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How Social Entrepreneurs Make Change Happen
Social enterprise Digital ArticleThe story of how one organization envisioned a future transformed. -
Philanthropy’s New Agenda: Creating Value
Corporate social responsibility Magazine ArticleSatisfied with doing good, too few foundations work strategically to do better. -
Can Technology End Poverty?
Technology and analytics Digital ArticleOnly if it is relevant and suitable to the lives of the poor. -
The Emerging Capital Market for Nonprofits
Performance indicators Magazine ArticleHow market mechanisms from the private sector could energize the nonprofit world. -
The Era of “Move Fast and Break Things” Is Over
Venture capital Digital ArticleHere’s what that means for VCs and entrepreneurs. -
A Guide to Building a More Resilient Business
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleDone right, it's a major competitive advantage. -
Can You Help Solve These Social Entrepreneurs’ Challenges?
Social enterprise Digital ArticleEditors’ note: A few weeks ago, HBR asked members of the Poptech Social Innovation Fellows to tell us their management challenges in running socially minded businesses. Our goal in doing so was to expose these challenges to you — the HBR.org community — with the hopes that the community could assist these challenges via conversations […] -
What Foundations Are Missing About Capacity Building
Corporate social responsibility Digital ArticleFundraising is the only capacity that multiplies the money put into it. -
Three Cases of Better Corporate Philanthropy
Organizational culture Digital ArticleThis season of giving often brings a focus on corporate philanthropy — on giving. But it’s hard to do well. If you wanted to design a corporate philanthropy program to have minimum impact, what would you do? Give out lots of grants in amounts too small to make a real difference. Back pet charities, not […] -
How to Woo Talent From the For-Profit World
Talent management Digital ArticleOffer star recruits the chance to keep building their skills. -
Get Ready To Be a Changemaker
Social enterprise Digital ArticleWe are on the cusp of a fundamental change — a worldwide change in the skills everyone needs to succeed, in the nature of organizations, and in how businesses must be led. The agricultural revolution set up a pattern that still exists today. A small surplus meant that only a small elite could create culture […] -
Are You Brave Enough to Work for Social Change?
Innovation Digital ArticleThe official theme of the 2010 HBS Social Enterprise Conference, held this past weekend at Harvard Business School, was “Redefining Service for the 21st Century.” But there was an unofficial, existential thread running through several of the keynote speeches — namely, finding yourself through public service. Philanthropist and businessman Raymond Chambers sat with The Economist’s […] -
Creating Shared Value
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleThe capitalist system is under siege. Recently business has been criticized as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems. Companies... -
A New Vision for Retirement: Productive and Meaningful
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleInstead of retiring, baby boomers can fill the talent gap in social enterprises. -
How Can India Unleash Its Entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleIn the course of the last three days I have spent at the 2009 India Economic Summit organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF), I have heard speeches from many politicians and policy-makers — from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning […] -
Entrepreneurs: You’re More Important Than Your Business Plan
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleWhen it comes to social ventures, talent matters more than strategy. -
The Betterness Manifesto
Economics Digital ArticleNote: this post has been expanded to an HBR Single, Betterness: Economics for Humans. Get it from any book e-tailer or download it here. So you want to build a better 21st century. But how? That’s what many of you have been asking me on Twitter and elsewhere. We can feel it, I suspect, most […] -
Multiplication Philanthropy
Organizational Development Digital ArticleLeverage is the mantra of the times in philanthropy, and rightly so. People want to know that the charities they support are using donations as effectively... -
Big Data Means More Than Big Profits
Social enterprise Digital ArticleIt can make a big difference, too. -
Q & A: Jane Wales on Global Philanthropy
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleThis week in Washington: the eighth annual Global Philanthropy Forum. Jane Wales is co-founder of the forum, the director of the Program on Philanthropy...
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One Way to Help Employees Build Emergency Savings
Corporate social responsibility Digital ArticleMost workers in the U.S. can’t afford unexpected expenses. A partnership between an asset firm and a non-profit created a system for building a cushion. -
The Paradox of Growing as a Values-Driven Company
Business and society Digital ArticleLessons from the B Corp movement about how to offer ethical alternatives at scale — without diluting your mission. -
Should Your Nonprofit Charge Its Beneficiaries?
Nonprofit organizations Magazine ArticleNominal fees can help organizations have a greater impact. -
OpenAI’s Failed Experiment in Governance
Corporate governance Digital ArticleIn mixing the for-profit and nonprofit models, OpenAI hoped for the best of both worlds. Instead, it got the worst. -
How Tony’s Chocolonely Created a Purpose-Driven (and Profitable) Supply Chain
Human rights Digital ArticleA case study of the popular Dutch chocolate company. -
Research: Why Employees Accept Lower Pay at Mission-Oriented Companies
Compensation and benefits Digital ArticleA closer look at the social pressures that dissuade job candidates from negotiating for more money. -
The Case for Investing in Digital Public Infrastructure
Business and society Digital ArticleHow businesses and governments can work together to build digital foundations that benefit everyone. -
Should Your Start-up Be For-Profit or Nonprofit?
Nonprofit organizations Magazine ArticleA guide for social entrepreneurs -
Moving the Needle on Sustainability
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleMany sustainability initiatives focus on improving the sustainability of products and operations in legacy or adjacent markets or on achieving sustainability... -
Why Sharing Economic Growth with the Community Is Good Business
Social and global issues Digital ArticleMutually beneficial partnerships can both drive profit and alleviate poverty. -
What Happens When a Company (Like Patagonia) Transfers Ownership to a Nonprofit?
Corporate governance Digital ArticleThis form of ownership may be new in the U.S., but it’s relatively common in Europe. -
How Business Coalitions Can Have a Strong Local Impact
Business and society Digital ArticleBest practices based on an analysis of more than 40 regional initiatives. -
Accounting for Climate Change
Accounting Magazine ArticleThe first rigorous approach to ESG reporting -
The Net Positive Manifesto
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleBoth practically and morally, corporate leaders can no longer sit on the sidelines of major societal shifts or treat human and planetary issues as "someone... -
How NGOs Can Help More People with DIY Solutions
Business and society Digital ArticleIn certain cases, offering unfinished products to aid recipients can lead to better results — and help make the most of limited resources. -
How Low and Middle-Income Countries Are Innovating to Combat Covid
Global Business Digital ArticleSeven lessons for innovators everywhere. -
Is a Nonprofit Job Right for You?
Social enterprise Digital ArticleIt’s going to take more than passion for a cause. -
Getting Serious About Stakeholder Capitalism
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleBusiness can't thrive in an environment of unhealthy employees, customers, and communities, an at-risk planet, and a fractured society. To transition... -
Why Today’s Startups Pursue Both Ideas and Ideals
Corporate social responsibility Big IdeaPurpose can provide strategic and operational advantages. -
Power Sharing Can Change Corporations for the Better
Global Business Big IdeaStrategies for ensuring stakeholder voices are heard and ESG goals are met.
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Worldreader: Helping Readers Build a Better World
Innovation & Leadership Case Study11.95View Details Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader... -
KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Supplemental to case 517025. This (B) case describes the changes in the organization's strategy from one of Building Playgrounds to Influencing Play.... -
Moleskine Foundation: Can Creativity Change the World?
Management Case Study11.95View Details The Italy-based Moleskine Foundation worked with young adults in Africa and Europe to inspire social change through art and creative projects. Adama Sanneh,... -
Janet Ames (C)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details The series of Janet Ames cases follow a fictional alumna of Harvard Business School into her consulting career in Boston. Over the series of cases, Ames... -
ToyBox Education Project: A Case in Social Enterprise Planning
Management Case Study11.95View Details In 2022, ToyBox Education Project sought to empower families to grow literacy, numeracy, and wellness starting at home. Based in Winnipeg, Canada, ToyBox... -
SMART: AI and ML for Wildlife Conservation
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), a set of software and analytical tools designed for the purpose of wildlife conservation, had demonstrated... -
VidyaGyan: Bridging the Rural Urban Divide
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Set up in 2008, VidyaGyan was a residential school for children in grades 6-12 from low-income rural families in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. It was... -
ApproTEC Kenya: Technologies to Fight Poverty and Create Wealth
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details ApproTEC markets a range of technologies to improve the income of subsistence farmers and other small-scale entrepreneurs in East Africa. Having achieved... -
Konecta: Strategic Transformations in a Digital Era
Management Case Study11.95View Details The case analyzes the evolution of the business model of the Spanish multinational Konecta, which, since its origin, was dedicated to providing Contact... -
Cubo Modular Inc.: Managing Demand for Bamboo Houses
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details CUBO Modular Inc. (CUBO) was a start-up social enterprise in the Philippines that emerged shortly after its chief executive officer, Earl Forlales, received... -
LifeBank Nigeria
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details The aspiration of addressing maternal deaths in Nigeria, which were mostly caused by blood shortages, led Temie Giwa-Tubosun to found LifeBank in 2015.... -
Foreword Coffee: Marrying Passion and Mission
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details This case describes the rapid growth of a social enterprise in Singapore - Foreword Coffee - that aims to empower persons with disabilities by providing... -
Funding My Sisters' Place: Building a Sustainable Social Enterprise
Management Case Study11.95View Details By the spring of 2021, My Sisters' Place, a safe, welcoming, and inclusive support centre for women in London, Ontario, had welcomed countless women to... -
Beyond the Barricades: Chile 2023
Management Case Study11.95View Details Chile, often considered among Latin America´s greatest economic success stories, suffered a shocking wave of protests in October 2019, as its citizens... -
SimplyGood: From a mission to rescue waste to a passion for reducing single-use plastics
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details SimplyGood is a sustainable consumer brand reinventing the homecare & cleaning industry, founded by a homegrown entrepreneur; Mr. Jeremy Lee (29) in 2021.... -
From Pilot to Platform in Rural Pakistan: A Uniquely-Owned Company Scales to Change Lives
Management Case Study11.95View Details This case describes the journey that led to the creation of Saaf Sehatmand Services (SSS), a business founded by leaders from five consumer goods companies... -
Arist: Learning Bit by Bit
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Arist was a Boston, Massachusetts-based startup with a text message learning platform. It was founded by three undergraduate students and raised more... -
Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take
30.00View Details Runaway climate change and rampant inequality are ravaging the world and costing a fortune. Who will help lead us to a better future? Business. These... -
The Pandemic's Impact on YLED: Navigating Uncertainty and Sustainability
Management Case Study11.95View Details In June 2020, Steven Zwane, founder and chairperson of the Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development (YLED) program, based in Johannesberg, South...
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How Social Entrepreneurs Make Change Happen
Social enterprise Digital ArticleThe story of how one organization envisioned a future transformed. -
Philanthropy’s New Agenda: Creating Value
Corporate social responsibility Magazine ArticleSatisfied with doing good, too few foundations work strategically to do better. -
Can Technology End Poverty?
Technology and analytics Digital ArticleOnly if it is relevant and suitable to the lives of the poor. -
Worldreader: Helping Readers Build a Better World
Innovation & Leadership Case Study11.95View Details Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader... -
KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Supplemental to case 517025. This (B) case describes the changes in the organization's strategy from one of Building Playgrounds to Influencing Play.... -
The Emerging Capital Market for Nonprofits
Performance indicators Magazine ArticleHow market mechanisms from the private sector could energize the nonprofit world. -
Moleskine Foundation: Can Creativity Change the World?
Management Case Study11.95View Details The Italy-based Moleskine Foundation worked with young adults in Africa and Europe to inspire social change through art and creative projects. Adama Sanneh,... -
Janet Ames (C)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details The series of Janet Ames cases follow a fictional alumna of Harvard Business School into her consulting career in Boston. Over the series of cases, Ames... -
The Era of “Move Fast and Break Things” Is Over
Venture capital Digital ArticleHere’s what that means for VCs and entrepreneurs. -
A Guide to Building a More Resilient Business
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleDone right, it's a major competitive advantage.