2013-06-19T11:12:32-04:00 Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=saul-garlick Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Saul Garlick Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1753305 2012-08-08T16:32:16-04:00 2012-10-08T05:12:32-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/
What we do know, however, is that gaining the skills that make one competitive in the global economy is in higher demand each day, and the way we deliver those skills is failing to keep up.

The situation is dire for many institutions. Bigger buildings, more funded professorships and even bigger endowments are not answering the fundamental question for colleges and universities nationwide: How might we increase our value to our students?

ThinkImpact and our network of partners feel that this question might very well be the central challenge for a generation. After all, if we cannot adequately prepare young people for the workforce, to think critically, to empathically solve problems and to build opportunities, then the future is indeed rather bleak.

Our answer to this is The Huddle on experiential education in social entrepreneurship. The goal is to bring institutions that are looking at innovative ways of answering the question posed above. Creating experiences that transform the way people think and live in a highly complex globalized society will determine the future.

The approach is simple. Bring together the faculty and administrators of programs from a multitude of disciplines and turn the old way of thinking through problems upside down. Confront assumptions, appreciate what is already in practice, and aggressively iterate to create value. Participating university representatives will actually experience the curriculum we spent six years building, and will walk away with tangible solutions to create life-changing experiential education programs for their campus community.

Doing so is essential. There is no better way to tackle global education challenges than by actually doing something. Meanwhile, a great deal is at stake in the battle to develop the tools among students that will lead to the next great social innovations of our time. It's time for the meeting of the minds.

If universities embrace a creative process, cross-pollinate and build better, then it won't be the buildings that they are most proud of. It will be the world-changing solutions that were seeded on their campus.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1515307 2012-05-15T16:33:15-04:00 2012-07-15T05:12:09-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/
ThinkImpact and iOnPoverty, two social enterprises dedicated to providing millennials more opportunities to change the world, have teamed up to provide students and their favorite professors a once in a lifetime opportunity to engage with social innovation in developing economies.

Get involved today at ProfsForChange.com.

The two organizations are giving away 10 days free in Africa (you can go to Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda or South Africa) to a winning student and her or his professor!

The thinking here is simple: Engage students and their profs in the important, if difficult, work of social change. We can't do it alone. We need everyone on board to help build a network that can become the movement that will be the change we wish to see in the world.

Let's think about connecting everyone interested in the global social change movement -- for this to work there needs to be a truly multi-disciplinary approach. Students are invited to submit their favorite profs from all corners of the university. The contest is simple and takes seconds.

Don't miss this opportunity to see social innovation first hand. And the more people who enter, the better. Oh, by the way, everyone who enters gets a free subscription ($15 value!) to iOnPoverty, the awesome new online portal that brings viewers face to face with sector leading social entrepreneurs. Go to ProfsForChange.com.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1458443 2012-04-27T07:35:55-04:00 2012-06-27T05:12:02-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/ Unreasonable at Sea from the founder of the Unreasonable Institute and the folks who bring you Semester at Sea.

Unreasonable at Sea is a gratifyingly unreasonable concept. Dan Epstein, founder of Unreasonable Institute, is challenging the world's limits by taking a contingent of 10 lucky technology entrepreneurs on a fully-funded (yup, that's a $40K+ value) trip around the world by boat for 100 days to eat, drink, dance and float enterprise.

Other than sounding insanely cool, what is the big idea? Well, Dan and his crew (pun intended) wants to uncover the ideas that will shape the future, and as a Semester at Sea alum who had the pleasure of being inspired by Archbishop Tutu aboard, he is ready to bring the meaning of incubating technology solutions to a whole new level.

Just how will they do that on a boat that will travel some 25,000 nautical miles from January 9th to April 25th? Well, first, they are teaming up with George Kembel, co-founder of Stanford's d.school (http://dschool.stanford.edu/) who will provide a good dose of intellectual rigor and support through the design-thinking process. They will also have on board 25 mentors, much like their sister organization the Unreasonable Institute. These mentors are highly accomplished pros at making big things possible.

What's motivating them? It comes down to two discreet opportunities: one social, the other economical. Foremost in their minds is uncovering technology solutions that will "address massive social and environmental challenges, such as inadequate access to healthcare, poverty, failing education systems, climate change, or the need to democratize information," says Epstein. But there's more. By joining the sojourn, the entrepreneurs agree to give a piece of their company to Unreasonable. That means giving up 4-8 percent in equity (though exact terms are based on the enterprise).

There is so much to wrap your head around here. The value of bringing 10 tech start-ups together on a boat with 25 mentors hashing through ideas (often with limited internet connectivity while on board -- perhaps a good -- great! -- thing) and then a slew of meetings when they dock from port to port. The group promises to provide access to VCs, government leaders, and local businesses in a harrowing schedule that is described under the sites "Brutal Expectations" page.

We live in a world where the scope of the challenges and the myriad opportunities to solve them are so extreme that a group at sea may be a great next step for mankind. Find out for yourself. Maybe you have the goods to get onboard?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1303837 2012-03-01T14:26:28-05:00 2012-05-01T05:12:02-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/ (This article has been cross-posted from Brazen Life)

Back in 2008, two college students had the big idea to create a reusable water bottle to fight the global water crisis.

Four years later, that idea is now an exciting and growing business -- Hydros Bottle -- with a full-time team and a U.S.-manufactured water bottle sold at Whole Foods. Each sale funds projects worldwide to make potable drinking water more accessible, both in remote rural and urban areas.

Aakash Mathur and Jay Parekh, two of the co-founders of Hydros Bottle, are examples of individuals who have taken a daunting challenge and presented a solution. But what makes them different is their ability to take an idea and turn it into a vibrant business -- and one that can ultimately make an impact.

Unfortunately, our schools aren't providing the tools we need for businesses like Hydros to spring up all over the place. Whether students are studying business, social work or history, they will want to have a job -- or create a job -- that has impact and meaning for their life. Entrepreneurs and young innovators will also need a framework to harness their talents toward ideas that affect our world. In the 21st century, innovation is the key to survival.

At ThinkImpact, we've made a business of helping aspiring entrepreneurs get real-world access and training to become social entrepreneurs: business-minded professionals who are eager to make a positive impact on their communities. We do this to generate big ideas and to innovate in new economies.

We teach three main concepts:

1. Take an Inventory of Your Resources
We take entrepreneurs into rural African villages to help local populations start thriving businesses. The first thing our young entrepreneurs do is make a list of available resources, including skills of local professionals, financial, environmental and other physical attributes. This helps them get oriented to find the best possible business opportunity they can sustain without outside help.

In a rural community in Kenya, a man named Juma worked with two ThinkImpact scholars, Silviano and Cindy, to develop a rainwater catchment building business. The idea emerged through understanding local resources and leveraging them to create opportunities in a place that seemed to have none. Today, Juma is the proud employer of two other workers as he sells his water systems to villagers in Kenya, and the business has 24 customers.

2. Be a Designer
Next, we teach entrepreneurs to practice "design-thinking" -- a term we borrow from IDEO.org - whereby entrepreneurs engage in research and brainstorming sessions that allow them to consider numerous ideas and solutions to social issues. We peel back layers of a problem to find the best root cause, then look for a specific, narrow way their business could fill that market gap. Then they can design a business around addressing that problem.

In South Africa, a team of locals joined two American students to ask the question: How might we increase access to nutrition in a rural area? That led to brainstorming about fertilizer, school lunch, the role of cows in society, and even peanuts. When all the layers of the problem were peeled back, an idea to create and market highly nutrient-enriched muffins was born, using local resources to develop a tasty local dessert -- and one that improved nutrition!

3. Rapidly Prototype and Innovate
Through a process of iteration, we teach how products and services can become viable business options. Often the first prototype doesn't work as planned, so we show entrepreneurs how to rapidly incorporate feedback from their initial plans and work with community members (or customers) on how to best proceed in the business sense, from writing a plan to accessing loans/seed capital.

Entrepreneurs learn to keep in mind the target audience or customer and listen carefully to feedback. After all, the customer (or population) should be at the heart of any successful social venture.

We doubt there's such a thing as too much innovation when it comes to solving social problems -- but even if there is, we're pushing the limits until we find it.

Saul Garlick, Founder and CEO of ThinkImpact, has partnered with Brazen Careerist to offer a program that trains the next generation of social entrepreneurs. You can register or learn more about The Big Idea course by clicking here.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1310807 2012-03-01T12:10:56-05:00 2012-05-01T05:12:02-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/
Jerry is one-of-a-kind and his story reminds American's about the power of individuals to be a force for good in the world.

Born in Illinois, Jerry was the first in his family to attend college or leave the United States. Jerry ventured off to Peru after college where he served as one of the pioneering Peace Corps volunteers in the early 1960s. There he worked in the Altiplano with Aymara Indians on the shores of Lake Titicaca. He returned to the United States and worked on the Robert F. Kennedy Presidential Campaign. At 26, Jerry watched the nation suffer the loss of two of its greatest visionaries, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jerry's boss, Bobby. He was such a trusted member of the Kennedy team that he was guardian to Bobby Kennedy's children at Hyannis Port during the summer of 1969. A year after the assassination, Jerry was speaking at Bobby's funeral anniversary in Arlington and was also named in the original class of Robert F. Kennedy Fellows to develop socio-economic programs to improve lives in the United States.

The devastating loss pushed him out of politics, though he had once considered a run for Congress. What he has gone on to do for the past 40 years has changed so many lives; yet one must wonder how much better off the United States would be had his leadership found a home in Congress.

Jerry's work in grassroots economic development started in Appalachia (West Virginia coal mining region) where he worked for 10 years to develop and direct the first rural Economic Development Corporation in the United States to finance community-based business enterprises in a chronically depressed region of the United States. Jerry has a knack for bringing hope to places that are too often viewed as hopeless and neglected. It has become a trademark of his career, and his impact in each region he touches is a tribute to his energy and determination.

Jerry went ahead and worked in Latin America for 17 years building a microfinance organization called Katalysis Bootstrap Fund that provided credit to non-governmental microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Central America (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador). The Katalysis Network of 22 MFIs provides microloans to over 275,000 clients (70 percent women with a 97 percent repayment rate).

Then he decided to shift his focus to building an institution that would change the future of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif. He believes in the institution and wanted to usher in Pacific's institutional commitment to implement groundbreaking innovation initiatives, which he has achieved in flying colors.

The center that he established there is called the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship, and it is changing the way universities think about what they offer students, what they exist to do, and what their future looks like. By virtue of his electric personality and enormous heart, Jerry is able to bring together some of the world's greatest minds -- all bonafide social entrepreneurs -- into the same room twice per year to talk about the students at the Center and how we can work together to build a better, brighter future.

Among the members is Ron Cordes, Co-Chairman of Genworth Financial, America's largest mortgage insurer and private wealth management company; Mark Hanis, founder of United to End Genocide the nation's leading anti-genocide initiative; Karen Tse, founder of International Bridges to Justice, an award winning organization ending torture around the world; Sakeena Yacoobi, founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning, which has educated 250,000 and provided thousands life saving medical access in that war torn nation; Jonathan Lewis, founder of MicroCredit Enterprises, Opportunity Collaboration and now a new initiative to engage millennials in poverty alleviation work called iOnPoverty; Martin Burt, the Paraguayan leader who built that country's microfinance industry and has pioneered a sustainable education model; Paul Rice, the founder of the Fair Trade coffee movement; and so many others. Most of the people he has brought together are now partners, collaborating on initiatives in dozens of countries.

This is just a few of the individuals in his Rolodex. Many others, just as influential, call him a mentor and a wonderful friend. He has, of course, shared this network with his students who join the meetings, present, share their ideas and passions and ultimately learn an immense amount from the experience.

When Jerry turned 70, the students in his program secretly pulled together a video honoring his legacy. The video is 13 minutes of short clips from just a few of the folks he has personally touched.

Jerry, your inspiration and your impact are incalculable. To many more wonderful years of passionate work!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1288759 2012-02-21T18:42:08-05:00 2012-04-22T05:12:01-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/
Social entrepreneurship, the often practitioner-focused undertaking of merging meaning and money, has caught the eye of countless universities around the world. Over 50 have opened centers for social entrepreneurship, including, most recently, Middlebury College. Others have already established themselves at the forefront of the space: Arizona State University, Tulane, University of the Pacific and the New School name a few.

What is the force moving this mountain? After all, universities are decentralized, lumbering bureaucracies that don't exactly embrace monolithic approaches to anything, especially if it is primarily focused on practical application.

A team from Ashoka U, a division of Ashoka, the institution that popularized the term "Social Entrepreneurship" through their Fellowships, has managed to make disruption in higher education more than an idea. Today it is a reality.

Ashoka U, led by Marina Kim and Erin Krampetz, proposes a challenge: How might we build a movement of universities and advance social entrepreneurship thinking to become part of the DNA of the modern university?

The answer: a focused approach. Engage your audience from the top and bring them together to build the momentum. Engagement at the top was on remarkable display in Tempe, Ariz. a week ago, when the presidents of three major universities proclaimed -- emphatically -- that social entrepreneurship was core to their mission.

Those university presidents from Tulane, ASU and Babson, were speaking to an audience of 450 people who had gathered for the Ashoka U Exchange, a conference on disruption in higher education. One hundred universities had sent representatives to attend the conference.

At the conclusion of the Exchange, Ashoka U presented the Cordes Innovation Awards for best practices in social enterprise education. The constant push for higher impact and better institutions describes the remarkable energy that consumes the attendee. That night ThinkImpact's Innovation Institute was fortunate to be among the recognized innovations. The Innovation Institute is an eight-week summer immersion program where scholars across the country live and study social entrepreneurship in rural Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda or South Africa. Through a field-tested curriculum and experience with local community members, scholars explore new thinking on poverty and international development, create business solutions to challenges in emerging economies and launch ideas connecting education to the real world. The program is one-of-a-kind, and brings together multi-disciplinary backgrounds to propel students to be leaders in collaboration and sustainable impact.

The work to build an ecosystem of universities actively engaging in the world of social entrepreneurship is still in its infancy, but it is not insignificant. Indeed, it is raging forward. Ashoka U seeks to establish a community that changes the world. It already has. And the work has only just begun.

Want to submit an idea for impact and continue the momentum? Visit Ashoka U's Good Maker challenge and get involved today!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1081551 2011-11-08T15:26:46-05:00 2012-01-08T05:12:01-05:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/
My guess is you would. So rather than tell you that you can have your dream job, I will show you that there is a path to getting there. I will do this in the same way that communities in rural Africa show us how they create their own economies. How innovation in their lives becomes the engine of hope and opportunity that is all-too-uncommon these days.

Welcome to ThinkImpact's innovation process.

In 2011, a young man from Richmond, CA named Philip Johnson applied for an opportunity to live and work in rural Kenya with ThinkImpact. The program he was hoping to join was called the Innovation Institute.

Philip first arrived to Washington DC for ThinkImpact's training program called ThinkImpact University with no stamps in his newly minted passport. He had never even spent so much as a night camping. The palm fields of Kaloleni, Kenya are nothing like the streets of Richmond where he was born and raised. What he did have was a fresh degree from the University of the Pacific and an entrepreneurial spirit that would drive him to have a truly life changing experience in Africa.

Philip had no job lined up after graduation, but had a voracious appetite for learning and enterprise. He joined 10 other young people -- college students, grad school candidates and young professionals -- on this 8-week journey in Kaloleni.

For Philip, the trip was not easy at first. He was shaken by the new environment, the homestay experience, the food and the culture. Miles outside of his comfort zone, he began by putting his guard up, but he was determined to overcome the challenge. At the same time, he felt frustrated by the innovation process and challenged by the seeming lack of energy and motivation in the community.

Three weeks into the program, there was a pivot. Something clicked. As if a sudden awakening or moment of enlightenment had struck him, Philip learned how to communicate with people from this rural village. He began to comprehend what he could do in his short time in the community. Having completed his studies at UOP's Eberhardt School of Business, he was more than capable of identifying market trends and supply chains, but he wasn't able to fully understand how a social enterprise could be leveraged to bring about an end to poverty in a very localized context until he connected with the local community members.

Philip opened up his heart and mind to people in Kenya. He listened to their aspirations, their challenges and ultimately became an inspiring figure to them. Along with several other community members, a Design Team formed and before long, with some brainstorming activities a growing sense of what was possible and a design challenge was developed. They asked: "How might we create healthy products, using local resources, while employing the youth?"

Their answer: coconut honey.

Through the innovation process Philip and his team prototyped multiple batches of this delicious honey that was made from the local alcohol, Palm Wine, a kind of fermented coconut water. Most families in the community earn a living through some part of the Palm Wine production and distribution process. Philip and his team found a way to leverage local resources and processes to create a new product that can be sold on the local market. A much healthier -- and less intoxicating! -- product than palm wine.

The Innovation Institute develops economies with new thinking, and it exemplifies what is possible. ThinkImpact has forged this process through five years of learning and listening in rural communities in Africa and also taking notes from visionaries. We work with IDEO.org and IDEO's human centered design materials. For those interested in learning how to become part of an innovative process, check out IDEO. For those looking to work in rural Africa during college or after, apply for the Innovation Institute and become the process.

Change your life and change the world.

In Philip's own words:

Why did you want to go?
"I was interested in social entrepreneurship. Already had been thinking about water problem in developing countries and my roommate showed him the opportunity to apply for ThinkImpact. Sounds pretty cool. Poverty alleviation, sanitation, sounded like what we were interested in. Always better to teach a man to fish than give him a fish."

What was it like there?
"... it was... it was almost, like, being in tropical paradise, but everything that you think that shouldn't be on that tropical paradise was there. Dropping trash, animals everywhere. It was humbling. A constant learning experience. A constant reflection experience. It was all those things. It was kind of like a rainbow and everything is there and it makes one complete picture."

Will you go back?
Yes. I'm actually working on that now. Trying to build out a business plan. Going to be calling all of them. I'm really trying to get back.

What connected you to the community?
Went in with this idea that I should be a listener. That I would be tested. I wasn't going to let my guard down. But then I did. And I watched. You can listen, but I also watched. I think it was when I learned how to watch -- their sounds, watching them do stuff. By me not having talked to him that much, simple nods that I was paying attention, I think that was how we communicated the most. We would talk and it would be a period of like 40 minutes, silence, but it wasn't an awkward silence.

What is your goal now?
My goal now is to get Ndoto Enterprise off the ground. The palm wine is a staple income in the community. With this you can actually create another revenue source. It's also renewable. The coconut tree is everything to the community. We want to improve quality of life. This product incentivizes men not to drink the palm wine and instead to sell the sweet coconut syrup that comes from it.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.873131 2011-06-08T16:51:41-04:00 2011-08-08T05:12:01-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/ Opportunity Collaboration. I always enjoy catching up with him and Jonathan Lewis, the event's founder, partly because they are hilarious, and partly because I love hearing what they have in the works. Not surprisingly, they are in the throes of developing the agenda for the 3rd annual Opportunity Collaboration, the ultimate unconference in business and poverty alleviation that takes place in Ixtapa, Mexico.

I have attended for two years and will head back for a third time this October. I participate in this event each year because, for me, it is the intellectual equivalent of a social entrepreneurship wedding. It brings together people and ideas to create one truly incredible unit. I asked Topher what would make this year different from past years.

Not surprisingly, he said that not everything will be different. The parts that make the gathering so effective will not be changed. And the fundamental sense that the delegates make the event is not going away. The mantra remains: "It's all about the delegate community."

But there will be more where that comes from this year. More foundations represented looking to support innovative poverty-ending solutions. More companies that are investing time and resources into social innovation; names you might know: eBay, Google, Mastercard. More media with folks from PBS, Social Edge and other outlets represented. This year's event will truly bring together the top echelons of the social sector.

I, for one, will be hosting a clinic on the tradeoffs between running a for-profit and nonprofit social venture. Having been through a major transition from a nonprofit model to a for-profit social enterprise, I am excited to share my experiences and hear from others about where they are and what they plan to do with their organizations.

The topics will run far deeper than my clinic. There will be more on technology in poverty alleviation, a convening of the greatest thinkers behind innovations in the delivery of education to the base of the pyramid, more on impact investing and, critically, extensive opportunities to engage in women's empowerment initiatives and the future of microfinance.

After attending this event (it happens in October) you might walk away with money for your social enterprise or a place to invest that could change the world. Millions of dollars change hands between people who have connected at this gathering. Beyond the money, however, the reconfiguration of core values that you will personally experience is worth the cost itself. From morning yoga sessions to the morning sessions that dig into varied and challenging readings to the evenings at the bar, you will be learning and breathing social entrepreneurship.

If you are a business person looking to change the world but feel that traditional philanthropy is not making the cut, join me for this event. You will not regret it.

This year my fiancé is coming, maybe we will get some ideas for the wedding... or perhaps the honeymoon!
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.857071 2011-05-05T17:48:54-04:00 2011-07-05T05:12:01-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/
The questions usually leave me dumbfounded. I never feel like I have a good answer. My social enterprise, ThinkImpact, has gone through many changes and iterations over the years and would better be described as having evolved.

However, that explanation is vague and unsatisfying to the aspiring social entrepreneur. Fact of the matter is, at some point in time, ThinkImpact did get started. How does one start?

The answer is to pick an idea (not the perfect idea) and run with it. Here is how I would describe the process.

An idea is born and you begin having conversations with friends about it. You feel good sometimes and bad sometimes because the feedback you get is so mixed. There are literally hundreds of reasons NOT to pursue the idea. At this point, many give up. Not you. You are determined. So you set out to make it a reality.

You call someone who has done it before and ask, "How did you start your social enterprise?" You think they will tell you something specific, concrete and useful. They don't. Every story is different and the order by which we social entrepreneurs kick off our enterprises is often different and chaotic. Lawyers, accountants, insurance, staffing up, getting office space, finding a board, raising cash, building a brand, speaking at conferences, building human resources policies, writing a blog, building a website, testing your product, measuring your impact... you soon feel like there is no logic to anything. How anyone runs one of these organizations begins to feel overwhelming.

You take a deep breath. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day, and you have some time.

Then you revert back, what's next? And people refer you to speak with more "experienced folks". Real estate tycoons, techies, social entrepreneurs, bankers, non-profit leaders. You are wondering what this is really all about. There don't seem to be answers anywhere, just more questions.

Well, the determined do the following:

1. They pick a moment and decide to prototype their idea and put it in the market

2. They build a pitch deck to explain their product/service and business model

3. They build a simple brand format (logo, color scheme) so that they can make business cards, letterheads and a website

4. They bootstrap in a tiny office in their apartment with some self-financing

5. They read about financial management and systems

6. They get feedback on their product/service, push hard and do it all over again until someone believes in the idea enough to give them resources to build and expand the initiative

Eventually the pressure of the daily cash flow eases, the product/service gains a following of sorts, and the systems formalize. For those out there who want to get started, read The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki.

Then read something on financials like Financial Intelligence.

What are some of your startup stories? Where are you getting stuck in the process? Any great resources for building out your social enterprise?

This blog is cross-posted at http://socialedge.org]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.800834 2010-12-27T12:22:48-05:00 2011-05-25T18:20:30-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/ Hydros Water Bottles are the gifts that keep on giving. I have been writing on Social Edge and Huffington Post a good deal about social entrepreneurship and innovation and I have become particularly interested in finding powerful examples of businesses that have successfully merged doing well and doing good.

I found a particularly compelling case in Hydros. Its product meets a social mission in more ways than one.

Hydros, much like any company that produces reusable, durable and safe water bottles, is trying to put the bottled water industry out of business. The Clean Air Council reports that "Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour". Yikes! Why are we doing that? Instead we should be drinking tap water and reusing the bottles that we fill up. Hydros Bottles, with their sleek design are an appealing option.

The bottles that you buy from Hydros have a filter, an increasingly important addition to any tap water consumer. With disappointing news about the state of the nation's drinking water and water infrastructure, we should all take the extra step and buy bottles that provide an extra layer of safety and health.

Hydros is more than a company -- it is an investor in solving the global water crisis. As I have written in the past, over 1 billion people in the world lack access to clean drinking water. Hydros actively promotes water filtration and clean water in the everyday use of its product, but the young company has decided to allocate a large percent of its profits to benefit water projects around the world through a campaign they've dubbed "Operation Hydros."

We are all making decisions about the gifts that we want to give to loved ones this holiday season. Don't miss this opportunity to buy Hydros -- a product that truly shares your values.

Hydros sells water bottles that are the wave of the future. Utilizing what the company calls "fast flow" technology, the bottle provides filtration for those in a hurry. The Bottle is also BPA-free, and will not break if you drop it. Here you can see a video of the bottle in action.

You can find Hydros in over 50 stores nationwide -- visit Whole Foods in the mid-Atlantic region -- and online at http://hydrosbottle.com. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.790161 2010-12-01T17:01:25-05:00 2011-05-25T18:15:22-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/ National Retail Federation. The pressure is on to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list and at a reasonable price during these strained and uncertain economic times.

Meet Taylor Corbett, an Occidental College student whose family has been giving the gift of a donation for over the past 10 years. Corbett has firsthand knowledge of the developing world and his family has much experience with poverty alleviation. The Corbett family's history of giving a gift of impact for the holidays all started with Heifer and giving tangible gifts such as an animal or seed to elevate the hungry and poor. Then they moved onto microfinance by loaning with Kiva. Taylor then crossed paths with Nadia Khawaja, co-founder of the micro-giving nonprofit venture Jolkona.

Last year, in an attempt to stave off yet another season of empty gifts, Taylor reached out to friends and family. He requested they give and receive gift dedications through Jolkona in lieu of exchanging actual presents.

One 20-something-year-old, 12 projects, and about $700 was raised during one holiday season. Taylor's mom was moved to tears when she received her gift dedication and her final proof of impact from Jolkona's partner project, which provides education to women in Afghanistan for a $40 donation, something that she is truly passionate about. Why is Taylor an advocate for giving through Jolkona? He says, "I knew it filled a gap where other giving models often drop off and it was so great to get my first proof of impact, seeing how my donation really made a difference a world away."In 50 words or less, Jolkona connects you with global philanthropic opportunities and shows the impact of your donations. Jolkona's web-based giving solution enables individuals to effectively channel small-scale gifts to high-impact projects which show tangible results for each gift.

Since Taylor's initiative to use Jolkona to dedicate gifts to friends and family, Jolkona has built a feature to allow anyone to dedicate gifts on the site for as little as $5. Jolkona co-founder Khawaja says, "Many of our features are suggested by our users. After hearing Taylor's experience in trying to dedicate gifts for the holidays, we were inspired to make it easy for anyone to create and send gift dedications and now gift cards which allow the recipient to choose which project they'd like the donation to support."

So having a hard time finding the perfect gift? Try sending a Jolkona Gift Card -- keep your holiday shopping meaningful by sharing a global impact that will keep the philanthropic spirit alive well after the holidays are over. Please visit www.jolkona.org to purchase your gift card, make gift dedications, and find out more ways you can make an impact through Jolkona this holiday season.

Follow Jolkona's impact on twitter.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.777608 2010-11-02T19:21:13-04:00 2011-05-25T18:10:25-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/ Opportunity Collaboration in Ixtapa, Mexico this year. I had gone the year before and found the five-day "unconference" immensely valuable but had no idea what I was going to learn or who I was going to connect with this year.

Then it dawned on me: There is simply no venue that compares to Opportunity Collaboration for exploring the most difficult questions social entrepreneurs face. I realized that while there, I should focus on the big picture and invite critique, reaction, idea generation and hopefully support from the conversations.

I would have an additional advantage while exploring these questions; I was a Cordes Fellow and a four-part curriculum had been built by the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of the Pacific to provide emerging leaders in social enterprise insights from "hall of famers" in the social enterprise sector.

So I hopped on the bus to the hotel from the airport and found myself sitting next to a friend, Elizabeth Davis, who I hadn't talked to in years. By the time we were pulling up to our destination, we had delved into the prospects of running a nonprofit vs. a for-profit social enterprise, I had reconnected with her inspiring vision of connecting Rwanda girls with educational opportunities (see Akilah Institute for information).

The four days that followed were exceedingly valuable for more than the typical reasons. I joined rockstars in a daily Colloquium for the Common Good that effectively humanized the difficult questions we all face in our organizations. Gender, race, religion, government and even family relationships were exposed in these two hour sessions. It reminds a person how real everything is when you engage deeply in questions through a facilitated discussion. It certainly inspired me to think about what is possible in a world where such conversations form the backbone for real-life action.

One reading was Letter from a Birmingham Jail written by Martin Luther King, Jr. If you haven't read this, read it now. It provided a powerful example of the intellectual and philosophical rigor that a true game changer can have when making decisions for action.

From the perspective of wanting to develop even a fraction of the intellectual rigor and philosophical clarity that MLK had, I approached the rest of the conference as an extended conversation. In all honesty, I probably learned more from this conference by just engaging in conversations than I have from any other conference.

By day three of the event, I had figured out what I was there to learn. I had to parse the costs and benefits of taking ThinkImpact in a for-profit direction or maintain our nonprofit status. The whole sector is abuzz about this debate, and there are strong arguments for organizations that are earning income through products and services to build for-profit entities that do the same work. It seemed to me that the incentives of a for-profit enterprise that incubates social enterprises might push our programming in the right direction. Of course, that was where my head was before the dozens of in-depth conversations that I had with the delegates at this conference.

After sitting with folks like Ryan Allis, Ron Cordes, Jerry Hildebrand, Katie Drasser, Jonny Dorsey, Sakena Yacoobi and others, I learned what it means to make the move from nonprofit to for-profit. I learned that there is no panacea, and the dreams of having endless revenue streams and huge investment capital as a for-profit presented opportunities and a flurry of new challenges.

I was reminded of the power in bringing outstanding young people to work in a community, which will possibly change their goals and dreams for the rest of their lives. I was reminded of the determination needed by people who are at the frontiers of innovation to push harder, even when it seems impossible. I learned that fundraising is a privilege. I get to invite people to help support a cause I believe in so much that I dedicate 12 hours of precious time every day to it. Finally, I learned that there are still innumerable ideas and approaches and techniques that are as yet unknown to me to reach higher for ThinkImpact.

And then something remarkable happened. I was introduced to two ladies who run Feed The Hunger Foundation. Denise and Patti are interested in supporting microfinance in marginalized communities but with a stipulation that I love: they want to be sure that loan capital from their foundation going to community entrepreneurs is accompanied by extensive support from the organizations managing the loan. That is precisely what our Fellowship is about, and we hit it off instantly.

Now ThinkImpact is able to announce an extraordinary collaboration with Feed The Hunger Foundation, making $40,000 available to rural entrepreneurs with very early stage social businesses who are also supported by our Fellows. Fellows no longer need to raise capital for their social businesses and community entrepreneurs have access to the financial and human capital they need to succeed!

So after a number of meaningful conversations, the conference took me full circle and it gave me confidence that our current structure as a nonprofit was not only recommended, but high impact. It gave me a much-needed boost and a sense of clarity: Imagine a day where nonprofits support the earliest stages of business development and see them through to becoming investible by major impact investors... that vision is rapidly becoming reality. Opportunity collaboration was the ultimate convening of leading thinkers doing this work; you won't want to miss it next year.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.758620 2010-10-12T13:46:02-04:00 2011-05-25T18:00:30-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/
Each summer, ThinkImpact hosts the Innovation Institute Scholars Program, a 10-week immersion experience in rural South Africa and Kenya. The Innovation Institute gives the best and brightest American students the training and guidance to start businesses in rural Africa. The social power of these businesses lies in their ability to employ community members and address pressing social problems.

An example of a business that is currently taking flight is Mungano Soap, based in Kayafungo, Kenya. Alexandra Crosson, who graduated from Central Michigan University, helped the Kayafungo Mungano Women's Group, which comprises some 35 women from villages across Kayafungo to start a soap business. In the pilot run, Mungano Soap produced 250 bars of soap from local materials and sold them in the community market, improving access to sanitation for approximately 500 people. Every single bar of soap was sold during the first business day.

I am convinced that it's time for market-driven approaches to poverty alleviation. Instead of focusing on what a community needs, Innovation Institute Scholars galvanize the assets that a community already possesses. Instead of the traditional top-down model of development, ThinkImpact's social businesses leverage the skills of community members, leading to incredible new ideas, sustainable growth and lasting progress.

Prior to leaving for Africa, selected applicants convene in Washington, D.C. for a pre-departure training workshop. Once in country, scholars engage a comprehensive curriculum that includes language classes, a homestay experience, market research, business development and excursions. The ten-week curriculum culminates with four weeks to work on starting a social business with a community entrepreneur. Scholars may then apply to become ThinkImpact fellows, and work stateside for nine months on developing their social businesses, before returning to Africa on a year-long, fully-funded fellowship to implement the business model.

The journey to Africa for many of the most talented students in the country will begin when they apply in the coming months. The early round application deadline is December 1, and the final round deadline is February 1.

Learn about the Scholars Program, the application process and apply today!

This blog was written with support from Scott Gallagher of ThinkImpact.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.751383 2010-10-05T17:06:40-04:00 2011-05-25T17:55:20-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/ Unreasonable Institute, I can't help myself. I love their work, I've seen it first hand, and most of all, their vision is completely unreasonable.

The applications are out for the second annual Unreasonable Institute, so I have to make a plug on their behalf. During the institute's first summer, Dan, Teju and the Unreasonable team harnessed an amazing group of talented young entrepreneurs and launched with an incredible success. This summer, for their second go at it, I cannot wait to see how they grow and improve. The Institute is young and ambitious, oh, and it is already world-class. Just watching episodes of Unreasonable TV makes anyone wish that they could be part of the Unreasonable house for the summer in beautiful Boulder.

This second Unreasonable Institute will unite 25 of the world's most promising entrepreneurs (deemed Unreasonable Fellows) for eight weeks in the summer of 2011. The summer is pretty packed. During the eight week Institute, the Unreasonable Fellows will:

* work and live with 60 world-class mentors,
* pitch their ventures to investors and foundations in five major entrepreneurial hubs across the United States (San Francisco, Boulder, Boston, New York City, and Washington D.C.),
* learn from the top consulting organizations in the world, and
* gain access to the seed capital needed to give their ventures wings.

The mentor-intensive Unreasonable Institute has dreams and uses bold language. Their message is clear "The Institute is relentlessly focused on one objective: accelerate ventures that future generations will remember as having defined progress in our time."

Check out what an Unreasonable Fellow gets and see the requirements to apply. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.704849 2010-09-03T14:09:50-04:00 2011-05-25T17:35:19-04:00

Saul Garlick http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saul-garlick/
It was astonishing when one of us, during our summer in rural Kenya, stayed with a small but fiery mother of six named Theresia Mavela who demanded, "Eat, eat, my daughter, eat!" The handfuls of leafy green vegetables, cassava, and maize meal known as ugali, seemed endless. The truth was just the opposite. In that same room, eight other children shared food from one bowl. Theresia's generosity and insistence on eating more and more was like our Jewish mothers' constant nagging -- we could never eat enough.

In reality, she did not have the food to spare. Just like anywhere in the world, it is remarkable what we can learn about others while breaking bread, or sharing a bowl of ugali. And in a community where food is scarce -- four children died at the beginning of the year from starvation in this impoverished village -- her generosity was unimaginable.

We are proud to be Jewish. We feel this way because Jews are generous and have learned from the deeply powerful traditions of tzedakah. Museums and schools have been built on this generosity. Charitable organizations have reached millions of Jews and non-Jews alike through our belief in tikkun olam (repairing the world).

These values, imparted through our families, schools and communities, led us to careers in international development. We are part of a team that leads ThinkImpact, an organization based in Washington, D.C. that reaches the poorest of the poor in rural Africa, and we believe that it is time for Jews everywhere to rethink their philanthropy.

It is a new year. This Rosh Hashanah, commit to asking the tough questions and rejecting aid that promotes dependence. Generosity is not solving the problem that Theresia's children face in Kenya. It is also not beating back the scourge of malaria, HIV or inadequate education. Sadly, for all the generosity in the world, there remain three billion people in grave poverty. One billion of them can't drink a glass of clean water.

It is against this backdrop of inefficiency that we have committed to a new direction for poverty alleviation. Founded in 2003, we are now in our seventh year -- our jubilee year, our year of renewal -- and we believe that it's time for market-driven approaches to poverty alleviation.

The market can be a powerful force for good. As social entrepreneur Earl Phelan once noted, in the non-profit sector, "Profit is power." Organizations that seek to address societal ills through top-down solutions are providing unsustainable support to individuals while creating dependence. A market-driven approach offers incentives to individuals thereby naturally inviting more buy-in, leading to sustainability and even positive growth. The risks inherent in creating new enterprises are dealt with quickly, and long-term dependence or despondency does not follow; rather, like with any entrepreneur, challenges may excite the next great idea.

ThinkImpact is a leader in the cutting-edge field of social entrepreneurship, and believes in the power of social business to eradicate poverty. Through ThinkImpact's programs, young social entrepreneurs are provided with the most effective vehicle through which to build high impact, sustainable social businesses that empower community members in rural villages in Africa. To achieve this, we provide loans, financial literacy training and business support to community members, and the possibility of a better life through enterprises that serve a social function.

To combat hunger in Kenya we are building a social business run by local women that will sell small drip irrigation kits to community members. With these kits, subsistence farmers will be able to grow enough crops to feed themselves and their families during the leaner months.

As this year comes to a close a new one begins. As we consider our role in the world, we must act as a united community, ready to challenge our traditional approaches to philanthropy. It is our obligation as the Jewish people to give future generations a world more peaceful, more secure and more just than that which we inherited from our parents and grandparents. It is our responsibility to ensure that there is food on every table -- enough so we can all enjoy.

Support ThinkImpact and other organizations that are leveraging the market and community assets to reduce global poverty. Join us in making this New Year one that is sweet for our entire human family.

For more information, visit www.thinkimpact.org, email info@thinkimpact.org or call 202-657-6616.

Rachel Gordon contributed to this article.]]>