By: Gina Rullo,
on 10/10/2013
First Book’s fearless leader, President and CEO Kyle Zimmer will speak live Thursday at 1:05pm EDT on HuffPostLive alongside other tireless social entrepreneurs that include Hilde Schwab, David Jones and Asher Hasan. The live discussion will examine how corporate assets can deliver social impact both nationally and globally.
Check out the livestream below, available at Thursday 1:05pm EDT:
The post How is First Book Delivering Social Impact? appeared first on First Book Blog.
By: Brian Minter,
on 9/12/2012
“There is a great deal of noise on the stairs but nobody comes into the room.”
– John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy was referencing a Chinese proverb when he said that, making the point that it was easy to talk about problems, but much more difficult to fix them.
Kyle Zimmer, First Book’s president and CEO, is in China herself this week, addressing the World Economic Forum’s ‘Annual Meeting of the New Champions’ in Tianjin, the foremost gathering of business and nonprofit leaders in Asia. She’s there to talk about subjects near and dear to our hearts – social entrepreneurship and social impact investing.
Social entrepreneurship is a new way of doing business, a hybrid of traditional nonprofits and for-profit companies that uses market forces to create social change. (Click here to read a recent blog post by Kyle where she explains what social entrepreneurship is and how it can change the world.)
Social impact investing is a related concept; the idea of channeling investment toward mission-driven businesses and entrepreneurial nonprofits that are working to solve social problems.
As Kyle says in a piece published today in the Huffington Post and on the World Economic Forum’s blog:
Fundamentally there are holes on both the investor side and the social entrepreneur’s side of the aisle.
On the investor side, there is far more talk than there is traction. Certainly, a few funds have been established that focus on social investment, but it is difficult to see these as more than traditional charity, dressed up as investment.
Creative new designs in the financial category to address this need have been discussed for years, but few have made it to market. This lack of significant innovation by the investment community has been a major roadblock to the expansion of the social sector. Enterprises reach a certain level of growth and then choke from the lack of capital.
Like any new idea, there’s a lot of work to be done. But Kyle is hopeful about the future, saying: “There we were all in a room at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions – financial institutions and representatives of the social sector — talking about the challenges, which is a great step toward a cure.”
At First Book, we’re working towards a new kind of solution to an old and intractable problem – how to ensure that the 30 million kids in the United States living in low-income families get the books and resources they need to succeed. Click here to learn some ways you can get involved.
By: Claudette Young,
on 7/11/2011
If you’ve been reading the headlines on just one news service in the past few days, you’ve probably come away shaking your head and wondering what the future holds for you and yours.
Here are some examples of things in the news.
These are just a few of the headlines from yesterday and today. Granted, the Minnesota Zoo’s problems don’t seriously affect any of those living outside that state. Its fate does point to those smaller and less visible victims of gross financial distress plaguing each of the states this year.
Costs of everything have risen, populations have increased and revenues have fallen due to the housing crunch and employment downturns.
With unemployment benefits being suspended in January, Minnesota may not be the only state taking a leave of absence in the coming months. Those states hardest hit may follow suite in alarming numbers. And your state may just be one in the flock.
Canada is the one having to deal with the iceberg and its potential for danger—for now, at least. As the berg dissipates in the Atlantic’s northern waters the cumulative effect of all that fresh water in the Northern Atlantic will affect everyone. It’s become a favored climatological theory that desalinization of those waters helps bring about the slowing of the oceanic conveyor belt and hastens the cooling of the Earth to the point of a little ICE AGE.
And the one headline that really should clue the populace as to how shaky things are, both socially and economically, centers on the California issue. For a state—any state—to propose a split of both territory and legislation to the point of putting the motion before the state government is a rare event. It puts the spotlight even more brightly on the condition of some states to conduct business and remain solvent.
For any state to suggest such a territorial split encourages others to consider their own situations and conditions. The social ramifications are staggering for the coming year. At the moment it’s not important if the motion passes. The idea has already fallen ou
Claudsy, the idea to split California into two is not a new one. There has almost always been a “Southern California” and a “Northern California”, and for years politicians have been saying, Let’s split the state into two.” Unfortunately, at this point, they are right…the state is too big to function in an economically solvent and secure fashion. As more and more illegal Mexicans pour across our borders, and take up more and more of our jobs, our schools, our medical services, and our welfare system, crime rises, society falters, unemployment rises, and budgets for education, fire and police services, as well as every other sponsored service is overburdened to the point of failure. California as a state is poorly managed, poorly governed, and is also bankrupt. There are many of us here who would welcome a split state, with new government for both North and South. I would vote for it, as would a preponderance of other citizens.
Mikki,
I have no problem with the issue. The state is too big for its needs to be met adequately as things stand now. I agree with what you’ve said. It does point a finger, though, as to how states in general are making ends meet right now with revenues so very low.
It also shows the world that worsening conditions demand new and perhaps riskier potential solutions. There are so many problems in our country right now that are bit enough to swallow groups whole. The situation nbegs citizens to step down from the fence and begin paying attention.
At least Calif. didn’t propose to secede from the union. Montana talks about that one every few years.
As always, Mikki, you have an informed opinion for me and my readers. Thank you.
Claudsy