by lwang | Jun 17, 2014 | Education, Entrepreneurship, Kravis Prize, Sakena Yacoobi
“Mission creep” is a pervasive and extremely debilitating problem that afflicts all too many nonprofit organizations. According to presenters Kim Starkey Jonker and William F. Meehan III, it is the No. 1 reason why nonprofits fail to achieve the impact for beneficiaries that they desire. Yet mission creep is easily preventable and easily curable. By attacking it head-on, nonprofit leaders can not only prevent suboptimal performance, but also open the way to taking on outsized challenges. Learn how to take your organization to a higher level by joining Jonker and Meehan—along with guest presenter Sakena Yacoobi—for a discussion of organizational mission. In this webinar, Jonker and Meehan will expand on their Stanford Social Innovation Review articles “Mission Matters Most” and “Curbing Mission Creep.” Jonker and Meehan will discuss the countless external and internal pressures that cause mission creep, and they will present tools for counteracting these pressures. Recognizing that mission statements are one of the most useful (but most underused) tools available to any nonprofit, Jonker and Meehan will also outline seven characteristics of an effective mission statement. In addition, they will discuss ways to build a mission-focused organizational culture. Webinar registrants will have the opportunity to ask Jonker, Meehan, and Yacoobi questions during the last 20 minutes of the webinar, which will be moderated by Michael Slind, senior editor of SSIR. This complimentary webinar is for anyone in the social sector—nonprofit management and staff, board members, funders—anyone who seeks to create, support, and grow an organization that can align its mission with its efforts to increase impact for beneficiaries. Thanks to the generosity of the Henry R. Kravis...
by lwang | Jun 5, 2014 | CMC, Helen Keller International, Kravis Prize
A number of CMCers were in New York at the end of May to attend a Spirit of Helen Keller Gala, which raised approximately $1 million dollars for the nonprofit’s global, life-saving work in preventing blindness and malnutrition. Joining the guest list in support of the 2014 Kravis Prize recipient’s gala were: Claremont McKenna Trustee Douglas Peterson ’80 P’14 P’15, CEO and President of McGraw Hill Financial; Ernie Iseminger, Claremont McKenna Vice President for Development & External Relations; Kravis Leadership Institute Board member Mustafa ’76 and Liz Mirza P’13 P’15; Elizabeth Algermissen P’14, Assistant Director of Leadership Giving at Claremont McKenna; Ethos Water founder and Fonderie 47 CEO Peter Thum ’90; Aron Khurana ’09, founder of 847 Hoops; and Kevin Blair ’06, a business valuation and litigation consultant. Oscar-nominated actress Abigail Breslin, star of the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, was the event’s Honorary Junior Chair. The evening also honored humanitarian and economist Tom Arnold (former CEO of Concern Worldwide) with the Helen Keller Humanitarian Award for his “extraordinary dedication to ending child hunger and improving maternal health in the developing world.” Read more about the gala on HKI’s...
by lwang | May 8, 2014 | Female Empowerment, Health, HIV transmission, Kravis Prize, m2m, mothers2mothers
Mother’s Day is a golden opportunity not just to honor our own mothers, but many others, too. 2012 Kravis Prize recipient mothers2mothers has teamed up with an award-winning journalist and a philanthropic non-profit as part of their campaign, “Double Your Mommy,” which is tapping into this year’s holiday to maximize outreach to impoverished women around the world. At first glance, the “Double Your Mommy” page established by the 13-year-old organization, which is dedicated to reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, presents a variety of Mom-themed gifts like most department stores and boutiques. Look closer, though, and you’ll find a decided difference. Philanthropic organization Modropy, which has partnered with the American Cancer Society, Royal Family Kids, and several autism groups among many others, has created shirts, hoodies, and totes for m2m. Proceeds from the sales will go to support m2m’s programming and services. To learn more about Modropy, visit its homepage. According to m2m co-founder Robin Smalley, these proceeds will be doubled by an anonymous donor to increase the services that they can provide to m2m’s staff and Mentor Mothers working in sub-Saharan Africa. Journalist Jennifer Haupt, whose e-book Will You Be My Mother? The Quest to Answer ‘Yes’ looks at her experiences in genocide-torn Rwanda, is also donating sales from her memoir to m2m. These purchases — along with several other items offered on the “Double Your Mommy” page (including donations to support educational materials, nutritional assistance, cell phones, and more)— include a Mother’s Day card that will be mailed or emailed to each customer’s mother so that they’re aware of the impact of their gift on lives in another country....
by lwang | Apr 24, 2014 | Female Empowerment, Health, HIV transmission, Kravis Prize, m2m
Along with the travels of Victoria Beckham to South Africa and her efforts to raise awareness about mother-to-child HIV transmission and the work of mothers2mothers, another figure in the world of pop culture and entertainment is also shedding light on this crucial topic. Musician and producer Ryan Lewis (who has teamed up with Macklemore to produce several hit songs) shares a deeply personal story that teaches the lesson that HIV transmission doesn’t occur only in the Third World: It can happen anywhere. It has happened to his own family. A segment airing on ABC’s Good Morning America describes the circumstances of Lewis’ mother, Julie, who has been HIV positive since receiving a blood transfusion in the 1980s. At the time, she was given 3-5 years to live. That segment, which is followed by a roundtable GMA discussion, includes Richard Besser, ABC News Chief Health and Medical Editor. Besser, whose brother Mitch is the founder of mothers2mothers, describes the work of m2m to George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts and the rest of the GMA cast. Watch video here:...
by lwang | Apr 23, 2014 | BRAC, BRAC UK, BRAC USA, Civil Society, Fazle Abed, Kravis Prize
Who are the world’s 50 greatest leaders, according to Fortune Magazine? Along with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and actress-activist Angelina Jolie, Fazle Abed has been honored as one of the world’s “50 greatest leaders” by the magazine for turning the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) into a major force for social change in the non-profit, social sector. Abed was awarded the second annual Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in 2007 for his visionary work with BRAC and its expansion from serving the poor in northeastern Bangladesh to helping more than 130 million around the world. Fortune Magazine identified the 77-year-old Abed, who was knighted in 2010, as an inspiring figure who is “making the world better.” “After Bangladesh fought a war to become independent,” Fortune magazine announces, “Abed, 77, established the Brac to aid the rural poor, including 10 million returning refugees.” Abed (pictured above), according to the magazine report, is the lone Bangladeshi to make the top 50 list. Abed ranks at #32 on the Fortune list. Other figures included in the top 50 list are Pope Francis, investor Warren Buffett, and former U.S. president Bill Clinton. RELATED: BBVA Award goes to Pratham Nonprofit management: Focus on “funamentals, not fads”: Kravis Prize-related article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review...
by lwang | Mar 6, 2014 | CMC, Community Development, Education, Kravis Prize, Pratham
Knowledge that can radically change lives is a potent form of knowledge that cuts across categories and barriers — that’s been the key to Pratham’s success for more than 20 years, and it’s also the reason why the Mumbai-based organization and 2010 Kravis Prize recipient has been selected for a 2013 Frontiers of Knowledge Award from the BBVA Foundation. The BBVA Foundation, which serves as the charitable arm of the banking organizations Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, has announced the selection of eight 2013 laureates, including Pratham, which has been honored for “their originality, theoretical significance and ability to push back the frontiers of the known world.” The award includes a cash prize of €400,000 (approx. $570,000). While biologist Christopher Field was awarded for his work on climate change and British biochemist Adrian Bird for his discoveries in epigenetics, Pratham was honored for its educational work with disadvantaged children in the award category of “development cooperation.” “Pratham has expanded the scope of education in resource-constrained areas,” the BBVA jury announced in a prepared statement. “It has done so through two significant innovations: the creation of simple, accurate and reliable tools for communities to assess learning; and a process that uses scientific evidence to develop new cost-effective programs that drastically improve learning levels.” Though Pratham has been in operation in India since 1994, its profile outside the country remained relatively low until the awarding of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in 2010. In the years since that award in recognition of the NGO’s work on improving literacy with programs such as Read India, Pratham has gone on to receive several more major international...
