#plugintodevin - Your Mark on the World with Devin Thorpe

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Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2kiHDWK.

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Why do some corporate social responsibility programs seem to backfire? There are lots of reasons, but University of Kansas Assistant Professor Jessica Li recently published a paper that explains why some do.

Her research shows that people in some countries have distinct reactions to two companies engaging in the same behavior when one of the companies is foreign and the other domestic.

Jessica has provided us with three tips for creating a corporate social responsibility program that works.

1. Consumer attributions are key.

It is important to understand that CSR is not always perceived positively by consumers. Consumers make attributions about why a company is engaging in CSR, ant these attributions influence their attitudes and behaviors.

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Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2kiHDWK.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2kxuKbG.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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The University of Southern California has recently created the Center on Artificial Intelligence for Social Solutions or CAISS, specifically to develop uses of artificial intelligence--AI--for use cases of interest to social entrepreneurs.

The Center is a collaboration between the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Eric Rice, an Associate Professor from the School of Social Work, has been tapped to lead CAISS.

The potential for AI to be an effective tool for entrepreneurs with no background in technology is confirmed by Rice himself. When asked about his LinkedIn profile URL, he acknowledged not only that he doesn't have one, but also said, "I'm a bit of a Luddite."

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2kxuKbG.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2keFgVa.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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John Lee Dumas is one of the most successful podcasters on iTunes. Last year, when he decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign for his "Freedom Journal," he partnered with Pencils of Promise. He raised $453,000 on Kickstarter and donated $75,000 to the nonprofit. Now he's at it again.

Dumas boasts over 1 million listens to his "Entrepreneur on Fire" podcast every month. You wouldn't think he "needs" to partner with Pencils of Promise in order to be successful with his campaign. Dumas is a savvy entrepreneur. He's clearly figured that this is an important part of the strategy.

His last campaign for the "Freedom Journal" raised enough to build three schools in Ghana, Guatemala or Laos, the three countries where the nonprofit operates. For his current campaign launched this morning for his "Mastery Journal," he hopes to raise $100,000, enough for Pencils of Promise to build four schools.

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2keFgVa.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2iEGHJZ.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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Back in the 1930s, the United States remained largely a rural country, with almost half of the population still living in rural communities–without electricity. Electrifying rural America was a key part of the New Deal. The key then was distribution of electricity generated in utility-scale plants.

Today, the world is in a race to electrify rural communities in the developing world. This presents an opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors around the world, say Chris Warren, CEO of Clean Energy Advisors, and Erik Melang, co-founder of Distributive Solar.

Unlike the New Deal-era effort to electrify rural America, today’s electrification efforts run the full gamut from solar lamps charged by day and used at night to utility-scale projects that connect to the grid.

Entrepreneurs around the world are getting in on the act. India has organized incentives and entrepreneurial support programs to for solar projects.

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Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2iEGHJZ.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2k7Pq9T.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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The international development community learned decades ago that when relief organizations bring in donated goods that are distributed for free to people in need, one of the outcomes is often the death of local businesses that provided those goods. Why then are NGOs continuing to employ this model in Haiti, asks author, entrepreneur, investor and professor Daniel Jean-Louis.

Jean-Louis is based in Haiti. His firm, Bridge Capital provides small loans to businesses that otherwise don't qualify for loans from Haiti's conservative banking sector. His 100,000 jobs initiative is working across sectors with NGOs, governments and the private sector to create 100,000 jobs by 2020. He reports having helped to create more than 10,000 jobs so far, though he worries Hurricane Matthew may have destroyed some of those jobs when it destroyed so much else in Haiti.

Bridge Capital is small by almost any standard, with just $1 million in capital. In Haiti, where a $10,000 loan can have more impact, that represents the potential to help 100 companies. Jean-Louis hopes to triple the capital base in the coming year, allowing him to reach a level of profitability. Profits come from the 7 to 8 percent net interest margin on its loans.

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2k7Pq9T.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2jazXIW.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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How many times have you wanted to give some money to help solve a crisis somewhere in the world but didn't simply because you didn't know to whom to give the money? The problem wasn't likely that you didn't have some candidates; more likely, you found too many candidates and couldn't determine which would do the most good with your money.

Enter Iguacu.

Iguacu screens nonprofits working to address crises around the world to identify those that are having the best impact. Iguacu is a social enterprise that is so new it hasn't yet set up its own 501(c)(3) organization, but that is the plan, according to founder Katherine Davies.

To date, Davies has funded the operations of Iguacu, but she is looking to establish a nonprofit entity so that she can collect donations and corporate sponsorships. Today, the organization has ten employees, including several analysts that Davies describes as "world-class" researchers.

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2jazXIW.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2jojC04.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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Georg Kell might not have anticipated the global reach of his work when he started his career more than 30 years ago. After joining the United Nations in 1987, the opportunity for global influence presented itself. Georg took full advantage.

Georg started his career as a research fellow in engineering at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Innovation in Berlin. He then spent a few years working as a financial analyst in various countries in Africa and Asia, helping him to gain a global perspective.

After joining the UN in 1987, he became “obsessed with modernizing the UN from within and working with the private sector,” he says.

A key point in his career came 12 years after joining the UN. “In 1999, I helped craft a speech for Kofi Annan, then UN secretary-general, calling on business to look beyond profit and to contribute to society, the environmental and global governance,” he says. “The reaction overwhelmed us. It made the front pages in major papers. That’s where the real story of building the Global Compact started.”

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Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2jojC04.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2jpmKsD.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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Stephenie Larsen and Andrea Smardon have each found their own way to help others cope with challenges. Their work intersected last fall when Andrea produced and reported a story about Encircle, Stephenie’s LGBT outreach center in Provo, Utah, for NPR.

The NPR story highlights the odd juxtaposition of Encircle’s new center located within sight of the Provo Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, noting that in the fall of 2015, the Church implemented a new policy toward married gay couples and their children that excludes them from full participation.

Stephenie sees an urgent need for helping the LGBT community in densely Mormon Provo. “Utah has the fifth highest rate of youth suicide nationwide, with LGBTQ youth who experience rejection from their parents having an eight times greater risk of suicide. Those that are LDS experience even greater depression, suicidal ideation and family alienation, often losing their faith and spiritual community along the way.”

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Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2jpmKsD.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2jRs7TV.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotswitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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The calendar’s juxtaposition of Martin Luther King’s birthday and the Presidential inauguration have never seemed so ironic as in 2017. In a single week, America will celebrate the person who gave his life for civil rights and the inauguration of Donald Trump, whom New York Times columnist Nick Kristof called a racist.

One person developed a plan to unify people this week. Aria Finger, CEO and “Chief Old Person” of DoSomething.org, is yet to turn 40 and so qualifies as young in my book. As CEO, she founded the affiliated agency TMI Strategy and serves as its president. This week, DoSomething.org leads a social campaign to engage its 5.5 million young followers, creating “Resolution Walls” in public to commit to improving their local communities this year.

Introducing DoSomething.org, Finger says, “We are a mission-driven not-for-profit and we are one of the most entrepreneurial brands in the youth space.” The organization has engaged young people in every state and 131 countries. The nonprofit works to address local and global social problems, and boasts of having organized the collection of 3.7 million cigarette butts from the streets and a drive that clothed half of the homeless teens in the United States.

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Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2jRs7TV.

Need a corporate social responsibility speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://corporatesocialresponsibilityspeaker.com.

Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin.

Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2igQ4zp.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher.

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Amy Cortese is a rare bird indeed. She is almost alone in focusing her pen on crowdfunding’s ability to build underserved communities. She is equally interested in the place-based communities and demographic communities. Her book, Locavesting, is the definitive book on the topic.

Amy’s business, also called Locavesting, serves as a source of information for communities seeking greater access to capital.

Amy explains her view of the problem, “We live in an age of massive wealth inequality and lack of economic access, especially for women, people of color and those in underserved areas. How do we create an economy that works for all, instead of the few? The first thing is to tackle finance and channel more resources into communities.”

Access to capital for underserved communities is one of the great promises of crowdfunding. By reducing the dependence of women and minorities on traditional sources of capital like banks and venture capital that have not met their needs, crowdfunding hold the potential to lift communities.

Amy says, “Locavesting has chronicled and championed the rise of community capital.”

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Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/2igQ4zp.

Need a crowdfunding speaker? Learn more about Devin Thorpe at http://crowdfundingspeaker.org.