Personal experience will provide the passion and insights needed to build a non-profit social venture. But remember, where money is the overriding motivation, an organization should be established on the for-profit model.
Ever seen a nine-year-old underprivileged kid perform stand-up comedy before a live, nightclub audience? No, that's not some out-take scene from a David Lynch movie. Jamie Masada saw it first in his mind and then proceeded to make it happen.
Each year we award the TED Prize to an exceptional individual who is making a difference in the world -- and we grant this recipient one wish. This isn't just an ordinary wish, but a wish that allows them to dig deeper, activate people across the globe, and truly change the world.
Bullying, in many forms, may always exist. But much of the bullying that takes place today is trickling down from a culture and a media that gives credence to the hateful rhetoric that clogs our streets and airwaves.
Despite the enormity of the challenges of mitigating our footprint, reducing carbon emissions, and providing sanitation to the 2.6 billion people without a toilet, the forum was a good reminder that adversity brings opportunity.
In a world that already produces more than enough food for everyone, almost a billion people, one in seven of us, go to bed hungry every night. Meanwhile, up to half of all food the world produces goes to waste.
Our hope is not based in logical analyses or in political timelines; ours is a hope rooted in a loving God who promises to rescue His people and to give them a beautiful future.
Singer Annie Lennox once famously asked, "Why can we distribute Coca-Cola all around the world, but we can't seem to get medication to save a child from something as simple as diarrhea?"
How could you have a soccer team if all were goalkeepers? How would it be an orchestra if all were French horns?
Narshingdhi, in Bangladesh, is a community that has suffered the losses of too many women in pregnancy and so has organized itself to make a change.
One week ago, my idea of a challenge was cycling a 5,000 ft climb. This week? A flight of stairs.
I first heard about Bernard Pastor via Facebook from a former member of my church. The caption on Facebook simply said, "This is crazy!"
We don't live in a Leave it to Beaver society; our cultural norms don't set fathers up for success. The guy who trades his BlackBerry for a baby monitor might forfeit corporate status. A recent study from Oxford University predicts that domestic equality won't be reached until 2050, when men and women will divide household chores and childcare duties evenly. No doubt women everywhere are wondering how men will catch up in just four decades. We'll get there if we invest in fathers, support their roles as caregivers and chip away at stereotypes. We can start with the macho male formula for success, where a man is measured by his paycheque, the title on his business card and the speed of his car.
Instead of welcoming us and engaging in conversation, they chose to douse us with a freezing jet of water fired from a powerful water canon. We were then arrested once we finally made it to the top of the 30-meter ladder.
As we pause to recognize the millions of refugees around the world today on World Refugee Day, we also want to point out that all is not gloom and doom. There are ways we all can get involved to make a difference in the lives of those forcibly uprooted from their homes in Sudan.
I'm proud to be a part of a movement that's helping more than 2.5 million people to create real, positive change in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.
According to a new report, charitable giving by American individuals, corporations and foundations is estimated at $290.89 billion for 2010, an increase of 3.8 percent from 2009 estimates.
If you knew retired Marine Tom Nugent's story, you might think him unlucky. As a corpsman, Nugent's job was to stabilize the wounded. But Nugent ended up needing the repairs.
Purchasing items from thrift and second-hand stores keeps those items from landfills, lessening waste in our communities. In Goodwill's case, this equates to more than 2 billion pounds of goods from landfills each year.
Steve Mariotti, 2011.06.21
