philanthropiccapitalmarkets

A collection of 34 posts

Sense Making in the New Data-Scape

An edited version of this post is available on the SSIR Opinion Blog. The version below is unedited. Some things are so obvious they are hard to see. For example, why do we make change organizations go looking for funders instead of having funders go look for change organizations? Now,

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

Where does change come from?

Where does positive social change come from? My answer to this question is that it can come from potentially anywhere and everywhere. That potential - for positive social change to come from individuals, non-governmental organizations, communities, businesses, worship groups  - is why the changes in the philanthropic capital markets, development

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

Consider the alternatives

(Photo from Flickr: Creative Commons, I_Yudai) It is always easier to tear down what exists than build something new. It is just plain simpler to point out all that is wrong with what is than actually to imagine, let alone create, viable alternatives. In response to my post about

advisory

FasterCures Philanthropy Advisory Service

(Image from http://philanthropyadvisoryservice.org/pas) I'm jammed for time so will have to make this quick - check out FasterCures Philanthropy Advisory Service. It launched today at the Milken Institute Global Conference. I have had the great privilege of being in contact with these folks for several

acumen

The search for shared measures

I posted an update on the state of philanthropic and social capital markets the other day in which I made this comment: I don’t have an easy answer to the calculation of social/environmental return question, though I’ve been told there are at least 240 methods for measuring

emcf

Moving markets

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

acumen

The Blue Sweater - book review

I spent a good part of my recent birthday stuck on airplanes, re-routed from connecting flights, and sitting on the tarmac instead of getting home. This was my first birthday since my mom died. This was a perfect set-up for self-pity. Luckily for me, I was traveling with a Kindle

dml

Field building - does the field matter?

I've written a lot about field building and read even more. Nowadays, the word "industry" is often substituted for field. I suppose I could take some credit for this - since a chunk of my 2004 book addressed the issue of philanthropy as an industry -

gsix

Global Social Investment Exchange

I'm excited to be playing a small part in the brainstorming, pre-planning, possible launching of a Global Social Investment Exchange. (GSIX). Some incredibly creative and accomplished people in online giving marketplaces, social enterprise, poverty alleviation, nonprofit finance, financial exchanges, and technology are coming together to consider the possibilities

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

Commons, not markets

The title of this post "commons, not markets" hints at a much larger theme I'm working on. In that vein, however, here is an interesting site and presentation on a "social venture commons" that I found through twitter (#igniter). Note the presentation refers to

buzzword

Buzzword 2008.9 - Social Enterprise

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

Social Capital index

I just got updated news that xigi.net and GoodCapital, the two social capital organizations that gave us SoCap08 have moved the Social Capital Index to its own site with its own team. You can find it here. As the site managers point out: "Another constant theme [of SoCap08]

hbr

"Invest in good overhead"

"Invest in good overhead." That is a direct quote from a Harvard Business Review article on "Delivering on the Promise of Nonprofits" that just arrived in my mailbox - the December 2008 issue, p 96. Available now in paper, not yet online. Here are a few

bethsblog

What will you do?

Beth Kanter has a great post about MatchDay, The Columbus Foundation's great use of social media to inspire giving. Beth also asks the key question, (and I paraphrase) "Ask not what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for community." She notes

australia

The Future of Philanthropy Down Under

The fine folks at Philanthropy Australia sent me a copy of the opening speech from their recent conference - here is the link from the PhilanthropyOz blog. Besides offering a nice, concise several century history of philanthropy the speech looks to the future. A short list of what they see:

cross-platform philanthropy

Philanthropy calls to action

My post from Friday, better philanthropy, is about the future and what a better philanthropic system, industry, market, ecosystem (or all of the above) can look like, how it could work, and how individuals and enterprises would work within it. Since I initially put out this vision in 2004, many

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

Better philanthropy

There are not a lot of people who spend their time wondering what a better philanthropic system/market/ecosystem could look like. I am one of those few. Colleagues of mine from Blueprint recently reminded me that I have already outlined a vision of better (in my 2004 book, Creating

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

SoCap Plenary Tuesday Morning

Some notes from Tuesday's SoCap08 opening session with Katherine Fulton and a panel with Jed Emerson, Matthew Bishop, and David Chen. Locked in drivers of change - the things we know are going to happen, because they already are: * money seeking diversification * values driven investors * growing inequity and

cross-platform philanthropy

Further reflections on SoCap 08

Are Social Markets here? I asked this question yesterday. I think they are very much emerging, in formation and in ten/twenty years will need little explanation. So, to a small degree, they are here. But they are still very new. We have a lot of influence over what they

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

Social Capital Index

Here are some cool things I've heard about at SoCap08 (so far): * Social capital index  This could be very cool - check it out and use it. * New Philanthropy Capital is looking into developing an association of sector analysts. IMHO, they should invite everyone who has signed up

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

SoCap 08

What does it mean if you throw a conference and twice as many people show up as were originally registered? Well that is what happened at SoCap08. The rooms were so full it made sense to join twitter so I could find out what was happening on the other side

markets

How are you using them?

I've received dozens of emails about the geologic and evolutionary timelines I posted a few days back. Thanks to all who've written in and said "wow," or "thanks" or "you're wrong about X" or "too inside baseball&

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

Geologic Eras of Philanthropy

The above is another view of the development of the philanthropic industry - you can compare it to this one. Please send improvements, suggestions, revisions, etc. to lucy (at) blueprintrd dot com. I'm happy to email you a copy of either graphic, on three conditions: * You let me

philanthropiccapitalmarkets

The customer is always right

Cross posted from All Things Reconsidered There are several customer-centric tropes in the business world: “listen to the customer,” “the customer is always right,” “make the customer happy.” It is harder to find this kind of focus in the world of social action, nonprofits or philanthropy. First of all, who

cross-platform philanthropy

International aid and philanthropy

My friend Tony Pipa sent me this thoughtful reflection on international aid and international philanthropy. He delicately raises some key questions about the distinctions between them, intended and perceived, past, current and future. He lets me off the hook for mistakes I made in this post, and gracefully suggests my