All People Making a Difference
On International Women鈥檚 Day: 12 innovations that are lifting women out of povertyInternational Women's Day (March 8) celebrates women's achievements. Innovative ideas and programs, such as the 12 below, are helping women better care for themselves and their families.
Franco Majok fled Sudan 鈥� but returned to build a schoolEducation helped Franco Majok escape from war-torn Sudan. Now his Village Help for South Sudan has built a school there 鈥� and more.
In India, 'paraskilling' creates new jobs by slicing old ones to bitsIndia uses 'paraskilling,' dividing tasks into jobs requiring more or less skill, to create new job opportunities and increase productivity.
Haiti effort expands production of hunger-busting peanut butterA nonprofit is cranking up production of Nourimanba, a nutritious peanut-based paste, in Haiti, where as many as 300,000 children face malnutrition.
Five urban garden programs that train inmates and help communitiesPrison gardening programs teach inmates valuable skills, reduce recidivism, and provide those in need with fresh produce.
Does conservative philanthropy ignore the poor?Conservative philanthropy once helped dispel the stereotype of conservatives as uncaring or hardhearted by developing thoughtful private approaches to alleviating poverty. Why has it been abandoned today?
Rethinking Carbon Dioxide (CO2): from a pollutant to a moneymakerThree startup companies led by prominent scientists are working on new technologies to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The scientific community is skeptical, but these entrepreneurs believe removing CO2 can eventually be profitable and help cool the planet.
From hazelnut trees to Foxconn and iPhones, corporate responsibility is growingMountain Hazelnut Venture is planting trees, paying fair wages, and supplying customers in a triple win for corporate social responsibility.
Tacugama gives sanctuary to chimpanzees - through war and peaceEven an 11-year civil war couldn't stop Bala Amarasekaran from rescuing and rehabilitating chimps in Sierra Leone.
Helping New Orleans make a comeback is her personal passionBrittany Aydelotte has visited New Orleans 10 times, sharing her love for the city with each new group of volunteers.
'Lemonade Detroit' film shares stories of resilienceDocumentary film by Erik Prouix highlights the resilience of Detroit while paying for itself through a Buy-A-Frame offer
Bringing quicker, easier solar power to rural AfricaSolarNexus custom designs small solar power systems so that they can be easily installed in the field, providing a kick-start to the local economy.
ICNL wins $1 million MacArthur Award to promote freedom of assembly around the worldThe ICNL(International Center for Not-for-Profit Law) received $1 million from the MacArthur Foundation to advance its mission of creating a legal framework for the right of assembly and association in countries around the world.
Turning the opinions of Arab Spring youths into data 鈥� and creating changeSilatech and Gallup have teamed to collect detailed data on the views of Arab youths toward jobs and success 鈥� all to help policymakers make better decisions.
Difference MakerGiving London street kids 鈥� even teen gang members 鈥� a safe (and colorful) homeCamila Batmanghelidjh founded Kids Company to help children 鈥� and now helps troubled teens. who often get little sympathy since the London riots.
Crisis Action makes a big noise using quiet citizen diplomacyCrisis Action acts like a coach or talent scout for humanitarian and other citizen groups 鈥� but always behind the scenes.
Solar power: cheap electricity for world鈥檚 poorMore than a billion people worldwide lack access to electricity. The best way to bring it to them is to provide ever-cheaper, clean, locally produced solar power that can replace dirty and dangerous kerosene.
Five private companies helping to reduce hungerPepsico, Kraft, Cargill, Land O' Lakes, and TNT Express are among many companies that have created nonprofit divisions to help alleviate hunger in developing countries.
Question Box helps people Google can't reachMillions of people in the developing world lack internet access and the ability to 'Google' an answer to their questions. Question Box provides a simple solution.
What women really want for Valentine's Day: more freedomThe biggest Valentine's Day gift to women would be more freedom to make their own choices about when and how often to give birth, says Worldwatch Institute president Robert Engelman.