From Financial Education to Financial Capability

If you are working with low to moderate-income individuals and have a focus on financial education (educating through classes, seminars, etc.), take a look at this brief that the Center for Financial Services Innovation released. Pay close attention to where financial services are rapidly moving: Financial Capability which is more high-touch and engaging.

Verizon Foundation: An Innovative Approach to Philanthropy

The Verizon Foundation made a strategic decision to align with the company’s entry into new markets. “Through a focused model that includes grants and in-kind giving of our technology, as well as partnerships with leading nonprofit organizations, the Verizon Foundation aims to become an incubator for new social solutions to demonstrate the efficacy of our products in real-world settings while accelerating deployment of our technology to underserved communities.”

This reminds me of a similar approach that IBM took with SeniorNet back in the early 2000’s. They provided a cash grant to use SeniorNet (tech training for adults aged 50+) as a pilot site for a system developed by IBM to “make the Internet accessible to everyone, including people who have visual limitations that make it difficult or impossible to see a Web page or motor impairments like tremors that make it difficult to type or use a mouse.” The software was available to all SeniorNet members and was the first phase of the roll-out of a new product.

Strategic partnerships and ventures with corporations in this capacity are smart because they serve as platforms to drive future growth and innovation.

Hospitals and Universities, Engaging Corporations on an Enterprise Basis

Companies are focusing on engaging with research universities and hospitals on an enterprise basis rather than just philanthropic. This is a smart shift because there are so many strategic benefits on all sides. Think of new products produced together to generate income, licensing, research & development and top it off with a philanthropic donation.


Take a look at a blurb in NARCRO’s  white paper that clearly frames the issue:

Companies were “pushing back” and making it clear that unlike government agencies or foundations, they are not in the business of giving away money that does not have at least a potential for business outcomes. According to the summer 2010 Sloan Management Review article, “Best Practices for Industry-University Collaboration,” industry interactions with academia are intended to “extract the most business value possible from [university] research.” Corporations no longer consider themselves to be simply donors to academia; they consider themselves to be investors and business partners, where knowledge creation and transfer are a significant part of the equation.

Quote

"People who can put themselves in the place of other people, who can understand the workings of their minds, need never worry about what the future has in store for them."
Owen D. Young

Yoga in the Rotunda

Have you ever had a yoga class in a museum before? If not, head on over to the Brooklyn Museum this Sunday. In connection with the exhibition Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior, three yoga instructors will offer a series of workshops in the museum's rotunda. In addition, a tour of the exhibition will be provided before the workshop. Bring your own mats and enjoy!

BMW Guggenheim Lab

The BMW Guggenheim Lab launches in New York on August 3! Check out the site and FB for cool updates and more information on the project.

Seven Metrics

According to Geoff Ramsey and Vipin Mayar, the authors of a new book titled Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success, there are seven performance metrics that are important for performance measurement across digital channels. You can read more about the seven metrics on eMarketer and here.