Boost Mobile Cultivates a Generation of Activists

I think Boost Mobile’s approach to social change is ingenious, evidencing that vehicles of change come in infinite models and need not mandate product matches or the banality of donating 5% of revenue. Boost Mobile partnered with RockCorps to give teenagers (Boost’s target consumer) concert tickets in exchange for volunteering in their neighborhoods at large. […]

What Stage of the Game are You?

I partnered with Intent.com to bring together a small group of entrepreneurs involved in the next generation of social consciousness and wellness. Guests ranged from veterans of the cause capitalism movement like TOMS Shoes, to sole proprietors exploring ways to integrate cause with their product. I’m continually looking for individuals, companies and groups that practice, […]

Grameen America

Grameen Bank, the institution that launched social enterprise as we know it, is augmenting its American programs with operations in Los Angeles. The first American division opened in Queens, New York this spring. Isabel Maxwell heads the Los Angeles office. Grameen America, Like Grameen Bank, is a microcredit lender, providing poor individuals–primarily women–small loans that […]

Buy a House, Give a House through LJ Urban

It requires a double-take. The buy-one-give-one practice now includes houses. California eco-design firm LJ Urban constructed an eco community of 35 LEED ND Certified homes in an urban pocket of Sacramento. It’s aptly named Good. For every house sold, LJ Urban pays for the training of a local mason to build sustainable domiciles in Burkina […]

TOMS Shoes Can Draw a Crowd

A good cause – and party – is hard to ignore. I am glowing after meeting so many innovative and socially compassionate people at last night’s fundraiser for Friends of TOMS, the action and fundraising arm for TOMS Shoes. We packed the Buffalo Club with a dynamic crowd of do-gooders and fashionistas. TechZulu was on […]

B Corporations

UPDATE: I interviewed Jay Coen Gilbert about B Corporation. Listen to the interview. Evidencing the growing field of social impact businesses, a scoring system now exists to denote and certify companies that use the muscle of business for public benefit. Introducing B Corporation, a modern day Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for the socially minded […]

This Technology Trade Association Sees the Value in Cause Capitalism

As a kick-off to its thematic exploration of Corporate Social Responsibility this year, the Los Angeles AeA Council put together an insightful conference on how going green impacts the bottom line. I attended last week’s event and heard panelists speak about the triple-bottom line from their respective corporate, nonprofit and policy perspectives. If you’re reading […]

You Don’t Have to be a Big Company to Give Back

The NOW Project, a Los Angeles-based jewelry and apparel company, practices a different breed of “Buy-One-Give-One.” Through Yoga NOW, for every NOW jewelry product purchased, the company is donating one yoga class to an at-risk child. Initially, the founders had planned to give away 50% of profits to select causes. But rather than wait until […]

Handshaking Over Organic Wine

I’m always looking to connect with like-minded socially conscious people, and while blogs and forums are great for this, sometimes you just can’t beat old-fashioned handshaking. I had a great opportunity to engage in-person the other night at an event for professionals with social and environmental business practices put on by Green Business Networking. Here’s […]

What Can Cause Capitalists Learn from the Green Movement?

I want to shift the focus a bit to “greening” a company. I’m attending a conference next week on how going green affects the bottom line because I feel that environmental awareness in business and consumerism is just ahead of the curve of cause capitalism. What can we learn from the green movement? What practices […]