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Lights! Camera! Impact!: Social enterprise lessons from the Café Impact Studios
We balance the heady sense of tackling huge problems with the heartbreaking smallness of knowing our work matters, but never enough. We cannot know everything, but we know enough to realize that we are happiest in motion, not in contemplation.These are the big thematic lessons gleaned from 10 new social change videos from Café Impact, a de facto laboratory in social entrepreneurship formerly known as iOnPoverty.
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- Uncategorized
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How to Train 150 Million: The National Skill Development Corporation’s ambitious plan to remake India’s workforce – part 1
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a unique public-private partnership in India. Its mission is to skill 150 million Indians by 2022, by catalyzing the creation of vocational training institutions through joint ventures with the private sector. In part 1 of this Q&A, Dipra Mukhopadhyay, a member of the NSDC’s core investment team, discusses the program’s challenges and potential.
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- Education
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Talent is Key: (With video) Omidyar Network shares lessons learned from the impact Investing field (Pt 4)
At Omidyar Network, our first insight was about the value of seeking strong and experienced for-profit investment professionals. Our early impact investing efforts were executed occasionally by foundation staff accustomed to only making grants; it was difficult in such circumstances to execute on for-profit, venture-oriented deals. Omidyar Network Managing Partner Matt Bannick touches on the critical role of talent in impact investing.
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- Impact Assessment
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- impact investing
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Talking Condoms and Global Health: Firdaus Kharas’ innovative approach to health behavior change
Behavior change is often called the holy grail of global health promotion. Everyone recognizes its promise in preventing illnesses and injuries, yet it is vastly difficult to accomplish - particularly on a global scale. But acclaimed producer/director Firdaus Kharas believes he’s found an effective approach, which he describes in this interview (with video).
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- Health Care
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A Flexible Toolkit Increases Your Impact: (With video) Omidyar Network shares lessons learned from the impact Investing field (Pt 3)
No matter what structure you use to do impact investing- whether a stand-alone fund, a foundation, or a family office – you likely have access to a broader toolkit than you think. Luther Ragin, Jr., CEO of the Global Impact Investing Network, applies this concept of flexibility to the private foundation world. He disagrees with the idea that foundations are so inherently limited that they cannot engage a full financial toolbox.
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- Impact Assessment
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- impact investing
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May’s Most Popular Posts on NB
This month’s most popular posts examined the expansion of solar business in India, a recent report by Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and new ideas in impact assessment.
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- Energy, Impact Assessment
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- solar
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Match Return Expectations to the Market You’re Serving: (With video) Omidyar Network shares lessons learned from the impact Investing field (Pt 2)
There is a considerable split in the impact investing world between so-called ‘returns first’ investors and ‘impact first’ investors, who disagree on whether it’s ever necessary to expect returns that are below market rate.
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- Uncategorized
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- impact investing
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NexThought Monday: Addressing Problems First, Structure Second : (With video) Omidyar Network shares lessons learned from the impact Investing field (Pt 1)
There are lots of ways to do impact investing: Within a foundation, through your family office, through a stand-alone fund, or through a hybrid structure. At Omidyar Network, we’ve learned it’s important to first examine the problem you are trying to solve—and what kind of talent, legal and financial resources you need to solve it—before creating an organizational structure to execute on the vision.
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- Uncategorized
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- impact investing









