Center for Social Innovation

Grajew describes the early planning and growth of the World Social Forum, and explains the core ideals that led to positive changes and strengthened his belief that another world is possible. (September 15, 2007)

Many countries that should be thriving are dragged into poverty and strife by the burden of corruption. The loss goes far beyond the sums that change hands dishonestly. (October 13, 2007)

Fazel Abed explains how his organization called BRAC, Building Resources Across Communities, is leading grass roots efforts to achieve the eight UN Millennium Development Goals goals in Bangladesh. (October 29, 2007)

Small can be beautiful, but to solve big problems in the world, it often takes large scale solutions. So argues Fazel H. Abed, founder and chairman of BRAC, Building Resources Across Communities. (August 18, 2007)

Negotiation is ubiquitous in our professional as well as personal lives. Yet very few people are skilled at creating value or expanding the pie in negotiation settings. (July 29, 2007)

For-profit and nonprofit organizations alike should make decisions based on facts as well as the careful evaluation of their specific situation. (August 12, 2007)

How do we look after the global public good in a society where globalized businesses aren't subject to international control? Peter Eigen explains civil society organizations' role in creating necessary structures. (September 1, 2007)

The mission of the non-profit One Laptop per Child association is to develop a low-cost laptop, a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. (August 19, 2007)

Ashoka's founder Bill Drayton believes that everyone can be a change maker. In this talk, he reflects on many of the early influences that helped him understand how to advance true social progress. (August 5, 2007)

As a leading thinker on corporate social responsibility, Oded Grajew is challenging businesses, consumers, and governments to join in acting ethically towards a sustainable social good. (July 15, 2007)

Microfinance, the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans, has proved to be an effective strategy for raising millions of families from poverty worldwide. (July 21, 2007)

Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, changes traditional principles of banking by putting poor people's needs first. Yunus describes the reasons behind his philosophies. (June 11, 2007)

If we fail to halt global warming, we'll be the first generation that bequeathed to the next generation a problem that can't be fixed, says Carol Browner, former chief of the Environmental Protection Agency. (March 25, 2007)

How is Starbucks, the United States' leading coffee retailer, reshaping its business practices and reinventing the international coffee trade? Dennis Macray, Starbucks' vice president of corporate social responsibility answers. (March 18, 2007)

Technology is changing the game for organizations in the social space. Paul Lamb explores how the web is already transforming nonprofits and NGOs. (March 16, 2007)

Combining his idealism with a genuine love of business, John Sage co-founded Pura Vida, one of the largest distributors of Fair Trade organic coffee in the world, to improve the lives of people in coffee-growing regions. (April 1, 2007)

"Every time we make a decision to do good, it makes us more money," declares Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia Inc. Chouinard offers a slew of counterintuitive business tips on how to save the environment while making a profit. (March 11, 2007)

Some ideas spread widely while they actually aren't true. What makes urban legends stick? Chip Heath, professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, reveals why some ideas survive and others die. (February 12, 2007)

Brent Blackaby, Jeff Patrick, and Favianna Rodriguez use case studies to share their technological and marketing know-how to help you plan effective web and communications strategies for your organization. (December 24, 2006)

When nonprofits set out to look for funding they usually start with a PowerPoint presentation and hard-to-articulate data about the issue they are trying to address. Andy Goodman argues that all they have to do is tell a story. (February 5, 2007)

If you're fairly new to running a nonprofit, getting a grip on basic operational procedures can seem like an overwhelming task. Luckily, Heather Carpenter and Jennifier Chien offer a wealth of useful advice and concrete steps to help. (December 3, 2006)

Can businesses deliver strong returns to shareholders while also promoting the health of people and the planet? Gary Hirshberg, the phenomenally successful pioneer of the organic foods industry, uttered a resounding yes in his keynote.

Denise Gammal, research director at the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, presents the results from Stanford University's large-scale study on nonprofit management to foundation professionals. (January 15, 2007)

Microfinance is bringing the world's poor the kind of service that used to be reserved for bank customers in developed countries. Alex Counts talks about microfinance's social and financial impact. (March 5, 2007)

The most useful financial statements are those that clearly convey information to their stakeholders in the simplest format possible. In this presentation, Sojeila Maria Silva shares her wisdom from 18 years of management experience. (December 10, 2006)

Gerald Richards and Dee Dee Nguyen explore ideas on how to reach across the divides of ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and other differences in order to strengthen bonds and create new opportunities. (December 17, 2006)

A 501(c)3 tax exempt organization is one which can accept tax deductible contributions. This makes it the most popular form of tax-exempt status. Joe Kroll of the Internal Revenue Service discusses the benefits and responsibilities. (January 7, 2007)

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A new breed of social entrepreneurs in their second half of life demonstrates that retirement is a time of creativity, invention, and contribution, not a time of decline. (January 29, 2007)

In 2005, Wal-Mart's CEO announced a corporation-wide strategic initiative to go green. The company would take drastic measures to cut down on the waste, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emission. (February 18, 2007)

The industrialized world is on a collision course with nature, says environmental hero and leading expert Al Gore, who passionately urges a Stanford Business School audience to take action to save the environment. (July 4, 2006)

How many buildings do you know that can produce oxygen? William McDonough, the man Time magazine recognized in 1999 as a "Hero for the Planet" has designed buildings for clients such as Ford and Gap that can do just that. (December 3, 2006)

CEO and Chairman of the Fritz Companies, Lynn Fritz has been a successful entrepreneur in the field of global logistics. When he sold his company to UPS he decided to explore new applications for the knowledge of logistics to help the human society.

Randy Martin is the Director of Global Emergency Operations at Mercy Corps USA and has been in the business of humanitarian disaster relief for 25 years.

Ludo Oelrich of TNT delivers his presentation "A Public/Private Partnership That Works". From the Effective Disruption Management Seminar, September 2005.

"Humanitarian Disaster Relief Challenges," by Gail Neudorf, at the Effective Disruption Management Seminar, Stanford, September, 2005.

John Rickard of IRC & Jon Olson of Intel discuss public and private partnerships for humanitarian disaster relief. From the Effective Disruption Management Seminar, September 2005.

"Business Continuity Planning: Improving GM's Risk Profile," by Adele Martz, Director BCP & Crisis Support, General Motors, September, 2005.

While Cisco’s Global Risk Management Group volunteers the company’s technology in Louisiana, Leslie Lamb, Risk Manager at Cisco shares in this program her company’s approach to risk management.