The Center for Care Innovations: An Interview with Jane Stafford

The Center for Care Innovations (CCI) supports California community health centers that provide care for underserved populations. Offering programs and grants in technology, capacity building, leadership and networking, CCI ensures that community health centers are vital partners in building healthier communities. A joint project of Tides and The California Endowment, CCI launched in 1999 initially as a grant-making program and has since grown into a $113 million program.

Congratulations to Lisa Hall!

Many congratulations to Lisa Hall, Tides board member and CEO of the Calvert Foundation, for her recognition by Good Business New York as one of the Leading Women in 2012. Lisa was recognized for her work with the Calvert Foundation to help improve the lives of women world-wide, and specifically for her stewardship of WIn WIN: The Women Investing in Women Initiative. Excerpts from the Good Business New York Leading Women press release about the award and Lisa's work are below.

Investing for Impact

The term impact investing has been gaining brand value over the past five years. The precursors of community investing and socially responsible investing are ironically being dropped from the conversation as if to imply that impact investing is a brand new phenomenon. While there is innovation inherent in impact investing, it is important to leverage the histories – good and bad – from community development, socially responsible investing, and venture philanthropy in order to support the success, sustainability and scale of the larger social benefit marketplace.

Creating Social Change Leaders

The social sector invests heavily in the tools of social change. But tools don’t build or fix things. People do. Specifically, it’s social change leaders with vision — shaped by love and intellect — that wield tools effectively. We must invest in developing highly effective social change leaders to create a more just and equitable society.

How will you observe World Aids Day?

This Saturday, Tides will be at The National AIDS Memorial Grove, joining them in their 19th Annual World AIDS Day Observance. The National AIDS Memorial Grove, in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, is a dedicated space where millions of Americans touched directly or indirectly by AIDS can gather to heal, hope, and remember. The sacred ground of this living memorial honors all who have confronted the tragic pandemic, both those who have died and those who have shared their struggle, kept the vigils, and supported each other during their final hours.

Love and Intellect in Social Change Leadership

Social innovation is a tool, but tools don’t build or fix things. People do. This idea was explored in the first post in this series, which illustrated that despite social innovation’swidely trumpeted potential to solve the world’s problems, it simply can’t. Meaningful and lasting solutions come from

Social Innovation Won’t Save the World

David Bornstein in the NY Times Fixes column recently referred to social innovation as part of a “breakthrough – maybe even a new Enlightenment.” He believes it is creating new and lasting change that is unprecedented in the social sector. But, social innovation faces an undeniable limitation: it is merely a tool. And, like any tool, its impact is determined by the vision of those who use it. Great architecture isn’t created by hammers. It’s created by architects and carpenters with highly developed vision.

Interview with Linda Lantieri of The Inner Resilience Program

The Inner Resilience Program is helping to cultivate the inner lives of students, teachers & schools by integrating social and emotional learning with contemplative practice. The program provides professional development workshops, weekend retreats, classes in stress management, as well as yoga and other contemplative practices, educational workshops for parents, and training in our K-8 curriculum: Building Resilience from the Inside Out.

Interview with Cynthia Chavez of LeaderSpring

LeaderSpring's mission is to foster a powerful, equity-driven social sector by strengthening leaders and organizations; developing communities of leaders; and transforming the systems in which they work. Since 1997, LeaderSpring has awarded almost 200 exceptional leaders and their agencies with an intensive program of leadership development, management skills training, customized mentoring, and networking.

Ending Modern Slavery

After stepping off the podium at the United Nations, President Obama made a special commitment – to ending modern day slavery. Not just in remote corners of the developing world. But here in this country as well. Many of the slaves today are girls. Born in this country. Hidden in plain view.