Riches For Good

2009 Riches For Good Award Winners

2009-11-10T21:55:00.005-07:00

As we go into the 2009 holiday giving season, I am highlighting and funding four organizations that I believe are well aligned with my career mission to “Improve the lives of underserved populations through sustainable distribution of products and services related to 1) health, 2) education and training, 3) financial services, 4) food, clothing, and shelter.”

Health: Living Goods

Education and Training: Room to Read

Financial Services: Unitus

Food, Clothing, and Shelter: One Acre Fund

I have funded Room to Read and Unitus in the past, and I continue to be impressed with both organizations’ ability to scale their programs to reach more people in the developing world. Living Goods and One Acre Fund are both startups whom I have not funded previously, but I’m impressed with their management teams, strategies, early results, and their commitment to financial sustainability within three to five years.

Below is a brief description of each organization listed above. Italics denote that the content was pulled verbatim from the organization’s web site:

Living Goods

Living Goods operates Avon-like networks of door-to-door Health Promoters who make a modest income selling essential health products at prices affordable to the poor. The model combines the latest and best practices from the fields of micro finance and public health to create a truly sustainable system for improving access to basic health products and defeating the diseases of poverty. Living Goods is also a vital force of economic development, improving livelihoods by providing rural women a reliable source of income as Health Promoters, by keeping wage earners healthy and productive, and by averting costly medical treatments through prevention. Living Goods has a goal to become financially self-sufficient within five years.

Room to Read

We partner with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children's literature, constructing schools, and providing education to girls. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries and future generations. Through the opportunities that only education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time. Since 2000, Room to Read has touched the lives of 3.1 million children by building 832 schools, establishing 7526 libraries, publishing 334 children’s books, and providing scholarships to 8786 girls who otherwise would be unable to attend primary and secondary school.

Unitus

Unitus, an international nonprofit organization, fights global poverty by accelerating the growth of microfinance—small loans and other financial tools for self-empowerment—where it is needed most. Unitus works with 23 microfinance partners in India, Southeast Asia, East Africa, South America, and Mexico. These MFIs are growing 7 times faster than their peers, demonstrating the strength of their leadership and the promise of our approach. In just 8 years, we’ve helped our partners serve more than 9 million families.

One Acre Fund

Our mission is to empower chronically hungry farm families in East Africa to permanently lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. Our strategy is to provide a comprehensive investment package of high-quality seed and fertilizer, education courses, and access to output markets. Our method is to work through women’s self-help groups in rural villages to deliberately reach the most severely hunger-affected. Our measurable impact is fewer child deaths, lower child stunting rates, dramatically increased farm incomes, and permanent empowerment of the needy. One Acre Fund gets extra points in my book for attracting Room to Read founder John Wood onto its board. The organization has a goal to reach financial sustainability within three years.

Congratulations to the 2009 Riches For Good Award winners!

Where Does Idealism Fit Into My Busy Life?

2009-11-03T23:42:00.006-07:00

Ever since my wife completed her medical training in mid-2009, I have been able to spend significantly more time with her, and consequently, I have had much less time to devote to Riches For Good (both the blog and the concept). This time shortage has been compounded since the birth of my first son, Grant, in August. During the last couple months, I have spent considerable time contemplating how to incorporate my idealism into my increasingly busy life, an issue I’m guessing that many readers of this blog also face...

To direct me in my efforts, and to ensure that I’m spending time on the things that truly matter most to me, I created a vision statement for each of my four main responsibilities in life: 1) Family, 2) Career, 3) Community, and 4) Personal. Below are my vision statements, which I expect to endure well beyond my lifetime:

Family: Families can be together forever.

Career: A world in which all people can provide for life’s necessities.

Community: The world is my extended family.

Personal: As sons and daughters of God, all humans have the potential to become like Him

Based off of each vision statement, I created 50 year mission statements, 30 year long-term goals, 3-5 year mid-term goals, quarterly short-term goals, and weekly immediate goals. I also intend to review the list daily to make sure I’m doing the most important things each day. “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” (Annie Dillard)

I’m happy to discuss these various facets of my life in response to queries, but for now I’ll write about career, since that’s where I decided most of my Riches For Good efforts fall:

Career Mission: Improve the lives of underserved populations through sustainable distribution of products and services related to 1) health, 2) education and training, 3) financial services, 4) food, clothing, and shelter.

30 Year Goal: Touch the lives of at least 1 million people in Asia, Latin America, Africa, or Eastern Europe.

3-5 Year Goal: Become a business manager for a Medtronic business unit in China, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, or Eastern Europe.

Quarterly, Weekly, and Daily: goals are always being updated based off my current role as an International Market Development Specialist with Medtronic.

This updated vision and mission builds on a previous post from nearly two years ago.

International Social Business Program Rankings

2009-08-23T09:28:00.008-06:00

Below is my ranking of international social business programs. I started with the US News MBA rankings for top International, Marketing, Nonprofit, and Entrepreneurship programs. The top rated program in each field got 10 points, the 2nd ranked got 9 points, etc. Additionally, programs got 10 bonus points for each discipline in which they received a top 10 ranking. The results are below:

School	Int'l Rank	Mktg Rank	Non- profit Rank	Ent Rank	Int'l Soc Ent Rank
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)	3	2	7	4	1
Stanford University	-	4	2	2	2
University of California--Berkeley (Haas)	10	9	3	7	3
Duke University (Fuqua)	6	3	6	-	4
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross)	4	6	5	-	5
Harvard University	8	5	-	3	6
Columbia University	5	8	8	-	7
Northwestern University (Kellogg)	-	1	4	-	8
University of Southern California (Marshall)	9	-	-	6	9
New York University (Stern)	7	-	9	-	10
University of Texas--Austin (McCombs)	-	10	-	9	11
Thunderbird School of Global Management	1	-	-	-	12
Babson College (Olin)	-	-	-	1	13
Yale University	-	-	1	-	14
University of South Carolina (Moore)	2	-	-	-	15
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)	-	-	-	5	16
University of Chicago (Booth)	-	7	-	-	17
Indiana University--Bloomington (Kelley)	-	-	-	8	18
University of Arizona (Eller)	-	-	-	10	19

Adoption - Introducing Grant Gunderson

2009-08-22T16:49:00.005-06:00

Grant Gunderson - pictured at 6 days old

Grant Gunderson was placed for adoption with me and my wife on Friday, August 14, 2009. The adoption process has been one of many reasons why I have not been able to devote a great deal of time to Riches For Good in recent months. Although this is a diversion from topics related to global poverty, I thought I'd take a moment to share my joy with everyone.

I certainly view adopting Grant as a way of spending my riches for good. And indeed, it cost a small fortune to adopt him, though the price was more reasonable through LDS Family Services than through many other adoption agencies. Birth mothers need not be LDS (otherwise known as Mormon) to place a child through LDS Family Services, but adoptive couples must be LDS to adopt through the agency. To help others who may not be LDS learn more about adoption, foster care, and orphans, I'm listing several top-rated charities listed on Charity Navigator:

JAFCO Children's Foundation: Jewish adoption and foster care

Coptic Orphans: Christian organization working with orphaned children in Egypt

All God's Children: dedicated to the orphaned and disadvantaged children of Honduras

Love Without Boundaries: changing the lives of orphaned and impoverished children in China

Half the Sky Foundation: nurturing care for China's orphaned children

Place of Hope: faith-based adoption, foster care, and child welfare

VisionTrust International: orphaned and neglected children in Latin America and Asia

Kids Alive International: rescuing orphans and vulnerable children

Orphanage Outreach: providing opportunities to orphaned, abandoned, and disadvantaged children

Children of the Nations: provides holistic, Christ-centered care for orphaned and destitute children

Kidsave: working to move older children out of orphanages and foster care and into permanent, loving families

Smoky Mountain Children's Home: foster care, adoption, etc.

Mission Without Borders - USA: working with abandoned/orphaned children

Children's Shelter of Cebu: care for Filipino children until adopted or reunited with their parents

Shaohannah's Hope: helping Christian families reduce the financial barrier to adoption

English as an Official Language

2009-07-04T08:36:00.006-06:00

When I went to Zambia last October, I was surprised that almost everyone there speaks English, including most of the poor rural farmers I met. It was obvious to me that although I lived in Thailand for two years as a missionary during the 1990s and gained a proficiency in the Thai language, I was able to communicate more easily in Zambia from day one since English is my native language. It opened up the idea that it may be easier for me to do business in an African country (or start a social enterprise there) than I had previously anticipated.

To open others' eyes, I'm listing all countries or territories where English is an official language, ranked by population. Note that although English is the predominant language in both the United States and Australia, apparently neither country has an official language. Click here to see a map of English speaking countries.

Population Rank / Country / Population
1 India 1,143,540,000
2 Pakistan 165,449,000
3 Bangladesh 161,300,000
4 Nigeria 148,093,000
5 Philippines 90,457,200
6 United Kingdom 61,612,300
7 South Africa 47,850,700
8 Tanzania 40,454,000
9 Sudan 38,560,000
10 Kenya 37,538,000
11 Canada 33,531,000
12 Uganda 30,884,000
13 Ghana 23,478,000
14 Madagascar 19,683,000
15 Cameroon 18,549,000
16 Malawi 13,925,000
17 Zimbabwe 13,349,000
18 Zambia 11,922,000
19 Rwanda 9,725,000
20 Hong Kong 6,985,200
21 Papua New Guinea 6,331,000
22 Sierra Leone 5,866,000
23 Singapore 4,839,400
24 Ireland 4,517,800
25 New Zealand 4,294,350
26 Puerto Rico 3,991,000
27 Liberia 3,750,000
28 Jamaica 2,714,000
29 Namibia 2,074,000
30 Lesotho 2,008,000
31 Botswana 1,882,000
32 The Gambia 1,709,000
33 Trinidad and Tobago 1,333,000
34 Mauritius 1,262,000
35 Swaziland 1,141,000
36 Fiji 827,900
37 Guyana 738,000
38 Solomon Islands 506,992
39 Malta 412,600
40 The Bahamas 331,000
41 Barbados 294,000
42 Belize 288,000
43 Vanuatu 226,000
44 Samoa 188,359
45 Guam 173,000
46 Saint Lucia 165,000
47 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 120,000
48 Micronesia 111,000
49 U.S. Virgin Islands 111,000
50 Grenada 106,000
51 Tonga 100,000
52 Kiribati 95,000
53 Jersey 89,300
54 Seychelles 87,000
55 Antigua and Barbuda 85,000
56 Northern Mariana Islands 84,000
57 Isle of Man 80,058
58 Dominica 67,000
59 American Samoa 67,000
60 Bermuda 65,000
61 Guernsey 61,811
62 Marshall Islands 59,000
63 Saint Kitts and Nevis 50,000
64 Cayman Islands 47,000
65 Gibraltar 29,257
66 Turks and Caicos Islands 26,000
67 British Virgin Islands 23,000
68 Cook Islands 20,200
69 Palau 20,000
70 Anguilla 13,000
71 Tuvalu 11,000
72 Nauru 10,000
73 Saint Helena 6,600
74 Montserrat 5,900
75 Falkland Islands 3,000
76 Norfolk Island 1,828
77 Niue 1,600
78 Christmas Island 1,508
79 Tokelau 1,400
80 Pitcairn Islands 50

Below is a summary of African and Asian countries in the top 20:

Africa: Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Madagascar, Cameroon, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Rwanda

Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Hong Kong

Small Things Lead to Great Things

2009-05-26T18:10:00.003-06:00

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." -- Doctrine & Covenants 64:33

I at times get bogged down in my efforts to do good, feeling that things aren't moving quickly enough. However, I believe I am doing a number of small things that are providing some value today while setting a foundation for greater things to come. Reading the above passage today was a good reminder to keep things in perspective.

Without a Cell Phone I Am Nothing

2009-05-10T18:28:00.002-06:00

When I first heard people in the economic development space talk of rolling out mobile phone networks to serve even those making less than $1 a day, I thought they were promoting a consumerism culture that would hurt the poor more than help them. I thought cell phones were a luxury good since even I had only recently started using one regularly.

After traveling to Zambia last October, my perception is much different. I met Nell, a woman who buys tomatoes from farmers and resells them at the market for a profit. When I saw that she had the same model of $20 cell phone that I purchased when I arrived in the country (since my BlackBerry wouldn’t work on the local phone system), I asked her why she uses a cell phone. She shook it in front of my face and said, “Without this I am nothing.” She went on to explain that since she travels miles into the countryside and transportation is very expensive, it is much more convenient and economical for her to call farmers prior to making a trip to their farms.

Basically, Nell uses a cell phone for the same reasons I use a phone: productivity and convenience. The difference is that when I got my first cell phone, I already hand a land line and a vehicle. So even though my first cell phone was largely a luxury, I would go so far as to call Nell’s cell phone is a necessity for her, enabling her to increase her income and raise her quality of life.

A key takeaway for me from this experience is to not rush to judgment before fully understanding the context. And in order to understand the context, it is important to get out and do field research.

Universal (But Unequal) Healthcare in Brazil

2009-05-10T17:25:00.003-06:00

I recently traveled to Brazil for a medical conference, and according to the surgeons and businesspeople with whom I spoke during the trip, healthcare coverage is something that is available to every Brazilian via the public hospital system. However, that doesn’t mean that all people receive equal healthcare treatment. Of Brazil’s approximately 200 million residents, perhaps 20% of them, or 40 million, have private insurance that offers reasonable coverage. Among the ~40 million insured by the private sector, plans vary widely in what is covered. There’s definitely a “bargain” option that covers less, while premium offerings can provide state of the art care at top facilities such as Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, which I’m told is on par with other top hospitals in the world. Out of a sense of duty to serve mainstream Brazilians, as well as out of a desire to feel challenged, most surgeons in Brazil work at both a private and a public hospital.

There is much talk about universal healthcare in the United States these days. I am by no means trying to hold up Brazil as the model for healthcare in the US. But as a country with a per capita GDP of $10,300 vs. the United States’ $48,000, Brazil shows that some degree of universal healthcare can be offered to all citizens, even of relatively poor countries. In per capita GDP terms, Brazil ranks 103 out of 238 countries in the world.

Book Review: The Blue Sweater

2009-04-05T15:10:00.008-06:00

Many people dream of doing something great in retirement. Not Jacqueline Novogratz. Perhaps I’m way off base here, but after reading her first installment of memoirs in The Blue Sweater, I’m not convinced she dreams of retirement at all. And if she did, it would be hard for me to imagine her pursuing anything with greater purpose than what she has already been working on during the first chapter of her life.

With the exception of a brief jaunt into her childhood to introduce her favorite blue sweater after which the book was named, Novogratz begins the book interviewing for an international banking job with Chase Manhattan Bank, which she landed straight out of college. Her goal was to change the world, and she hoped that traveling the world and gaining international business experience in this new role would be a strong foundation.

After just a few years, Novogratz’s international banking job led to positions with the African Development Bank and UNICEF, working in Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Rwanda. Novogratz was generally met with skepticism from locals, who knew the languages and the culture far better than she, and who were also several years her senior. She was even threatened or intimidated on at least a few occasions. But despite the cards being stacked against her, she helped Rwandan women to start a microfinance organization and a bakery, and she gained plenty of real-world experience working with women in poverty. And somehow, these wins overshadowed the frustrations and allowed her to continue on toward her lifelong goal to change the world.

Novogratz was accepted into the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she earned her MBA and grew her network. On the advice of John Gardner, an esteemed professor and mentor of hers at Stanford, she accepted a fellowship with the Rockefeller Foundation rather than moving to Czechoslovakia to work on a fund that would build small enterprises there. Since she knew her life’s goals were all focused internationally, it did not make sense to her that she should live and work in the United States. But John told her to “focus on being more interested than interesting” and to put new and different tools in her toolbox.

After her one year fellowship, she decided she would leave philanthropy and to start a for-profit business that employed low-income people. She told Rockefeller Foundation president Peter Goldmark that philanthropy was too frustrating a sector because of its lack of accountability. Goldmark convinced her to stay on at Rockefeller and to figure out how to bring greater accountability to the philanthropic sector. Novogratz started the Philanthropy Workshop at the Rockefeller Foundation, with a goal to train a corps of philanthropists, providing them with networks, knowledge, and skills necessary to tackle the world’s problems.

The Rwandan genocide of the mid 1990s had a profound impact on Novogratz, especially given her experience there during the 1980s. She returned to Rwanda on several occasions “in an effort to understand what happened there.” She devotes a significant portion of the middle of her book to her follow up travels to Rwanda and the stories of despair and hope that came from the genocide. In fact, The Blue Sweater was a 10-year project kicked off by her writings following the genocide.

In 1999, Novogratz reached a crossroads. Down one road, she had an offer from a major financial institution to lead a philanthropy program for clients with net worths over $100 million. Novogratz’s salary would have been seven times what she was making at the Rockefeller foundation. Down the other road, Novogratz had been kicking around ideas of starting a non-profit venture fund that would invest in entrepreneurs who could lead sustainable organizations that help millions of the world’s poor. She turned down the lucrative offer and instead chose to pursue her passion. With $5 million in funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and $2 million from the Cisco Foundation, she started the Acumen Fund, which gained status from the IRS as a nonprofit public charity in 2001. Through 2009, the Acumen Fund had invested more than $40 million in 40 enterprises serving the poor.

To college students and newly minted MBAs who wish to do meaningful work serving the world, she gives the advice to gain skills in marketing, design, distribution, finance, medicine, law, education, and engineering. She says they can make a difference by working for NGOs, progressive corporations, or governments. I believe Novogratz would also agree with recent advice from Barack Obama: "Better to jump in, get involved -- and it does mean that sometimes you'll get criticized and sometimes you'll fail and sometimes you'll be disappointed -- but you'll have a great adventure. And at the end of your life, hopefully you'll be able to look back and say, 'I made a difference.'" Novogratz followed this counsel long before it was given, for which she has sometimes been criticized and has sometimes been disappointed, but she has also most certainly made a difference.

I recommend The Blue Sweater for anyone with an interest in social entrepreneurship or Africa, anyone hoping to do something great, anyone looking for accountability in philanthropy, or anyone who has considered making a social investment (aka donation) to Acumen Fund.

6 International SME Financing Organizations

2009-02-25T20:39:00.015-07:00

It seems the whole world is familiar with microfinance these days, and that's a good thing in my book. A lesser known concept, however, is small and medium enterprise (SME) financing, which involves loans to businesses rather than to individuals. In the context of SME financing for the developing world, businesses that receive loans focus on creating jobs in the developing world and/or providing goods and services that benefit people in the developing world. Loan sizes are much larger than microfinance loans, but each loan has the potential of reaching hundreds or thousands of people rather than one individual or one small group of entrepreneurs.

Below are descriptions of 6 organizations involved in SME financing in the developing world, listed in alphabetical order. Passages in italics were taken verbatim from the organizations' web sites.

Aavishkaar is a venture fund founded to promote development in rural and semi-urban India. The firm provides micro-equity funding, approximately USD $20 thousand to USD $500 thousand and operational and strategic support to commercially viable companies increasing income in or providing goods and services to rural or semi-urban India.

Acumen Fund is a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. We seek to prove that small amounts of philanthropic capital, combined with large doses of business acumen, can build thriving enterprises that serve vast numbers of the poor. Our investments focus on delivering affordable, critical goods and services – like health, water, housing and energy – through innovative, market-oriented approaches. Acumen Fund has received recognition from major media outlets throughout the world, and their portfolio includes investments in India, Kenya, Pakistan, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They earned Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award and Charity Navigator's coveted 4-Star Rating.

Agora Partnerships fights poverty and inequality by unleashing the potential of developing world entrepreneurs to improve their communities. Agora Partnerships' mission is to give developing world entrepreneurs the management tools, networks and ﬁnancing needed to launch successful, socially-responsible companies. We work to ﬁnd great entrepreneurs and give them practical, hands-on help and the opportunity to obtain equity ﬁnancing from an investment fund specifically designed for them. We are mobilizing networks to encourage and support entrepreneurs on the front lines of development. Agora currently operates in Nicaragua. Agora founder Ben Powell is a Draper Richards Foundation Fellow.

E+Co makes clean energy investments in developing countries. With 15 years of experience and offices in 10 locations, E+Co's innovative business model provides lasting solutions to climate change and poverty. E+Co has offices in Bolivia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, The Netherlands and the United States.

The Grassroots Business Fund creates bottom-line solutions to poverty by helping grassroots organizations become catalysts for economic growth and social change. GBF delivers a unique blend of financing and technical assistance that helps our clients create scalable businesses, achieve sustainability, and attract socially-minded investors. Our for-profit investment fund, Grassroots Business Investors (GBI), provides grassroots organizations with access to capital that is tailored to meet their needs. Our non-profit capacity building arm, Grassroots Business Partners (GBP), works directly with grassroots organizations, providing grant-funded technical assistance to help them acquire the business discipline, knowledge and skills they need to scale up and succeed. GBF was established through the restructuring of IFC's Grassroots Business Initiative. The fund focuses primarily on Africa and South Asia.

Root Capital is a nonprofit social investment fund that is pioneering finance for grassroots businesses in the developing world. We work with artisan and farmer associations that build sustainable livelihoods and transform rural economies in poor, environmentally vulnerable places. Root Capital provides loans in 15 countries in Latin America, 10 countries in Africa, and 5 countries in Asia. The organization has received numerous accolades, including Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award and Charity Navigator's coveted 4-Star Rating.

The IDEO for Social Enterprise

2009-02-25T19:36:00.008-07:00

I had the pleasure on February 12 of attending a presentation by Tim Prestero, founder and CEO of non-profit design firm Design That Matters. The event was hosted at Colorado State University by Paul Hudnut, who also blogged about the event. Below are a few thoughts, ideas, and quotes I enjoyed from Tim's presentation:

"We're the IDEO for Social Enterprise."
"Doing good is no reason to run a bad business."
What does the situation look like without the solution you're proposing?
What does the standard of care look like where money is no object? What does it look like where money is an object?
Fail as fast as possible.
Who will 1) choose, 2) use, and 3) pay the dues?
Altruism can get someone to do something once; but it doesn't last.
"It turns out most of our ideas are terrible. We just have a lot of them."

Endeavor: High Impact Entrepreneurs

2009-01-19T23:01:00.002-07:00

Since traveling to Zambia last October, I've spent a lot of time thinking about where I can make the greatest impact in the fight against global poverty. I currently believe the best way I can invest my time is to help entrepreneurs in the developing world to create and grow successful businesses that generate wealth and jobs. Non-profit Endeavor Global does a better job of finding and mentoring high impact entrepreneurs in the developing world than any other organization I'm aware of today.

I'm not in bad company in making this assertion. Tom Friedman, in an updated version of his bestselling book The World Is Flat, boldly called Endeavor's model "the best anti-poverty program of all." And US News & World Report recently named Endeavor founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg one of America's Best Leaders. Additionally, Endeavor has won Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award and Charity Navigator's 4-Star Ranking.

Below are a few additional bits of key information about Endeavor, as found on its website:

Mission Statement

Endeavor transforms the economies of emerging markets by identifying and supporting high-impact entrepreneurs.

Metrics

Financial Capital: 86,291 high value jobs created by Endeavor Entrepreneurs

Human Capital: 17,301 candidates received professional feedback from Endeavor

Social Capital: 4,247 weeks spent by MBAs and corporate fellows consulting Endeavor Entrepreneurs

Intellectual Capital: 708 patents or patents pending by Endeavor Entrepreneurs

Cultural Capital: 2.2 million people received entrepreneurial content from Endeavor

Locations

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey

I'm impressed enough with Endeavor that I recently volunteered to be a VentureCorp Mentor and am adding Endeavor to my list of favorite charities. To be listed among my favorite charities, a non-profit has to earn a one-time donation of at least $500 from me, and I must be currently supporting the organization with either my time, money, or both.

10 Steps to Reach 3.8 Billion People

2009-01-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

By learning the following widely spoken languages, one could theoretically communicate with 3.8 billion of the world's 6.7 billion people, or approximately 57%:

1) Mandarin - 1120 million speakers
2) English - 510
3) Hindi - 490
4) Spanish - 425
5) Arabic - 255
6) Russian - 254
7) Portuguese - 218
8) Bengali - 215
9) Malay - 175
10) French - 130

I, of course, already speak English. Additionally, I lived in Thailand for two years during the 1990s, but at 60 million speakers Thai did not make the top 10. At one time I would have considered myself to be fluent, though after more than a decade, I would consider myself to have intermediate Thai language skills. Additionally, I took some Mandarin Chinese during college, though I've never traveled to China and have forgotten much of what I learned in college.

With my new international marketing role at work, I am working to upgrade my language skills. I recently purchased self-study language programs for both Mandarin and Spanish and have enjoyed my early progress. Additionally, I support my company's marketing efforts in all of Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, so Portuguese (Brazil and parts of Africa), Arabic (Middle East and parts of Africa), and French (parts of Africa) would all help me as I travel in my new role. I know I can't learn 5 new languages at once, but two at a time seems doable as long as only one of them is a European language. After I reach an intermediate level in both Mandarin and Spanish, I plan to add Portuguese and Arabic. I haven't yet set a goal to learn all 10 of the top languages, but it would sure be a good addition to a life list!

Best of Riches For Good 2008

2008-12-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

As 2008 comes to an end, it's worth taking a few moments to reflect on all the great things I've come across this year related to Riches For Good.

Best Book: Out of Poverty by Paul Polak

Best Advice: "Go to where the action is!" written in the front cover of my copy of Out of Poverty after I asked Paul Polak to sign it and requested his advice on how to help a million people out of poverty during my lifetime

Best Technology to Help Rural Farmers: treadle pumps

Best Opportunity to Gain Startup Experience: Blessings and Francis' ventures in Zambia (Update: they are still waiting to hear back from the Zambian government on their garage door company registration; in the meantime, I am mentoring Blessings as he runs the photo shop started by his late father)

Best Blog: NextBillion.net

Best List of "Good" Blogs: Alltop

Best Magazine: Stanford Social Innovation Review

Best Podcast: Craigslist Foundation Nonprofit Boot Camp Online

Best Conference: BYU Economic Self Reliance Conference

Best Speaker: Muhammad Yunus at a Microcredit and Social Business event in Denver in March

Best Organizations to Benchmark Against: Fast Company Social Capitalists, especially the 16 with an international focus

Best Social Entrepreneurship Fellowships: Ashoka, Echoing Green, Draper Richards Foundation, Skoll Foundation, and Acumen Fund

Best College Course: Global Social and Sustainable Entrepreneurship, taught by Paul Hudnut at Colorado State University

Best Career Opportunity: transitioning to an international marketing role at Medtronic after about eight years as a finance professional

2008 was a fantastic year for me and my family. In addition to the categories listed above, my wife and I adopted a dog, we bought our first house, my wife finished years of grueling medical training to become a pediatrician, we cruised Alaska and backpacked Olympic National Park, we had meaningful service opportunities with a number of organizations, and we spent a lot of time with extended family. We feel extremely blessed!

In 2009, the following are a few key topics I plan to learn and blog about: social capital markets, social entrepreneur networks, microfranchising, and treadle pump distributors. I am excited to grow my network and knowledge-base in 2009, so that together we can help more people throughout the world to provide for the necessities of life.

Thanks for your interest in Riches For Good. I hope you were able to navigate successfully through the turbulence of 2008 and that your 2009 will be as prosperous as my family's 2008. Happy New Year!

Riches For Good on NextBillion.net

2008-12-20T00:05:00.002-07:00

When I blogged about my Zambia trip several weeks ago, I promised I would follow up with more details. Below are links to "The Zambia Journals," which I wrote for NextBillion.net:

If I had to point a newbie in the field of social entrepreneurship to just one blog, I would point them to NextBillion.net (in fact, that's precisely what I did earlier this week). I strongly recommend the site to readers interested in Riches For Good and want to thank my friends Francisco and Rob for bringing these stories to a broader audience.

For-Profit vs. Non-Profit

2008-12-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

I attended Brigham Young University's Economic Self-Reliance Conference in November 2008. I completed my undergraduate studies in finance at BYU, my sister still lives in Provo, Utah, and the conference is a great match for my interests, so I thought I'd give it a try. I wasn't disappointed, and I'll likely attend the conference again at some future point.

Perhaps my favorite session at the two-day event was titled "The Great Debate: For-Profit versus Non-Profit. They're not the same. Is there a sweet spot?" Millionaire entrepreneur Dean Curtis and his development activist brother Lynn have different perspectives on the best way to address poverty in the developing world. Their debate, fashioned after a presidential debate, was nothing groundbreaking, but it was a helpful framework for me to organize some thoughts I have had over the last few years.

Dean started by slamming the "blind give aways" approach of traditional philanthropy, which he says is based not on need, but on the giver's desires. Although this approach makes the giver feel good, it does not actually meet the recipient's needs or wants.

Lynn countered by dogging the "profit at all costs" camp, which is good at generating income but does nothing to address the needs of the poor.

The debate continued, each time edging toward the center. On the for-profit side, the centrist approach was introduced as "social business," which pursues a triple bottom line of profit, social returns, and environmental sustainability. The moderate approach on the non-profit side was labeled as "participant-driven empowerment," which involves the recipients of charity in developing sustainable solutions to their problems.

The full spectrum, listed in order of most left-wing non-profit to most right-wing capitalist, is shown below:

1) Blind give aways: based not on need, but on giver's desires
2) Need-based material donation: once the giver gets tired, the recipient is no better off
3) Donor-driven training: provides long-term skill or knowledge, but recipient is not empowered
4) Participant-driven empowerment: most culturally sensitive non-profit approach, which involves the recipients of charity in developing sustainable solutions to their problems
5) Social business: pursues a triple bottom line of profit, social returns, and environmental sustainability
6) Socially aware business: businesses have foundations and give employees time to volunteer, but the primary motive is still profit
7) Do no harm: doing no harm is not enough if the business also does no good
8) Profit at all costs: good at generating income but does nothing to address the needs of the poor

The Curtis brothers say the sweet spot is somewhere around 4 or 5. When I first got involved in philanthropy about three years ago, I started at 1 or 2. I quickly moved to 3, but right now I'm probably at 5, and I work for a 6 corporation. Although I believe there are times in which approach 2 is necessary and even helpful in the short-term, my belief is that the only long-term approach to lifting people out of poverty falls in the 5-6 range, which is where I intend to focus the majority of my time and money in addressing global poverty.

According to Lynn, "The success of an intervention is not when they thank us for what we've done, but when they come to us and say 'Look what we've done!' "

If you'd like to learn more about the work that Lynn and Dean do together at Sustainable Solutions, click here to visit their organization's web site.

2 Week Program at Columbia Business School

2008-12-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

The folks at Columbia Business School notified me of an upcoming event that I want to pass along to other readers. See below for their announcement:

An initiative of the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, the Ariane de Rothschild Fellows Program: Dialogue & Social Entrepreneurship is a new, innovative program designed for social entrepreneurs with an interest in fostering a culture of mutual respect and dialogue among Jewish and Muslim communities.

Delivered in partnership with Columbia Business School and Cambridge University , this 2-week program blends three educational components:

- An innovative and action-driven social entrepreneurship program
- Training in cross-cultural dialogue and leadership
- Exposure to state-of-the-art scholarship

Benefits of the program

- Learn how to be a successful agent of change
- Understand the leadership role and its impact on others
- Use specific tools, frameworks and diagnostics to identify personal and organizational issues and challenges
- Gain knowledge in management, negotiations, accounting, finance, marketing, governance and other fields of business
- Learn to appreciate and apply cross-cultural dialogue
- Experience scholarship and debates across and within participants' respective communities
- Build a deep and far-reaching network

Application Criteria

Acceptance to the program is by application only. Selected Fellows will be invited to the program in New York City in July 2009, inclusive of travel, lodging and some meals. Application criteria include:

- Social entrepreneurs who have already created their organization and are engaged in the early stages of development (one to four years) and who are interested in fostering a culture of mutual respect and dialogue among Jewish and Muslim communities.
- Residence in the US , UK , and/or France , or operation of their venture from these countries.
- Social entrepreneurs who demonstrate their interest in and commitment to sustainable civic engagement. There will be no specific sector focus.

In exceptional cases we will also consider individuals with an outstanding background in social activities even if they have not created a legal entity, per se.

Please visit www.adrfellowprogram.com for detailed information on eligibility, program curriculum and application process. Please sign up to receive regular updates on this website.

New Career Direction

2008-12-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Followers of my blog may be aware that I have been a finance professional my entire career up to this point. I have long been interested in marketing, and I have supported the Sales & Marketing group at Medtronic for the last three years. I'm thrilled to announce that I recently accepted an international marketing role with Medtronic, which was formalized last Friday. The international marketing group in my division is new and dynamic, so roles aren't fully defined, but it appears that China and Latin America will be early focus areas. I took some Mandarin Chinese in college, along with courses about Chinese politics and business in undergrad and graduate school, so I am excited to put some of this knowledge to use (and to brush up on and improve my Mandarin). I also studied Spanish briefly before a trip to Costa Rica in 2007, so I'm excited to learn more Spanish and to gain experience working in Latin America. I believe this new role will not only be extremely challenging, fun, and rewarding, but I also believe it will put me in a position to help others. I'm transitioning into the role over the next few weeks and expect to hit the ground running in the new year. The role couldn't be any better -- I returned from Africa with a desire to gain international business experience, marketing experience, and to be based in Colorado. This job is the perfect combination of all three. I feel very blessed.

Field Update: Zambia Overview

2008-11-01T07:40:00.003-06:00

Ryan trying out a treadle pump

Ryan with Blessings and Francis after an activity at church

There's so much to write about my trip to Zambia that for now I'll use broad brush strokes and will fill in the detail in subsequent posts.

My Zambia trip was, first and foremost, amazing. It was my first trip to Africa, and it changed many of my perceptions about the continent. Prior to my trip, the word "Africa" conjured up images of violence, famine, corruption, disease, hopelessness, and the list goes on (see my previous post about The Fate of Africa). But after visiting Zambia, such prejudices are cleared from my mind, and I am filled with hope based on the experiences I had and the people I met.

Zambia was, unintentionally, two trips in one. The first trip was the one I intended to take: a trip to visit rural farmers within a several hour radius of Zambia's capital (Lusaka) to assess the impact of IDE's work there. My second trip was a last minute add-on: a visit to a local church, where I struck up a friendship with Blessings and Francis.

First, I'll share a few key takeaways from the IDE portion of the trip: (1) upgrading from buckets to irrigation pumps changes farmers' lives; (2) for as little as $100, farmers can purchase a basic human-powered pump such as the treadle pump pictured above; (3) lack of access to credit is a key barrier to broader adoption of pumps; and (4) pumps generally increase productivity such that farmers can pay off their pump loans within one year by selling their surplus fruits and vegetables. As a result of these takeaways, I need to figure out how to dramatically increase the availability of microcredit to rural farmers for the purchase of pumps. Any help on this matter is most welcome.

My second "trip" reinforced the need for increased access to capital in the developing world. I visited a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Lusaka on my first full day in Zambia. While there, I met Blessings and Francis, two members who share a number of things in common: both served as full-time missionaries for two years, both worked in South Africa recently since their economy is the strongest in the region, both returned to Zambia as a result of a death in the family, and both were seeking employment. I'll share details later, but in summary they had a great idea for a business, but they lacked startup capital. I am bullish on their ability to succeed, and I invested $500 to help them get started.

Lack of access to capital was a common point between my two trips within my Zambia trip. I'll follow up with more details about farmers, my new friends Blessings and Francis, and a variety of other key takeaways from my trip. Until then, click here to enjoy my Zambia photos.

India: The Place to Be (A Social Entrepreneur)

2008-10-04T13:39:00.001-06:00

Where do top international social entrepreneurs focus their efforts? India is the clear number one choice, with over 75% of the top organizations working there. I started with my list of 16 international social entrepreneurs that won Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award and looked at the countries in which each of them works. Neither TransFair nor Witness had easy-to-find information about the countries in which they work on their web sites, so I narrowed my list to 14 organizations. 12 of the 14 remaining organizations work in India. Second place was a 3-way tie among Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania, each of which have 8 high-impact social entrepreneurs working make their countries a better place.

Why is India the clear favorite for social entrepreneurs? The obvious answer is market opportunity. India has a population of 1.1 billion people, or 1/6 of the world's population. According to the CIA World Factbook, approximately 1/4 of these people, or about 300 million people, live below the nation's poverty line. GDP per capita at PPP is $2,500, or about $7 per day, which is high enough that market-based approaches to poverty alleviation can be effective. And industrial output is growing at 8.5% per year, so MNCs are eager to capitalize on growth and show good corporate citizenship in the process. So whether you're a for-profit or a non-profit, be prepared to answer the question "What's your India Strategy?"

Below is a list of countries with my own calculations of population (in millions) living below $1 per day, based off World Bank data, plus the number of Fast Company Social Capitalists working in the country. If you want to be a pioneer, you may wish to go to The Gambia, which has 0.9 million people living under $1 per day but no Social Capitalists. If, on the other hand, you'd like to enter a country that has a high number of Social Capitalists per capita, you might try South Africa, Cambodia, or any of several Latin American countries.

	Country	Population Below $1 (Millions)	# Social Capitalists
1)	India	370.3	12
2)	China	128.3	5
3)	Nigeria	97.7	3
4)	Bangladesh	62.2	2
5)	Pakistan	25.9	5
6)	Tanzania	21.7	8
7)	Ethiopia	16.8	4
8)	Indonesia	16.3	7
9)	Brazil	13.8	6
10)	Philippines	12.3	4
11)	Madagascar	11.1	2
12)	Ghana	9.9	5
13)	Kenya	7.9	8
14)	Niger	7.8	2
15)	Zimbabwe	7.3	4
16)	Mozambique	7.3	5
17)	Zambia	7.2	4
18)	Nepal	6.4	6
19)	Rwanda	5.5	4
20)	South Africa	5.0	8
21)	Haiti	4.9	4
22)	Venezuela	4.8	2
23)	Cambodia	4.7	6
24)	Burundi	4.1	2
25)	Mali	4.1	3
26)	Burkina Faso	3.7	3
27)	Yemen	3.2	1
28)	Colombia	3.1	6
29)	Sierra Leone	3.1	3
30)	Mexico	3.1	6
31)	Cameroon	3.0	3
32)	Peru	2.8	5
33)	Central African Republic	2.7	3
34)	Cote d'Ivoire	2.7	1
35)	Malawi	2.7	4
36)	Benin	2.5	3
37)	Argentina	2.5	6
38)	Nicaragua	2.4	6
39)	Turkey	2.4	2
40)	Ecuador	2.3	4
41)	Egypt	2.2	3
42)	Bolivia	2.1	4
43)	Senegal	2.0	3
44)	Guatemala	1.7	6
45)	Lao PDR	1.5	4
46)	El Salvador	1.2	5
47)	Sri Lanka	1.1	4
48)	Honduras	1.0	5
49)	Gambia	0.9	0
50)	Paraguay	0.8	4
51)	Mauritania	0.7	0
52)	Lesotho	0.7	2
53)	Namibia	0.7	2
54)	Swaziland	0.5	2
55)	Botswana	0.5	3
56)	Tajikistan	0.5	1
57)	Azerbaijan	0.3	1
58)	Georgia	0.3	2
59)	Mongolia	0.3	2
60)	Dominican Republic	0.3	4
61)	Panama	0.2	2
62)	Trinidad and Tobago	0.2	1
63)	Costa Rica	0.1	2

Acumen Fund Fellowship Applications Due 10/20

2008-09-26T15:38:00.000-06:00

For anyone who hasn't already heard, Acumen Fund's annual fellowship applications are due October 20, 2008.

Acumen is a non-profit venture fund, which makes investments that build thriving enterprises that deliver both financial social returns throughout the developing world. Acumen Fund has been recognized for its social impact with a Fast Company Social Capitalist Award, and Acumen's financial efficiency has earned it the distinction of Charity Navigator's 4-Star Rating.

Acumen Fund’s one-year fellowships begin with eight weeks of intensive leadership training in their New York City office. Fellows then spend 9 months working with one of Acumen Fund's portfolio organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, India and Pakistan. For the last month, fellows return to New York City to share experiences and lessons learned and to focus on job opportunities.

Last year when I first learned about the fellowship application deadline, I was very tempted to apply. In fact, this year I went so far as to upload my resume, start outlining my responses to the essay questions, and plan with my wife what we would do if I were to earn the coveted fellowship. However, for a variety of reasons that I won't go into on this blog, the timing isn't right for me to spend a year in Africa or Asia. However, if it could work into your life plans starting September 2009, I encourage you to apply.

16 International Social Entrepreneurs

2008-09-07T19:56:00.002-06:00

I've mentioned Fast Company's Social Capitalist Awards previously on several occasions, including a post last December titled 7 Best Bets for International Donations. The Social Capitalist Awards recognize organizations for their social impact and effectiveness. Of the 45 organizations that won the award for 2008, 16 organizations deal primarily with international issues. Those 16 organizations are listed below. Organizations that also earned Charity Navigator's 4-Star Rating for financial efficiency and strength are denoted with an asterisk(*).

Organization / Location / Focus

1) ACCION International* / Boston, MA / Microfinance

2) Acumen Fund* / New York, NY / Enterprise financing

3) Calvert Social Investment Foundation / Bethesda, MD / Microfinance

4) Endeavor Global* / New York, NY / Entrepreneurship

5) Heifer International / Little Rock, AR / Livestock & farming

6) KickStart International* / San Francisco, CA / Irrigation & farming

7) Mercy Corps* / Portland, OR / Emergency relief

8) PATH* / Seattle, WA / Health

9) Peaceworks Foundation / New York, NY / Israel-Palestine

10) PSI / Washington, DC / Health

11) Room to Read* / San Francisco, CA / Literacy & education

12) Root Capital* / Boston, MA / Enterprise financing

13) TransFair USA / Oakland, CA / Fair trade & farming

14) Unitus* / Redmond, WA / Microfinance

15) VisionSpring (formerly Scojo Foundation) / New York, NY / Vision

16) Witness / Brooklyn, NY / Human rights

Last December, I filtered the list down to 7 organizations that were both Fast Company Social Capitalists and Charity Navigator 4-Star Charities, but that list left off some young organizations that Charity Navigator does not yet rank (such as VisionSpring). And two organizations (Acumen Fund and Endeavor Global) have since earned the coveted 4-Star ranking.

A major focus area for 6 of the 16 organizations (ACCION, Acumen, Calvert, Endeavor, Root, Unitus) is helping individuals or enterprises gain access to capital. 3 organizations (PATH, PSI, VisionSpring) focus on health. And 3 organizations (Heifer, KickStart, and TransFair) focus on farming. Mercy Corps, Peaceworks, Room to Read, and Witness each have their own unique focus area among the 16 social entrepreneurs.

14 of the 16 organizations are found in one of the following metro areas: New York City (5), San Francisco Bay (3), Boston (2), Seattle (2), Washington DC (2). Heifer International and Mercy Corps are both off the beaten path, located in Little Rock and Portland, respectively.

Renewable Energy at the Base of the Pyramid

2008-08-31T15:27:00.001-06:00

I recently had lunch with a couple of former co-workers who were interested in talking about my goal to help 1 million people out of $1-a-day poverty. One of them asked about my plans to incorporate environmentalism into my approach. I admitted I hadn't thought much about it, but that it was a secondary consideration for me. I told her I generally subscribed to the idea of "first, let's figure out how to help them make money, and then, let's figure out how to do it in an environmentally friendly way." Clearly, she was disappointed with that answer. As we continued to talk, China came to mind, given that it recently hosted the Olympics. I asserted that in the case of China, the environment needed to have been a consideration long ago, and that air quality today is unacceptable as a result of the "income first, environment second" approach.

On Friday I researched renewable energy sources, referring primarily to the US Department of Energy's website. Below is a chart I developed to summarize my findings from a Base of the Pyramid (BoP) perspective:
Hydropower and geothermal power do not appear to be good options for BoP markets, because neither of them appears to be well suited to scale down to rural villages. Furthermore, hydropower has negative consequences on the environment and on farming. Since 70-80% of those living on less than $1-a-day make their living through farming, hydropower is not a good option for them.

Biomass, solar, and wind power all appear to be reasonable options for BoP markets. Converting biomass to energy is done using processes similar to that of coal and other fossil fuels, and the processes cause some pollution, albeit less than fossil fuels. I therefore consider wind and solar to be the preferred renewable energy sources, based on my limited knowledge. The big down-side of solar is that it's currently an expensive way of generating energy as compared with other alternatives.

A startup based in Fort Collins, Colorado is attempting to make cost less of an issue for adoption of solar energy. AVA Solar claims that $1 per watt is achievable; if achieved, solar energy costs could drop by a factor of three or more. AVA Solar completed a $104 million equity financing round August 29, 2008, and the company plans to ramp up production in 2009. The company's values also mesh with mine. The following quote is from AVA Solar's website:

“We recognize that more than two billion people on this planet have little or no access to electricity, and we have seen firsthand the hardships that this can cause…Over time, we are committed to doing our part to improve the lives of those less fortunate, especially where our technology can provide part of the solution. As we grow and mature as a company, we will continue to partner with other organizations to bring clean energy to those most in need.”

I need to contact the folks at AVA Solar and learn more about their work, as well as the work of others in the renewable energy space. I appreciate my friend's push back on the "income first, environment second" approach and plan to learn more renewable energy and ways to incorporate it as I help the world's poor to increase their incomes.

Difficulty vs. Execution

2008-08-19T01:42:00.002-06:00

The Olympics are currently taking place in Beijing, which means it's time for us all to refresh our memories about gymnastics and other sports that we probably only watch once every four years. In gymnastics, an athlete's score for a routine is based on two criteria: difficulty and execution. Neither the highest difficulty nor the best execution is sufficient to win; the successful competitor must balance both.

Last Friday I had breakfast with Paul Hudnut, an entrepreneur and teacher who blogs about social entrepreneurship at his What's a BOPreneur blog. Olympics were not a discussion point during our conversation, but they helped to frame a comment he made to me. I mentioned my interest in Africa, and he inquisitively asked, "Why Africa?" I responded that Africa is where the greatest need is, as well as the greatest challenge. He said that by setting a goal to help 1 million people out of $1-a-day poverty, I have already set a challenging goal and I must determine the degree of difficulty I am willing to take on. Paul suggested that I consider whether I need to take the most challenging path possible and whether my two years' experience in Thailand might make me better prepared to help in Asia. Both are valid points to consider.

Last night American Shawn Johnson's balance beam routine had a difficulty of 7.00 and she executed a 9.225, earning a gold medal in the process. The only other competitor who attempted a 7.00, China's Shanshan Li fell off the beam and placed sixth out of eight. Johnson's teammate Nastia Liukin performed the fifth most difficult routine, with a rating of 6.60. However, she had the strongest execution of anyone, at 9.425. As a result of her moderately difficult program and impressive execution, Liukin earned a silver medal.

For my first balancing act in poverty alleviation, I would likely fall off the beam if I attempted a 7.00. That's not to say Africa is out of the question. On the contrary, I recently booked my Zambia ticket for the middle of October and am very excited to go. But you can be certain that if I choose to target Africa, I will not rush headstrong into a country in the midst of civil war. No, there's nothing shabby about a silver medal at the Olympics. And my goal is of Olympic proportions...

3 Podcasts For Social Entrepreneurs

2008-07-30T20:51:00.000-06:00

If you're a social entrepreneur, or you aspire to be one, below are three podcasts you should listen to:

World Vision Report
Funded in part by nonprofit World Vision, the World Vision Report does not shamelessly promote its funder. Instead, the podcast highlights "stories about the world's most vulnerable people, and those who make a difference in their lives," whether the stories come from World Vision or from other nonprofits such as Kiva or Room to Read. Hosted by former ABC World News Tonight correspondent Peggy Wehmeyer, the World Vision Report is of professional quality. Listen to it to get ideas on who to help, or how to help them.

Craigslist Foundation Nonprofit Boot Camp
Whether you're starting a nonprofit or need tips on marketing, fundraising, social entrepreneurship, or leadership, you can learn the ropes from experts who presented at one of the Craiglist Foundation's Nonprofit Boot Camps. In 2006, Nonprofit Boot Camps in the San Francisco Bay Area and in New York City attracted over 2,500 emerging and established nonprofit leaders for a day of workshops, keynotes, one-on-one coaching and professional development. The event earned a 97% approval rating and was the largest nonprofit gathering in Bay Area history. Full-length speeches from the event are available via podcast, and presentations, handouts, and session notes are available online.

Nonprofit Law Podcast
Don't let the name fool you -- the Nonprofit Law Podcast is actually quite engaging. Nonprofit lawyer Tim Mooney keeps his podcasts under 10 minutes, providing bite-size, helpful tips on how to navigate the legal hurdles related to nonprofit formation and operation.

Feel free to leave other high-quality podcast suggestions in the comments section.