Your Mark On The World

July 30, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1DbAAX0. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Tricia Compas-Markman, an award-winning social entrepreneur, was among those who responded personally to the devastating April earthquake in Nepal. She reports, “The first day arriving in Kathmandu was a real eye-opener. There was complete devastation everywhere we went with buildings, temples and squares reduced to nothing but rubble.” She notes that she experienced hope, too, in those early days, “As we walked through Durbar Square, I was impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of the people there. Among the rubble and temporary tent-homes, women and men had setup shops to sell their goods and wares. The locals were taking ownership and adapting to their current circumstances, and we worked within their communities, not only to train them on DayOne’s Waterbag tech

July 23, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1OxHneX. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Many who work in the field of international development think of governments and large multilateral development institutions like the IMF and World Bank along with other large NGOs as the real players in that space. Increasingly, however, business is playing a role as more people in the commercial world recognize both the responsibility and the opportunities in that arena. One person who is an international development expert with a dual perspective is the general secretary of Rotary International, John Hewko. Hewko explains, “Rotary members, by and large, are business and professional leaders who understand the intersection between commerce and cause, and I think Rotary can play a significant role in helping to bridge the gap that exists between the development comm

July 23, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1OxUP28. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Private equity investor and Hall of Fame Quarterback Steve Young’s charity the Forever Young Foundation launched Sophie’s Place, an organization that provides music therapy. In a promotional video, Young explains that in contrast to many of the charities supported by his foundation that are run by great partners, “This one’s kind of organic from our foundation. It’s really my wife’s vision for music therapy.” Young’s foundation is using a new tool for crowdsourcing engagement, one little act at a time. The new tool, an iPhone app called Time Machine, encourages people to do and record acts of service. Users of the app earn points to qualify them for unique experiences, like a meet and greet with band at the Imagine Dragons concert in Salt Lake City on July 28. Time

July 15, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1GkhIzF. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. When Arlene Samen was invited to meet with the Dalai Lama, she couldn’t imagine how it would change her life. Ultimately, she left her position as a nurse as the University of Utah School of Medicine to found One Heart World Wide, an organization that works to end infant and maternal mortality. One Heart World Wide is making remarkable progress. After a temporary effort with great success in Tibet, Samen moved the organization to Mexico and now Nepal. Samen says she’s learned a few lessons over the years and summarizes them as follows: I believe it is “relationships that save lives”, that by working together with others we can serve so many more. No matter what you face in life, never give up. The ripple effect knows no boundaries. Please consider whether a friend

July 15, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1CCS2U6. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. “I feel like we’ve stumbled on this incredibly obvious epiphany, when you give what you’re good at, you get better at it. You help others while helping yourself,” says Mark Horoszowski. His epiphany led him to create Moving Worlds, an match-making site for expert volunteers–”experteers.” Summarizing the value proposition, Horoszowksi says, “Major development organizations have shared that behind access to capital, access to skills is the leading barrier to progress – this is called the ‘talent gap.’ Contributing the right skills at the right time can bridge holes to create short-term impact, and also help local staff develop their own skills to foster long-term sustainability and impact.” “We’re proving that the right skills can catalyze the impact of social enterpr

July 15, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1HvwbKQ. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. The polio virus is in its death throes. While it has been infinitely more difficult than the optimists hoped it would be 30 years ago, those who said polio couldn’t be eradicated will soon be proven wrong. In the mid 1980s, there were about 350,000 to 400,000 cases of polio each year around the world, despite the disease having been effectively eradicated throughout the developed world. In 2014, there were just 359 cases of polio, reflecting a 99.9 percent reduction over 30 years. On average, that number reflected a rate of about seven cases per week. So far, in 2015, the average number of cases per week has dropped to just barely above 1. We are, however, now in the heat of summer in much of the world, including in Pakistan and Afghanistan where the disease remain

July 10, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1UGrAyv. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. At the outset of the current millennium, the United Nations led an effort to set a group of goals to be achieved by 2015. UN Secretary-General reported in 2014, that “the MDGs have made a profound difference in people’s lives. Global poverty has been halved five years ahead of the 2015 timeframe. Ninety per cent of children in developing regions now enjoy primary education, and disparities between boys and girls in enrolment have narrowed. Remarkable gains have also been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis, along with improvements in all health indicators. The likelihood of a child dying before age five has been nearly cut in half over the last two decades. That means that about 17,000 children are saved every day. We also met the target of halving the

July 10, 2015 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1HiXxWJ. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Artist and activist Phil America focuses his work on social issues like class, gender and race. “Art is a language everyone can speak,” Phil says about his work. As an activist, he is philosophical, “The biggest criminal is the one who puts the laws of the land above their own morals.” Having lived all around the world and having seen all sorts of poverty, Phil says, “Living in poverty does not make you poor. What makes you poor is being complacent and having poor character.” Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.

July 10, 2015 - Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1HiQrl7. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Jenny Kassan is one of the world’s leading experts on investment crowdfunding and she’s passionate about using it for good! Jenny says, “Be yourself when raising capital. Just like with dating, it’s better to show your authentic self than to pretend you’re something you’re not. Not only will you be more likely to attract investors you’re happy with, the process will be easier and more enjoyable.” She helps nonprofits and social entrepreneurs figure out how to raise money. She explains, “You know that raising money from investors could help you take your business (or entrepreneurial nonprofit) to the next level of success. But you’ve heard horror stories about what it’s like to raise money from professional investors, like Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors,

July 10, 2015 - Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1HiTOIQ. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Matthew Sullivan is the founder and CEO of CrowdVenture, a company that is using the power of crowdfunding to help people stay in their homes, even when the homes are under water financially. Matthew explains: Every home has a heartbeat. Our aim is to demystify and democratise the investment process and give the wider community access to investments that deliver social benefits as well as solid returns. There are currently 821,275 properties in U.S. that are in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction or bank owned) while the number of homes listed for sale on RealtyTrac is 1,287,934. In May, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in U.S. was 1% higher than the previous month and 16% higher than the same time last year. Homeowners have bee

July 10, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1RmxZQs. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. The Estée Lauder Companies, working through its MAC’s VIVA GLAM Lipstick, has become one of the leading funders in the fight against HIV/AIDS around the world, donating over $350 million total over 20 years reaching over $40 million per year recently. Nancy Mahon, Senior Vice President, Global Philanthropy and Corporate Citizenship, explains the company’s passion for working so diligently to end AIDS, “We can only end AIDS if we test and treat everyone at risk of and actually infected with HIV. As only half of the people in the world who need HIV testing and treatment can get it, and funding for the epidemic is declining… we desperately need corporation’s business acumen and resources — including the ability to market and sell ideas — to tackle the world’s biggest pro

July 2, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1RSwJiN. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. When people hear about impact investing, a light goes on. People immediately begin to see the potential. Once they do, they often assume that foundations must be doing the bulk of impact investing. In fact, relatively few are actively doing it. The FB Heron Foundation has made a bold, public commitment to move 100 percent of its assets to impact investments by the end of 2017. In her President’s letter issued last month, Clara Miller wrote, “In 2014, we continued to push forward on our core operating principle that “all investing is impact investing,” meaning that we believe that all investments (spanning the range of debt, equity, cooperative shares, warrants, and hybrid instruments) have social as well as financial repercussions. These social and financial repercuss

July 2, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1RSqzzd. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. The crowdfunding world includes so many sites that it is difficult for anyone to keep track of them all. In the long run, it will be important for each one to find a market. Kickstarter dominates the enormous market for creatives. Indiegogo has the platform used by the widest array of sites. GoFundMe, by focusing on helping people in crisis, claims to be the biggest site of them all. Ride to Give is a crowdfunding site that is organized to help individuals in times of trouble, much like GoFundMe. Ride to Give is carving out a niche in the wake of the crowdfunding giant by partnering crowdfunding with organized cycling events. Since founding two years ago, the nonprofit company has raised over $1.2 million for children and families in crisis. Founders Kaete and Dave Na

June 25, 2015 - Read the full GoodCrowdinfo article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1KdLttw. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Investment crowdfunding is suddenly standing in your living room; it sneaked in the back door while you were watching out the front door for action from the SEC on Title III of the JOBS Act. This spring, the SEC issued rules for Title IV of the Act, amending Regulation A, and making investment crowdfunding possible under a separate regulatory scheme. Kendall Almerico, a lawyer, has recently launched the investment crowdfunding site BankRoll, leveraging regulation A, which allows offerings to be pitched to ordinary small investors, not just wealthy (accredited) investors. The new rules, commonly called Regulation A+, represent a game changer for crowdfunding. Kendall is enthusiastic about the new rules and his platform. “With Regulation A+, you are selling securit

June 25, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1Kdqy9Y. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Ty Walrod is the visionary behind Bright Funds, a platform designed to allow employers and other leaders to organize giving groups to giving funds. The fund manager, often an employer, chooses nonprofits to include in a “fund” and then encourages employees and/or other followers to donate to the fund to have focused, strategic impact. Walrod explains, “We built Bright Funds with a focus on the three key principles: make giving easy — easier than sending a tweet; make giving effective — by helping people give strategically to the best nonprofits in the world; and make giving engaging — by connecting donors to the causes they care about and showing them the impact of their donations.” “Employees expect more from their employers today than ever before. In partnering w

June 25, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1KdHrBq. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Jack Nadel has been doing business since the end of World War II. Most people his age, quite frankly, are dead and the rest are retired. Nadel is passionate about sharing his collected wisdom with veterans and others who are working to start businesses. He has written a book, The Evolution of an Entrepreneur, that features 50 of his best business tips. Nadel has made the book available to veterans at no charge. He shared a few of his tips with me. 1. Find a Need and Fill It: The first deal I made was based on one of the first tips I share in my book: Find a Need and Fill it. In 1946, the Chinese were looking to purchase navy blue woolen material, which did not exist. However, there was post War army olive drab material available, so I bought olive drab at war surpl

June 25, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1Kdwa4a. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Lululemon (Nasdaq: LULU) CEO Laurent Potdevin recently helped build something completely different for the apparel company leader: a house. Working with the social enterprise Giveback Homes, Potdevin helped fund the construction a home for a needy family in Nicaragua. He shared his experience with me: In the process of selling my home in Manhattan Beach, I was introduced to Giveback Homes through my real estate agents, Brigitte Pratt and Colleen Cole. They are both Giveback Homes Realtors and informed me that they would be donating from the transaction of selling my home to build a home for a family in Nicaragua. I asked how much they were planning on donating and matched their donation. Between both of our donations we were able to build an entire home for a dese

June 25, 2015 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1KdmB5c. I met Craig Zelizer in the airport in Mexico City where we were both en route to Opportunity Collaboration and was immediately drawn to his good nature. He did his doctoral research on arts and peacebuilding and has made that his career focus at Peace and Collaborative Development Network. Craig recently shared his favorite quote with me, “A journalist asked Mirsad Puritva, director of the 1992 International Festival of Film and Theater in Sarajevo how can they have a film fest in the middle of the war? He replied, ‘how can they have a war in the middle of the film festival?'” Craig summarizes his passion for peace, “Violent conflict is one of the greatest challenges preventing the achievment of the MDGs and more stable, peaceful societies” Craig also notes, “Higher education in the US is in a period of crisis, given the increasing costs of pursuing graduate education and the mismatch between

Jun 25, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1Jj68fz. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. “UNFPA Kenya is working hard with all partners to support the Government of Kenya and the First Lady of Kenya’s clarion call, ‘no woman should die giving life,’” explains UNFPA Representative to Kenya, Siddharth (Sid) Chatterjee. Chatterjee explains the charge he received when he took on his new role just over a year ago, “The Executive Director of UNFPA Undersecretary General Dr Babatunde Osotimehin’s marching orders to me when taking up my role as UNFPA Kenya was, ‘support the Government to bring to an end the unacceptably high maternal deaths, end FGM and child marraige. Change the game.’” The context, Chatterjee notes, is sobering. “Sexual and gender based violence [SGBV] continues to be a challenge in Kenya. According to Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS)

June 18, 2015 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1dLBlKo. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. In the context of one of the country’s most conservative states, Alan Naumann runs a multi-platform publishing company called Green News Utah. Alan explains, “Utah needs an independent news source for environmental issues. There is a lack of information in some of the most important issues facing Utahns.” “For instance, there is no severance tax on coal in the state of Utah. All the neighboring states have a 3.3 to 7 percent severance tax on fossil fuels. Utah, has the lowest tax on oil and gas extraction. In a state with the lowest [financial] commitment to education in the country, fossil fuels are an obvious source of revenue,” Alan adds. Alan’s passion for the environment is exemplified by his argument, “Little is being done to reduce air pollution,