BLOC PARTY II :: CELEBRATING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

StartingBloc and Intertek Sustainability Solutions invite you to join us on Saturday, October 24, 2009 for our second annual Fellow-run fundraiser, the BLOC PARTY II.  Attendees will connect with 250 emerging leaders who are working to advance the fields of corporate social innovation, social entrepreneurship and sustainability.  Together, we will enjoy delicious food, libations, and inspiring people and ideas.  The event will feature silent and live auctions with prizes from the Metropolitan Opera, Urban Escapes, In Good Company, the Council on Foreign Relations and Milk & Honey, among others.

This year’s theme is Celebrating Social Innovators and we are living up to the name by presenting the inaugural StartingBloc Social Innovator of the Year Award to Majora Carter, an environmental justice and green jobs pioneer from the South Bronx. Also joining us at the BLOC PARTY II will be a number of other tremendous individuals in the world of social entrepreneurship and innovation from organizations and companies including Acumen Fund, All Day Buffet, Ashoka, CSRwire, Echoing Green, Endeavor, Fast Company, JustMeans, Net Impact, and NYWSE.

Buy your tickets today!

http://blocparty2009.eventbrite.com

BLOC PARTY II :: CELEBRATING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009

Time: 7-8 pm VIP Cocktail Hour, 8-11pm Bloc Party II (open bar, light hors d’oeuvres and dessert)

Location: Studio 54

Dress Code: Festive

Tickets: $40 in advance, $50 at the door, $75 VIP tickets

Regular and advance tickets entitle attendees to hors d’oeuvres, an open bar and unlimited networking.  VIP tickets include a swag bag and an additional hour of mingling with top names in social innovation and entrepreneurship. Tickets are available now at http://blocparty2009.eventbrite.com

NI NYC Professional Chapter: Women in Social Enterpreneurship Panel

WSE Panelists: Elizabeth Scharpf, Amini Kajunju, Katie Orenstein and Ann MacDougall

With over 55 attendees and a lively discussion, Net Impact NYC Professional Chapter’s Women in Social Enterpreneurship Panel on Monday, Sept. 21st was a success!  Moderator Ann MacDougall, Chief Management Officer at the Acumen Fund (www.acumenfund.org) facilitated a conversation on issues around starting and scaling enterprises with the panelists.  For more information about our panelists and their enterprises, click on the links below.   

Elizabeth Scharpf, Sustainable Health Enterprises
http://sheinnovates.com/index.html

Katie Orenstein, The OpEd Project
http://theopedproject.org

Amini Kajunju, Workshop in Business Opportunities/AngelAfrica
http://www.wibo.org/
http://www.angelafrica.org/

Women’s Social Entrepreneurship Panel

When: Monday, September 21, 2009
6.30-7:00: Registration/Networking
7:00-8:30: Panel Discussion/Q&A
Where: The Feldenkrais Institute,134 West 26th Street, 2nd Floor
Cost: $10 (light refreshments included)
RSVP by September 16th to: http://womeninsocialentrepreneurship.eventbrite.com

Women play a key role in traditional and social entrepreneurship globally, and living in New York we are surrounded by women who are in the midst of changing the world through entrepreneurship.

Through a conversation with our panelists, including Elizabeth Scharpf and Katie Orenstein–two uber-entrepreneurs and Echoing Green fellows– and Amini Kajunju, CEO of Workshop in Business Opportunities, we will highlight the power of women in this field, both domestically and internationally, feature the various models of social entrepreneurship (non-profit, for-profit, hybrid), and discuss the challenges and opportunities that female entrepreneurs face.

Moderated by a representative of the Acumen Fund, the conversation is ideal for anyone, male or female, who have ideas and need inspiration, interested in learning more about the field of social entrepreneurship and meeting with like-minded individuals.

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Elizabeth Scharpf
Elizabeth is starting a business called Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) in Rwanda that will provide a sustainable model to provide affordable sanitary napkins for women and young girls. Elizabeth, a recent Harvard MBA and MPA-International Development graduate, is an entrepreneur who spent most of her professional career starting up ventures or advising businesses on growth strategies in the health-care industry. Previously, she worked for a boutique management consulting firm, the Clinton Foundation, and the World Bank in South America, Asia, and East Africa, respectively.
http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/elizabeth-scharpf

Katie Orenstein
Katie is a journalist who has started a company called the Op-Ed Project, which aims to train more women and minorities to take part in global debates (op-eds, political commentary, even Congress are dominated up to 85% by well educated white males). An author and journalist, Catherine Orenstein has written for the op-ed pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Miami Herald, and her commentary has been nationally syndicated. A graduate of Harvard (BA) and Columbia (MA), she is a fellow at The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, a women’s think tank
http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/katie-orenstein

Amini Kajunju
Amini Kajunju is the CEO/COO of Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO) which is a private non-profit organization that is committed to assisting men and women with the drive to become successful entrepreneurs. WIBO’s flagship 16-week workshop, “How to Build a Growing Profitable Business” is currently conducted in nine underserved communities of New York City.

Social Entrepreneurship Event on March 9th

A renowned New York Times journalist tells the inspirational story of one of America’s most imaginative and effective social entrepreneurs

Date: March 9, 2009
Time: 6–8pm
Location: TimesCenter – 242 West 41st Street
Cost: Free (Seating first come, first serve)

Herb Sturz – Long-time Social Innovator

In A Kind of Genius, Sam Roberts offers a window onto Herb Sturz’s extraordinary life’s work. Sturz began his long career in social entrepreneurship by reforming the bail system and founding the Vera Institute of Justice. He served as New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice under Ed Koch and then as Chairman of the City Planning Commision. He moved on to establish affordable inner-city housing and programs for at-risk individuals. But Sturz has, to date, largely eschewed the public’s eye.

Sam Roberts, Urban Affairs Correspondent of the New York Times, has written for the Times for more than two decades. Before joining the Times, he was a reporter and city editor at the Daily News. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the New Republic, and New York Magazine. Author and co-author of several books, he lives in New York with his wife.

Roberts pays tribute to Sturz’s inspirational legacy of accomplishment. His initiatives have consistently provided solutions to our most challenging problems. Here, for the first time, his astonishing story is told in full.

Let’s Share Our Orgs: #1 NYC Venture Philanthropy Fund

For this post, I began to think about what might interest other Net Impact members. I then became curious about who these members, like me, really are. I thought, “why not create a discussion around what other relevant organizations really get us going? ” I guess I’ll go first…

I sit on the guidance board of a relatively new and fairly untested group affectionately, and shorthand-edly, referred to as “VPF.” NYC Venture Philanthropy Fund (a.k.a. VPF) is a giving circle of individuals living in New York City who provide support to local social entrepreneurs. What’s exciting about VPF is that it democratizes philanthropy, allowing members to pool their $365/year (about a dollar a day) along with their talents and networks, to strategically support emerging entrepreneurial projects tackling persistent issues in the five boroughs.

This year, VPF members have voted to apply its three-pronged grantmaking approach–applying collective funding, technical assistance, and access to professional networks–to leverage unique, innovative ideas improving the environment in the City. The deadline for the $10,000 grant and accompanying support is coming up on August 4, 2008; you can find the RFP and other info on applying here.

If my description of the organization has piqued your interest, feel free to ask me questions, check out the website, or join VPF for brunch on August 9 at Counter.

Now I’ve shared my group with you, tell me about what organizations fire up your passions. It’s the perfect opportunity to promote your favorite groups engaging in social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, etc.

How to support Women’s World Banking without spending a dime

Impacting Lives: Helping Poor Farmers Succeed

WWB has entered the American Express Members Project to win up to $1.5 million, but we need your help! Please visit our project page, Impacting Lives: Helping Poor Farmers Succeed (http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/TTQ5MZ), and with just a few clicks help WWB win this contest in three easy ways. You do not need to have an American Express credit card to participate.

1. Nominate our project.
2. Campaign for our project by promoting it on the Members Project discussion board, Facebook, etc.
3. Tell everyone you know to go on the web site and vote!

The top project currently has over 3,000 nominations, so we really need your support. The deadline for nominations is August 31st.

Women’s World Banking and Women’s Leadership Development Program Now on Facebook

Women’s World Banking (http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/Womens-World-Banking/18590479337) and the Women’s Leadership Development Program (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25948071662) now have a presence on Facebook. You can utilize these pages to connect with other people interested in microfinance—and who share our mission—around the world. Become a member today!

Women’s World Banking is a global network of 54 microfinance institutions and banks operating in 30 countries to bring basic financial services to poor micro-entrepreneurs, especially women.

Net Impact Issues in Depth Archive

One of the little known treasure troves in the Net Impact vault is the audio recordings of conversations available on the website.  The conversations are all related to Net Impact causes and are with those at the forefront of social service in the world today.  They can easily be downloaded to your iPod and heard on the go!

Here are just a few of the numerous talks available:

–Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen Fund

-Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation

–Gary Dillabough; VP Strategic Partners, eBay

-“Careers in Socially Entrepreneurial Organizations” with James Weinberg; Commongood Careers

-“The Democratization of Microfinance” with Premal Shah; Kiva.org

The Global Oneness Project shows examples of living service

In my time on the west coast, one of the most inspiring organizations I met up with was The Global Oneness Project, founded by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee.

By now we all intellectually understand the truth of our interconnectedness. We hear words like “global consciousness“, “paradigm shift“, “sustainability“, “world citizenship” and “social and economic justice” in response to the present planetary crisis and the need to protect life on earth for future generations.

Mr. Vaughan-Lee is traveling the world, finding people that are LIVING the change, that are thinking globally but acting locally, and telling their story. The hope is that watching some of these stories inspires individuals to make small shifts themselves. The stories are amazing, take for instance the inspiring work of Jayesh Patel, or Seva Cafe, or Orland Bishop. To be honest, every single one of their videos is amazing and worth checking out.