Harnessing StarPower for Social Change
American Idol Runner-Up, Adam Lambert announced last week that he will be partnering with DonorsChoose.org the organization of Ashoka Fellow, Charles Best , for the second time in conjunction with his Glam Nation Tour this year. The program, Glam A Classroom , encourages Adam Lambert fans to donate...
Business Best Practice: A Gallery
Whether you are running a social enterprise or more traditional business, the challenges in selling products or services are similar across the board. At the 2nd Ashoka Support Network Summit held last month in London, more than 150 successful entrepreneurs from both the business and social sectors...
Salesforce Takes on LGBTQ Rights: Would the World Change if All Companies Got Behind a Social Issue?
What role should businesses play in social change? In political advocacy? Is it okay for corporations to take a public stand, as Salesforce has and does, on issues like equal pay for women or LGBTQ rights? What do these actions signal about the future of CSR and corporate giving? To get some...
Disrupting Charity: How Social Business Can Eradicate Starvation
There is an international consensus that malnutrition is the single greatest source of poverty, ill health, and underdevelopment in the world today. While progress has been made in treating starvation, a staggering one in every four children in developing countries still cannot access essential...
Fathers: Levers for Change
On Father’s Day 2011, President Obama pulled out all the stops. To highlight the important role fathers play in helping children reach their full potential, the President launched a new website ( fatherhood.gov ), honored 15 fathers as this week’s Champions of Change , and announced the “Year of...
Bread and Butter Financing for Social Entrepreneurs
Citizen-sector financing is becoming more sophisticated and nuanced. Philanthropy wonk Lucy Bernholz discusses it as the “ New Social Economy ,” citing the emergence of impact investing, B corps, and sidecar funds as components in this new landscape. Ashoka has been an architect and pioneer of many...
John Kluge Talks 'Charity And Philanthropy For Dummies'
John Kluge ( @klugesan ) is co-author with Karl T. Muth and Michael T.S. Lindenmayer of “ Charity and Philanthropy for Dummies ,” released this week. John is also co-founder and chief disruption officer of Toilet Hackers ( @toilethackers ), a US-based nonprofit accelerating access to improved...
In The Quest To Make A Difference, 'A Path Appears' by Nicholas Kristof and Cheryl WuDunn
"Everyone wants to "make a difference" but with an overwhelming array of charitable causes and organizations, the question is: how? Journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn set out to find the answer in their new book, A Path Appears." In a book that features opportunities and inspiration for...
Understanding the Impact of Social Entrepreneurs: Ashoka's Answer to the Challenge of Measuring Effectiveness
The article begins with an overview of recent trends in social entrepreneurship and select milestones in performance measurement in the U.S. citizen sector. The article then offers definitions of social entrepreneurship and systemic change that have been developed by Ashoka during its 25 years of...
