Stanford Social Innovation Review

How CitiStat’s hard data and straight talk saved Baltimore.

SSIR Academic Editor Jim Phills sat down with former NBA superstar Kevin Johnson to discuss how he’s revitalizing his old inner-city neighborhood.

As the wall between the nonprofit and corporate worlds crumbles, many social change organizations are asking themselves: Do we stick to our activist guns, or do we cross the divide and work with business? Research suggests that social movements need both kinds of organizations to make the changes they seek.

You can learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. Paul Schmitz, president and CEO of Public Allies, gives a sampling of classic foibles of not only social entrepreneurs, but leaders in general.

Social entrepreneurs not only must understand the broad environment in which they work, but also must shape those environments to support their goals, when feasible. Borrowing insights from the field of ecology, the authors offer an ecosystems framework to help social entrepreneurs create long-lasting and significant social change.

In virtually every for-profit industry, success hinges on producing more goods or services at a lower cost without compromising quality. But increasing productivity can work in the nonprofit world, too, as an examination of three healthy nonprofits shows.

Management wisdom says that nonprofits must be large and in charge to do the most good. But some of the world’s most successful organizations instead stay small, sharing their load with like-minded, long-term partners. The success of these networked nonprofits suggests that organizations should focus less on growing themselves and more on cultivating their networks.

Critics of microfinance institutions (MFIs) ask them to choose between helping the poor or making money for investors, but this is a false choice. MFIs can have their impact and profit, too, says the author, the CEO of the Grameen Foundation. He sketches a new vision of microfinance as a platform, not a product; one that relies on high volumes, not high margins, and that uses limits on private benefit, holistic performance standards, and third-party certification to help MFIs meet both their bottom lines.

How best to assess program performance.

Mathematical tool helps countries weigh the pros and cons of using biofuel.

A new evaluation tool allows donors and investors to track their investments and compare their data to those of organizations doing similar work.

Serving more than 110 million people per year, BRAC is the largest nonprofit in the world. Yet it doesn’t receive the most charitable donations. Instead, BRAC’s social enterprises generate 80 percent of the organization’s annual budget. These revenues have allowed the organization to develop, test, and replicate some of the world’s most innovative antipoverty programs.

MONEY WELL SPENT: A Strategic Plan for Smart Philanthropy by Paul Brest and Hal Harvey

Research shows that men may be more effective than woman at utilizing microfinance investments. 

For-profit executives use business models—such as “low-cost provider” or “the razor and the razor blade”—as a shorthand way to describe and understand the way companies are built and sustained. Nonprofit executives, to their detriment, are not as explicit about their funding models and have not had an equivalent lexicon—until now. —By William Landes Foster, Peter Kim, & Barbara Christiansen

Unethical behavior remains a persistent problem in nonprofits and for-profits alike. To help organizations solve that problem, the authors examine the factors that influence moral conduct, the ethical issues that arise specifically in charitable organizations, and the best ways to promote ethical behavior within organizations. —By Deborah L. Rhode & Amanda K. Packel

The B Corp seal of approval distinguishes truly responsible businesses from mere poseurs. —By Jenna Lawrence

The prevailing governance model is fundamentally adversarial, pitting board members in a never-ending struggle with executives. This model may ensure that the legal requirements of oversight and compliance are met, but it does little to advance the organization’s goals. The authors propose a new and more effective framework, one where board members and executives work together to advance the organization’s mission. —By Raymond Fisman, Rakesh Khurana, & Edward Martenson

THE DESIGN OF BUSINESS: Why Design Thinking Is the Next Competitive Advantage by Roger L. Martin