Editor’s note: In this guest post David Ellis, Managing Partner of Flow Equity, argues for more investment in developing world businesses that earn too much to qualify for microfinance, but too little to attract commercial investment. The barriers to development in Uganda are manifold. Charities need to work smarter. Democracy has to work better. But at [...]
Over three billion people—almost half the world’s population—live on less than $2.50 per day. Nearly one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Even in the United States, more than three million people experience the indignity and desperation of homelessness each year and nineteen percent of children are living in households below [...]
One in eight Americans, and one in four kids, receive food stamps (recently renamed SNAP). Furthermore, the New York Times reports that About six million Americans receiving food stamps report they have no other income, according to an analysis of state data collected by The New York Times. In declarations that states verify and the federal government [...]
This review is long overdue as I read Gang Leader for a Day this summer. I try to read as much as I can, it keeps my thinking about social services fresh and exposes me to new realities and ideas. Gang Leader for a Day, written by sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh, highlights the living conditions and [...]
Social media researcher Danah Boyd recently concluded a study where she found that low-income, less educated, and minority youth are more likely to use Myspace, and white, well educated, wealthy youth are more likely to use Facebook. If Boyd is right, then why are so many non-profits choosing Facebook over Myspace? Assuming the purpose of [...]
The recent rise in the national unemployment rate to 9.5% calls into question the wisdom of the 1996 welfare reform legislation that disbanded the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program in favor of the current Temporary Assistant to Needy Families (TANF), which among other changes requires adult welfare recipients to engage in “work-first” [...]
I live in the poorest census tract in a poor city. The downtown area where I live is pretty nice, but just outside downtown the poverty is inescapable. As is often the case in poor neighborhoods, there is a noticeable abundance of churches. I find the intersection of poverty and faith interesting, and on Sunday [...]
The recent surge in public attention to poverty and homelessness in America, which has been exasperated by the financial crisis, has exposed the social service industry for what it is: a stagnating industry with a lot of heart, but few good ideas. The issues we in the social service sector have dedicated our lives to [...]
The holiday season marks an increase in food donations to families in need. It is a nice idea that everyone gets a turkey on Thanksgiving, regardless of wealth, and everyone can get together with loved ones and share a holiday meal. For me though, seeing such outpouring and effort over one day, (there are non-profits [...]
A friend sent me this AP article titled “Thousands pick up free vegetables on Co. Farm”. The article explains that a Colorado farmer family opened up their 600 acre farm for people to pick free vegetables. The farmers expected about 10,000 people would come, but instead about 40,000 came seeking free veggies. I find this [...]
