Topic: Social Entrepreneurship

"The opportunity to innovate starts with doing something that hasn't been done yet", Chris Brogan presses in this lively, sardonic speech about ten minutes in length, in which the blogger and President of New Marketing Labs, a social media agency, advises businesses and individuals alike on how to utilize to the best capacity the web's power to connect them to their communities.

Social entrepreneurship requires conscious leadership, says Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in this University podcast. Delivering a talk sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Mackey issues a clarion call for nothing less than "conscious capitalism," arguing that business can indeed serve more than the almighty dollar. He discusses his own company's challenges in the social enterprise arena.

Social entrepreneurship may be the most promising avenue for solving global problems, says Paul Rice, CEO of TransFair USA. In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Rice details his own work to establish Fair Trade. The movement has opened the U.S. market to more than 1.4 million small family farmers around the world who are now getting a fair price for their harvests and making dramatic gains in their living standards.

When Priya Haji put her mind to helping reduce global poverty, social entrepreneurship took a quantum leap. In this university podcast, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, the plucky founder of World of Good shares how she created a social enterprise that now empowers women in communities around the world by helping them sell their artisan goods in stores and online. She talks about strategies for using educated consumer choice and inspiring business competition to do good.

What does social responsibility look like after age 50? In this panel discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, academic experts talk about how they've found meaning in their own lives, and what their research reveals about how others may take advantage of a long lifespan to make purposeful contributions to society. How is the new move toward "encore" careers helping people find motivation in the second half of life, and how are economic realities impinging on the dream of unlimited opportunity?

When it comes to aging baby boomers, "the personal is political" is still a strong rallying cry for people engaged in social enterprise. In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation, the ever-lively Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Ellen Goodman looks at redefining aging and how we may continue to make meaningful contributions to our families, communities, and country into the elder years.

Responsible investing begins in local, underserved communities. In this education podcast, CEO Martin Eakes talks about how his organization, Self-Help, has provided almost $6 billion in financing to more than 60,000 homebuyers, small businesses, and nonprofits, and how it is serving thousands of low-income families through retail credit union branches. Eakes' presentation is an inspiring rallying cry for redirecting resources to those who can benefit the most. His talk is part of a discussion sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation.

In the social enterprise sector, community development financial institutions have become important vehicles for advancing the well-being of communities through market-based mechanisms. In this audio interview with Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Sheela Sethuraman, CEO Mark Pinsky talks about what his organization, the Opportunity Finance Network, does to support such institutions in improving people's lives in urban, rural, and reservation-based markets.

Microfinance has become a staple of international development. In this audio interview, Chetna Gala-Sinha talks with Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Sheela Sethuraman about how her micro-enterprise development bank and foundation are economically empowering rural women in India. She describes the various tools and services that allow women to become financially independent, provide more adequately for their families, and drive international development.

Hagar was the biblical woman who became the victim of neglect and violence when she was cast out of the fold of Abraham and Sarah. In Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Vietnam, thousands of "Hagars" and their children suffer poverty, trafficking, and other human rights abuses. Janet Tafel, who was invited by the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, discusses how her organization, Hagar USA, helps individuals restore their lives through holistic healing, community integration, and social entrepreneurship.