The Diehl Family Social Enterprise Competition

This is a competition for a grant of $50,000 for a social enterprise. Go to www.socialenterprisecompetition.com for more information. We Will Fuel Your Social Innovations

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Harry Potter and The Activist Alliance: Part Two

In our previous discussion of The Harry Potter Alliance , we showed how fans of a book or film franchise can quickly turn into a full fledged social movement. With a little leadership and...

Check out our new blog about the Harry Potter Alliance and the history of fan activism. Social entrepreneurs can use the power of storytelling to solve social problems. Let us know what you think!

For more social entrepreneurship news and links, follow us and go to www.socialenterprisecompetition.com

[secompetition]

Harry Potter and the Activist Alliance: Part One

*Disclaimer: This blog post was written by a self-proclaimed nerd, and as such will contain spoilers and abundant references to Harry Potter and other great works of fantasy and sci-fi.* Works of…

For more blogs, and competition updates, follow secompetition and go to www.socialenterprisecompetition.com

[secompetition]

Www.socialenterprisecompetition.com

[secompetition]

Harry Potter and the Activist Alliance: Part One

*Disclaimer: This blog post was written by a self-proclaimed nerd, and as such will contain spoilers and abundant references to Harry Potter and other great works of fantasy and sci-fi.* Works of…

For more blogs, and competition updates, follow secompetition and go to www.socialenterprisecompetition.com

[secompetition]

Chris Blattman on Cash, Poverty, and Development | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty

Chris Blattman of Columbia University talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about a radical approach to fighting poverty in desperately poor countries: giving cash to aid recipients and allowing them to spend it as they please. Blattman shares his...

For more on economics and social entrepreneurship, follow secompetition and go to www.socialenterprisecompetition.com

[darumavolta]

Spotlight on a leading social entrepreneur…

Who: Léo Martins Dias

What does Léo do: Working with grassroot leaders in favela communities across Brazil, giving them tools to do even more for their communities and have a greater impact.

How did he end up here: Léo got his first taste of working with communities in Rio when he was just 13 and went along to a reading project run by his mum in a favela community next to Leme where Léo grew up.

"Up to that point, the only encounter I had had with young people from [favela] communities was trying to run away to avoid getting into fights. When I started going to my mum’s project I began to make friends with young people in these communities and soon had more connections and spent more time in the favelas than I did in the city".

Later Léo went to university and ended up working with some big global companies after graduating across Europe and Brazil.

"I started working in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) with these companies before it was really a thing and decided to start looking at how I could use these same skills to empower community and grassroot leaders"

This has led Léo to work with projects across Rio, Salvador, Manaus and Sao Paulo.

How does he do it: Léo connects with a variety of community leaders and shares some common themes and basic principles that can be applied to help them achieve their goals for their community:

Building strong networks - This is more than just being introduced to lots of different organisations. This is about making real connections that help to break own barriers and finding opportunities to connect and really support each other.

Co-create - A leader cannot come up with a solution for their community on their own. They need the support of the people living there and those trying to support them need to believe in the work that is being done and see the benefit and value for the community. By getting the community to play a role in creating a solution they will also be able to play their part in helping it to succeed.

Visibility - One of the biggest challenges for grassroot leaders trying to improve their communities is lack of visibility around the work they are doing and what they have achieved. Getting visibility for the work that is being done in favela communities from the media is incredibly difficult but it can make a massive difference in terms of unlocking resources, networks and bringing more value to the work that is being done. This is a really important factor for community leaders

Final top tips for aspiring social entrepreneurs: Perseverance is key - never give up, self belief is also really important and taking care of your partners - if you can help to get good results for everyone involved in your project than everyone will want to put more good into it.

[secompetition]

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[dartthrowingchimp]

"The only thing worse than being exploited by capitalism," said economist Joan Robinson, "is not being exploited by capitalism."

Important work in progress from Chris Blattman and co. This pilot study of 78 Ethiopians who applied for work in a water-bottling factory shows higher incomes and better welfare on average a year later for the 34 who were randomly selected to get the jobs compared to the 44 who weren’t.

Chris’ caveat:

Please note, these results are preliminary and, due to the small sample size, are generally statistically imprecise.One-year results from the complete study may change. However, we feel these pilot results are indicative of the general pattern we will observe through an expansion of the study.

UPDATE: Chris told me via Twitter that these pilot results are “outdated and turning out wrong,” so he has deleted the research note. Full results will be reported in mid-2014 after the project is completed. That’s science, baby.

[secompetition]

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[fivegoldfish]

Five facts about informal economies - Chris Blattman

A new paper by Rafael La Porta and Andrei Shleifer: First, it is huge, reaching about half of the total in the poorest countries. Second, it has extremely low productivity compared to the formal economy: informal firms are typically small, inefficient, … Continue reading →

so… not too interesting to study from an economic policy perspective?

[secompetition]

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[secompetition]

Harry Potter and the Activist Alliance: Part One

*Disclaimer: This blog post was written by a self-proclaimed nerd, and as such will contain spoilers and abundant references to Harry Potter and other great works of fantasy and sci-fi.* Works of...

For more blogs, and competition updates, follow secompetition and go to www.socialenterprisecompetition.com

[azspot]

…love changes our minds. It is the change in our minds that makes changing our minds possible. Love is not an alternative to making ‘intellectual decisions,’ it is the basis — the starting point — for any intellectual decision.

Love and justice are what give us ears to hear (via azspot)

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[secompetition]

The Competition Finalists Have Been Announced

This is a notification that the Competition Selection Committee has selected the top finalists of the Diehl Family Social Enterprise Competition and the competition staff is working diligently to reach out to each applicant with regard to notification, personalized feedback, and next steps for being involved with the competition network and social entrepreneurship initiative at Florida State University! With that being said, you should receive a notification within the next 24 hours (by 5pm EST July 16, 2014). Please make sure to check your spam mail! If you do not receive an e-mail within the next 24 hours, please feel free to reach out to the Project Manager Joanna Douglas at [phone] or [email protected] Thank you for your patience and understanding! As a reminder, top finalists have been chosen to receive $5,000 each for development of a business plan for their proposed social enterprise. Then each will submit a business plan in the fall to compete for up to four up to $50,000 awards each to launch their social enterprise. Check back for information regarding Upcoming Events, including events for announcing the projects. If you applied to the competition, remember to stay connected within the competition network and take advantage of our upcoming networking events. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Tumblr! The deadline for business plans is Tuesday, September 30, 2014. Check out the Business Plan page and Resources for Social Entrepreneurs page for helpful links and downloads in development of your social enterprise.

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A surprisingly good article from buzzfeed, this list of 25 mobile apps is sure to inspire social entrepreneurs everywhere. For more lists, resources, and socent news, follow secompetition

[gradnessmadness]

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters  to create many ripples.” 

  - Mother Teresa

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For more inspirational quotes and social entrepreneurial news, follow secompetition blog and go to www.socialenterprisecompetition.com

[humanrightswatch]

Russia: Anti-LGBT Law a Tool for Discrimination

 Russia’s anti-gay “propaganda” law has served as a tool for anti-gay discrimination in the year since it entered into force, even though Russian authorities have fined only four people for violating it. The law’s adoption also coincided with the spread of violence and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and LGBT rights activists and a rise in homophobic hate speech by some Russian officials and public figures, Human Rights Watch research found. The law, passed unanimously by the Russian parliament, entered into force on June 30, 2013. It bans the dissemination among children of “propaganda for nontraditional sexual relationships,” broadly understood to be lesbian, gay, and bisexual relationships. The law denies LGBT people equal social standing and implies that their identities and relationships are unnatural and perverse.

Photo: A man tries to stop LGBT rights activists from holding a flag during a protest in Moscow, Russia on May 31, 2014. © 2014 Reuters

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Should activism be a focus for social entrepreneurs? What do you think?

[mysocialgoodnews]

London 3 July 2014. The World for People Foundation (www.worldforpeople.org) has officially joined the United Nations Global Compact (www.unglobalcompact.org), the strategic alliance which is made up of both businesses and non-profit organisations and which embraces a set of core values in...

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Do you think the UN is the best forum to create lasting positive change and economic development?

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[secompetition]

More Young Professionals Choosing Tallahassee

Check out UrbanTallahassee article by Jay Revell entitled Millennials Are Choosing Tallahassee’s Urban Option of Living here http://bit.ly/TRwzkJ.

Tallahassee is changing at a fast pace these days. Are the new developments and the increasingly inclusive and innovative networks enticing young professionals to stay here? Think of all the following have to offer: Florida State University, Florida State University Department of Urban and Regional Planning - DURP, Florida State University's College of Social Work, Sustainable Tallahassee, Tallahassee Food Network, The Renaissance Community Center, Big Bend Homeless Coalition, Florida Restorative Justice Association, and more.

Can startup social ventures survive and thrive in the Tallahassee area, especially with the new addition of Domi Ventures?

What are your thoughts?

[devindthorpe]

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day it seems apt to recognize the newly created crowdfunding site TwistRate focused on helping America’s veterans with their entrepreneurship.

Veterans are twice as likely to be entrepreneurs as the rest of the country; 1 in 7 veterans own a business.

...

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Looks like another exciting way to fund social entrepreneurs, and specifically those who have served in our armed forces. If you're a vet with an idea for a social enterprise, this might be your ticket!

www.socialenterprisecompetition.com

[mysocialgoodnews]

July 16 Event to Feature NYC Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, NYU Global Research Professor Richard Florida, and a Panel of Top NYC Media Personalities, Distinguished Thinkers, and Trendsetters Who Will Explore Ways to Boost the City’s Economy

NEW YORK, July 1, 2014 – On July 16, the NYU School...

[secompetition]

inclusive businesses are not just for the third world! 

www.socialenterprisecompetition.com