The relationship between the social sector and the corporate world is complex. Skills Partnerships have emerged as a way of engaging both sectors. This form of engagement may have started with activities like leveraging a corporation’s expansive workforce to build a house for the homeless or help underprivileged students with their resumes, but it has … Continued
Todo comenzó solidarizándose con los menos favorecidos… Cuando iniciamos este proceso en el 2001, el mundo era distinto. Pocos habían oído hablar de capital paciente o de inversión de impacto. Decidimos cuestionar el statu quo y crear una nueva clase de institución, una que redujera la distancia entre el impacto social de la filantropía pura … Continued
How can corporations and social enterprises partner to create a world that works for everyone? On April 4, 2017, Acumen hosted a workshop on high-impact partnerships for leading social enterprises, global corporations, and the organizations that work to link them as a part of the Skoll World Forum Ecosystem Events, to explore this question. Supported … Continued
Our food system is broken. While we have solved the problem of how to produce lots of calories for a low direct cost, this same food system has resulted in an obesity epidemic; it is why nearly 10% of the U.S. population has Type 2 diabetes; and, most recently, it likely is playing a role … Continued
Imagine for a moment that the light used in your home was a poison. One that could damage your lungs, irritate your eyes, even impact the health of your unborn child. You’d think twice about flicking on that switch. Kerosene lamps—used by an estimated 290 million people across Africa—contribute to household air pollution. Such pollution is … Continued
In these uncertain times, when progress towards a more just world sometimes seems to be slowing, or even reversing its course, I often ask myself the question, what can I do? It’s easy to feel small or isolated in the face of so many challenges, many of which seem to have escalated over the past … Continued
In the last decade, solar lanterns have emerged as a clean, cost-effective solution to provide access to modern energy to the 1.2 billion people currently living off-grid. These small, portable and rechargeable lights fulfill an immediate need for the poor and, as a result, have become increasingly widespread in countries across Africa, South Asia and … Continued
We live in a world that is piloting driverless cars and commercial space flight yet, when the sun goes down across the globe, one in six people live more or less in darkness. For these 1.2 billion mostly poor, mostly rural people, a lack of reliable, affordable energy has an overwhelmingly negative impact on their … Continued