"It Was Twenty Years Ago Today..." The Green Skeptic at 20

Today, twenty years ago, I typed out my first blog post with a mix of uncertainty and conviction. “Why Blog? and Why The Green Skeptic?” the title asked—questions that would shape my next decade and a half of writing about environmental pragmatism, clean energy, and social innovation.

As The Green Skeptic, I carved out a unique space between environmental advocacy and market-based pragmatism. Working at The Nature Conservancy then, I saw firsthand the need for voices that could bridge ideology with practical solutions. One of my most effective early posts, “Caring, or A New Conservation Ethic,” first posted in 2005, challenged traditional environmental messaging and advocated for a more inclusive approach to conservation that acknowledged economic realities and people’s concerns. 

A 2008 post, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Protecting and Saving,” argued that everything we thought about saving or protecting ecosystems and habitats was wrong and we needed to unleash human creativity to find new technological solutions as well as new ways of living with nature.

The blog evolved to tackle emerging challenges and opportunities. My piece, “The Coming Disruption—Lead It or Follow It,” from 2011, argued that partisan ideology on both sides was getting in the way of facing the systemic problems of our way of life. (Still true today!) Another 2011 post, “A Tale of Two Cleantech Companies” offered a critical analysis of what worked—and what didn’t—in the emerging green economy, a deep dive I explored in a case study format at the IMPACT investor conference that year. Exploring the intersection of faith and environmentalism in a two-part post on “The Evangelical Environmental Movement” sparked important conversations about building broader coalitions for climate action.

Some of my proudest moments came from highlighting changemakers like Kalyan Paul and his work with Grassroots International, showing how social entrepreneurship could drive sustainable development. The post “What Keeps You Up at Night?” resonated deeply with readers, examining the personal stakes of environmental challenges. My analysis of “Philanthropy & Environmental Change” pushed for more effective deployment of charitable resources to support environmental causes. (It also led to my being introduced to the woman who is now my wife.)

As clean technology and social entrepreneurship emerged as critical areas of interest for me—I moved from the Conservancy to the social venture capital organization Ashoka, and then into my own consulting practice, VerdeStrategy, before landing with EY’s cleantech and power and utilities practices—expanding the blog’s focus into these areas. This evolution led to unexpected opportunities, including a three-year run as a commentator on Fox Business with Varney & Co., where I brought these nuanced perspectives to a broader audience.

The Green Skeptic on Fox Business in 2010

For ten years, I maintained a steady dialogue with readers about everything from microfinance innovation to personal environmental choices, as captured in posts like “Falling Up, Or The Choices We Make May Be Our Own,” part of which led me to write a short memoir called Falling Up, several years later. The blog became a space not just for commentary, but for imagining better futures, exemplified in pieces like “IMAGINE The Man Who Cared,” my reflection on John Lennon’s inspiring legacy of activism. Another post explored the impact of one of my boyhood heroes, Roberto Clemente, who died tragically trying to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. 

While The Green Skeptic’s final post came in September 2019, its spirit of questioning assumptions and seeking practical solutions lives on in my current writing—from regional features and profiles in Berkshire Magazine to exploring new frontiers in psychedelic-assisted therapy for Terrain.org and Lucid News. I still have another, occasional blog, Scott Edward Anderson’s Poetry Blog, where I post mostly about poetry, and my essays are regularly published in various publications.

The media landscape has transformed dramatically since 2004, with Substack and Medium newsletters replacing individual blogs. But that early blogging experience taught me something invaluable: the power of putting thoughtful perspectives into the world without perfectionism getting in the way.

Twenty years later, we need independent voices willing to challenge assumptions and bridge divides more than ever. So, here’s to The Green Skeptic—not just for what it was, but for how it helped shape the conversations we’re still having today about building a more sustainable future.

10 Favs; 10 Years: Kalyan Paul and Grassroots, Integrated Solutions in the Indian Himalayas

In recognition of The Green Skeptic's 10th Annivesary, I'm hand-picking ten of my personal favorite posts from the last decade. Here's the first, from 2008, a post about a visit I made to Ashoka-fellow Kalyan Paul in the Indian Himalayas. --SEA


Kalyan and Anita Paul moved to the "hill country" -- Ranikhet is 1829 meters above sea level -- in 1987. Originally from Calcutta, Kalyan met his future wife and partner in social change, Anita, while both studied for a Masters in Social Work at Delhi University.

After facing numerous challenges and frustrations in urban settings and with more traditional development approaches, the Pauls decided to work with mountain communities. "Kalyan always wanted to live and work with hill folks," according to a source familiar with the situation. "Anita, a Himachali who grew up in the plains, egged him on."

Less than 20,000 people live in the area in and around Ranikhet, a high percentage of whom live in small hamlets and rely on natural resources for their livelihoods and sustenance.

"We got a grant from the Ford Foundation to literally just 'walk around,' and that's what we did," Kalyan says. "At first the local people were skeptical; they'd check us out and see what we were doing. When they saw us walking around like them -- and we walked all over, man -- they decided, 'He's probably okay.'"

That walking around gave the Pauls a clear sense of the integrated nature of the issues facing mountain people.

"They live totally off of what nature provides," says Kalyan. "If there's no water, they can't grow their food. If there are no trees, there is no water. It affects everything in their lives and some leave the mountains for more urban areas. That kind of life can be hard, man."

Enter Grassroots, which the Pauls founded in this area 16 years ago. They started by looking for the root causes of the mountain peoples' poverty: their lives and livelihoods are tied to the land and its natural resources.

Those resources have been dwindling as a result of changes to the landscape that started under British rule and continue in the Indian forestry bureau today. Basically, the foresters promoted non-native pine plantations and eucalyptus over native broadleaf deciduous trees.

Sounds like a simple thing, but it had two major impacts: the pines didn't help recharge the water sources, especially after harvesting, and the dead leaf litter was gone, which the farmers spread on their fields. Leaf litter is a natural top-soil maker. In contrast, the more acidic pine needles form a thick mat on the forest floor, preventing rainwater from seeping into the soils.

You can figure out what happened next. The water table, that feeds the springs that nourishes the crops that feed the people, kept dropping. Today, at winter's end, there is very little water in the aquifer and the springs are extremely low.

The Pauls, and the people who work with them, are addressing it by promoting native plant nurseries, replanting saplings from those nurseries, and developing rain water catchments to help regenerate the water supply.

That would be fine as a standard environment project, but Kalyan hasn't stopped there.

Grassroots determined that another factor in the forest decline was the villagers' own needs for firewood used for cooking in their homes. This use was not only denuding the forests, but was having health impacts as well: women cook with open wood fires in their homes (breathing in the smoke all day) and they have to walk farther and farther each day to find firewood, which they carry on their heads.

So, Grassroots introduced biogas stoves to their homes. The villagers now burn the methane generated by animal waste (cow and goat dung -- one thing of which they have plenty!) instead of firewood, and they use the slurry on their fields as an excellent fertilizer.


They also formed an artisan's guild to train local villagers as masons to build these stoves, thereby accomplishing three things in one: reducing forest cutting, improving the health of women, and providing jobs for at least 30 men in the area; at least 50 men have been trained as masons.

The Kumaon Artisans Guild promotes and builds appropriate technologies for rural development, including the biogas wells, twin pit outhouses, and infiltration wells for drinking water. (The infiltration well technology, developed by Dr. Tim Rees, is worth another post of its own.)

Members of the Guild, who are known as "Barefoot Engineers," told me they are now installing 300 biogas units annually, 60 water pumps a year, and 400 toilets.

In addition, Grassroots has organized a women's cooperative, called Umang, which means "inner strength" or "self-confidence." Umang now comprises a network of 2000 women spread over hundreds of villages and governed by reps from participating women’s "self-help" groups, with day-to-day functions managed by a group of women from the surrounding area.

Umang’s work includes savings and credit, but also enterprise development. They produce knitwear worth more than Rs.1.5 million each year, about a third of which accrues to the women as wages, according to sources familiar with the situation.

In addition, the Umang women engage in food processing, producing about 10 tons of product annually, especially pickled condiments made from local produce such as chilies, ginger, and garlic, along with fruit preserves and jams. (Their plum chutney is fantastic!) Umang also has an apiculture program that produces about 3 tons of honey every year.

To better understand the impact watershed-wide, Grassroots, together with UNESCO, is conducting a study of the hydrology of the Gagas River Basin, which covers 500 square kilometers and includes 360 villages.

Faisal K. Zaidi, a Post Doctoral Researcher in Hydrogeology who works with UNESCO in New Delhi, on the study says that the Gargas has been included in UNESCO's Hydrology for Environment, Life, and Policy (HELP) program. HELP, according to its website, "is creating a new approach to integrated catchment management through the creation of a framework for water law and policy experts, water resource managers and water scientists to work together on water-related problems."

Zaidi says that by the end of the monsoon season this year, likely around September, they should have the first water budget for the Gagas River Basin, based upon the data collected from this study. To date, they have set up rainfall and stream flow monitoring stations in almost 20 locations, and at least a half-dozen weather monitoring stations in the basin.


The true innovation in Kalyan Paul's work is the holistic approach to the root problems. I have seen plenty of economic development and environmental projects that are limited in their scope. Most projects, indeed most organizations attack one problem, and not always the root of a problem. It's often an either/or dilemma: either economic development or conservation; either livelihood or watershed protection. The Grassroots approach is integrated, holistic and more effective as a result.

Not bad for a guy who started out "walking around" 20 years ago.

Acumen Fund's 10 Lessons Learned About Getting Beyond Poverty

Jacqueline Novogratz of Acumen Fund

Five years ago I sat down with Jacqueline Novogratz to talk about Acumen Fund. She was just about to leave for a trip to Africa and I was just beginning to think about leaving The Nature Conservancy.

To my mind at the time the Conservancy had moved away from its core strength of supporting work on-the-ground and in-the-water -- we were more focused on large-scale global planning.

We had moved to the side of the "Planners" versus the "Searchers," to use William Easterly's nomenclature from his critique of Western efforts to "Aid the Rest," White Man's Burden. 

"Planners determine what to supply; Searchers find out what is in demand," Easterly wrote. "Planners apply global blueprints [emphasis mine]; Searchers adapt to local conditions. Planners at the top lack knowledge of the bottom; Searchers find out what the reality is at the bottom. Planners never hear whether the planned got what it needed; Searchers find out if the customer is satisfied..."

Acumen Fund was on the side of the Searchers, the entrepreneurs. I wanted to get back to working with entrepreneurs who were doing real work.

There were three things I really liked about Acumen Fund:

1.) They were investing not donating -- and they were all about results.
2.) They thought like a Venture Fund, only with a more patient, long-term view.
3.) Jacqueline. She was direct and didn't beat around the bush.

I need to explain that last bullet.

I was coming from a big, non-profit corporation, which operated in many ways like a Fortune 500 company.  Five years into its life Acumen was still more like a small and nimble start-up fund.

As entrepreneurial as I was -- I'd started several print and online media ventures over the years -- and despite how intrapraneurial I had been in my time with the Conservancy, Jacqueline saw that I wouldn't fit into Acumen at that time.

"Have you thought about starting something on your own?" Jacqueline asked.

(I ended up going to Ashoka as their vice president for global development before moving on to start my own endeavors.)

I continue to follow, support, and be impressed by Acumen's progress.  They have an impressive record of success.

Tonight and tomorrow Jacqueline and Acumen Fund are celebrating 10 years of creating a world beyond poverty by investing patient capital in social enterprises, emerging leaders, and breakthrough ideas.

Since 2001, the fund has invested more than $65 million in enterprises providing access to water, health, alternative energy, housing and agricultural services to low-income customers in South Asia and Africa. Their global community of emerging leaders combines the tools of business and philanthropy, making the world a better place.

Here are 10 Things Acumen Fund has learned over the past 10 years:

1. Dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth.

2. Neither grants nor markets alone will solve the problems of poverty.

3. Poverty is a description of someone’s economic situation, it does not describe who someone is.

4. We won’t succeed in the long term without cultivating local leaders, local money, and strong local communities.

5. Great people, every time, no exceptions.

6. Great technology alone is not the answer.

7. If failing is not an option, you’ve ruled out success as well.

8. Governments rarely invent solutions, but they can scale what works.

9. There is no currency like trust, and there are no shortcuts to earning it.

10. Patient capital investing is built upon a system of values; it is not a series of steps to be followed.

You can learn more about Acumen Fund here and download their Lessons Learned here.

Congratulations Jacqueline and Acumen Fund on ten years of success -- and here's to the next ten years!

Hockey in the Himalayas? Adam Sherlip's Ice Cool Goal

A few years ago, Adam Sherlip was working with the New York Islanders hockey team and Team USA star and Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero, coordinating their  Charles B. Wang Ice Hockey Project Hope initiative, a youth hockey development program in northeastern China.

Project Hope hosted a team from China to compete in a tournament against teams from the New York metropolitan area. But when Adam visited Heilongjiang Province and saw the rinks Project Hope had built at schools there, his life completely changed.

"Traveling to the opposite side of the world teaching kids hockey was one of the most memorable experiences in my life to date," Adam says. "Hockey has a culture and a language that transcends borders and the differences we may have off the ice."

The experience led him to start The Hockey Foundation to support grassroots hockey around the world, especially in places remote to the rest of the hockey world. Places like Ladakh, in the Indian Himalayas.

To Adam Sherlip, hockey is more than a game. He believes sports can help bring about social change and improve understanding between people.

For those who have never played a sport, it is hard to grasp how sports change lives, but they do. Sports promote leadership and teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as physical activity that can improve self-esteem and confidence.

Hockey, by virtue of its fast pace -- and the dangers of having blades on your feet while and carrying a big stick -- has other lessons to teach: about perseverance, coordination, and paying attention. Despite the impression given by fighting in professional hockey, the sport also teaches respect for others.

Adam brought all of these things with him to Ladakh in January 2009, along with donated equipment..

Why Ladakh? "Ladakh came about from a random email from Angela that mentioned it briefly," Adam says. "And when I researched this Buddhist region and the progressive, self sufficient school there, I knew I had to be there to assist and see how they lived."

He hopes to spread to other parts of the world in coming years.

For now, Adam wants to return to India this fall. He's actively raising the $10,000 it will take to support hockey development for children and adults in Ladakh, a region of Jammu & Kashmir, India's northernmost region, as well as children in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It will also help support the Ice Hockey Association of India.  They are also looking for equipment donations and corporate support.

His ultimate goal with the Hockey Foundation? To "share happiness and change lives, one puck at a time."

Now that's a real cool goal.

For more on Adam and hockey in the Himalayas, including video footage or to support their efforts, go to The Hockey Foundation. You can also follow The Hockey Foundation on Twitter @HockeyFndtn and find them on Facebook.

Epic Change Launches "To Mama With Love"

My friends Stacey and Sanjay at Epic Change have done it again! They've come up with a clever new viral awareness and fundraising campaign to support one of their favorite causes, Mama Lucy Kamptioni and her quest to build a home for children in her village in Tanzania.

Although you may not have heard their name, Epic Change was the force behind "Tweetsgiving," the Twitter-based campaign where participants sent a tweet of thankfulness that generated funding for Mama Lucy's school in Arusha, Tanzania, that now serves over 400 children.

With this new campaign, Epic Change is putting a new spin on Mother's Day.

They've just launched "To Mama With Love," a campaign to honor moms across the globe -- including mine -- and raise funds for one remarkable mama to change the world.

Epic Change hopes to raise $50,000 in just on week -- the campaign runs from May 3 - May 9, 2010 -- to fund a home for 50 children in Arusha, Tanzania.

How can you participate? It's easy. Show your mama you love her by creating a virtual scrapbook or "heartspace" on ToMamaWithLove.org site, including photos, videos, notes, and artwork and make a donation in her honor. (You can even send her a customized ecard with a link to her heartspace.)

In addition, Organic Beauty Now of San Francisco will donate $1 for every tweet (up to 2,000) that mentions #ToMamaWithLove to fund room for two students at the boarding facility.

So what are you waiting for? Show some love for your Mama!

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GoodCompany Ventures "UnPanel" Video Now Available

A month ago, GoodCompany Ventures had a lively event at GreenSpaces NY's TriBeCa space, including an "unpanel" on the subject of investment in social innovation moderated by yours truly and featuring Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, Jacqueline Novogratz of the Acumen Fund, Roger Ehrenberg of IA Venture Strategies and Jacob Gray from Murex Investments.

The video of the conversation is now available:

GoodCompany Ventures / Green Spaces NYC Launch Event from Christopher Bentley on Vimeo.

Or watch it here:

http://vimeo.com/10700032

It's long, but worth watching...

GoodCompany "Un-Panel" at GreenSpaces NY

Last week's GoodCompany Ventures event at the TriBeCa, NY, offices of Green Spaces brought together some of the top minds in early stage and patient capital investing, including Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, Jacob Gray from Murex Investments, Roger Ehrenberg of IA Venture Strategies, and Jacqueline Novogratz of the Acumen Fund, along with yours truly as the "un-moderator."

A great dialogue on our "un-panel" ranged from balancing long-term impact with maximizing returns to the need for solid metrics for social return.

[Hoping to have a link to video of the panel here next week.]


Four GoodCompanys  from the inaugural class of 2009 presented, including Black Gold Biofuels, Couchange, CalendarFly, and PublicStuff.

Roger Ehrenberg wrote a thoughtful post on his Information Arbitrage blog about the need for a new model for investing in "social" impacts and Jason Keramidas wrote a recap on the GoodCompany blog.

Applications for the 2010 Incubator are being accepted here.

(Disclosure: I am on the Advisory Board of GoodCompany Ventures.)

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The Green Skeptic Speaking at Temple/Fox School of Business

From the shameless self-promotion department:

I'll be speaking today at Temple University's Fox School of Business and Management today.

I was invited by Fox Net Impact and the Office of Leadership Development and will be speaking on social enterprise and the new economy.

My talk, which I hope to post a link to once it is available, is about how entrepreneurs are changing the face of business and how the recent crises can, if we learn from them, drive us to build a better economic mousetrap.

As World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab said in his closing remarks at Davos last week, we now have an opportunity to put values back into capitalism.

I've long argued here that we need a new economy based on renewal, regeneration, and respect, rather than free credit, cheap oil and new housing. We can build a new economy based not on greed, but on innovation and prosperity through sustainability.

I look forward to sharing the talk with you -- and, if you're going to be there, please say hello.

KVA & Portable Light's Sheila Kennedy on Clean Energy Solutions

Back in March at the Aspen Environment Forum, I facilitated a panel called Energy Equity: Clean Energy for All, in which we discussed exciting new alternative energy innovations with the potential to change the lives of the "bottom billion" of the world's poor.

One of our panelists, Sheila Kennedy of KVA Kennedy & Violich Architects and the Portable Light Project, shared her designs for textiles with flexible solar materials and solid state lighting that enables people to create energy harvesting bags, blankets, and clothing using local materials and traditional weaving and sewing techniques in an open source model.

Tonight, Sheila will share her latest developments on the show "Brink," on CBS Science Channel.

"At the Aspen Forum, our discussions revolved around what we can do right now to rethink the delivery model for clean energy so it can become more widespread, accessible and enjoyable as a part of everyday life," Sheila wrote to me recently. "It's my hope that our designs can set a new direction for 'ready out of the box' clean energy products and building components that can drive the green economy —- in the developing world and right here at home."

KVA's work with energy harvesting textiles is being featured on a special episode of Brink on "Sustainable Living" tonight at 10:30 PM EST: "Brink"

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Changemakers Rural Solutions Winners: Women, Water, Traditional Farming Methods

The Ashoka's Changemakers community has selected three winners in its global search for innovative solutions to rural development and sustainable agricultural issues. Earlier this month I wrote about the ten finalists.

The winners, one each from India, Uganda and Brazil, cover traditional farming methods, female farmer empowerment, and integrated farming for small farms.

In Uganda, Dr. Mwalimu Musheshe helps smallholder farmers share and benefit from traditional farming methods through the Uganda Rural development and Training Programme.

Property rights and land ownership is something we take for granted in the west. Farmers across rural developing nations, however, farmers, especially women farmers, have little or no access to such ownership, which negatively affects their ability to pursue their livelihoods, feed their families, and send their kids to school. Now an Indian organization known as SRREOSHI puts land into the hands of groups of women farmers in West Bengal, a positive step to protecting women's rights and giving them control over the land they are cultivating.

The third winner is Agência Mandalla DHSA of Brazil, which promotes an integrated farming system employing the latest appropriate technologies and farming methods to small farm plots in both rural and urban areas.

Support from competition sponsors the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides each of the winners with a $5,000 prize and collaborative support to expand their work in rural agriculture and development. The Gates Foundation's Agricultural Development Program has a larger partnership with Ashoka to find the best innovations in rural development and agriculture.

"Being recognized among the most innovative solutions for rural communities is a pretty big achievement for us," said Tarcio Handel da Silva, Executive Director of Agência Mandalla DHSA. "It has maximized our motivation to keep replicating our work in knowledge and social change."


(Disclosure: The author was part of the team that developed the partnership between Ashoka and the Gates Foundation for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa and India.)

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• At Agriculture Department, A Surprising Pick (dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com)
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Culitvating Innovation: Vote for Best Rural Solutions on Changemakers

Ashoka's Changemakers announced the top ten finalists in their "Cultivating Innovation, Solutions for Rural Communities" competition.

In February, Changemakers launched a global search for innovative solutions to often complex issues facing rural development and sustainable agriculture, from food security to sustainably scaling-up production.

Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the competition uncovered 455 ideas from around the globe. The judges have settled on ten finalists and now it is up to you and the Changemakers community to vote to select three winners. But hurry: the voting closes on July 8th.

Here are the finalists:

Demonstrating technologies that work in transforming rural agriculture for sustainable development	Uganda Rural development and Training Programme, URDT	Uganda
Social Security for Rural populations through sustainable and interdependent livelihoods	Organisation for Awareness of Integrated Social Security (OASiS)	India
Building the movement for women’s land rights	SRREOSHI	India
Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP)	IPM CRSP(Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program)	Bangladesh
Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO): promoting rural livelihoods around a business partnership to achieve conservation	Wildlife Conservation Society	Zambia
Ensuring Food Security to small farmers through their own agri business company RUDI	SEWA Gram Mahila Haat	India
FONDO DE APOYO ALIMENTARIO	ECOSTA YUTU CUII	Mexico
Weaving Sustainability - Tramando sustentabilidade	Cooperativa central justa trama	Brazil
Mandalla’s Integrated Production System	Agência Mandalla DHSA	Brazil
Business School for Rural Women	The Mann Deshi Foundation	India

Vote here: Changemakers Cultivating Innovation (Note: you must join the Changemakers community to vote.)

Changemakers is a community of action where participants helped develop and refine and select solutions through a collaborative competition model.

(Disclosure: The author was part of the team that developed the partnership between Ashoka and the Gates Foundation for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa and India.)

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GoodCompany Ventures Launches Social Enterprise Incubator in Philly

"GoodCompany Ventures is such a good idea," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter told the crowd gathered on the porch of Building 101 at the Navy Yard. "I wish I'd thought of it."

GoodCompany Ventures, an incubator for businesses with social impact, launched today with a virtual ribbon cutting by Mayor Nutter. "We'll all close our eyes and imagine the ribbon being cut, because that's how business gets done these days," the Mayor quipped.

All kidding aside, Mayor Nutter seemed genuinely pleased today to be welcoming GoodCompany Ventures -- and the ten start-up social enterprises that will be working at the Navy Yard over the summer -- and recognized how this effort supports his overall goals to make Philadelphia the nation's greenest city.

He pointed to development at the Navy Yard, which he called "Center City South," an area the size of Center City, which has been redeveloped over the past ten years or so since the U.S. Navy closed its base there.

"I hope these companies will enjoy their time here at the Navy Yard this summer," said Pennsylvania Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) head Peter S. Longstreth, "And that they will want to move in as tenants as they expand their businesses developed here."

The Navy Yard is home to more than 80 companies employing 7,500 people, including Urban Outfitters and Tastykake, in 5.5 million square feet of renovated space. PIDC, is the developer of the Navy Yard and a partner in GoodCompany Ventures.

"GoodCompany Ventures is designed to demonstrate that you can make money and do good," said Jacob Gray of Murex Investments and a partner and co-founder of GoodCompany. "And I think the companies we have lined up for this first cohort exemplify that goal."

The GoodCompany Ventures incubator will provide guidance and support to a group of hand-picked social entrepreneurs each summer. Through group sessions, one-on-one mentoring, and providing access to pro bono services, GoodCompany will help businesses at varying stages of their development.

BlackGold Biofuels and the GoodCompany Ventures launch were featured in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday: read it here.

Other companies in the inaugural cohort of the incubator include BLOX, a partnership between Philadelphia developer Onion Flats LLC and modular building manufacturer Landmark Building Systems Inc; Cyrus-XP LLC, which is developing a computer information platform for the growing long-term care market; and Math Foundations, which was launched by Angela McIver, a former math teacher, to provide math-remediation consulting to schools and job-training programs.

More on GoodCompany Ventures can be found here: GoodCompany Ventures

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Make Loans. Tell Stories. Change the World: Vote for Epic Change on Ideablob

Epic Change is terrific social enterprise started by social entrepreneurs Stacey Monk and Sanjay Patel. I've been watching and supporting Epic Change in various ways over the past year and a half and am exceedingly impressed with their results-oriented, innovative approach.

Readers of the green skeptic know that stories are important to me; in fact, I've written extensively about the power of stories to change the world and have developed and led workshops to help organizations learn how to tell their stories more effectively.

Epic Change helps hopeful people in need share their stories to acquire resources that will improve their lives. They believe that people's stories are assets that can be used as pathways out of poverty. They help people in need share their "epic," true stories in innovative, creative, and profitable ways to help them acquire the financial resources they need to create positive "change" in their communities.

Stacey and Sanjay's story has been told very well in a variety of places such as here and here. And they are leaders in using social media to spread the word about social change.

Now Epic Change has an opportunity to win USD$10,000 through the IdeaBlob competition currently up at idealblob.com.

But this isn't just about winning the money. As with everything I've seen from Epic Change, it's about OUTCOMES.

Epic Change plans to build a technology lab at a locally led primary school in Tanzania so that children, teachers, and parents in the community can access a whole new world of information and enter global conversations by using social media to share their stories online.

Already, the school's founder, Mama Lucy, is blogging on the Epic Change site (Updates from Mama), and even has a Facebook page where she's already posted a note asking folks to begin voting tomorrow.

According to Stacey, they've had "20 great laptops donated and have procured basic software through TechSoup - now we just need to get the computers to Tanzania, build a facility that will also serve as the school's first library, and imaginatively get this remote classroom access to the web."

So, what are you waiting for, got to IdeaBlob.com and vote for Epic Change.



This blog post is part of Zemanta's "Blogging For a Cause" campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

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Business Week Profiles 25 of America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs

Business Week is featuring 25 of America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs and asking readers to view a slide show and vote "for the business you feel holds the most promise, from now until Apr. 26."

They will announce the top five vote-getters on May 2.

Here's a description from Business Week:

"Social entrepreneurs—enterprising individuals who apply business practices to solving societal problems such as pollution, poor nutrition, and poverty—are now 30,000 strong and growing, according to B Lab, a nonprofit organization that certifies these purpose-driven companies. Together, they represent some $40 billion in revenue.

"Not surprising, then, that they've caught the attention of venture capitalists such as those at Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that invests in companies that try to alleviate poverty, and Bay Area Equity Fund, which backs businesses aiming to make social or environmental improvements to San Francisco's needier neighborhoods. President Obama has even suggested starting a new government agency to help socially conscious startups gain more access to venture capital."

Go watch the slide show of these very inspiring people and their ideas. You won't be disappointed.

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Good Company Ventures: A Virtual Incubator for Social Sector Companies Launches in Philly

Social enterprise needs access to the same sort of support as the for profit sector. Organizations like Ashoka, Skoll, Echoing Green, Acumen Fund, and Endeavor provide a kind of venture capital infrastructure for emerging and growing social entrepreneurs. L3C and B Corp are beginning to build a framework for a new kind of corporate structure, one that blends social good with profit. And conferences like this week's Skoll World Forum and the Global Philanthropy Forum provide a platform for both recognition and exchanging ideas.

Now, with GoodCompany Ventures, there is a business incubator targeting entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to unmet social needs.

A "virtual incubator," along the lines of TechStars and DreamIt Ventures, GoodCompany Ventures will provide facilities, mentoring, and access to a network of capital sources to qualified entrepreneurs whose business models offer investors an attractive mix of financial return and social impact.

"The program is the first of its kind in the social sector, repurposing a proven venture strategy in this emerging sector", said Jacob Gray, partner with Murex Investments in a press release today. "Unlike conventional venture incubators, GoodCompany Ventures doesn't extract an equity commitment from entrepreneurs, but expects a commitment of time and creativity toward building a community of social entrepreneurship."

Garret Melby, founder of Iolite Social Capital, and a partner in GoodCompany Ventures, suggested that "just as Xerox Parc, Idea Lab and other technology incubators helped create the foundation of the information economy, GoodCompany Ventures will support entrepreneurs seeking to build a socially and environmentally sustainable economy."

Applicants will be recruited nationally via venture capital, social finance, and academic networks. A pool of 8 – 12 candidates will be selected to participate in the 2009 incubator program starting this June.

The program has been developed jointly by Resources for Human Development, Inc. (RHD), an innovator in social finance with a successful track record in social enterprises, and Murex Investments, a "double bottom line" equity fund backed by leading financial institutions.

Applications to the Program are now being accepted online at GoodCompanyVentures.org. The deadline for applying is April 20, 2009.

More information is available at GoodCompanyVentures.org or via email at info@GoodCompanyVentures.com.

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Omidyar Network Relaunches Itself, Turns ON

Omidyar Network today launched a new brand, including a new logo and website. The web site is much easier to navigate and to find their areas of focus, background and multimedia on their investee organizations and portfolio companies.

Omidyar Network (ON) has been a unique experiment and it is exciting to see the changes that Matt Bannick has instituted since taking over a short time ago. ON, like google.org, seemed to struggle with focus and clarity until recently.

Now, as illustrated by this new site, the focus of ON is clearer. And more good news: innovation is not lost for the sake of that focus. ON is a hybrid investor, taking equity stakes in some ventures as well as providing early stage philanthropic risk capital for social entrepreneurs or Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets.

Some of ON's investments include Ashoka, Unitus, MicroVest, DonorsChoose.org, Common Sense Media, Digg, MeetUp, GlobalGiving, Seesmic, Endeavor, CellBazaar, and WITNESS. (For a full portfolio, click here.)

"The new brand brings our work into sharp focus for the constituencies that we serve," said Matt Bannick, Managing Partner at Omidyar Network. "The logo embodies what we stand for, and the website offers greater insight into how we work and how our investees deliver social impact."

Omidyar Network was started in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam. They say it is dedicated to the idea that every person has the power to make a difference.

I like what the new logo says about turning "on" that power, encouraging people to improve their lives and the lives of others. The logo also, as ON says in its press release, makes reference to the transformative power of technology, which many of ON's investee organizations use to amplify and accelerate their impact.

In addition to in-depth descriptions of each investment area, Omidyar Network's new site features profiles of ON's investee organizations, which helps raise the visibility of those organizations and makes ON's investments more transparent. It also provides a better picture of their overall approach and strategy.

There's also a "VentureLoop" portal for users to search and apply for job opportunities at Omidyar Network portfolio companies, as well as all the financial and investment information a user may need to evaluate ON's investments.

Check it out: Omidyar.com


(Disclosure: The author was formerly VP of Global Development at Ashoka, an Omidyar investee organization. He is not affiliated with either entity at this time.)

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Changemakers Launches Competition for Agricultural Innovations

Ashoka's Changemakers announced the launch of "Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities," a new global, online competition to seek out the most innovative solutions in farming and rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and around the world.

The competition is funded as part of a grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Using the Changemakers' open-source online platform, the competition will be open to anyone striving to stimulate rural development and agriculture.

Today, three quarters of the world’s poorest people —- the one billion who live on $1 a day or less —- live in rural areas, and most rely on agriculture for their food and income. Many small farmers cannot grow enough food to sell or even eat. Innovative solutions such as those Ashoka is seeking offer hundreds of millions of the people the opportunity to overcome hunger and poverty.

Over the next two months, you and others from around the world can nominate people who are coming up with innovative solutions in farming and rural communities. You can also submit your own project.

Changemakers has a unique, open-source model where members of the community comment on and evaluate the initiatives entered in the competition. Entrants and nominators both can network with each other, as well as with media, academics, and thought leaders.

An expert panel of judges will narrow the entry pool to 10 to 15 finalists. Then the global Changemakers community will vote for three winners, who will each receive a USD $5000 award from Changemakers to fund their initiatives.

The distinguished panel features Roy Steiner, Senior Program Officer for Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gene Kahn, Global Sustainability Officer for General Mills, Beatrice Gakuba, CEO of Rwanda Flora, Suzana Padua, Founder of the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute of Ecological Research), and Raj Patel, activist and author of Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the World Food System.

"The Changemakers community is an open, online forum for anyone who is passionate about social change to participate in a vibrant exchange of ideas and friendship," says Charlie Brown, Changemakers Executive Director. "This competition is the opportunity to expand our reach even further, into the rural areas of Africa and India, to work with those innovators who may or may not have online access."

Innovation can come from anywhere, according to Changemakers. They cite people like C.K. "Bablu" Ganguly, an Ashoka Fellow whose innovations have regenerated farmland and created jobs via organic farming and marketing cooperatives in southern India.

Or, people like Adrian Mukhebi, another Ashoka fellow who created a virtual trading floor via radio and SMS messaging to link thousands of farmers and buyers and sellers in Kenya. Ganguly and Mukhebi’s work not only helped to revitalize the local farming economies but also directly met many of their communities' education and health needs, in addition to empowering local women to actively participate in farming and business development.

The online competition will showcase innovative solutions, encouraging members to comment, network, and assist one another in making a difference. Nominations and submissions are welcomed until May 13.

For more information and to enter or nominate, check out: "Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities"

(Disclosure: The author was formerly VP of Global Development for Ashoka and part of the team that developed the partnership with Gates Foundation of which this competition is a part.)

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Don't Get Depressed, Get Creative

The market sucks. And all the government intervention in the world isn't going to help. People are moving into cash and holding onto it more than ever. We could see 10 percent unemployment by the end of the year, if not sooner or worse.

More and more billionaires are turning out to be crooks and once stalwart companies and even our own government is stealing our money.

Time to slit your wrist, jump under a train, or off a rooftop, right? F***-it. That's never done anybody any good. Suicide is for losers or, as the recent string of financial suicides has shown, for people who don't know how to create anything but false value and a lavish lifestyle for themselves. (My apologies to their families, who have certainly suffered as a result. I'm sorry for your loss.)

At times like these the only thing to do is to get creative. Start making things, something, anything. Make something out of yourself. Create your own path, your own existence.

What hidden talents do you have? What interests do you have that you never had time to explore? What value can you create for the world? What can you build that will be best positioned for a sustainable future?

Only the creative will survive this economic mess. What are you waiting for? Start creating.

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Looking for End of the Year Reading? Check Out These Fav Bloggers

If you're looking for excellent Year in Review analysis or thoughts about 2009, check out these posts by some of the web's best bloggers.

Here's to a happy, productive, and propserous New Year!



Howard Lindzon

Fred Wilson

Upside Trader

Roger Ehrenberg

Brad Feld

Guy Kawasaki

Nathaniel Whittemore (from change.org)

Paul Kedrosky

Beth Kanter

Global Entrepreneurship Week: Unleashing Ideas

I'm reblogging a post from Nathaniel Whittemore, the founding Director of the Center for Global Engagement at Northwestern University. Cool stuff.

This week is the first Global Entrepreneurship Week, a celebration of creativity, innovation, and inspiration designed to connect young people around the world and spark fires of entrepreneurship to solve big problems and create new opportunities.

Launched by Make Your Mark and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurs, the week brings together literally thousands of organizations holding events around the world. In the United Kingdom, for example, more than 600 partner organizations are hosting more than 3,000 activities.

The week is particularly focused on introducing the Millennial generation to the idea of entrepreneurship and enterprise. For example, events held yesterday included:

• a debate called "In the Current Economic Climate, Can Entrepreneurs Change the World," as a part of ChainReaction,
• a video conference about entrepreneurship and the Millennium Development Goals between Ghanian university students and California Polytech State University,
• a debate about entrepreneurship and the local environment in Porto Alegre in Brazil

I'll be posting videos and commentary all week. You can follow along here or check out some of the main sites aggregating content from around the world:

• Unleashingideas.org - the main site for Global Entrepreneurship Week, where you can see the full variety of activities happening around the world
• the Kauffman Foundation's page for GEW, which includes "Daily Dispatches" with some of the most interesting happenings
• the official Youtube Channel

Reblogged from socialentrepreneurship.change.org

Go to the original source: social entrepreneurship

More on Global Entrepreneurship Week here and here.

And a blog from Singapore: Connect the Dots

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