MASSIVEGOOD: Travel The World, Book A Flight, & Help People With HIV/AIDS, Malaria, & TB

Tapping into the power of social networks and social media to reach millions online worldwide, MASSIVEGOOD launched today with the goal to raise awareness and funds to support UNITAID’s life-saving efforts to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.

Created via a private-public partnership between leaders in the travel and tourism industry and the Millennium Foundation, MASSIVEGOOD is a global platform that gives travelers in the United States an opportunity to donate $US 2 dollars when purchasing a travel product such as a flight, car rental, or hotel booking. Following the launch in the United States, the Millennium Foundation reports it will also be launching MASSIVEGOOD later this year in UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Spain. With over 700 million flights purchased each year by travelers worldwide, the potential to raise awareness and funds for global health is significant.

UNITAID, an organization created in 2006 by the United Nations General Assembly to provide additional funding to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, is the beneficiary of funds raised through MASSIVEGOOD. Currently supporting 3 out of 4 children on AIDS treatments globally, UNITAID has committed over $US 200 million dollars to treating people with tuberculosis as well. When every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria, every 15 seconds a person dies from tuberculosis, and every 13 seconds a person dies from HIV/AIDS, the need is urgent for funds to address these global diseases.

MASSIVEGOOD makes it easy for millions of travelers around the globe to make a micro-donation of $US 2 to help treat people who suffer from malaria, tb, and HIV/AIDS.

It will be interesting to see going forward how other professional sectors and public organizations find creative ways to form partnerships and leverage the power of social media and social networks to address pressing global issues of our day. Do you know of other examples of public-private partnerships that aim to solve global issues? Please let us know by leaving a comment below, thanks.

Interview with Carol Tran, Founder of ChicMeetsGeek

I’m always intrigued by the behind-the-scenes story that leads smart and ambitious entrepreneurs to launch their ventures. Last week I had the good fortune to meet up with the delightful Carol Tran, Founder of ChicMeetsGeek, to learn how she became inspired to start a business aimed at bringing together her two worlds of cultural chic and intellectual geek.

A biotech attorney by day, Carol is also a board member of the San Francisco Opera and can be found geeking out at Hack-a-thon events at Google. In this video interview, Carol tells us about her newest venture, ChicMeetsGeek, which aims to bring together San Francisco’s cultural and intellectual communites – while at the same time, raising money for a local non-profit. Proceeds from the silent auction at ChicMeetsGeek’s upcoming event on February 4th will support non-profit, Build.org. See you there!

How To Help Haiti via Mobile Phone Donations, Volunteering, Music, & More

(Photo thanks to IFRC Flickr Creative Commons.)
Across the world, our hearts are broken for Haiti. For a people who have suffered so much and lived on so little for generations, it’s incomprehensible to imagine the added devastation of the 7.0 earthquake that hit the country last week. Many blogs have provided excellent posts on ways to help, including this post from Care2.

As events unfold each day, we’ve learned that the best way to help immediately is via cash donations to highly respected organizations like Partners in Health and Doctors Without Borders. Both organizations have a stellar reputation for effectiveness, integrity, a long-term established presence in the country, and success in achieving results.

The second question therefore is, “in what other ways can I help?”

Here are a number of other ways to help:

1. Help find missing people by tagging photos. Visit The Extraordinaries.
2. Volunteer your time and skills over the next 12 months. Search Global Volunteer Network. Also, Habitat for Humanity is expected to have opportunities to volunteer in coming months – updated info to be released soon.
3. Volunteer in design, engineering, or construction in the coming months. Visit Architecture for Humanity.
4. Recycle old mobile phones to provide disaster relief in Haiti.
5. Visit Care2 and click daily: with each click, sponsors donate to earthquake relief through Oxfam.
6. Provide relief to Haiti via iPhone app CauseWorld. Sponsors donate, you choose the cause (select Relief for Haiti).
7. Organize a fundraiser to support Partners in Health, a highly respected organization that has been working in Haiti for over twenty years.
8. Medical suppliers are requested to donate supplies. Check out the list of supplies needed by Partners in Health.
9. Download Music for Relief featuring Linkin Park, Alanis Morissette, and More Top Artists: Proceeds go to Haiti Relief.
10. If you play social games on Zynga, spruce up your farm, fish, or poker game with special virtual goods that support Haiti Relief efforts.
11. Stay informed. Great sources of info include Facebook Global Disaster Relief and New York Times.
12. Spread the word of ways to help via Facebook, Twitter, and word of mouth.

Know of other ways to help? Please leave a comment, thanks!

(9: 20)

Q: What are you hearing from your people regarding the (security) and slow pace of this? – Katie Couric

A: We’re speaking to our folks on the telephone daily via satellite phones… The overwhelming message we’re getting from our folks on the ground … is of the really extraordinary peacefulness and calm. Two of my colleagues said that the first two nights, the only noise coming from areas where there are 50,000 people lying in varying degrees of terrible distress with cradling loved ones and everything else, is that of singing, of taking care of one another, of washing each other, of great comforting of a community – not even taking care of only family members, but of really taking care of one another. – Ophelia Dahl, President, Partners in Health

envisionGood Will Be In the House & Ready to Rock at SF MusicTech Summit

Music is one of the most universal languages we have: it brings people together, transcending cultures, borders, continents, and more. An amazing gift, music can set the scene, lift one’s spirits, and connect people, without even requiring an exchange of words. Given how much I love music, I’m especially thrilled to be attending the annual San Francisco Music Tech Summit on December 7th. I look forward to meeting entrepreneurs and innovators in music, as well as learning about new business models that are evolving within the industry. I’m also looking forward to hearing about new online music services that are emerging in the face of lightening-speed changes in technology.

The SF MusicTech Summit brings together visionaries in the music-technology space, along with the best and brightest developers, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. SF Music Tech is: music + business + technology, all rolled into one. What could possibly be better than that?! It’s gonna rock!

To join this awesome event, register at the following link and be sure to add discount code “envisionGood” for 15% off : http://sfmts5.eventbrite.com/

How to Learn WordPress, PHP, Social Media and More via Live, Interactive Classes on the Web

Want to learn from successful entrepreneurs for free? Want to develop new technology skills in WordPress or PHP, or gain insights on social media marketing and other areas of technology?

An amazing new start-up in San Francisco, eduFire, is helping people gain the insight they need to start a company, ramp up quickly in tech skills, get a job, and share expertise and knowledge – all in a social setting on the web via live, interactive online classes. The most exciting thing about this is that through the eduFire platform, teachers and students from around the world have an opportunity to connect, help each other out, and develop global partnerships via learning.

I had the good fortune to meet up with Jon Bischke, Founder of eduFire, this week in San Francisco to learn more about how his company aims to revolutionize education. In our chat, Jon explained how the eduFire platform works, how teachers are vetted through crowdsourced teacher reviews, and how social media tools like Facebook and Twitter specifically are used by teachers and students alike to spread the word about eduFire classes as they take place in real-time.

The big news this week for eduFire is that they just launched a new Tech Channel to compliment the other classes they offer through their Language and Business Channels. Given the continued demand for technology skills among jobseekers, Jon explained that eduFire hopes to address this need for skills development through a wide variety of tech classes online, including courses related to WordPress implementation, social media marketing, PHP, and beyond. Keep in mind, all the classes are community-driven and are quite affordable, ranging from five to fifty dollars (and some classes are free).

Imagine taking an “Underground SEO Tips for Startups” class taught by Neil Patel, co-Founder of KISSmetrics. Or, if you are a nonprofit professional, imagine taking a class on “Engaging Your Supporters Through Micro-Volunteering” by Sundeep Ahuja, Co-Founder and President of The Extraordinaries, the micro-volunteering platform that allows people to volunteer by mobile phone. Essentially, eduFire provides an opportunity for teachers to reach a global classroom of students, as well as a way for students to learn from a worldwide pool of teachers across an unlimited variety of topics. For more info on how to take a class or teach a class, be sure to check out eduFire.com. You can also reach the eduFire team on Twitter @eduFire.

A Spectacular Evening: Samasource | Give Work Charity Gala

Last night I had the absolute pleasure to attend a charity gala at The University Club in San Francisco, California in support of the phenomenal work of Samasource, a social enterprise founded by Leila Chirayath Janah that provides digital work opportunities to marginalized people living in poverty worldwide. We are big supporters of Samasource here at envisionGood.tv (as can be evidenced by a series of video interviews we’ve produced about this amazing organization over the last several months).

One thing that was reconfirmed at last night’s event: as a supporter of Samasource, we are definitely not alone – there is a groundswell of support for Samasource, and indeed we are in great company. Last night’s spectacular gala, organized by the talented and beautiful Gala Co-Chairs, Silvia Console Battilana (Auctionomics) and Nina Leis (Leis Events), brought together roughly two hundred supporters in and around San Francisco and Silicon Valley and beyond, and raised approximately US$ 90,000 to support the work of Samasource.

Founded on the idea that employment is what people living in poverty most need, Samasource provides digital work to refugees and people living on less than a few dollars a day. The great thing about this approach is that it empowers people: as Leila pointed out in her opening remarks, “a job represents not only financial compensation but also a sense of purpose and a source of dignity”.

Interestingly, I think this approach is one that empowers those of us who support Samasource as well. By promoting work as a solution to poverty, we are acknowledging that people are able to solve their own problems. This frame of reference changes the dynamic between people, I think, by shifting the paradigm to one that is based on a more equal “partner:partner” relationship. This model of partnership is good for everyone: afterall, it’s empowering to empower people.

At last night’s Samasource event, Gala Co-Chairs Silvia and Nina, and Samasource Founder, Leila, made the occasion to support Samasource’s work especially fun by auctioning off a number of creative items during the evening’s “live auction”. It was quite an entertaining exercise with a handful of lucky, winning bidders who will soon enjoy some fantastic experiences and prizes, including: coffee with Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, George Akerlof; lunch and Facebook tour with Facebook Marketing Director, Randi Zuckerberg; a night out with Zak Holdsworth, New Zealand’s Bachelor of the Year, dinner with Eco-Model Summer Rayne-Oakes; a “Sama Safari in Kenya” with Samasource Founder & Visionary, Leila Chirayath Janah, and more.

Indeed, as indicated in the Gala Program Guide given to attendees: many of the auctioned items, including the experiences listed above, are “priceless” ; ) – congratulations therefore to the lucky bidders!

In the event that you missed last night’s event, there are many additional ways to support Samasource’s great work. For starters, check out Samasource if you have work to give. Also, if you have an iPhone, you can download “Give Work”, the new, free iPhone app co-developed by Samasource and partner, CrowdFlower, to help support refugees in Kenya for a few moments on-the-go, right from your iPhone.

To Silvia, Nina, and Leila: THANK YOU for organizing such a spectacular event last night and for providing a fun way for all of us who attended this fantastic Gala to help “Give Work” to people and support the good work you are doing at Samasource.

LIVE BLOG – BSR Conference: Corporate Social Responsibility & Public Policy: Best Practices

This two-hour working session will probe the challenge of how business is exercising influence in the public policy arena. The new agenda for business’ involvement focuses on what can be contributed and how engagement drives responsibility. What is the need and role for business in public policy, what are your stakeholder expectations, and what opportunities are available to shape public policy and engage with policymakers? This session will present specific opportunities that call for collaborative solutions for companies. Using real case studies, we will provide the framework for a discussion about transparency, internal alignment, communications and campaigns, political contributions, and how to align short-term business objectives with long-term societal objectives.

Scheduled Speaker(s): Richard Feinberg Arvin Ganesan Jonathan Jacoby John Viera Kara Hartnett Hurst Virgilio Levaggi Vegagies.

LIVE BLOG – BSR Conference: The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Poverty: 3pm – 4pm PST

Join us on Twitter @envisionGood !

The global financial crisis has sent shock waves through main streets and high streets around the world. It also has had a serious impact on the world’s poorest people. This one-hour conversation with Harvard Kennedy School’s Beth Jenkins, will focus on the role companies play in poverty alleviation and development – generating economic multipliers through routine business activity, doing business with the poor (BOP or inclusive business), investing in human capital development and local institution-building, and participating in public policy dialogue with government. The discussion will cover how corporate engagement in each of these activities is changing as a result of the financial crisis.

LIVE FROM NYC: Africa Social Enterprise Forum

envisionGood.tv is proud to partner with Africa Social Enterprise Forum:

We will be LIVE streaming ASEF’s keynote & panels from Desmond Tutu Center in NYC this Saturday, September 26, 2009. Join us!

LIVE BLOG -Africa Social Enterprise Forum – Opening Keynote: 8:30am – 9:30am EST

Welcome – AngelAfrica
Opening Remarks – Bill Carter, Vice President for Africa Programs, Ashoka
Keynote Address – Craig Newmark, Founder, Craigslist

LIVE BLOG – Africa Social Enterprise Forum – Social Enterprise Financing Roundtable: 10am – 11:15am EST

Comparative review of various financing models

Moderator:
Kojo Parris, Founder & CEO, Social Private Equity South Africa and Chairman, African So-
cial Entrepreneurs Network
Panelists:
- Omer Imtiazuddin, Health Portfolio Manager, Acumen Fund
- Nii Simmonds, Co-founder, Afrobotics
- Dawn Hines, Co-founder & Partner, Aventura Investment Partners
- John Simon, Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development and Former US Ambassador to
the African Union
- Christine Phillpotts, Portfolio Manager, Grassroots Business Fund
- Antony Bugg-Levine, Managing Director, Rockefeller Foundation

LIVE BLOG – Africa Social Enterprise Forum – Due Diligence & Scaling Up: 12:45pm – 2pm EST

[ Diligence best practices for African-interest social investors and enterprises looking to scale up. Lessons learned in screening partners, clients and social ventures in Africa]

Moderator:
Cindy Ko, Director of International Expansion, Endeavor
Panelists:
- Santhosh Ramdoss, Program Manager, BRAC USA
- Alicia Polak, Founder & CEO, Khaya Cookies
- Donna Katzin, Executive Director, Shared Interest
- Jacob Lief, President & Founder, Ubuntu Education Fund
- Peter Eliassen, Vice President, VisionSpring

LIVE BLOG – Africa Social Enterprise Forum – Closing Keynote: 2:30pm – 3:30pm EST

Welcome to envisionGood’s Blog!

By popular demand we’re launching our envisionGood blog to compliment the many videos, live stream events & interviews we produce here at envisionGood. This blog will be a place to share thoughts, insights, and behind-the-scenes happenings from our team.
We want to talk with everyone reading too – so don’t be shy, leave us a note and we’ll look forward to keeping in touch with you – Thanks!  : )