve the health of children. All administrative and some fundraising expenses for these various efforts are covered by McDonald's.
ANNUAL REVENUE $17.7 MILLION
630-623-7048, www.rmhc.org
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
$60
FNDR $12 ADMIN $9 RES $19
St. Jude is a first-rate hospital with a leading research facility attached. Or vice versa. Either way, the strict emphasis is on children with serious illnesses such as cancer, AIDS, and sickle cell. The hospital, located in Memphis, treats 4,300 kids a year, and everything, including costs for families during their visits to Memphis, is paid for by the charity's funding arm, the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities.
ANNUAL REVENUE $381.4 MILLION
800-822-6344, www.stjude.org
Human Services
Recession takes a double toll on human service groups: It increases the number of unemployed people who must turn to them, and it causes state governments to trim their budgets. These 29 groups help those in need by providing food, shelter, a living wage, or safety from abusive situations. They also help children to lead more productive lives by providing them with mentors or offering constructive activities. About 10 percent of U.S. donations last year went to human services ($20.7 billion, a 12 percent increase in inflation-adjusted dollars).
America's Second Harvest*
$95
FNDR $2 ADMIN $1 RES $2
Second Harvest provides emergency food to 23.3 million people every year through 216 rescue organizations and food banks.
ANNUAL REVENUE $421.6 MILLION
800-771-2303, www.secondharvest.org
American Red Cross
$89
FNDR $4 ADMIN $5 RES $2
The Red Cross's new leadership, renewed efforts at accountability, and continued impact on human service outweigh the turmoil that kept it off last year's list.
ANNUAL REVENUE $2.7 BILLION
800-214-0441, www.redcross.org
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America*
$78
FNDR $3 ADMIN $4 RES$15
These mentors help kids hone their study habits, develop confidence, and improve relations with adults. BBBSA serves 220,000 kids; its goal is 1 million by 2010.
ANNUAL REVENUE $15.6 MILLION
215-567-7000, www.bbbsa.org
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
$75
FNDR $4 ADMIN $12 RES $9
After school, 15 million kids are on their own; juvenile crime doubles, and victimization of kids increases. These 3,000 clubs serving 3.3 million kids are critical.
ANNUAL REVENUE $998 MILLION
404-487-5700, www.bgca.org
Catholic Charities
$88
FNDR $1 ADMIN $9 RES $2
Every year, Catholic Charities' 180 independent local agencies help 7 million people of all faiths.
ANNUAL REVENUE $2.6 BILLION
703-549-1390, www.catholiccharitiesinfo.org
Child Welfare League of America
$96
FNDR $2 ADMIN $3 RES $-1
CWLA provides adoption and foster care services for abused and neglected children.
ANNUAL REVENUE $18.3 MILLION
202-638-2952, www.cwla.org
Children's Defense Fund
$64
FNDR $5 ADMIN $11 RES $20
CDF speaks for kids who can't speak for themselves: those who are poor, have no health insurance, or are victims of violence.
ANNUAL REVENUE $14.7 MILLION
202-628-8787, www.childrensdefense.org
Family Violence Prevention Fund
$79
FNDR $1 ADMIN $1 RES $19
FVPF trains judges, health workers, and employers to respond to abuse and teaches violence prevention to boys.
ANNUAL REVENUE $5.9 MILLION
415-252-8900, www.endabuse.org
Girl Scouts*
$89
FNDR $1 ADMIN $9 RES $-0.20
Girl Scouts teaches 2.8 million girls skills and self-esteem. Its Research Institute studies healthy girls' development and provides policy information.
ANNUAL REVENUE $73.8 MILLION
212-852-8000, www.girlscouts.org
Goodwill Industries International*
$87
FNDR $0.29 ADMIN $13 RES $-0.67
Goodwill helps more than a half million people join or advance in the workforce. Its national office is supported by grants and dues.
ANNUAL REVENUE $21.3 MILLION
301-530-6500, www.goodwill.org
Habitat for Humanity International
$67
FNDR $20 ADMIN $4 RES $9
Habitat volunteers and recipient families have built more than 125,000 homes in 83 countries-more than 40,000 in the U.S.
ANNUAL REVENUE $171.4 MILLION
800-422-4828, www.habitat.org
KaBOOM!
$69
FNDR $9 ADMIN $17 RES $5
Since 1995, KaBOOM! has helped build more than 400 playgrounds and renovate 1,500 more, mostly in low-income areas.
ANNUAL REVENUE $6.4 MILLION
202-659-0215, www.kaboom.org
Lutheran Services in America
$88
FNDR $0.30 ADMIN $8 RES $4
LSA's network of 281 agencies provided 5.8 million people in the U.S. and the Caribbean with relief, health care, adoption services, hospice care, and more in 2001. These consolidated figures cover 85 percent of LSA's members.
ANNUAL REVENUE $7.7 BILLION
800-664-3848, www.lutheranservices.org
Mentor/National Mentoring Partnership
$54
FNDR $10 ADMIN $8 RES $28
Mentor helps groups find mentors and establishes the best practices for mentorship. Its Web site lists mentoring opportunities.
ANNUAL REVENUE $8.2 MILLION
703-224-2200, www.mentoring.org
National Alliance to End Homelessness
$94
FNDR $3 ADMIN $5 RES $-2
The Alliance supports 2,500 groups seeking to end homelessness through prevention, quick rehousing, and better legislation.
ANNUAL REVENUE $1.6 MILLION
202-638-1526, www.endhomelessness.org
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
$90
FNDR $3 ADMIN $4 RES $3
When a child is missing, NCMEC speeds response and facilitates communication among law enforcement agencies. It has helped find more than 67,000 children.
ANNUAL REVENUE $23.5 MILLION
703-274-3900, www.missingkids.com
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
$81
FNDR $9 ADMIN $11 RES $-1
Knowing that fear of poverty is just one reason women stay in abusive situations, NCADV developed an Economic Literacy Project. It also refers battered women for free plastic surgery and provides them with cell phones.
ANNUAL REVENUE $747,000
303-839-1852, www.ncadv.org
National Coalition for the Homeless
$81
FNDR $12 ADMIN $2 RES $5
The coalition advocates for laws to protect the homeless and for programs to serve them. Through its efforts, homeless people organize self-help and political action groups and can attend school or vote without an address.
ANNUAL REVENUE $882,000
202-737-6444, www.nationalhomeless.org
National Council of YMCAs
$72
FNDR $2 ADMIN $15 RES $11
The YMCA's 2,493 independent branches provide child care, sports, substance-abuse prevention, and job training to 18.3 million members (half of them kids).
ANNUAL REVENUE $4.1 BILLION
312-977-0031, www.ymca.net
National Crime Prevention Council
$91
FNDR $2 ADMIN $6 RES $1
NCPC partners with communities to make schools and neighborhoods safer, implementing plans to reduce crime and keep prevention at the fore of policy.
ANNUAL REVENUE $11.9 MILLION
202-466-6272, www.ncpc.org
National Partnership for Women & Families
$71
FNDR $8 ADMIN $6 RES $15
After helping to engineer the Family & Medical Leave Act of 1993, NPWF is working to get the first-ever statewide paid-leave legislation passed in California.
ANNUAL REVENUE $4.9 MILLION
202-986-2600, www.nationalpartnership.org
National Youth Employment Coalition
$85
FNDR $2 ADMIN $4 RES $9
NYEC is a crucial force in keeping youth-employment and youth-development programs on track and on the radar of policy makers and funders.
ANNUAL REVENUE $973,000
202-659-1064, www.nyec.org
Prevent Child Abuse America*
$62
FNDR $17 ADMIN $6 RES $15
Child abuse costs us $258 million a day. Prevent Child Abuse strikes at the root of the problem by teaching parents coping skills.
ANNUAL REVENUE $5.2 MILLION
312-663-3520, www.preventchildabuse.org
Salvation Army
$72
FNDR $4 ADMIN $10 RES $14
In 2001, this church provided nearly 38 million Americans with food, lodging, disaster relief, job aid, drug rehabilitation, and more.
ANNUAL REVENUE $1.9 BILLION
703-684-5500, www.salvationarmy.org
Share Our Strength
$78
FNDR $11 ADMIN $8 RES $3
SOS has given more than $64 million to 1,000 anti-hunger and anti-poverty groups in 18 years. It also teaches nutrition, cooking, and finance to poor people.
ANNUAL REVENUE $9.2 MILLION
202-393-2925, www.strength.org
Special Olympics*
$65
FNDR $17 ADMIN $7 RES $11
Special Olympics serves 1 million people with mental retardation annually. It improves the health of its athletes via on-site exams, health worker education, advocacy, and the sharing of health data.
ANNUAL REVENUE $67.4 MILLION
202-628-3630, www.specialolympics.org
Volunteers of America
$85
FNDR $2 ADMIN $9 RES $4
Christian group VOA requires no religious commitment from its volunteers or from the 1.4 million people it serves every year.
ANNUAL REVENUE $592 MILLION
703-341-5000, www.volunteersofamerica.org
Youth Law Center
$79
FNDR $2 ADMIN $5 RES $14
YLC works to ensure that the half million kids in the custody of the welfare and justice systems get treatment and services.
ANNUAL REVENUE $3.5 MILLION
415-543-3379, www.youthlawcenter.com
YouthBuild USA*
$68
FNDR $3 ADMIN $14 RES $15
YouthBuild prepares high school dropouts for the GED and teaches them job skills-typically by building homes for poor families.
ANNUAL REVENUE $15.4 MILLION
617-623-9900, www.youthbuild.org
Education
What's 10 times 10? It depends on whom you ask. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only one-quarter of students in the fourth and eighth grades and 17 percent in the 12th grade can do arithmetic at or above proficient levels. The nonprofit groups we list here are largely focused on tightening the achievement gap in K-12 public education. Fifteen percent of charitable gifts in 2001 went to education-including colleges-for a total of $31.8 billion, a 2.3 percent decline from the previous year, adjusted for inflation.
AVID Center
$63
FNDR $1 ADMIN $10 RES $26
Advancement Via Individual Determination trains schools to help mostly underprivileged C and D students improve their odds of getting into college. Trained teachers spend one period a school day mentoring, motivating, and teaching study skills to students who have applied to the program. Then, under AVID policy and with the administration's support, the students are placed in those schools' most rigorous classes. Ninety-five percent of AVID grads go to college, compared with 63 percent of high school grads nationwide. Eighty-five percent of AVID grads remain enrolled in college after two years. More than 1,500 schools in 21 states and 15 countries have purchased AVID's program, which was developed by Mary Catherine Swanson, named America's Best Teacher in 2001 by Time magazine and CNN.
ANNUAL REVENUE $6.7 MILLION
858-623-2843, www.avidonline.org
A Better Chance
$35
FNDR $10 ADMIN $6 RES $49
ABC recruits academically talented poor and middle-income minority students and places them in 225 top private and public schools. The schools provide scholarships, and ABC covers shortfalls and special needs, including living expenses. ABC also provides long-term mentoring to help the kids adjust to their new environments. Down the road, it helps them find internships and jobs. Since its creation by the headmasters of 23 private schools in 1963, ABC has placed more than 10,000 students. Its high reserve is due to a restricted $10 million gift.
ANNUAL REVENUE $3.2 MILLION
212-456-1920, www.abetterchance.org
Communities in Schools*
$90
FNDR $4 ADMIN $22 RES $-16
CIS knows that kids can't focus on learning if they're hungry or scared or they can't see the blackboard. It integrates needed services such as mentoring, counseling, vision screenings, day care, job training, and gang prevention into schools so teachers and students are free to focus on academics. The national office supports 179 independent CIS organizations, which operate at 2,500 schools in 32 states and reach 1.9 million kids annually.
ANNUAL REVENUE $9.3 MILLION
703-519-8999, www.cisnet.org
Education Trust
$92
FNDR $1 ADMIN $15 RES $-8
Education is a highly politicized field, but ask education experts of all political ilks to identify the most effective advocate for poor and minority students, and they'll say Education Trust. The organization comes at this from two directions: political advocacy and classroom changes. It trains teachers to analyze the effectiveness of their assignments and helps districts rework curricula so that all students, not just the most gifted, can learn. Education Trust's hard-hitting reports-such as one this year that showed that teachers in schools with high concentrations of poor and minority students lack educational backgrounds in the subjects they teach-shape the national debate on education.
ANNUAL REVENUE $3 MILLION
202-293-1217, www.edtrust.org
Just for the Kids
$55
FNDR $3 ADMIN $14 RES $28
JFTK analyzes long-term student achievement data to identify high-performing schools and then creates online profiles against which individual schools can benchmark themselves. It studies the best practices at those schools and trains educators to replicate them through seminars and online training materials. JFTK started in Texas, as Just for the Texas Kids, and is expanding to 13 more states.
ANNUAL REVENUE $3.7 MILLION
512-232-0770, www.just4kids.org
KIPP Foundation
$73
FNDR $1 ADMIN $16 RES $10
Knowledge Is Power Program trains teachers to open rigorous, independent public middle schools in largely poor communities; 75 percent of the 1,700 students at 15 KIPP schools are from families that meet federal poverty guidelines. Students sign commitments to work hard and spend up to two-thirds more time in the classroom than students at other public schools. Since the first KIPP schools were founded in 1995, in New York City and Houston, results have been consistently impressive. KIPP students have earned $18 million in scholarships for high school, and 99 percent go on to attend college-prep schools. Expect up to 19 new schools next year.
ANNUAL REVENUE $2.2 MILLION
415-399-1556, www.kipp.org
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
$89
FNDR $3 ADMIN $8.02 RES $-0.02
NBPTS is ratcheting up expectations for teachers by establishing criteria for what they should know. Teachers with bachelor's degrees and three years' experience (and state certification, if their state requires it) can apply for National Board certification. The process requires 200 to 400 hours of work during a school year, and half of those who complete the work achieve certification. Among educators, NBPTS certification is a mark of distinction; more than 400 school districts and 48 states give financial incentives to certified teachers. So far, more than 16,000 teachers are certified nationwide; the goal is 100,000 by 2006.
ANNUAL REVENUE $29.5 MILLION
703-465-2700, www.nbpts.org
Public Education Network
$41
FNDR $2 ADMIN $10 RES $47
PEN aims to create a movement of "education voters" who will vote according to politicians' records of supporting public education. It informs the public about getting involved and refusing to accept poor conditions, bad teachers, and low standards at local schools, both through its Web site and through public events held by its network of local education funds (LEFs) in 29 states and Washington, D.C. PEN also provides technical and financial assistance to LEFs to help them work with local school districts to improve their schools. A Philadelphia LEF recently conducted a study to convince its district that dropping the requirement that teachers live within the city limits would alleviate its teacher shortage. Another LEF goal: bringing medical care and other services that kids need into schools. PEN's high reserve is due to many restricted gifts.
ANNUAL REVENUE $4 MILLION
202-628-7460, www.publiceducation.org
Reach Out and Read*
$58
FNDR $4 ADMIN $6 RES $32
Little kids who don't read become big kids who fail in school. Through Reach Out and Read, doctors "vaccinate" kids against failure by "prescribing" reading aloud. At each checkup from age 6 months to 5 years, doctors give kids a free book. They also counsel parents on the lifelong benefits to children of reading with their parents. Last year, more than 14,000 pediatricians participated in the program, and 1.5 million kids received books.
ANNUAL REVENUE $4.2 MILLION
617-629-8042, www.reachoutandread.org
Reading Recovery Council*
$69
FNDR $1 ADMIN $16 RES $14
Reading Recovery works to close the achievement gap before it's too big. It targets the 20 percent of a school's first graders with the lowest reading scores-the kids who have not grasped the complex concepts of reading and writing. Teachers are trained to give students 30 minutes of one-on-one daily reading instruction for 12 to 20 weeks. More than 80 percent of the kids who complete these lessons catch up to the classroom average in reading and writing. In 2001, more than 10,000 schools paid to use this program for 152,241 first graders.
ANNUAL REVENUE $2.7 MILLION
614-292-7111, www.readingrecovery.org
Rural School and Community Trust
$75
FNDR $4 ADMIN $4 RES $17
One-quarter of U.S. kids go to school in rural areas or small towns. This group works to increase the number and quality of rural teachers by improving their training, certification, and pay. It advocates for funding of rural schools and for appropriate state policies such as opting for many small schools instead of a few big ones, which may be more economical but require kids to travel long distances. It also promotes place-based education: learning rooted in local history, culture, and literature.
ANNUAL REVENUE $334,000
202-955-7177, www.ruraledu.org
Success for All Foundation
$81
FNDR $0 ADMIN $13 RES $6
Success for All sells regimented pre-K to eighth-grade reading programs to schools; the foundation raises funds through the fees, so donations go to programs. Teachers must adhere to a highly structured schedule and a script, so SFA won't sell its program to a school unless 80 percent of teachers vote to use it. Despite criticism of its methods, SFA is considered a good option in schools needing test-score improvements as required by the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act. At 57 schools that use SFA programs in New York City, the percentage of fourth graders scoring proficient or better on the state English Language Arts test has improved 6.9 points since 2000, compared with 4.8 points in the rest of the city. Last school year, 1,500 schools in 48 states used SFA's reading program; 170 used its math program too.
ANNUAL REVENUE $60.6 MILLION
410-616-2300, www.successforall.net
Teach for America
$42
FNDR $5 ADMIN $4 RES $49
Teach for America trains recent college grads to become teachers and then places them in low-income urban and rural public schools. It's currently undergoing a massive expansion effort. By 2002, it was training or had placed 2,500 teachers, and it aims for 4,000 by 2005. Applicants have tripled in the past year, to 14,000. Studies show that despite their lack of formal educational training, TFA teachers continue to meet or exceed the results of other new teachers. TFA graduates often continue in the education world; two of its alumni founded KIPP Academies, now the KIPP Foundation. Note: TFA's reserves appear high because they include large uncollected commitments earmarked to finance its expansion.
ANNUAL REVENUE $27.2 MILLION
212-279-2080, www.teachforamerica.org
The Arts
The arts are the philanthropic sector least affected by recession: In 2001, Americans gave $12.1 billion, or 5.7 percent of their gifts, to the arts (up 2.7 percent from 2000 in inflation-adjusted dollars). But that doesn't mean arts organizations aren't scrambling. In 2001 and 2002, they've dealt with declining ticket sales, a dearth of tourists, some high-stakes reneging on pledges, and a decrease in government support. Arts groups that had relied on corporate contributions were particularly affected. These 24 nonprofits represent the best of our country's culture. Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation
$56
FNDR $3 ADMIN $10 RES $31
Alvin Ailey passed away in 1989, but his company has thrived under the leadership of his muse, Judith Jamison. This year, the foundation received a National Medal of Arts, the first for a dance company. It is currently raising funds for a new building in New York City-hence its substantial reserves.
ANNUAL REVENUE $26.6 MILLION
212-767-0590, www.alvinailey.org
Boston Symphony Orchestra
$60
FNDR $4 ADMIN $9 RES $27
In addition to the programs that have made the Boston Symphony justly famous-namely, the summer Tanglewood apprenticeship program and festival and the renowned Boston Pops-the BSO plays another important role in the world of classical music. Its prestigious Tanglewood Music Center has trained 20 percent of the musicians (and 30 percent of all first-chair players) in the nation's leading orchestras.
ANNUAL REVENUE $81.4 MILLION
888-266-1492, www.bso.org
Brooklyn Academy of Music
$65
FNDR $9 ADMIN $18 RES $8
BAM is the quintessential buzzing urban cultural center. In 2002, it celebrated the 20th year of its signature Next Wave Festival, two months of contemporary international opera, theater, dance, and music. The remainder of the year brings BAM Opera (rarely performed works and foreign opera companies), BAM Theater (a New York City venue for theater companies from around the world, many of them performing in their native tongues), BAM Dance, Dance Africa, and film and education programs.
ANNUAL REVENUE $25.7 MILLION
718-636-4100, www.bam.org
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
$63
FNDR $4 ADMIN $11 RES $22
CSO's 2001-2002 season featured premieres by four important contemporary composers. Its outreach efforts include musician residency programs at community centers around Chicago and audience discussions with composers and musicians.
ANNUAL REVENUE $81.6 MILLION
312-294-3000, www.cso.org
Cleveland Orchestra
$56
FNDR $5 ADMIN $7 RES $32
One of the great urban orchestras and a highly visible cultural leader in its community, the Cleveland Orchestra celebrated its chorus's 50th anniversary this year and has its first new music director in 18 years. It tours worldwide and hosts the likes of the Vienna Philharmonic (coming this March). Among the Cleveland Orchestra's education programs are a youth orchestra, a youth chorus, and even a preschool program.
ANNUAL REVENUE $40.9 MILLION
216-231-7300, www.clevelandorchestra.com
Cornerstone Theater Company
$59
FNDR $4 ADMIN $11 RES $26
Imagine a racially divided community staging a production of Romeo and Juliet in which the Capulets are white, the Montagues are black, and the teen playing Romeo can't read a script. Cornerstone Theater Company of Los Angeles places itself directly in divided communities across the country. It gets the people in these communities to tell their stories and create new works or adapt classical ones to reflect their circumstances. Community members are then cast in the plays, which are staged at community venues. The results are often thrilling.
ANNUAL REVENUE $835,000
213-613-1700, www.cornerstonetheater.org
Handmade in America
$60
FNDR $1 ADMIN $21 RES $18
Independent artists who live outside big cities know they'll eventually have to bring their work to town to show and sell it. Unless, that is, they live in western North Carolina, where Handmade in America brings the market to the artists through a book that leads visitors on self-guided studio tours. The Craft Heritage Trails of Western North Carolina (in bookstores everywhere) also leads to shops, galleries, restaurants, historic crafts workshops, and historic lodgings. In addition, Handmade is helping 12 small towns revitalize their public spaces and, in another program, is harnessing methane from a landfill as a power source for glass and ceramics businesses.
ANNUAL REVENUE $739,000
828-252-0121, www.handmadeinamerica.org
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
$64
FNDR $3 ADMIN $19 RES $14
This national cultural center (whose building-but not artistic-expenses are paid by tax dollars) presents the world's major opera and ballet companies, orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists. But it's much more than a stage. The center is home to the National Symphony Orchestra. It produces theater such as last summer's spectacular Sondheim festival and will host the upcoming five-year residency of Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company. Its education programs annually reach 6 million people. A $400 million renovation will link the center to the National Mall, making it easier for pedestrians to reach.
ANNUAL REVENUE $143.4 MILLION
202-467-4600, www.kennedy-center.org
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
$70
FNDR $4 ADMIN $10 RES $16
Lincoln Center in New York City functions as both home and stage to 12 resident arts organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera. Its own programming features numerous signature festivals: Lincoln Center Festival (a multidiscipline extravaganza), Midsummer Night Swing (24 evenings of bands and dance lessons), the Mostly Mozart Festival, and Lincoln Center Out of Doors (four summertime weeks of free dance, music, and interactive events). Lincoln Center's extensive arts education programs reach out to schoolkids in the region, and a PBS series brings the whole mix to millions of people. The center is gearing up for a 10-year, $1.2 billion renovation.
ANNUAL REVENUE $80.9 MILLION
212-875-5000, www.lincolncenter.org
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
$70
FNDR $4 ADMIN $12 RES $14
Liz Lerman is known for her intergenerational work; current Dance Exchange company members range in age from mid-twenties to 69. From its base in suburban Maryland, outside Washington, D.C., the company emphasizes community engagement, helping people express their stories through dance and words. Dance Exchange just concluded a three-year, 15-city tour called the Hallelujah Project, through which people learned to move and speak in praise of things they celebrate. Lerman herself was recently awarded a MacArthur "genius" grant.
ANNUAL REVENUE $1.2 MILLION
301-270-6700, www.danceexchange.org
Lyric Opera of Chicago
$76
FNDR $5 ADMIN $12 RES $14
Arts organizations may want to take notes: The Lyric Opera has sold more than 100 percent of its seats for the 14th year in a row. (The "more than" part comes from reselling tickets that subscribers turn in.) Of the more than 290,000 bodies that fill the nation's second-largest opera house every year, an enviable quarter are under the age of 45-kids, in opera terms. Last season, the Lyric exceeded its fundraising goal of $14 million.
ANNUAL REVENUE $58.9 MILLION
312-332-2244, www.lyricopera.org
Manchester Craftsmen's Guild
$76
FNDR $1 ADMIN $11 RES $12
Pittsburgh's MCG is many things-all designed to provide free arts training and inspiration for at-risk youth and to enliven Steel City. This all-purpose haven is an after-school art, music, and mentoring center. MCG's two art galleries exhibit works by artists of regional and international stature. Its 350-seat performance hall offers concerts by some of the best performers in modern jazz. It also has a Grammy-winning recording studio. Next month, MCG is scheduled to open a $4 million greenhouse where kids can learn to cultivate orchids.
ANNUAL REVENUE $6.2 MILLION
412-322-1773, www.manchesterguild.org
Mark Morris Dance Group
$58
FNDR $4 ADMIN $14 RES $24
Mark Morris has been dubbed both the Mozart and the clown prince of modern dance. In addition to choreographing his company's performances, Morris also creates dances for the nation's top classical ballet companies. Last year, the Mark Morris Dance Group became the first single-choreographer company in the United States to build its own dance center, in Brooklyn, New York.
ANNUAL REVENUE $5.1 MILLION
718-624-8400, www.mmdg.org
Metropolitan Museum of Art
$38
FNDR $1 ADMIN $5 RES $56
One of the planet's finest museums, the Met houses more than 2 million works. Five million people visit annually, drawn by its collection of 2,200 European paintings, one of the greatest assemblages of Egyptian art outside of Cairo, and one of the world's best collections of Islamic art. The Met devotes enormous energy to education and generously loans its art and expertise to other museums. Some of the Met's operating expenses are paid by the City of New York, which owns the museum's buildings. Its high reserve is due to restricted gifts.
ANNUAL REVENUE $762.7 MILLION
212-879-5500, www.metmuseum.org
Metropolitan Opera
$67
FNDR $5 ADMIN $5 RES $23
The Metropolitan Opera, in New York City's Lincoln Center, has a simple formula for success: Bring supreme talent to the stage (from Marcella Sembrich in the 1883 opening season to Plácido Domingo in 2002), be first to market (29 operas have had their world premieres at the Met), and then do it again. The Met also believes that everyone should have access to opera. Although some of its nearly 4,000 seats and standing spaces can run as high as $280, others cost just $12. The Met also has a 36-year habit of presenting free performances in public parks. For further cultural outreach, 20 operas are broadcast on the radio every season, and at least one is televised on PBS, in the Emmy-winning series The Metropolitan Opera Presents.
ANNUAL REVENUE $289,000
212-799-3100, www.metopera.org
Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum
$64
FNDR $8 ADMIN $10 RES $18
The MFACM has redefined what a museum can be to a city and to a community. It's unusually well integrated into its Mexican neighborhood in Chicago, with initiatives such as a 24-hour youth-run radio station that provides on-the-job training for radio careers and after-school and summer programs that introduce children to the arts. Its exhibits draw 100,000 visitors annually, and admission is free. Started by a handful of community members on a budget of less than $1,000, the museum recently completed a renovation that tripled its space, to 48,000 square feet.
ANNUAL REVENUE $4.7 MILLION
312-738-1503, www.mfacmchicago.org
Museum of Modern Art
$48
FNDR $3 ADMIN $11 RES $38
Instead of shutting down during the renovation of its Manhattan home (it will reopen in 2005), the country's foremost museum of modern and contemporary art up and moved to Queens. The new location, in a brilliantly repurposed former factory dubbed MoMA QNS, has given legions of visitors a new perspective on MoMA's collection of 100,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, architectural models, and design objects-and perhaps on New York City itself.
ANNUAL REVENUE $162.6 MILLION
212-708-9400, www.moma.org
National Gallery of Art
$56
FNDR $2 ADMIN $11 RES $31
Located on the National Mall, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., houses a collection of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present, spanning some 106,000 paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, decorative arts, and sculptures. Highlights include the only Da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere and the single largest collection of photographs by Alfred Stieglitz anywhere. The recent Egyptian art exhibit-an example of the museum's efforts to showcase non-Western cultures-featured many items never seen before outside of Egypt.
ANNUAL REVENUE $123.9 MILLION
202-737-4215, www.nga.gov
National Public Radio*
$74
FNDR $2 ADMIN $17 RES $7
Every week, almost 20 million of us tune in to Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Car Talk, and the rest of the 120 weekly hours of news and cultural programming that NPR distributes to 709 radio stations. (As we are reminded during every fund drive, the programming is supported by listeners.) NPR's well-stocked trophy case includes a 2000 National Medal of Arts.
ANNUAL REVENUE $107.5 MILLION
202-513-2000, www.npr.org
Public Broadcasting System*
$98
FNDR $0.12 ADMIN $3.88 RES $-2
Anyone who's ever had the exhausting good fortune to live with a 2-year-old is eternally grateful to PBS for its wholesome educational programming, from Barney to Sesame Street. PBS distributes an annual 4,400 hours of award-winning entertainment such as perennial favorite Mystery!, news programs such as The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer, and cultural programs such as Live From Lincoln Center through 349 independent public television stations. It also produces school-lesson plans that are downloaded 250,000 times a month from its Web site.
ANNUAL REVENUE $485.9 MILLION
703-739-5000, www.pbs.org
San Francisco Ballet
$73
FNDR $4 ADMIN $16 RES $7
Part of a trio of top U.S. ballet companies, alongside American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet is the nation's oldest professional ballet company. It presented the American premieres of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. In 2002, it featured three world premieres and will produce another three in 2003. Known for its varied repertory, the San Francisco Ballet offers ballets ranging from classical to modern.
ANNUAL REVENUE $29.6 MILLION
415-861-5600, www.sfballet.org
San Francisco Opera
$70
FNDR $5 ADMIN $15 RES $10
The nation's second-largest opera company (after the Metropolitan Opera in New York City) is the West Coast's largest performing arts organization. Its recent American premiere of Saint Francois d'Assise-a huge production requiring tremendous resources-drew international critical acclaim. Its world premieres include Dead Man Walking and A Streetcar Named Desire. The San Francisco Opera is credited with reviving Russian opera in the United States, and it also encompasses the Western Opera Theater, opera's only national touring company.
ANNUAL REVENUE $61.9 MILLION
415-864-3330, www.sfopera.com
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
$56
FNDR $4 ADMIN $8 RES $32
The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, in keeping with the spirit of its home, does what no one else does-witness its recent heralded American Mavericks Festival. Performances are carried on syndicated radio from coast to coast. Its education programs are extensive; the orchestra regularly plays at local elementary schools, publishes a music curriculum for teachers, and has a Web site (www.sfskids.org) to teach kids about music.
ANNUAL REVENUE $79.2 MILLION
415-552-8000, www.sfsymphony.org
Santa Fe Opera
$58
FNDR $4 ADMIN $21 RES $17
Santa Fe Opera is home to one of America's premier summer opera festivals. A typical July-August season includes a popular opera, a neglected opera, a Mozart opera, something from the Richard Strauss canon, and the debut of a new work-usually amounting to about 40 performances in total. The opera offers intensive training programs for young singers, theater technicians, and arts administrators. An additional draw is its southwestern setting: Performances take place in an extraordinary open-air theater on a mountaintop overlooking the desert hills around Santa Fe.
ANNUAL REVENUE $12.4 MILLION
505-988-5955, www.santafeopera.org
Bill Drayton Invests in Entrepreneurs and Seeks a High Return
Bill Drayton Invests in Entrepreneurs and Seeks a High Return: A Peaceful Revolution
by Rachel L. Dodes
Talk about due diligence. Bill Drayton, the founder and CEO of Ashoka, won't make an investment unless he is totally convinced that 1) an idea is absolutely groundbreaking, 2) it is replicable and 3) the entrepreneur behind the idea won't rest until he or she has revolutionized how the world's most enduring problems are tackled. Potential recipients of Drayton's largesse have to endure a series of grueling three-hour interviews plus at least five extensive reference checks. The process takes, on average, six months. Depending on where the entrepreneurs want to conduct their work, the three-year investment can be as little as $3,000 a year (in Bangladesh) or as much as $50,000 a year (in the U.S.). But, much like a "smart money" VC investment, the real benefit lies in the connection to Ashoka's extensive network of fellows.
This isn't exactly a business venture. Drayton, 58, is a social entrepreneur. He's looking for the future Mahatma Gandhis, Florence Nightingales and Martin Luther King Jr.s of the world. His demeanor belies his ambition - he is so soft-spoken that, at times, it is hard to hear him. He is thin and willowy, and his hair is wispy and somewhat disheveled, so that when you squint, he kind of resembles a diminutive Bill Gates.
His Arlington, VA-based nonprofit organization - named after an emperor who renounced violence in the third century B.C. when he reunited the Indian subcontinent - has been funding people with innovative solutions to problems like global poverty, crime, addiction and poor education for the past 20 years. In 1980, while working as a consultant at McKinsey & Co., Drayton started his organization with less than $50,000 in seed capital from three family foundations. The money funded three fellows. In 1984, Drayton was honored with a $200,000 MacArthur "genius grant," which enabled him to quit his job at McKinsey and devote his time to developing Ashoka. This year, Ashoka's budget is $15 million - a third comes from individuals, and the rest comes from corporate donors and foundations. That money pays for a global staff of 120, plus the stipends of about 380 entrepreneurs in 43 countries. Ashoka isn't in the business of funding other foundations: Rather, the annual stipend covers the entrepreneurs' living expenses so they can devote themselves full-time to their big ideas, much like Drayton did in 1984.
Only in 2000 did Ashoka start to invest in people working on problems in the U.S. or Canada. That's partially because the developing world has more problems - rampant disease, a dearth of potable water, the inability to obtain basic healthcare information, etc. - and partially because it was less expensive to support a fellow's work there. "We've always seen this as a global venture," says Drayton. "In India, the average cost per fellow is $3,000 per year. Here it is $45,000. So it costs us 15 India fellows to elect one here." But now, four of the 16 U.S. Ashoka fellows are in Greater Washington. (There are nine potential 2002 fellows awaiting final confirmation in April - some of them will likely be here as well.)
"Just like the venture community, we're looking for good deals," says Leslie Crutchfield, a Harvard MBA who recently took over the Ashoka U.S. and Canada program.
Aleta Margolis, the founder of Center for Artistry in Teaching in Dupont Circle, which conducts free seminars for local teachers on how to communicate more effectively with students, is one of those people. "We teach teachers to teach kids to think," says Margolis. Her Ashoka grant has helped her to train 1,200 local teachers. Raj Vinnakota, the founder of the SEED Foundation, built a public boarding school in Southeast DC last year under the premise that underprivileged kids ought to be able to get a first-rate education just like their middle- to upper-middle-class counterparts. David Erickson, the founder of DC-based Samaritan Inns, is spreading his drug-and-alcohol addiction treatment model to Milwaukee, Jacksonville and Baltimore. He says his program has gotten a couple of thousand recovering addicts back into the DC workforce; 42 alumni own their own homes.
While Ashoka's fellows are seeking to ameliorate social problems - not reap financial rewards - they think much like businesspeople. "The single most significant cost to all of our systems is things related to substance abuse," says Samaritan Inns' Erickson. J.B. Schramm, whose DC-based initiative, College Summit has helped thousands of low-income kids navigate the college application process, says that he's a social entrepreneur because "we don't see these kids as people who have a problem - it is the universities who have the problem." Schramm, who got his idea while working as an admissions counselor at Harvard, realized that schools spend a lot of money fighting over a small pool of low-income talent. College Summit behaves like a business whose goal is to bring the supply (the underprivileged students) and the demand (the universities) sides of the equation together. Since 1993, about 79 percent of Schramm's students have enrolled in college the fall after graduating from high school.
More than just fostering these people's ideas, Drayton has given their profession a name. Before Drayton came along, the term "social entrepreneur" did not exist. "I used to get a lot of blank looks," says Drayton, whose résumé includes degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Yale, as well as stints at McKinsey & Co. and the Environmental Protection Agency. "Somebody once told me, 'Social entrepreneur? That's an oxymoron.'"
But within five years of acceptance into Ashoka's network, 64 percent of the organization's fellows have effected national policy change. There are now 1,200 Ashoka alumni in 43 countries working on problems running the gamut from building low-cost wells for communities in rural India and thwarting the spread of HIV in Nigeria to bringing credit, insurance and telephone service to low-income and minority Americans. Social entrepreneurism isn't an oxymoron anymore.
A World of Difference
By Stewart Deck
SUNIL ABRAHAM has not only helped wire 6,700 volunteer organizations in India by getting them Internet access, but he's also teaching them how to use the Internet for networking and fund raising. In the city of Bangalore alone, Abraham's consulting and technology services organization, called Mahiti, has brought 570 groups online.
Rodrigo Baggio has opened more than 200 financially self-sufficient computer schools in some of Brazil's most destitute communities. Baggio's group, the Committee to Democratize Information Technology, has trained more than 65,000 students to use computers, and his training schools are spreading to Chile, Colombia, Japan, Mexico and Uruguay.
Both Abraham and Baggio are Ashoka Fellows, their work built on seed money from the nonprofit group Ashoka, based in Arlington, Va., a CIO-100 honoree that is quietly changing the world. These two so-called social entrepreneurs and more than 1,100 people like them are on the verge of bringing about extraordinary global changes, says William Drayton, Ashoka's CEO and founder. "Ashoka's core idea is that the world is in the midst of a profound historic change, catalyzed by social entrepreneurs," he says. Ashoka, like a venture capitalist, bestows fellowships on people whose ideas can change social systems and bring replicable services and ideas to underdeveloped and deprived areas worldwide, Drayton explains.
Through a rigorous selection process, Ashoka finds individuals who are social catalysts and provides them with a three-year fellowship and a connection to a network of similar thinkers around the world. Giving the money to individuals instead of programs launches irresistible forces that bring about profound societal changes, says Drayton, a former MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant recipient. "We want to cut in at the life-cycle moment of the idea when a small investment of money and colleagueship can have a huge impact," he says.
Last year Ashoka awarded its first 10 Ashoka Fellowships to people in the United States, including Paul Rice, who founded TransFair U.S.A. to assist family coffee farmers with fair pricing, and D.J. Powers, whose Austin, Texas-based Center for Economic Justice brings basic economic services to low-income and minority Americans.
Drayton says the best is yet to come. "In four or five years Ashoka's impact will be many multiples of what it is today as many of these new programs take hold," he says. "There is nothing more powerful than a new, pattern-changing idea if it's in the hands of a continental-scale social entrepreneur."
For more information on Ashoka, visit www.ashoka.org.
Interview with Bill Drayton
Excerpts from the interview with Tom Clark
on the Ideas Network of WPR
Tom: What is Ashoka, and why Ashoka? What does the word mean?
WD: Ashoka is named after a person who was extraordinarily creative, both in social welfare and economic development. Very tolerant, very global minded. And we thought that he, those values and that track record, was a good symbol of what social entrepreneurs do.
Tom: Is it definable? Social entrepreneurship? But can you give us a description of what you mean by social entrepreneurship?
WD: Well Tom, I think the easiest way of getting one's hands around it is to ask a simple question. What is the most powerful force in the world? And I think you would agree that is a big idea if it is in the hands of an entrepreneur who is actually going to make the idea not only happen, but spread all across society. And we understand that in business but we have need for entrepreneurship just as much in education, human rights, health, and the environment as we do in hotels and steel.
To give you an example that everyone I am sure everyone knows, Florence Nightengale changed the world every bit as much as Andrew Carnegie. She was a social entrepreneur. He was a business entrepreneur. It is the same type of person. Just another way of thinking about it is we all know the biblical suggestion that is not enough to give people fish; you must train them how to fish. Well, social entrepreneurs take one step beyond that. And our job is to change the structure of the fishing industry. So social entrepreneurs change the systems, the patterns in society.
Tom: Now, what does Ashoka do? Does it welcome these sorts of social entrepreneurs? Welcome ideas from people for curing social ills and fund these people somehow?
WD: That is part of what we do. We are a global association working on every continent that seeks out the best social entrepreneurs we can find in the world. We help them work together. One of the things we do is help launch new ideas. And the new entrepreneurs behind the ideas. We give them the personal freedom to quit their jobs. Work full time on launching their ideas to demonstrate and refine them and then begin the spreading process. So it is like a venture capital service except that it is social entrepreneurs so it is designed somewhat differently.
Tom: Where do you get your money?
WD: We take no government funds. So about 8 percent comes from leading business entrepreneurs because no one understands how important an entrepreneur is better than an entrepreneur. The business and social entrepreneurs work together very well once they get over the initial sterotypes of the two sectors. And the rest is from individuals and to a modest degree, from foundations. About half from the U.S. and about half from the rest of the world.
Tom: Well now, I understand your example of Florence Nightengale but that goes back a little bit. Can you give us some success stories of current social entrepreneurs who have used Ashoka to make the world better somehow or another?
WD: Let me give you a Bangladeshi example first. Ibrhaim Sobhan he came from a very poor family village. Got a modest education. Passionate about sharing that with others. Only 15% of Bangladeshi children make it into 5th grade when you get started. Now his approach by U.N. measure has increased enrolment rates 44% and cut the drop rate in half.
How did he do this?
When he started, he looked at the typical class. It was 30 minutes. The teacher would come, call the roll, and since you are talking about 60 plus students, that takes some time. Grade the papers from the night before and only have 7 to 8 minutes left to teach and give the next nights assignments. Kids would go home and there was no one to pay for tutors; no one to help; and they were expected to work. They probably did not even money for kerosene. So they come the next day, are humiliated and drop out pretty quickly.
New system: 60 minute classes, half as many students. Teacher comes and calls the roll and then teaches 20 to 25 minutes, after which the students go and sit in little circle on the ground. 8 or 9 students to a circle. Whoever has done the best the month before leads the taking of the exercises, grading them and the students help one another. Those who got it right help those who did not. The teacher goes from group to group as a resource. No homework, so no one falls behind. Another change is work ranging from tree nurseries, poultry raising, ultimately things like diesel pump repair to make a profit. Families understand this. Of the dividends of that profit, half goes into a secondary school fund and half for students who are still there at the end of the year. This is very powerful incentive for students to stay in school, if you drop out your share of the savings go to the others. As the students become more valuable for work, there is more to lose and for very poor families this is one of the only times that they have enough money at once to do something like buy a radio. It is a very simple but profound change that no one else had thought of.
What we saw was someone that could really change the pattern. Who clearly, as a person, was an entrepreneur and who was not going to stop with a few schools, but was out to change the whole system, and he has. Not only in Bangladesh, but his ideas have spread to Brazil and other countries through the Ashoka network.
Tom: How about something or someone here in the United States who is one of these social entrepreneurs?
WD: Sure. Why don't I give you an example of J.B. Schramm? He comes to mind because I was just in Dallas and the Social Venture Partners Group there has just decided to bring his work to Dallas, and to support it there.
When J.B. went to high school he saw that most of his classmates were not going to college and he did not think they were less intelligent then he. And that bothered him and continued bothering him. He has now come up with a simple approach, very low cost, that is sharply focused on the 100,000 plus young people who could clearly succeed in college but are not going because they are not getting the oomph they need from their high school or their non-college-graduate families. And focused on that group, he starts off with an intensive four or five day session for a group of peers from the middle range of those high schools on a nearby college campus. Starting on the first day they work on developing the application, writing the essays, and the "what do you want to do life" sort of things college drive you crazy with. When they come back to school, college has been demystified; they have talked with mentors about life implications and they have a completed application. The school has the incentive to support this and J.B. works with the homeroom teachers understanding that the career counselors are overwhelmed and can really only practically focus on the most talented, and the most troubled, and the middle tends to get lost. So you work with a homeroom teacher and, with a modest amount of nudging, with a peer group, that makes all the difference.
The other piece is that the colleges want students, and he can provide, through this program 20 to 30 excellently prepared three months in advance applications. So the high school gets a dramatic increase in college going. Obviously, this changes the lives of hopefully a 100,000 individuals and families a year. If you think about it, over a ten year period, if we can get 800,000 to a million people/families to make that transition that is a significant impact in terms of lessening structural poverty, increased national productivity, and setting a new pattern so that year after year all the students coming into those schools will have the peers before them with a very different model, with the teachers knowing how to make this difference with a modest effort. So again it is a very simple idea focused on the problem that our society has been stuck, and hasn't seen how to solve it.
Tom: Now, Ashoka allows him to, you know, sustain himself? Well you know he is doing this program, does Ashoka also provide materials and other support help in convincing high schools or colleges that this is a good thing? Or is this just one person with some help from you doing all of this?
WD: Well, he is one person but he is an entrepreneur. And so it is much more than a person, he is building a national movement. Now Ashoka does help in additional ways. The finances are important, but I think more important, we are an association of leading social entrepreneurs who help one another and no one can help leading entrepreneurs more than their peers. They can open doors, they can help understand what is going on, they are the right people to collaborate with one another. In J.B.'s case, I was just mentioning, when I was down in Dallas he joined us there in a meeting 6 months ago, and the people there were very impressed. That is his doing. We helped in that case open the door, but that is a step in a program that his intent is to have this work get into very high school that needs it in the country.
Tom: Now, how many entrepreneurs do you have?
WD: There are about 1200 worldwide. We only started in the U.S. in the last year, so there are only 16 here, but we are expecting to elect 20 to 25 a year in the U.S. and Canada every year now.
Tom: I was just going to ask how many you have room for. So you increase each year?
WD: Well the people we are looking for are quite rare. So we do have to struggle to raise the funds for the program. But I don't think we are going to see a dramatic increase over 25 a year. Simply because we are looking for people who have an idea that will change the pattern all across North America. And who have the personal entrepreneurial qualities to make that happen. And the numbers should increase as more people come to understand that this is a practical career. Many of the people with us on the show today if they only gave themselves permission, could cause a change in a pattern. That doesn't have to be all across the country, but if many people thought that they could start their own social change and that was a practical career option, which it is, as starting up their own business.
Tom: This is different from the kind of personality type that wants to make things better and joins the Peace Corps. Am I right?
WD: It is a rare personality type. The core to understanding it is that these people cannot personally be happy until they have changed the whole society.
Tom: It is more than just the wanting to help make things better, it is having an idea and being convinced that this idea is unique and will make things better. It is different than joining something that is already going on and helps people.
WD: Absolutely. And it is not only the idea, people have to be married to an idea, but they have to be equally passionate about all the practical how-to questions. How to am I going to make this idea work, how am I going to solve this problem? How am I going to get it from working in one city to spreading it all across the country? That is the rare combination of vision plus an intense and very long-term commitment to problem solving.
Tom: And it is altruism that may not necessarily exist among business entrepreneurs.
WD: Well it is interesting, we found that in about 70 percent of the Fellows we have elected, we can identify a family member with very, very exceptional values. So it is clear that values are a key element here.
Tom: My guess is there are a whole lot of people are applying for each selection though.
WD: That is true, but could I, Tom, try to correct one thing? It is true we select relatively few people who we think are going to be Florence Nightengale's of the future. But there could be millions, and there are millions of social entrepreneurs working at the local level and beyond and we try to help there as well. Not with Fellowships, through some of the services for what we view as the new competitive social sector. It used to be a very bureaucratic arena that lagged way behind business in terms of its productive, growth rate and it has just changed dramatically in the last two decades. So the growth and the number of leading social entrepreneurs is very much matched by the growth in social entrepreneurs and large number of competetive citizen organizations at all levels. In the U.S. we have seen a doubling roughly in the number of registered 501 c3 charitable organizations with the IRS in the 1990's. We had a large base to begin with, though less than Brazil where you had a 1000 fold increase over two decades, but this is just a really profound change in the structure of society and it is a huge opportunity for many, many people to care about their society, to imagine how it could be better, to see where it is stuck and to solve the problem.
Tom: It would seem to me that society itself and the status quo, and the government would be the big stumbling blocks in trying to accomplish these social entrepreneurship goals.
WD: Well we are in the middle of a historic transformation. And it is very messy in some ways. It thinks government will end up being stronger because of the sudden burst, and I think permanent change to a competitive social half of society instead of having a world that is half competitive and entrepreneurial, business half, producing productivity growth at 2 to 3 percent a year and the other half funded by the wealth generated by that productivity growth through taxes, but not changing from the very old structures of not having to change. Suddenly we have this enormous burst of competitiveness. Anyone can start their own social change.
Tom: But am I wrong, does not the status quo get in the way? If we are talking about health, education or almost anything else, we have a system in place, maybe not working as well as we would like. Isn't that one of the major obstacles to these social entrepreneurs? Convincing the status quo that things need to change and this is how change can make things better?
WD: That is the obstacle we all face and the contributions of the entrepreneur. They know the jujitsu of how to get it to change. That is exactly the skill if you are going to change how children are brought up. You have to deal with the public school system or the public health system if it is a health issue. And how do you change those institutions? That is why the how-to's are just as important as the vision. And the entrepreneur is that rare combination of the two.
Tom: Are you one of those? Are you a social entrepreneur, or are you just a good organizer?
WD: I have been inflicted; I have had the bug since I was in school. It is a wonderful bug to have, no complaints.
The Pioneers of Change
BY Flavia Pardini and Flavio Lobo
Translated from Portuguese by Marisa Shirasuna
HISTORY GOES THAT SAMARAT ASHOKA, EMPEROR of India in the 3rd century B.C., after unifying Southeast Asia by force, was stricken with remorse and renounced violence. Thereafter, he would have professed tolerance for all religions and dedicated the rest of his life to promote social welfare. Ashoka is remembered for having instituted the first public medical services and a vast well-digging program. He conducted several infrastructure works and ordered that thousands of shade trees were planted along hot and dusty roads in the region. One of the most important social innovators ever known, Ashoka (pronounced with a closed "o" sound) was also used to name, in 1980, an organization with motivations and objectives similar to those of the old Indian leader. Presently, Ashoka Social Entrepreneurs can be found in 41 countries. Its mission is to find and support people imbued with ethical and humanistic values who have innovative social projects and spirit of realization to implement them.
Those current Ashokas - who, upon becoming a member of the NGO, are called fellows - today number over 1,100 in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Every year, about 150 new members are selected.
Most of Ashoka social entrepreneurs are found in poor regions, with serious social problems. Today, Brazil is the country with the largest number of fellows. They are 220 men and women working in the six fields of the organization: learning/education, environment, health, human rights, civic participation, and economic development.
SOCIAL PROFIT. In a garage, Bill Gates began what would be, in a short time, one of the largest companies in the world, and became the richest man in the world. The same entrepreneurial drive that makes people like the founder of Microsoft build empires moves thousands of people in several corners of the world in the attempt to solve social problems. At least, this is Ashoka's belief.
The difference is in the type of goal aspired by the social entrepreneurs (so it is that Ashoka itself is a not-for-profit entity). The goals pursued by its members include diminishing the economic abysses between different social groups and nations and deepening of democracy.
The entrepreneurs supported by Ashoka are people like the South-African Paul Cohen, creator of a project of ecological settlements based on sustained development and self-management, which starts providing the poor rural population with a promising alternative to migration to the slums in the big cities.
FAMOUS CASES. In Brazil, there are also many Ashoka fellows, whose projects have already been greatly renowned and acknowledged. In the environment field, one of the most famous of them is Dener Giovanni, creator of Renctas, an organization which strives to fight against the traffic of wild animals.
There are several examples in health, such as Wellington Nogueira, idealizer of the Doctors of Joy, who work for the humanization of Brazilian hospital care. Josý Marmo da Silva, creator of the Health Hut and the Health Troupe, which aims at conducting a preventive work by valuing the culture and identity of the Afro-Brazilian communities in Rio de Janeiro. Vera Cordeiro, from Instituto Renascer, who, with a holistic approach to child health, has reduced hospital re-admittance rates for poor children in Rio by 60%.
Joýo Jorge, founder and current president of Grupo Cultural Olodum, in the state of Bahia, is also a fellow. Like Marilena Lazzarini, executive coordinator of the Instituto de Defesa do Consumidor (Institute of the Consumers' Defense) and Marta Gil, from Rede Saci for disabled people. Another famous fellow is Rodrigo Baggio, whose work has been widely publicized nationally and internationally due to his growing chain of computing schools in low-income communities.
In the field of economic development, Oscar Arruda, for example, has benefited an increasing number of small farmers with his project of carnauba wax production and trading in the arid region in the state of Cearý.
Chico Mendes, the famous rubber-latex-extractor leader, had just become a fellow when he was assassinated in 1988.
The minister of Land Reform, Raul Jungmann, is another famous Brazilian affiliated to Ashoka. Jungmann, who became a fellow in 1990, has currently interrupted his participation in the NGO, as it happens with every fellow who takes over a government position. Even so, the minister has, like all the other fellows, a presentation page at Ashoka web site. The description of his project includes curious passages, such as the one mentioning the "support to NGOs that work with socially-marginalized populations." It's worth checking it out.
CULTIVATION. Ashoka was idealized and founded by Bill Drayton (read interview on page 25), an American who majored in Law and Administration, with a background of social entrepreneurship that dates back his high school days.
It is Drayton himself, president of the NGO, who explains in one of the hundreds of pages at Ashoka major web site (www.ashoka.org) why a tree was adopted as the organization symbol. "Big trees grow from small seeds," he says, repeating an old saying.
According to Anamaria Schindler, international director of strategic partnerships of Ashoka in Brazil, this way of valuing the "ant work" must not be regarded as an option made to the small scale. "The fellows present innovative alternatives of social work that can and must be multiplied by other people, NGOs, and governments," she says.
Having a government adopting an idea is a goal that has already been attained by several Ashoka members in Brazil, including one of the 14 newly-approved fellows, whose life history is, at least, amazing.
ABOUT-TURN. Very early, Roberto da Silva had all his family ties cut. He was sent to Febem while he was still very young and grew up inside the institution without knowing anything at all about his own origin. He was just one of the "government children" (an expression that he used as the title of his first book).
When he was nearly 16 (until today he does not know his birth date), Roberto left Febem. Shortly after that, involved with drugs and little crimes, he ended up at the Casa de Detenýýo de Sýo Paulo, the prison in Sýo Paulo.
If up to that point everything had happened as expected, after seven years in prison the course of Roberto's history took another direction. And that direction was so different that today he holds a PhD degree in Education from the University of Sýo Paulo - USP and is a university lecturer. When asked about what happened, if one day it clicked, he had an insight, Roberto assures that it was not the case. "I started to understand the problems in which I was involved when I saw my ex-colleagues of Febem at the Casa de Detenýýo, but it was a gradual process."
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT. Roberto is the author of the project of new medium-security prisons - which will then be called re-socialization centers - that the Sýo Paulo state government is building. Innovations range from the architecture plan to the management model.
Everything was thought in a way to break the vices that, according to him, dominate the current imprisonment model, clearly ruined: tolerance towards corruption, permissibility in relation to violence against the prisoners (part of them practiced by other prisoners), and the excessive bargaining power and internal ruling presently in the hands of and arbitrarily manipulated by prison officers.
According to the project, each center will be managed by the state together with a local NGO, to which most of the professionals who will run the establishment will be bound. Besides providing dignity and opportunities of rehabilitation to prisoners, the project ensures involvement of the civil society in the institution's management. "This is an alternative to the state centralizing model and privatization, which turns the prisoner's freedom into a business and profit object," Roberto explains.
Eleven out of the 30 centers to be opened until 2002 are already under construction and the first one is scheduled to start operations next June. The Citizenship in Prison project, by Roberto da Silva and A Histýria do Presente NGO, which is guiding the implementation of those re-socialization centers, was granted the second prize in the first edition of the Social Entrepreneur Award last year.
INVESTMENT. At first funded with Bill Drayton's own resources, today Ashoka records a global yearly budget of US$ 12 million. Most part of those resources - 62% - come from entrepreneurs who recognize Ashoka as having the same entrepreneurial leverage that they have. Another 20% come from general individuals, 12% from foundations, and 6% from companies. With those resources, Ashoka makes several kinds of investments in its growing membership network.
A monthly stipend that is enough to ensure them their basic living so that they can focus full-time on their social projects. The amount invested varies according to the living cost in each region and the personal and family status of the fellow. Today, the average amount in Brazil is R$ 2,700 a month.
Ashoka's wager on a fellow is that, after the period the stipend is granted - the maturing phase of the project -, he and his idea will have become self-sustainable. For this, the entity selects people who show that they have already acquired, before initiating the project, sufficient competence to make the task feasible. However, this does not mean that the NGO intends to find professionals who are 100% prepared to face the challenges of their proposal.
TRAINING. Ashoka also invests in its membership training. Several Brazilian fellows, for example, count on the help of McKinsey & Company's professionals for their projects. McKinsey is one of the largest consulting companies in the world and the most prominent partner of Ashoka in the country. Ashoka also promotes meetings with fellows whose projects belong to the same field and encourages the exchange of information and cooperation among them.
To Kate Mehr, director of Ashoka newly-launched program for the United States and Canada, the most important role of the entity is to provide contact among several social entrepreneurs around the world. "Even after the funding period is over, the fellows continue to participate in an international association and can interact with colleagues from every corner of the world, obtain support, and learn with them," she says.
An example of cooperation between fellows is given by Mýnica Roure, international director of Ashoka in Brazil. "Fýbio Rosa, creator of a low-cost, rural electrification program in the Southern Region stimulated greatly Ismael Ferreira's project, geared to small sisal producers in the Northeast," she tells.
CUTTING EDGE. Ashoka arrived in Brazil in 1986. Since then, the work developed in the country has, in many aspects, been the model of the entity's work throughout the world. An example is the partnership with McKinsey, which was born here and begins to expand to other countries.
The Social Entrepreneur Award is a major fruit from such partnership and today it counts on the support of other companies, being open to the participation of fellows and non-fellows. The competition, which selects business plans made for social projects, took place for the first time last year. In the 2001 edition, still open for registrations, the three first prizes will share a total award of R$ 95 thousand.
Ashoka's budget for Brazil last year reached almost US$ 1 million, and approximately 25% of that amount was obtained in the country itself by means of donations from foundations, companies, and individuals. The entity's intention, states Anamaria Schindler, is to increase the share of resources obtained domestically, "after all, we ourselves are those who benefit from the projects developed here and, besides, the bigger the involvement of all sectors of the society is, the better it is."
A criticism usually made to Ashoka refers to the adoption of business criteria and methods to design and manage social projects. "Sometimes people criticize us by saying that we impose a business format on the social projects, when our intention is to put the techniques to the service of the ideals and passion of the social entrepreneurs," says Anamaria.
She believes that it is important to convey this kind of knowledge to the fellows so that they can achieve more autonomy, efficiency, and persuasion power. "We transfer business knowledge to the social area without trying to abolish the features that distinguish the two sectors," she states.
According to her, Ashoka does not intent to eliminate the differences but transfer useful knowledge from the companies to the projects. "And, sometimes, cooperation eventually makes the business entrepreneurs absorb values and knowledge from those who work with social issues, which is also great."
INTERNAL DEMOCRACY. The fact that the headquarters of the NGO is located in the United States and is presided by an American has generated another distrust: would Ashoka be one of those initiatives through which the wise developed Northern people intend to save and civilize the Southern savages?
Mýnica assures that it is not like that. And she argues for it with the growing internationalization of the entity's board of directors (Mýnica herself is leaving her position in Brazil to take over Ashoka international operations) and with the participation of representatives and fellows from several nationalities in the decision-making, including the selection of new members.
IDEALISTIC AND COMPETITIVE
Ashoka founder and president, the American Bill Drayton wants to take business dynamism to the "social half of the society."
CARTA CAPITAL: How did you develop the idea of an organization for social entrepreneurs?
BILL DRAYTON: Two paths crossed when I was a student at Harvard and that's when the idea crystallized. One of those paths is a profound fascination of how the human society works. At the same time, I was involved in an effort for the civil rights in the U.S., a movement based on Gandhi's ideas. Those two currents were simultaneously present and, while my awareness increased, I met people, traveled to India, I asked myself, like any healthy student would do: "What are you going to do about it?" The answer is very simple: it requires an idea that identifies the problem, solves it, changes the existing patterns. There is nothing more powerful than an idea that changes the patterns if it is in the hands of an entrepreneur.
CC: How does Ashoka work nowadays?
BD: We focus on the starting point, when there is an idea and a person willing to go ahead with it, but this person needs to get out of the conventional institutions, because the new idea does not fit in there. This is a very risky moment and the person needs support to show, refine his idea, and start spreading it out. Ashoka comes into the scene and gives those people financial security, invites them to live with other social entrepreneurs, because they can help each other more than we can or any other person.
CC: Do you consider competition an essential element for social innovation?
BD: Absolutely. Along the last three centuries, there has been competition and enterprise in the "business half" of the society, and this has led to a 2% to 3% yearly growth. However, in the "social half" of the society, governments have invested their resources through old, bureaucratic mechanisms that, due to their monopolistic nature, have not needed to improve their way of investing in the social sector. In the last two decades, fortunately, the competition and enterprise principles have swept across the social arena and the growth rate of citizen organizations in every country where they are legal is impressive. In Brazil, they were 250 thousand in 1990 and, in the end of the decade, they totaled over 400 thousand, only those officially registered at the government agencies. When you have so many groups, they compete for resources, for attention, for a better team. This becomes a virtuous cycle of constructive competition.
CC: What other activities does Ashoka develop?
BD: Eighty per cent of our work is still in finding new ideas that, in the hands of entrepreneurs, can change the patterns in several fields. But as the sector and the social entrepreneurs mature, needs change. When someone has an idea, he starts developing it at the regional level, showing it and refining the idea. Then comes the step of dissemination and marketing of the idea, a task that requires another type of help, support, and cooperation. Following that, there is the third step, when marketing starts producing effects and the people pay attention to the idea. Usually, at this step, growth is quick and the entrepreneurs have a huge management challenge ahead. Our field is very new and we do not have the expertise to manage this step yet and, because of this, we developed a special relationship with McKinsey & Company.
CC: Brazil was the pioneer in the relationship with McKinsey and has the largest number of fellows in the world. What makes the country such a fertile land for social entrepreneurs?
BD: The Brazilian society has an admirable capacity, which is transferred to the fellows: the capacity of people to work well together. For an organization based on cooperation, such as Ashoka, this is fundamental. There is also another reason for the development of the relationship with McKinsey in Brazil: McKinsey's office in Brazil is exceptional. Their staff has contributed a lot for this to happen, about 30% of their office employees work as volunteers in the partnership with Ashoka.
CC: How are the outcomes of the social entrepreneurs' work measured?
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