What Happens To Charities During A Recession

Charities are generally unwilling to cut prices for benefits, even when things get grim. “We don’t like to put the events on sale,” said Stephanie Astic, whose Stephanie Astic Productions organizes fund-raisers that are largely dependent on corporate giving. “But I think everybody is starting to freak out. At the end of the day, you… Continue reading What Happens To Charities During A Recession

A Socially Responsible Online Book Store Raises Venture Capital

Better World Books collects books from university bookstores and libraries and resells them, donating an average of 10 percent of the price of the book to nonprofit literacy groups–Books for Africa, Room to Read, World Fund, and National Center for Family Literacy. Here’s a link to their website. The company raised a total of $4.5… Continue reading A Socially Responsible Online Book Store Raises Venture Capital

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NY Times writes a detailed article about Compartamos, the successful microfinance bank in Mexico: Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe turned a nonprofit that lent money to Mexico’s poor into one of the country’s most profitable banks. But not all of their colleagues in the world of microlending — so named for the tiny loans it… Continue reading Untitled

Weekend Links

Muhammad Yunus on tech, profit and the poor– The Bangladeshi Nobel laureate wins yet another award – this time for contributions to technology. He talks to Fortune about where tech might take the poor. Intel Unveils Second-Generation Intel-Powered Classmate PC — ‘Netbook’ for Worldwide Education Markets

Public Schools Turning to Online Auctions To Raise Funds- Biddingforgood.com

Facing budget shortfalls that are squeezing education basics, more Massachusetts public schools are turning to online auctions this spring to raise money for supplies, field trips, library books, playground equipment, and computers. And they’re raking in from $6,000 to $20,000 in the process – more money than live or silent auctions generate at traditional fund-raisers.… Continue reading Public Schools Turning to Online Auctions To Raise Funds- Biddingforgood.com

Instead of one laptop per child, why not many virtual desktops per public computer?

Here’s a competitor to the OLPC program but approaching the problem with different technology: Some people suggest perhaps the solution isn’t to put hardware into the hands of every person, but rather to maximize the number of people who have access to a PC. That’s the idea behind Paris startup Jooce (the name is a… Continue reading Instead of one laptop per child, why not many virtual desktops per public computer?

Classmate PC To Begin Selling In US And Europe

Link to News.com. Intel plans on expanding the distribution of its inexpensive, school children-friendly Classmate PC to U.S. and European retail outlets, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday. The Classmate will sell for $250 to $350, Lila Ibrahim, general manager of Intel’s emerging market platform group, told Reuters. Apparently Intel has already been conducting… Continue reading Classmate PC To Begin Selling In US And Europe

Google for Non-Profits

Google has launched a dedicated portal of Google services for non-profit organizations. Google for Non-Profits offers “a one-stop shop for tools to help advance your organization’s mission in a smart, cost-efficient way.” This site includes ideas and tutorials on ways Google tools can be used to promote non-profits, raise money and operate more efficiently. Here’s… Continue reading Google for Non-Profits

NYT Magazine: Giving It Away

The New York Times is calling this “The Money Issue”. Here’s some of the articles from the magazine: About Natalie Portman and her role with FINCA. Link What Makes People Give? Fund raisers talk about marketing gimmicks to make people give more. Link How Many Billionaires Does It Take to Fix a School System? Five… Continue reading NYT Magazine: Giving It Away