Center for Social Innovation

As both an open publishing platform and a social media site, Tumblr allows content creators to not only host and share, but also have access to an engaged network of users. Liba Rubenstein, Tumblr’s director of social impact and policy, talks at Social Media on Purpose 2014 about how Tumblr’s versatile platform can help non-profits tell powerful stories, catalyze engagement and drive measurable impact.

Devising a plan of action that leveraged the expansiveness of Twitter and social media, Stefania Pomponi and Clever Girls Collective helped turn Make-a-Wish Foundation’s #SFBatKid into a word-of-mouth local campaign to a global phenomenon. Pomponi discusses the step-by-step process of creating a viral social media campaign that garnered two billion impressions, and the key lessons that nonprofits and social organizations can take away from it.

Paul Niehaus is revolutionizing the concept of donating through his nonprofit, Give Directly. For nearly 60 years, people have been giving money to a third party organization, which promises to use that donation to provide relief for a group of individuals in need. However, donors aren’t in love with this anonymous method of helping. Paul created Give Directly to simplify the donation process. In this podcast, he discussed Give Directly’s end-to-end model of connecting US donors with beneficiaries abroad.

Globally, 700 million people do not have access to a reliable water source. In this audio interview, the Co-Founder and CEO of TOHL, Benjamin Cohen, discusses how he and his team are improving the quantity and quality of water for people in need. TOHL designs, engineers, constructs, operates, and maintains both conventional and mobile water systems to reach its goal of bringing clean water to those who need it most, in the most efficient and effective way possible.

A critical approach to measurement, evaluation, and data collection is needed for nonprofits to expand impact in an increasingly interconnected social world. In this panel discussion at Next Generation Evaluation conference, Kathy Brennan, Patricia Bowie, and Lucy Bernholz give provocative overviews of developmental evaluation research design, shared measurement for collective impact, and the social responsibility of nonprofits employing big data for good.

Effective evaluation is about more than measuring impact—it’s about figuring out what works and why. In this panel discussion at the Next Generation Evaluation conference, Lisbeth Schorr, Fay Twersky, and Alicia Grunow discuss the implications of evaluative techniques such as shared measurement, big data, and improvement science for philanthropy and nonprofit management.

Personal connections and influence can be crucial in garnering support for an organization’s cause. In this audio lecture, Julie Dixon of Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communication describes how organizations can leverage supporters’ talent, resources, and participation through meaningful engagement. She suggests that organizations craft opportunities and social media policies that allow people to support a cause in the best way they can.