Talked today to Oliver Karius who has launched a $40 million venture philanthropy fund with money provided by the royal family of Liechtenstein, (they have around $100 billion under management in their various entities) called LGT Venture Philanthopy

It sounds like they’re doing a really smart job of figuring out how to be effective as they […]

An event in Mexico City next week put on by this guy sent to me by Melanie Swan.

Kaliya Hamlin and the re-emerging Planetwork are putting on a similar conference they are calling UnMoney in Seattle.

The boldness with which people are reconfiguring value is amazing and accelerating. I also had a really interesting conversation […]

Microcapital.org and the Think Change India blog are among the publications and blogs that have covered the launch of our Social Capital Index. Think Change sees it is a potentially significant development, while Microcapital focuses on the shortcomings of the current version. “In its current state, the index seems most limited by its scope, or […]

Halloran Philanthropies is now a Founding Partner in the B Corp/B Lab. They matched Rockefeller with a contribution of $500,000. “Thursday night we gathered with 20 other founders at the White Dog Cafe in Philly to celebrate,” said Halloran’s Tony Carr. “Each Founder signed a Declaration of Interdependence … it felt like the start […]

We have launched the Social Capital Index, a timely tracking of investments in the social capital market, including social enterprise, (health, education and workforce development) fair trade, digital inclusion, and some clean tech and microfinance investments. Over time we will be able to size the Social Capital market and its growth trajectory in each sector.

We […]

Talked to Sam Moss, Brian Cayce this week about their research at MFI pioneer and sector leader Gray Matters Capital into private schools in the developing world, affordable for people making $2 per day. Gray Matters likes to be on the cutting edge of the new opportunity, helping to establish infrastructure for the growth of […]

There will be a panel discussion on funding social enterprises, sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation and the Stanford Social Innovation Review, this Sunday, February 24, at Wallenberg Hall, Stanford University, from 3:00-4:00 PM. The event is part of an exciting week of activities for Entrepreneurship Week at Stanford University.

Kriss Deiglmeier, executive director of […]

“When there are 1.5 billion potential microfinance customers to serve, when existing microfinance institutions (MFIs) are growing their portfolios at annual rates of 30% or more and new MFIs are springing up every day, why are the opportunities to own a piece of the action so scarce?” Because limited partners who might invest in the […]

Larry Brilliant tells how Google.org decided where to give on Slate.com (earlier post said Salon; sorry for the confusion). Their Ghandi-based guideline: what would the impact be on the poorest person they had seen? One conclusion: Members of our global-development team initially proposed investing money in funds that would finance small and medium-sized enterprises in […]

On Friday, February 8, from 8:30-9:30AM PST, there will be presentation and discussion on “Best Practices for Non-profits in Second Life.” Based on a report prepared by Global Kids organizer Rik Panganiban, the program will explore what are some of the lessons that non-profits have learned from their first forays into the virtual world. More […]