Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

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Jumo Picks Up Where Facebook’s “Causes” Left Off

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Jumo.com wants to “do what Yelp did for restaurants.” But do people want to connect with nonprofits as badly as they want to eat tasty food?

  • Chris Hughes, one of Facebook’s founding fathers (and if you watch the movie, they’re alllll fathers), has started a new kind of social networking site all about connecting people to the issues they care about.
  • Jumo indexes charities, projects, and causes to help users learn about them. It also gives charities big and small easier access to potential supporters.
  • Users sign up with their Facebook account, so sharing donation announcements and favorite causes/ organizations with friends is easy. The site also has some familiar Facebooky features – users can share and comment on pages, and see which organizations their friends like.

Facts & Figures

  • Hughes was the Chief Digital Organizer for Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008
  • Only 9% of the $300 billion in donations in 2009 were submitted online
  • Jumo launched with over 3,000 issues and organizations on the site

Best Quote

“It’s still not clear whether or not followers translate to volunteers and donors. But people that are more engaged with nonprofits are most likely to become a donor or support them in another way.” – Steve MacLaughlin, Director of Internet Solutions at BlackBaud, a tech consultancy serving nonprofits

Monsters of Entrepreneurship: Peter Thomas Talks About Giving Back at the Student Entrepreneur Awards

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

We found Peter Thomas hanging around at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards while we were at the New York Stock Exchange this October. He’s been supporting young people with big ideas for almost a quarter century, and he was happy to take a minute to tell us about the hows and whys of giving back.

Watch the oh-ficial GSEA 2010 recap video here. To see all our GSEA interviews, click here.

They Wanted The World To Change, So They Did It Themselves

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

Ever been frustrated by how slow things are to change, when people are suffering right now? If you’re anything like the latest crop of social entrepreneurs, you may be able to turn your frustration into something much more meaningful.

  • Today’s social entrepreneurs are taking on the world’s problems a bit at a time. Their successes show that it’s not necessarily the biggest, wealthiest organizations who make the small incremental changes that matter.
  • These individuals tend to identify specific problems and then do whatever they can to meet the need. One invented microfinance. Another is focused on making menstrual supplies available where a woman’s period causes her to miss school and work. And another pressures U.S. companies to stop buying from African warlords, effectively funding terrorism and horrific violence directed at women in Congo.
  • They’re often naive at the beginning, expecting too much and consulting with local people too little. And success is never assured. But the rewards are real – both for entrepreneurs and the relatively small number of people whose lives they are changing.

Facts & Figures

  • DoSomething.org provided $100,000 to help 23-year-old Maggie Doyne build a school in Nepal.
  • Lisa Shannon carried 45,000 pennies to Intel’s headquarters, offering to pay the extra penny it would cost Intel to source their materials outside of Congo and avoid 45,000 more violent deaths at the hands of warlords.
  • $300 sends a Nepalese child to Maggie Doyne’s school, with health and dental care included.

Best Quote

“If your own children were born orphans in Nepal, you wouldn’t wait for the U.N. or the government to do something about it while they were hungry and cold and breaking rocks by the side of a riverbed.” – Maggie Doyne

Paying For A Single Year Of College: Waste Or Investment?

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Dropping out of college after only one year does more than anger parents. Some people are saying it’s a waste of taxpayer money, too.

  • A new study shows that between 2003 and 2008, states distributed about $6.2 billion to help a very special group of students pay for school. This group is made up of students who dropped out after one year.
  • Critics and regulators are generally of two opinions about this apparent waste of public education funding: one group says it shows that colleges are not doing enough to retain its students. Others say this problem makes it clear that too many students are being encouraged to attend four-year colleges.
  • There are two approaches as well: Ohio has started basing its funding decisions on how many students graduate from a university – not how many enroll. But the Obama administration and certain private funders have been focusing more on helping students get through life without a college degree.

Facts & Figures

  • In addition to the $6.2 billion states spent on higher education for dropouts from 2003-2008, federal and state governments spent almost $3 billion on grants for these students.
  • These figures represent 2-8% of states’ total higher education spending.

Best Quote

“We recognize an institution is not going to be perfect on graduation and completion rates. But at the same time, we know they can do better than they’re doing. And if you place the financial rewards around completion, then you will motivate that.” – Eric Fingerhut, Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents

Development Goals In Africa May Not Be Met By Deadline

Monday, September 20th, 2010

The U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals were created to fight poverty and stimulate economies in Africa between 2000-2015, but whether the project will be a success remains to be seen.

  • Several new reports are suggesting that U.N. Millennium Development Goals will not be met by their deadline unless leaders of both developing and developed nations step up their involvement and investment.
  • The goals for Sub-Saharan Africa, which were agreed upon by 190 countries in the U.N. in 2000, include reducing poverty, hunger, disease, and early deaths by a certain percentage by 2015.
  • There are many reasons why the initiative is in danger of failing: Donors have failed to fulfill their pledges, some African leaders have been uncooperative, and many African governments have failed to increase health spending to the mandated 15% of their gross domestic product.

Facts & Figures

  • The death rate for mothers has barely shifted since 2000.
  • The total number of people living in poverty has grown to more than 400 million.
  • The U.S. has pledged an additional $63 billion to improve healthcare in target countries, $3.5 billion for agricultural initiatives, and $30 billion to help countries prepare for global warming.

Best Quote

“Unless an urgent rescue package is developed to accelerate fulfillment of all the MDGs, we are likely to witness the greatest collective failure in history.” – Oxfam

Public School Advocate Wendy Nadel on Following Your Passion

Monday, August 30th, 2010

wendy-nadel.jpg Wendy Nadel is the Executive Director of Yonkers Partners in Education, a non-profit dedicated to supporting access to and success in education for all Yonkers students and their families. She’s not new at working for the greater good; 25 years ago Wendy founded Volunteer Emory while she was a student at Emory University. She’s worked for the March of Dimes, run her own non-profit consulting firm, performed research on child poverty for Save the Children, and currently serves as a member of the Emory University Alumni Board and the Volunteer Center of the United Way. Sounds like she knows a thing or two about following your heart…

TILE: How did you end up where you are today?
Wendy: I became passionate about serving the world when I was in college and made the decision as a sophomore that I wanted to spend my career in the not-for-profit sector. Twenty-eight years later, I’m still here!

TILE: How does what you do affect the world at large? Why should I care about what you do?
Wendy: My organization, Yonkers Partners in Education, provides opportunities to low-income, inner city students that even the playing field so that they can achieve their dreams. Many kids who live in poverty don’t realize that there is a wide world out there for them, and we help them to navigate the road to a better life.

TILE: What is your favorite thing about working with a nonprofit?
Wendy: Our work makes a difference and helps to transform lives. Doesn’t get much better then that!

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Wendy: Stick with a dream, even if it’s not totally clear how to achieve it. Often kids think they need to have it all figured out in college. I never had anything figured out but let my passion guide my career and it worked out beautifully.

TILE: How did you get into the work you are doing today?
Wendy: The great part about the last question is that one thing led to another. Through work I was doing for Save the Children Federation, I became passionate about education as a way out of poverty. I was approached by a head-hunter when this position became available and went for it and got the job.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

Freedom Schools Try A New Approach To Literacy: Fun

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

A summer literacy program with a “let’s pull together” philosophy is engaging kids across the country.

  • From 8am – 3pm every day, 200 kids in Los Angeles are attending an unconventional six-week course in learning to love the written word. These so-called Freedom Schools are based on programs from the 1960s which attempted to address the educational achievment gap between white and African-American students.
  • Students read several books each week, and studies have shown the program to improve reading ability for second through fifth-graders. In addition to reading lessons, students are also taught critical thinking, healthy eating habits, creative arts, and social skills. The schools serve food, lead field trips, and require parent involvement.
  • Despite its unconventional approach, the program’s emphasis on literacy has caught the attention of politicians like Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose office contributed $150,000 to fund five new Freedom Schools in LA.

Facts & Figures

  • Children’s Defense Fund, a child advocacy non-profit, has been creating Freedom Schools around the country since 1995.
  • Nationwide, there are 9,600 children participating in the program this summer.
  • Expenditures for each Freedom School site amount to about $60,000 for the six-week duration.

Best Quote

“It’s different than real school; you’re doing work but at the same time you’re having fun. The best part is, we can just be free here.” – Jaylen Chairez, 8 years old

Jonah Edelman Stands Up for Education

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

jonah-edelman.jpg Jonah Edelman is the Chief Executive Officer of Stand for Children. His job is to work with the experts to identify the best opportunities to create better lives for children, and then guide organizations and volunteers in taking advantage of those opportunities. Stand for Children was chosen as a TILE charity because we believe in the quality of their work and their commitment to a better future. Jonah was kind enough to give us an insider perspective from within a major organization working to fight inequality and improve the education system across the country.

TILE: What’s the most pressing issue facing our education system today?
Jonah: The toughest issue facing us is the incredibly low percentage of kids graduating from high school who are ready to go on to college. This is a critical piece to the cycle of education, careers, and earning potential. Today, all the kids who aren’t ready for college and who don’t even graduate from high school face a steep uphill battle to succeed in life.

TILE: How did this happen?
Jonah: There are a combination of factors that have led us to this point: teachers who aren’t effective in the classroom, lack of funding for schools, no common standards for student achievement and teacher evaluations, and more. Every state in the country faces a different set of challenges. Unfortunately, when we stay satisfied with the status quo, we let down our children who deserve much more.

TILE: What is Stand’s primary strategy for addressing this issue?
Jonah: At Stand, we teach parents, teachers, and other concerned people how to support their kids and their local schools. We provide them with tools and show them how to lead their communities to a better place. We also work from the top down by helping pass new laws at the state level that will support the efforts of schools and districts to do more for all kids. The solution will come fastest when everyone is on the same page, working to help kids succeed.

TILE: How do you think young people (in public or private schools) can be most effective in being a part of the solution?
Jonah: Part of what Stand does is show adults how to give voice to children, who can’t vote to effect change to the educational system until they’re 18. Children can be a part of the solution by talking with their parents, grandparents, teachers, and school administrators, telling them about what is working, what doesn’t work, and what they need to succeed. Kids can write letters to the editor or their state representative to share their opinions!

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Jonah: I’d tell my teenage self to focus more on learning for learning’s sake and not just to do well in school – to learn what I’m interested in and passionate about and not just what’s assigned!

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

Cousteau & Co. Dive To Draw Attention To Waterways

Monday, June 14th, 2010
Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the famous Jacques, hopes to improve New York waterways with his nonprofit and a public school partnership.

  • Plant a Fish, Mr. Cousteau’s new nonprofit, focuses on ocean restoration around the world. Its first project:  The Hudson River.
  • Cousteau is working with students from the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a public city high school in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to plant thousands of oysters near Bay Ridge on Monday, June 14th.
  • The Harbor School offers its students scuba diving lessons and constructs its curriculum around New York’s waterways. The school will relocate to Governors Island this fall.

Facts & Figures

  • On Monday, June 14th, Mr. Cousteau and The Harbor School expect to plant 130,000 oysters.
  • Future Plant a Fish projects include planting one million corals in the Maldives and Florida Keys and one billion sea turtles in the mangroves of El Salvador.
  • The estimated cost per program ranges from $15,000 to $65,000

Best Quote
“We need to see our natural world as a bank account where we have to live on the interest rather than eating away at the capital.  Plant a Fish is one of the ways that we can start restoring that capital.”  – Fabien Cousteau, Founder, Plant A Fish

Discount Philanthropy Doubles Your Donation

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Deal-of-the-day website Groupon.com makes good by making deals to donate.

  • Groupon, a website which offers no-strings-attached regional discounts on everything from restaurants to salons to cleaning services, has partnered with DonorsChoose.org to offer Groupon users half priced donations.
  • DonorsChoose.org allows public school teachers to describe materials they need or projects they’d like to do, and donors choose to support the ones they like.
  • The way it works is The Pershing Square Foundation matches what each Groupon donor contributes, making a $50 contribution worth $100.
  • DonorsChoose hopes to raise $1 million via the partnership with Groupon.

Best Quote

“I hope that what we’re doing with Groupon will show people that somebody who only has $10 to spare will be a philanthropist.” – Charles Best, Founder of DonorsChoose.org.

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