Articles by Tanner Methvin
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Guest Articles
Monday
November 3
2025Time is a Social Innovator’s Most Precious Resource: Why Are So Many Funders Wasting It?
For social entrepreneurs and civil society innovators, time is a perpetually scarce resource. But according to Tanner Methvin at Impact Amplifier, in his decades of engagement with these innovators and their funders, he has often been shocked by how wasteful some of the funding world is with the ecosystem’s time. He argues that many funders don't fully understand the time demands imposed by their cumbersome systems for applying for grants or investments, or responding to requests for proposals. He explores these inefficiencies, and proposes a better way for funders to support the social innovation community.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Guest Articles
Wednesday
March 27
2019Why Aren’t More Social Enterprises Measuring Impact? A New Study in South Africa Raises Questions for the Global Sector
South Africa has arguably the most mature impact ecosystem in Africa, with both seasoned and new social enterprises, incubators, accelerators and funders. And a new study from Impact Amplifier and Genesis Analytics revealed a similarly robust impact assessment sector, with 72 percent of study participants claiming to have an impact measurement practice. But as Tanner Methvin at Impact Amplifier explains, those numbers contrast significantly with what his organization has observed on the ground. He explores that discrepancy and the broader findings in this revealing post.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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Monday
July 10
2017Field of View: How a Chilli Cash Crop Helps Subsistence Farmers Shape Their Future
During a three-year process designed to assess the impact of growing a chilli cash crop on small farmers living in southern Africa, it was discovered that when a family earned just $500 more of net income per year, the money materially impacted at least two categories of their basic human needs. But the most profound impact, writes Tanner Methvin, was that of self-determination.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Monday
March 20
2017South Africa’s Energy Schizophrenia: Why Hasn’t the Country Achieved Affordable Power for the Poor?
There are vast extremes between the energy rich and poor in South Africa, despite the country's great potential to make energy universally available. A new report by Impact Amplifier examines the reasons behind the discrepancies and describes five energy access business models for low-income communities: biogas, solar home systems, mini/micro grids, solar kiosks and solar appliances.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
