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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

[Conference] Social Enterprise Conference 2007 -Harvard Business School

On Wednesday the second Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise will draw to a close. So far it's been ... nice.

You might be able to listen here.

But on the heels of Davos ...

Let's look forward to March 4, and the Social Enterprise Conference at Harvard.

The Conference speakers include:

Cheryl Dorsey - President, Echoing Green
An accomplished social entrepreneur with expertise in health care, labor issues and public policy, Cheryl Dorsey was named President of Echoing Green in May 2002. She is the first Echoing Green Fellow to lead the social venture fund, which has awarded nearly $25 million in start-up capital to over 400 social entrepreneurs worldwide since 1987.

Dr. Dorsey served as a White House Fellow from 1997-1998, serving as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, advising the Clinton Administration on health care and other issues. She was later named Special Assistant to the Director of the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Labor Department. Most recently,Dr. Dorsey served as the first Director of Public Health Initiatives at Danya International, Inc., where she developed products and services aimed at substance abuse treatment and prevention, child and family services, minority health and community outreach.

Dr. Dorsey has received numerous awards and honors for her commitment to public service, including the Pfizer Roerig History of Medicine Award, the Robert Kennedy Distinguished Public Service Award and the Manuel C. Carballo Memorial Prize. She currently serves as a board member of CORO, a leadership development organization.

Dr. Dorsey holds a B.A. in History and Science from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, an M.D. from the Harvard Medical School and an M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Victoria Hale - Founder and CEO, Institute for One World Health
Dr. Hale established her expertise in all stages of biopharmaceutical drug development at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research; and at Genentech, Inc., the world's first biotechnology company. She presently maintains an Adjunct Associate Professorship in Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is an Advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) for building ethical review capacity in the developing world, and has served as an expert reviewer to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the topic of biodiversity. In 2004, Dr. Hale and OneWorld Health were included in the Scientific American 50, the magazine’s annual list recognizing outstanding acts of leadership in science and technology. Dr. Hale’s recent honors include being named Executive of the Year by Esquire Magazine (2005), receiving The Economist Innovation Award for Social and Economic Innovation (2005), as well as the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the Skoll Foundation (2005), being selected as a Fellow by Ashoka, Innovators for the Public - a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs (2006), and being named one of the “Most Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs” by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in Switzerland (2004).

Jay Coen Gilbert - Acting Co-Chair, Investors Circle, AND1, B-Lab/B Holdings
Despite having no game, Jay Coen Gilbert co-founded and sold AND 1, a $250M basketball footwear and apparel company based outside Philadelphia. Jay is Acting Chairman of Investor’s Circle, a national network dedicated to “Patient Capital for a Sustainable Future.” Since 1992, Investors’ Circle members have invested over $107 million in 171 deals, in such areas as environment, healthcare, education, women-led companies and community development.

Jay is currently co-creating two related organizations: B Lab and B Holdings. B Lab is a non-profit organization whose mission is to build the For-Benefit sector. The For-Benefit sector is a new sector of the economy, sitting between the for-profit and non-profit sectors, which harnesses the power of private enterprise to create public benefit. The For-Benefit sector is comprised of a new type of corporation -- the B corporation – which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. B Holdings is the Berkshire Hathaway for purpose-driven investors, a For-Benefit holding company focused on consumer products, financial services, and media.

Jay is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a Board member of the Philadelphia chapters of KIPP, a national public charter middle school, City Year, a leading Americorps youth service program, and Monteverde Friends, U.S.

Bill Shore - Founder and Executive Director, Share Our Strength
Bill Shore is the founder and executive director of Share Our Strength, the nation's leading organization working to end childhood hunger in the United States. Shore is also the chairman of Community Wealth Ventures, Inc., a for-profit subsidiary of Share Our Strength, that provides consulting services.

Shore founded Share Our Strength in 1984 in response to the Ethiopian famine and subsequently renewed concern about hunger in the United States. Since its founding, Share Our Strength has raised more than $200 million to support more than 1,000 anti-hunger, anti-poverty groups worldwide. Today, its priority is to end childhood hunger in America ensuring that the nearly 14 million American children facing hunger have access to the nutritious food they need to learn, grow and thrive.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Shore earned his B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He currently serves on the board of directors of The Timberland Company, City Year, College Summit, and Venture Philanthropy Partners. In October 2005, US News & World Report selected Shore as one of America's Best Leaders, an accomplished group selected by an independent committee of judges assembled by the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.


And there are panels ... lots of panels ..

Measuring Value in Cross-Sector Partnerships – Perception vs. Reality
Corporations have traditionally supported public or nonprofit activities either through direct giving (philanthropy) or joint marketing programs (sponsorships). These investments are usually small relative to the overall corporate budget and they are primarily designed to increase the general reputation of the company. However, using new models of CSR leading companies have begun to look more carefully at the specific benefits of social impact investments that eventually accrue to the corporate bottom line. The trend has been for managers of private firms and nonprofit organizations to “walk in the other person’s shoes” and demonstrate the value they provide to corporate profits and social welfare respectively. But have cross-sector partnerships been oversold as “win-win” situations for the firm and society?

Making People Care: Successes and Challenges in Engaging Public Support for Social Enterprise and Global Development
The panel will explore some of the creative ways organizations are engaging the North American public -- through outreach, awareness campaigns, and opportunities for action -- in support of social enterprise and/or anti-poverty efforts in the developing world. Panelists will discuss successful approaches as well as enduring challenges in moving people from caring to long term, effective engagement to alleviate poverty.

The Emerging Role of Private Capital in Economic Development
Access to capital is core to any countries recipe for economic development. Traditionally, this role has been filled by NGO’s such as the IMF and World Bank. This is now changing. Private capital is playing an increasingly critical role in economic development. Developing economies, in particular India and China, are receiving increased interest from Western Banks, private equity and venture capital firms. This interest is just beginning and will likely grow unabated. While the West’s financially deep pockets are of great importance, they also raise fundamental questions.

Emerging Career Paths in Social Enterprises
Social enterprises are now attracting top talent. How is the infusion of top MBA's unfolding in these social enterprises? What are the emerging career paths? This panel looks at economic and international development jobs in the social enterprise space.

Public-Private Partnerships in Urban Development
The public-private partnership has been seen most often in the urban development sphere where federal, state, and local agencies partner with private contractors in search of a win-win situation. This panel takes a close look at both the performance of such partnerships and the future for this form of partnership.

The Arts as a Tool for Social Change
This panel will address how the arts succeed in engaging the community and the powerful role of the arts in social and economic development. In light of recent press surrounding the issue of the changing nature of philanthropy, this panel will also seek to address supporting and funding the arts in the context of other philanthropic causes. Social entrepreneurs from different artistic mediums will discuss the ways in which the arts can serve as a tool for empowerment, education and community engagement.

Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Agriculture
Agriculture faces four challenges in becoming sustainable. First, hunger: today more than 850 million people lack sufficient food for an active and healthy life. How will we become able to feed them? Second, trade: negotiations have been suspended primarily because of disagreements on agricultural protections. How do we reach a consensus acceptable by all parties? Third, the environment: agriculture has a tremendous impact on the two most pressing environmental issues: global warming and access to water. How can agriculture minimize its environmental impact? And fourth, health: from obesity issues to supply chain security, the impact of agriculture on health has become a major issue in the public debate. How can our food become more healthy?

Foundations
What does “social entrepreneurship” mean to leading foundations in the U.S.? Is it a meaningful concept or an ephemeral buzz-word with more hype than substance? Are these foundations seeking to fund social entrepreneurs, and, if so, what do they use to identify grant recipients? Senior representative from three of the largest tech-funded foundations in the U.S. will debate and discuss their views. If you are or aspire to a grant-maker or grantee, this is a panel not to be missed.

Global Health
Over the past decade, product development public-private partnerships have formed to develop safe, effective, and accessible interventions to combat the spread of infectious disease. By combining non-profit commitment to international public goods for health with private-sector business models and product development capabilities, these partnerships bridge public- and private-sector interests with a view toward resolving the barriers to industry involvement in the development these products. This panel will examine the relationship between the private, public, and non-profit sectors in developing and delivering such pharmaceutical interventions.

Microfinance
The panel seeks to push the limit on microcredit models, expanding the conversation from traditional projects to ones that may include things like microinsurance or the bundling of microcredit with the delivery of social services. How can microenterprise effectively expand the level and quality of its services in ways that more effectively achieve goals of poverty alleviation? How far can we push traditional models without losing focus? Does the role of profit in microenterprise advance or hinder the sector’s collective goals of poverty alleviation?

Social Venture Capital
Venture philanthropy and social venture capital operate between ‘traditional’ models of philanthropy and for-profit investment funds. What has been their impact so far, especially in developing countries? What are the pros and cons of loans versus grants? Can these models make a sustainable impact on global poverty?

Emergency Response
Field practitioners will debate the positive and negative implications of the new and emerging mechanism of cash distributions. While the western world consistently uses cash distributions (e.g. FEMA and Red Cross credit cards to those affected by Katrina), there is a continued reluctance and lack of trust for using similar type of mechanisms for emergency responses in developing contexts. Cash distributions have proven to be extremely effective in both conflict (e.g. the West Bank) and natural disaster (e.g. tsunami in Indonesia and Sri Lanka) responses by decreasing logistics and administrative costs, speeding response times and increasing respect for the beneficiaries. Representatives from the traditional models of emergency response (e.g. UN) and pioneers of the cash distribution model will discuss their viewpoints.

Entrepreneurship in Experiential Education
Experiential education is a “hot topic” in education reform and draws proponents and critics throughout the profession. Social Enterprise adds another perspective in bringing “rule breakers” (instead of “rule takers”) to education who seek reform outside the constraints of the establishment. Can these two perspectives coexist?

Bottom Up or Top Down: Does It Matter Where and How a Social Enterprise Begins?
This is a topic that should be of interest to all those interested in social entrepreneurship, new or practiced. It strikes at the very heart of why the social entrepreneurship model began. Are we in danger of losing the raison d’etre of the movement, or merely exploring new ways to expand its possibilities? Should every partnership be explored? Is the purpose of social entrepreneurship charity or empowerment?

Climate Change and the Media
With the increasing power and global reach of both new and old media, what has been the impact of the media in covering the nexus between climate change and environmentally damaging business practices? This panel examines areas where the media has provided pivotal editorial coverage and has reported on green initiatives and practices.

Can the Success of the For-profit Business Incubator be Replicated in the Social Sector?
In most communities today, social enterprises are still just happening by chance. The for-profit sector has shown that business incubators can rapidly increase the number of successful new businesses being created. Universities such as Stanford, Harvard, and others have introduced SE Incubation Labs in their teaching programs. How do we get these models into communities where people live and feel the social needs every day?

Socially Responsible Investing
What is socially responsible investing (SRI) and what are the pros and cons of common SRI strategies such as screening, shareholder advocacy, and community involvement? As the SRI field matures, what new products are in the SRI pipeline and how can the field be taken more seriously by the rest of the investment community?

Interested? Here's a summary of the 2006 conference.
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Monday, January 29, 2007

[Conference] BC Women’s Economic Institute Conference - Starting with Women’s Lives: Changing Today’s Economy

We are pleased to announce the first annual BC Women’s Economic Institute Conference on March 7 – 10, 2007 at the YWCA in Vancouver, BC. The conference, “Starting with Women’s Lives: Changing Today’s Economy”, is co-hosted and sponsored by Atira Women’s Resource Society and the Canadian Women’s Foundation with support from the Vancouver Agreement.

Join other community leaders for a skill-building conference designed to strengthen your organization's toolkit for supporting women to develop their economic potential.

Who should attend:

Leaders of BC-based women's organizations, community development organizations with a focus on programs for women, self-employment, asset development &/or employment training, CED practitioners, civil servants, women interested in women's economic empowerment, and academics.

Here's the schedule:

Wednesday, March 7
Evening Registration & Welcome Reception
Keynote Speaker: Chief Judith Sayers

Thursday, March 8
Breakfast & Networking
Skill-building Sessions
Afternoon Workshops
Consultations & Networking
Networking Dinners
Case Study #1

Friday, March 9
Breakfast & Networking
Skill-building Sessions
Workshops
On site Dinners
Case Study#2

Saturday, March 10
Breakfast & Networking
Skill-building Sessions
Closing Plenary
Closing Reception


Register online now and go here for information about the conference workshops and schedule. Online registration will close on February 23, 2007 at midnight.

Bursaries are available. To apply go here.

Have other questions ... contact Fei Wang at (604) 331-1407 (x. 107).
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Friday, January 26, 2007

Davos | Peter Munk on "Rogue NGOs"


Davos is a "What's said here. Stays here." kind of place. This year the attendees are highly accessible and willing to share. We like that.

So when FT.com aired a video of Peter Munk, Barrick Gold chairman, sharing his concerns about "rogue NGOs" ...

FT.com has been good enough to provide a transcript ...

Peter Munk, chairman and founder of Barrick Gold, speaks to James Montgomery, editor of FT.com at Davos 2007 on January 25 2007

James Montgomery: Peter Munk, chairman and founder of Barrick Gold, thank you very much for talking to the Financial Times. You’ve been speaking at Davos this week about the problems you believe are caused by what you describe as rogue NGOs. What is a rogue NGO?

Peter Munk: NGOs came on the scene 20, 25 years ago and they were enormously beneficial and a major influence on improving global standards, whether it’s Amnesty International and Human Rights, whether it’s Sierra Club in terms of pollution, we all know that they made a major impact on world opinion and a major impact on the way we all operate today, particularly in the extracting industries.

Unfortunately, because of the high quality of these NGOs, there was no need and there was no intent by any governments to try to control them. They controlled businesses, they controlled corporations, they certainly controlled governments, so all the participants in the debate or dialogue who cannot develop a mine, are well known, but suddenly in the last decade and increasingly over the last few years, NGOs have emerged who people have not heard of before, who come from obscure, non-transparent background, who adhere to no standards, and, worst of all, who have no accountability, and the claims they make are sometimes so wild and so untrue and so blatantly untrue, damaging not just potential projects but corporations and individuals against which there is no defence, that the damage they cause is going to be incalculable, particularly now that we are experiencing a global boom in commodities. Ten years ago or 15 years ago when we had the bottom of the cycle, this would not have mattered because really there was neither the capital nor the need to develop a large number of new mines of base metals, energy, whatever. Today the picture has totally changed. They’ve gone through an unprecedented period, probably never before experienced, right across the board from wheat to platinum where every material, every raw material, has doubled and trebled in price because the demand is so powerful, so strong, that this of course in turn means that every miner and every producer maximises their production which means they exhaust existing mining capacities quicker, which imposes a new demand on putting new mines on stream and this is where the NGOs, these rogue NGOs, come in because they stop the ability of having these new mines evolve.

JM: And what harm do you believe rogue NGOs are doing as you see it?

PM: Well, number one, from a global point of view and from an overall point of view, the main damage, of course, is done to the world at large where you’re forcing people, and I mean people right across the globe from the Chinese worker who’s moved up from his generation long village into finally in a position where he can afford a bicycle or running water, to the luxury guy who’s riding a TJV train in France, every one of us. A large amount of money is being paid for those commodities than it would need to be without this unnecessary totally uncalled for and totally unjustifiable burden. So they’re making the commodity boom become so exaggerated that imposes a tax on global society and if it extends without control the behaviour of these NGOs further and they are able to thwart the development of major deposits, then the demand which will remain constant anyway, will drive prices up to unsustainable levels. So that’s damage number one.

Damage number two is that the communities where these mind deposits are, whether it’s in Europe, whether it’s in Latin America, whether it’s in Asia, or Africa, Africa, of course, is a whole case because of political issues, these mining communities mostly depend entirely on the economic benefits the mining companies would create by making a massive major investment which in today’s world a new mine requires. And that ranges from restaurants to hotels, from education to health, from infrastructure to super-structure. Then the employment issue. A major mine will employ people for two decades, from the lowest, unqualified labour to the foreman and to the manager 75 to 80% on these mines the employees are locals. Now, these locals have no chance of getting the kind of incomes and the kind of wage benefits that they could get from global mining companies. In many cases they go back to the state of absolute poverty because in many of these regions there is no other employment opportunity, so that’s the second major damage they cause.

And thirdly, they are putting a huge damper on the global prospecting community which is an integral part of the process to come up with mines. We always had prospectors who had the genius, who had the geological competence, and some of them were failures, most of them were failures, but some of them were such brilliant success stories that they were responsible for creating billion dollars worth of boom resource development to the benefit of the country, the community, the corporations, the shareholders, and reduced the price of the commodities by making a commodity available cheaply. And that activity is now cut in half because of this NGO rogue behaviour.

[...]

Given Mr. Munk's comments ... you might also be interested in Barrick's CSR reporting. Here's the link.
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Thursday, January 25, 2007

[Education] Study Social Enterprise and Community Development

We're grateful to Cory Way for introducing the "Master of Studies (MSt) in Social Enterprise and Community Development" - a two-year, part-time degree taught and administered by the Institute of Continuing Education and the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge.

The degree is designed for people who have full-time jobs but who wish to enhance their professional qualifications through two years of part-time management education at one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world.

Potential applicants may find the following helpful:

Is this course for me?
The degree programme is designed for those who are, or aspire to be, chief executives, senior managers, policy makers, academics or entrepreneurs in social enterprise. Whilst most applicants will have significant work experience, we also encourage applications from candidates who possess exceptional promise at the earlier stages of their careers. Applications from across all sectors, industries, cultures, backgrounds and nations are welcome.

What will I gain?
This dynamic programme develops executive skills in leadership, management, critical evaluation and research. Students acquire specialised management education and skills from first-class faculty during the following courses in the first year:
  • (1) Business and Project Management;
  • (2) Finance and Enterprise;
  • (3) People, Organisations and Leadership;
  • (4) The Social and Political Context of Social Enterprise and Community Development;
  • (5) Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities in Social Enterprise and Community Development.

  • During the second year, students prepare a dissertation of their own choosing with direct supervision from faculty. Numerous guest speakers and diverse fellow students also enhance the programme. Successful students will earn a Master of Studies (MSt) in Social Enterprise and Community Development from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

    Can I work full-time and still pursue the degree?
    The course is taught during seven short residential teaching blocks over two years in Cambridge, England. Residential teaching periods range from three to ten days. Attendance during these residential sessions is required. Applicants are encouraged to review the dates listed in the programme materials to ensure that they can fulfil the residency requirements. During non-residential periods students receive faculty supervision and feedback via the internet.

    How do I apply?
    To learn more and to apply ... go here. Admissions enquiries should be directed to Sarah Blakeney, Academic Programme Manager, at +44 (0)1954 280 280.

    Applications are considered on a 'rolling' basis, with a deadline of 31 March.

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    Wednesday, January 17, 2007

    The New Philanthropy

    This graphic is attached to a LA Times story reporting on another LA Times story - Dark Cloud Over Good Works of Gates Foundation - questioning the ethical calibre of the Gates Foundation investments. That's a mouthful.

    If you're interested in mindful comments on Gates or "Dark Cloud" please look here, here, or here, and try this one for something pithy.

    We're not interested in either LA Times story. We are interested in the Gates Foundation response and the opportunities to engage with foundations on their investment protocols.

    We suggest to appreciate the scope of the "New Philanthropy", listen - as MP3/Vorbis - to this SALT presentation given by Katherine Fulton.

    Here's a summary with full credit to Stewart Brand:
    Katherine reported:
  • 10,000 families in the US have assets of $100 million or more. Up from 7,000 just a couple years ago. Most of that money is "on the sidelines." The poor and the middle class are far more generous in their philanthropy, proportionally, than the very wealthy.

  • Philanthropy across the board is in the midst of intense, potentially revolutionary, transition, she said. There's new money, new leaders, new rules, new technology, and new needs. Where great wealth used to come mainly from inheritance and oil, now it comes from success in high technology and finance--- and ideas and expectations from those business experiences inform (and sometimes over-simplify) the new philanthropy. Some of the great older institutions like the Rockefeller Foundation are radically reorganizing around new ideas and opportunities. But still the greatest amount comes from individuals, many of whom are now "giving while living" instead of handing over the task to heirs.

  • One major new instrument for philanthropy are the community
    foundations, "the mutual funds of philanthropy, where donors can outsource their strategy." There are 1,000 such organizations in the world, 700 of them in the US, led by innovators such as Acumen Fund, Social Venture Partners, New Profit Inc., and Women's Funding Network.

  • Online giving is growing rapidly, including the development of
    philanthropic marketplaces for direct, selective, fine-grain giving. Give India, for example, is a national marketspace of charity exchange. "By 2020 we will see a headline, OPEN SOURCE PHILANTHROPIC PORTAL TOPS $1 BILLION IN GIFTS."

  • An important trend is from local and short-term toward global and systemic, exemplified by Bill Gates' move from bringing computers to American schools to bringing health to Africa.

  • The trait most often missing in philanthropy, including the new philanthropy, is stamina, patience. "Instead of rewarding success with continued funding, the givers get bored and look for something new. Really effective giving requires deep contextual understanding and tolerance for ambiguity. My advice to new donors is, 'Pick at least one difficult and complex issue and stick with it, and join with others to work on it.'"

  • The greatest needs require philanthropic stamina but will also reward it. She quoted Danny Hillis: "There are problems that are impossible if you think about them in two-year terms--- which everyone does-- but they're easy if you think if fifty-year terms."

  • donors have to visit up close with whatever they're giving toward. Dr. Rockefeller supported that, describing how different his view was of Doctors Without Borders once he had worked with the physicians in the field in Peru and Nigeria. He said that direct experience helps free you from lots of theories that are just wrong, and from philanthropy that is a projection of your own neuroses.

  • Questions from the audience revealed a continuing problem with the whole social sector, which is the lack of clear mechanisms of self-correction and accountability. Government has checks and balances. Business has the bottom line. But "it's hard to speak truth to philanthropy," Katherine said. Richard said he looked closely at a $20 million effort by the Robert Wood Johnson to evaluate its programs and was unimpressed by the result. Larry Brilliant added, "And the new philanthropy is even less accountable than the old."

  • The generation of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller had a strong religious tradition that inspired public generosity and inventiveness. Those who came of age in the 1960s and early '70s had their experience with political activism as a driver for later philanthropy. "But I notice that many who became adults during and after Ronald Reagan seem to have no framework at all for giving."


  • Ahem: That's right ... Larry Brilliant and Richard Rockefeller join Katherine.
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    Wednesday, January 10, 2007

    [Web Conference] Sustainability for Value and Profit

    CasePlace.org invited us, and we're inviting you, to join Dr. Chris Laszlo, Partner and Co-founder of Sustainable Value Partners, Inc. and Dr. David Cooperrider, co-founder of Appreciative Inquiry and Chair of Organizational Behavior at Case Weatherhead School of Management, as they discuss how companies are leveraging sustainability to maximize value creation for both shareholders and stakeholders.

    The Web-Conference is scheduled for Wednesday, January 24th, 2007, 2:00pm - 3:00pm, EST.

    Through a live presentation followed by Q&A, you will learn about the latest developments in the sustainability field and the inside story on how businesses are making sweeping change. Drs. Cooperrider and Laszlo will discuss examples of how businesses have integrated sustainability into their day to day operations and how businesses have gone beyond regulatory compliance to explore cutting edge ideas that are at the intersection of business and society.

    They will also discuss how executives and managers have leveraged the strength-based perspective of Appreciative Inquiry, a proven approach for engaging multiple stakeholders to achieve rapid, dramatic and holistic change, to lead the charge for sustainability.

    This interactive, hands-on program has been designed to help business leaders incorporate sustainability into their core strategy using Appreciative Inquiry.

    Please RSVP to Alex Roberts to participate in January's online discussion.

    CasePlace.org, and Drs. Cooperrider and Laszlo, believe that sustainability requires a central place on the executive agenda. Accordingly, this web-conference is designed for leaders focused on strategic initiatives including:

  • CEOs, CFOs and other senior executives

  • Country managers

  • Leaders of LEAN and operations improvements

  • Marketing and branding executives

  • Policy, NGO and other public sector leaders

  • Representatives from diverse sectors and industries


  • Registration is free. All registrants will receive an email with dial-in information.


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    Tuesday, January 09, 2007

    [Help] GiveMeaning and Global Cultures Television

    Vancouverite Craig Volker has a vision to use images that foster cultural/environmental sensitivity and promote peace. His project is called Global Cultures Television.

    After some consideration, Craig has decided to use another Vancouver based project, GiveMeaning, to build community and assist his project funding needs.

    Here's where the help would be appreciated ...

    GiveMeaning is using a 100 vote threshold to advance projects as "qualified fundraising projects".

    Here's how Craig explained it to us:

    What you're "voting" on is whether you feel the proposed project is worthwhile. When you vote, you're not making a financial commitment of any kind; you're simply indicating that you think it's a good idea and should go ahead.

    With enough votes, I can work towards making the idea a reality.

    Feel like helping?

    Then please go here to vote for Global Cultures Television at GiveMeaning.

    Thank you.

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    [Help] GiveMeaning and Global Cultures Television

    Vancouverite Craig Volker has a vision to use images that foster cultural/environmental sensitivity and promote peace. His project is called Global Cultures Television.

    After some consideration, Craig has decided to use another Vancouver based project, GiveMeaning, to build community and assist his project funding needs.

    Here's where the help would be appreciated ...

    GiveMeaning is using a 100 vote threshold to advance projects as "qualified fundraising projects".

    Here's how Craig explained it to us:

    What you're "voting" on is whether you feel the proposed project is worthwhile. When you vote, you're not making a financial commitment of any kind; you're simply indicating that you think it's a good idea and should go ahead.

    With enough votes, I can work towards making the idea a reality.

    Feel like helping?

    Then please go here to vote for Global Cultures Television at GiveMeaning.

    Thank you.

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    Tuesday, January 02, 2007

    An Investment in Affordable Credit ... elsewhere

    This past December 11th, Citizens Bank - a subsidiary of VanCity - announced the launch of their Shared World Term Deposit (SWTD).

    This is how Citizens outlines the concept of the SWTD:
    Your investment dollars help provide affordable credit to people in the world’s poorest communities, allowing them to educate their children, obtain secure housing for their families, develop micro and small businesses, and otherwise improve their quality of life.


    Citizens is pooling the capital with the Calvert Social Investment Foundation. In short, Citizens piggybacks on Calvert to invest in below-market rates in international community loans funds that address poverty issues around the world. These community loan funds provide credit to help individuals and communities build assets and transform lives.

    Here's a link to see the current (assume Q4 06) allocation of the capital. Without doubt, it's a blue ribbon inventory of laudable organizations.

    Unfortunately missing from the information provided by Citizens Bank is any mention of the "spread on the yield". After all ... offering 3.70% (Dec 8th estimated yield) on a non-redeemable 12-month term deposit makes one wonder.

    It remains to be seen whether the SWTD can capture the attention of RRSP savers like Ethical Funds. We hope it does, and opens opportunities to expand MicroFinance.

    Maybe even in our backyard ...

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