What do the captain of the gold medal US Olympic women’s gymnastics team Aly Raisman and polar explorer Robert Swan have in common? On an afternoon in Palo Alto this week, their shared mission was to inspire. Not nascent gymnasts nor endorphin junkies, but venture capitalists, social entrepreneurs, corporate executives and foundation heads gathered for […]
Tag Archives: social enterprise
15 SXSW Panel Picks for Social Impact
This year attracted a record number of proposals (3,283) for sessions at SxSW Interactive. Listed below are some of the topics I hope to see brought to life, hashed out, revered and questioned at the festival next March. As they primarily (although not all, black market innovations and digital nomadism made the list) relate to […]
Making Nonprofits Profitable
The first step in making nonprofits profitable is to take a more comprehensive look at what is profitable. (The second step may be to ignore the verbal contradiction!) As a nonprofit, what are all of the ways that your work produces financial returns, directly and indirectly? And who benefits financially from what you do–your beneficiaries? Other […]
To Define Social Enterprise (not saying we need to), Focus On The Results
What exactly is a social enterprise? Can Levi’s be counted as one because it practices sustainability? Can KABOOM! because its operations are entrepreneurial? The term (which encompasses both profitable and non-profit initiatives) has had critics and confused bystanders shaking their heads and voicing alternatives for a while. The criticism seems mostly to rest on the […]
Cause Capitalism Goes to Washington
I came to the whole idea of social impact and business after several frustrating experiences–working for a business lobbying organization that (not shockingly) ran against my values, becoming privy to the status quo inefficiencies of traditional international economic development and suffering alongside my nonprofit clients as they focused more on fundraising and philanthropic realpolitik than constituent […]
Microsoft’s Organic Approach To Its $90M Employee Philanthropy Program–with Akhtar Badshah
Can Microsoft count social good among its top products? It’s a hard question to answer (for starters, defining and measuring social good is tough) but a fair question to ask in the context of Microsoft’s employee culture of social involvement. Last year, employee giving and company matched funds totaled nearly $90 million. Volunteer time is […]
Who Are Today’s Social Entrepreneurs? Echoing Green’s Lara Galinksy Talks Trends
Within the world of social enterprise, there’s a subsect of organizations that help incubate and scale social ventures. These entities, from veterans Ashoka and Echoing Green to young buck Unreasonable Institute, play varying roles of investor, connector, teacher and trend-chronicler of a rising-star sector. To look beyond the magazine gloss and speculation and get a […]
Is This A Viable Alternative To Crowdsourced Social Good Campaigns?
I’m not the first to make the case that crowdsourced social good contests should retreat quickly into the night. They’re inefficient at creating change; Their current popularity has diminished the value they bring to companies and brands; Consumers are fed up with them (how many vote-for-me solicitations do you get a week that make you feel […]
I'm Olivia Khalili. I created Cause Capitalism to show you how to grow your business by incorporating a social mission. I've worked extensively with both nonprofits and for-profits. I found that when you combine the two, you grow your profits, impassion all your stakeholders and do good in the world. Read more.
Never Miss a Post
Presentations
