“Making Ideas Move” at ComNet 2015

Posted on October 19, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

More than 500 social sector communications professionals from foundations and organizations across the globe gathered this month for engaging dialogues on using the power of digital storytelling to drive social impact, demystifying design and the making of movements. They joined together for the Communications Network conference in San Diego themed “Making Ideas Move.” Fellow communicators from organizations like the Ford Foundation, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Center for American Progress, Rockefeller Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, ONE Campaign and many others trekked to sunny California for the two-day learning event.

Here are highlights from two of the sessions that I participated in over the course of the convening and takeaways on how to move ideas forward, by making big bets and failing forward.

Fireside Chat with Soledad O’BrienI had the pleasure of joining Soledad O’Brien, one of the most well respected working journalists of our time, on stage for a fireside discussion on opening day. Our talk included a discussion on: the changing dynamics of news agencies; the rise of Millennials and how they are consuming news; and her launch of Starfish Media Group. A multi-platform media production and distribution company, Starfish Media Group is dedicated to uncovering and producing empowering stories that take a challenging look at the often divisive issues of race, class, wealth, poverty and opportunity. O’Brien produces two hit series “Black in America” and “Latino in America,” which are among CNN’s most successful domestic and international franchises.
O’Brien also created the Starfish Foundation, an organization that sends young women to and through college. The organization has supported dozens of young women in their educational pursuits, believing that they too can succeed when faced with difficult circumstances. In her book, The Next Big Story: My Journey through the land of possibilities, O’Brien shares valuable lessons and insights into her journalistic career, many of which we discussed during our time on stage.

“My storytelling is an exploration of the world’s problems—that people have the potential to do good and make good and seize from the bad if they will only make a choice to do it,” she noted. O’Brien also shared her lessons on failure with the audience, saying, “Making mistakes should be about learning lessons, not wallowing in failure.” You can watch the complete interview, below (beginning at 14:55):

https://vimeo.com/142297055

“You’ve Got the “Big Idea”, How the Heck Do You Execute It?”I also joined the panel discussion “You’ve Got the “Big Idea,” How the Heck Do You Execute It?” with Kate Emanuel of the Ad Council, Alex Kennaugh of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Amy Levner of KaBOOM! We shared with attendees how communications can turn big, audacious goals into a tangible, executable and measurable strategy—that doesn’t take years to achieve—and how to use smart research to achieve those goals.
Case in point, NRDC aims to combat food waste in the U.S., where 40 percent of food goes uneaten equating to more than $165 billion in wasted food each year. Kennaugh explained how the NRDC published an essential guide called the Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook, packed with “engaging shopping checklists, creative recipes, practical strategies and educational infographics” offering an easy ways to save food and money. Meanwhile, Levner explained how research confirms that play—physically active, imaginative and interactive play—is a powerful, healthy living solution that benefits the whole child. KaBOOM! has teamed up with the 50 Fund and the NFL Foundation to support nine counties of the Bay Area alone, helping to transform sidewalks and spaces that encourage activity.

I look forward to joining Communications Network in 2016 as they head to Detroit and gather social sector leaders from foundations and nonprofits who share the belief that big ideas, coupled with smart and strategic communications, have the power to transform society, improve lives and change the world.

Social Entrepreneurs Win $1M in Prizes at Forbes Under 30 Summit

Posted on October 9, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

This post was contributed by Heather Wise, intern at the Case Foundation.

The Case Foundation recently teamed up with Forbes and several other leading organizations committed to supporting social sector change to host the Forbes Under 30 Change the World Competition, the largest-ever competition for young social entrepreneurs leading both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. More than 2,500 young social entrepreneurs from around the world entered the Change the World Competition and shared with us their disruptive and scalable ideas.

After reviewing the submissions, organizers chose six finalists—who would each receive $100,000—and who would advance to participate in a special pitch competition on stage at the Forbes Under 30 Summit for the chance to win an additional $400,000 in prizes.

This past Tuesday, the finalists took the stage to present their fearless ideas aimed at tackling chronic challenges in the areas of education, extreme poverty, sustainability, global health and other complex global issues. Competing in front of an audience of 1,500 thought leaders, influencers and game changers, the finalists pitched captivating plans in the hope of winning over the judges, which included: Hugh Evans (Founder, The Global Poverty Project), Mike Perlis (CEO, Forbes Media) and Lynn Taliento (Principal, McKinsey and Company). The judges noted that they were looking for ideas that could not only potentially solve problems, but that were also scalable, realistic and world changing.

Kiah Williams, the 29-year-old co-founder of SIRUM, won the grand prize. SIRUM’s co-founders have built a platform for matching unopened, unexpired surplus medication to people in need. So far, with a staff of only five people, they have distributed $4.7 million worth of prescription medications by collecting unexpired medications from pharmacies, hospitals and nursing homes where patients no longer needed them. How do they plan on using their winnings? They intend to scale up so that by 2019, they will have a network of 1,000 donor organizations that are donating a total of $19 million worth of drugs.

SIRUM was the big winner of the competition but the other five finalists proved to be exceptional as well and will be able to use this competition as a springboard for other great opportunities:

Daniel Yu, 22, Reliefwatch– works with health centers in the developing world to manage inventory using simple mobile phone technology.

Amara Humphry, 27, Gooru– Non-profit that helps teachers and students improve educational outcomes through a free data and tech-enabled personalization website.

Govinda Upadhyay, 27, LEDsafari– distributes cheap solar LED lamp kits so kids in developing countries can both learn about physics and have an electric light to study with.

Paul Duan, 23, Bayes Impact– uses big data to help governments and non-profit organizations operate more efficiently.

Heather Concannon and Elizabeth Nguyen, 27, Unitarian Universalist Community Cooperatives– Co-founders of an organization that runs the Lucy Stone Co-Op house in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

The Case Foundation was proud to sponsor this event alongside Forbes, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, the Pratt Foundation, the Keywell Foundation, Echoing Green through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation and entrepreneur Bob Duggan in an effort to support next generation social entrepreneurs. To learn more about the Forbes Competition, check out this blog post by Jean Case in which we announce the finalists and highlight some of the ideas submitted that captured our imagination.

Finding Your Organization’s Digital Road Map

Posted on October 5, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

Creating and maintaining a cohesive digital communications strategy – one that brings together proprietary websites, external outlets for content (e.g. Huffington Post, Forbes or Tumblr) and popular social networking platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat to name a few) – is a critical way for organizations to connect with audiences and solidify their online presence. However, with thousands of platforms and apps to choose from, and new ones emerging every week, it is becoming increasingly challenging for organizations to effectively utilize these communication channels.

As early adapters to new technologies, our team at the Case Foundation has learned from experience that juggling too many platforms can become a distraction when your goal is quality engagement with your target audience. What is an organization to do? The answer—start by creating your own digital road map.

Collaborating with our partners at Weber Shandwick for the Communications Network’s publication Change Agent (in conjunction with the ComNet15 conference), we’ve identified five simple steps for anyone looking to streamline their online channels and more effectively engage their audiences.

Define your audience
Map out your digital ecosystem
Leave room for experimentation
Define and realign your content strategy
Make adjustments as you go

Our hope is that these tips will help you focus your efforts in the ever-evolving digital sphere!

A New Generation of Social Entrepreneurs

Posted on September 21, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

Earlier this summer, the Case Foundation teamed up with Forbes and several other leading changemaking organizations to put out a call for the world’s most innovative social entrepreneurs under the age of 30 who are changing the world with their groundbreaking ideas. More than 2,500 of them answered and shared with us their disruptive and scalable ideas in the hopes of winning the Forbes Under 30 $1 Million Change the World Competition.

From this talented pool of both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, six finalists were chosen. Each of the finalists represents a bold new idea that has the potential to catalyze solutions in the areas of education, extreme poverty, sustainability, global health and other pressing social problems.

It is awe-inspiring to see what this gifted group of changemakers from all around the world is bringing to life. Determined to tackle the world’s most difficult and chronic challenges, these bright young social entrepreneurs are forging new solutions and creating meaningful impact along the way.

Meet our six finalists and learn about their organizations:

Amara Humphry, Gooru: Humphry, age 27, co-founded Gooru, which helps students in underserved communities where there is a lack of support and limited resources both at home and in the classroom. The Redwood City, CA, based organization provides students with access to crowd-sourced courses, as well as actionable data, enabling immediate insight into their strengths and weaknesses related to learning. Gooru is free and open to anyone, and is currently focused on serving California public schools and planning on expanding to the rest of the US and to the world.

Daniel Yu, Reliefwatch: Yu, age 22, founded Reliefwatch, which provides stock level data for organizations in the developing world. The Chicago, IL, based company uses basic mobile phones for inventory management, overcoming the need for computers or Internet access. Medical stock outs and expirations are a pervasive problem across the developing world, impacting more than $4 billion dollars of medical aid each year. The Reliefwatch platform creates transparency, allowing organizations to prevent stock outs and track expiration dates. Reliefwatch’s platform reduced wasted medication by 90 percent while working with Global Brigades in Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

Govinda Upadhyay, LEDsafari: Upadhyay, age 27, founded LEDsafari, a Switzerland-based organization which provides low cost solar LED lamp kits for secondary school students in un-electrified areas of developing countries, enabling children to make and use their own lamps. LEDsafari’s instructions allow for the complete understanding of the physics behind the circuit and the design process. As the penetration of smartphones is increasing, LEDsafari is developing an app that students can use to measure their own impact.

Heather Concannon and Elizabeth Nguyen, Unitarian Universalist Community Cooperatives: These two 27-year-old clergy members co-founded the Roxbury, MA, based Unitarian Universalist Community Cooperatives. The organization offers cooperatively-owned affordable housing communities and opportunities for individual investors or organizations who value cooperation, and justice, but who struggle to find places to invest their money in ways that reflect their values.

Kiah Williams, SIRUM (Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine): Williams, age 29, co-founded SIRUM, an online platform that provides life-saving medications to low-income people. Based in Stanford, CA, SIRUM taps into a new source of medications: unopened, unexpired surplus that would have been destroyed. The company leverages technology to identify surplus medications at institutions like nursing homes and pharmacies, find a matching need and then ship the medications directly to safety-net clinics that serve low-income populations.

Paul Duan, Bayes Impact: Duan, age 23, founded Bayes Impact, which provides technology solutions for improving critical social services around the world. Incubated at Y Combinator, the San Francisco, CA, based Bayes Impact brings data science solutions to governments that have never had access to them before.

These organizations will advance and compete on-stage at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia on October 6, 2015—where more than 2,000 of the world’s top young entrepreneurs and game changers, as well as world-class mentors will come together to celebrate the next generation of leaders. Each of the finalists will receive $100,000 in awards and the overall winner will walk away with an additional $400,000 in awards. Finalists will also be invited to participate in the Forbes Under 30 Impact Lab—an afternoon during which the attendees at the Under 30 Summit will work with challenge finalists to help them solve problems and accelerate their growth.

Through its global brand and trendsetting reputation, Forbes is actively lifting up the next generation of talented makers and movers. For these finalists, participation in the Change the World competition can provide an important spotlight on their work, as well as access to networks and resources that may ultimately help advance their social enterprises and bring them one step closer to sustainably scaling their ideas. It is our passionate belief at the Case Foundation that this new generation of changemakers holds tremendous promise for building a better world, and it is the reason we are so pleased to sponsor this important competition.

Given this, I would be remiss if I stopped there and only highlighted these six finalists. Indeed, in the review of the 2,500 applicants there were numerous, exciting examples of young leaders with bright, innovative ideas that can change the world. While six may be recognized here today, and one will win this competition, my hope is that this challenge will not only inspire those with big ideas to make them a reality, but also encourage those looking to mentor, fund or champion a next gen changemaker to take action.

Looking for a way to get started? Check out a few of the other revolutionary ideas submitted for the competition that inspired us:

1DocWay provides a platform that enables Americans in remote or underserved areas to access psychiatric care. 1DocWay brings doctors to communities they were not providing care in otherwise through telemedicine, potentially serving millions.

Eko Devices provides the first smartphone-connected stethoscope that integrates with a patient electronic health record for clinicians. Clinicians are helped with diagnosing heart sounds and are able to record, save and analyze them.

LuminAID makes sustainable and space-efficient solar lights that pack flat and inflate into lightweight, waterproof lanterns ideal for disaster relief and more. The portable, waterproof, solar lights are also useful for families living without access to reliable electricity, and LuminAID’s Give Light Program lets anyone contribute to providing sustainable light.

MetaMixis provides biological tools for chemicals and materials producers; to help them transition from petroleum products to biomass (plants and waste). The company has developed a rapid discovery platform that combines biology, computation and automation to harness solutions from nature.

Ensibuuko Tech Limited provides the means for Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS) and credit unions to grow and scale rapidly as they reach underserved communities in Uganda. Ensibuuko provides a customized mobile banking software for SACCOS that improves how these institutions manage data and makes possible the use of mobile banking to make financial services accessible anytime.

Kinvolved provides mobile and web apps that enable instant SMS and email communication between teachers and parents of kids in disadvantaged schools. Kinvolved’s technology and coaching improves family engagement through more efficient and effective communication, which has been proven to increase student attendance.

LearnLux provides educated customers for financial institutions. LearnLux educates Millennials for free through an online personal finance hub and connects them to financial institutions able to help them grow and manage their money.

Soko is creating ethical fast fashion and providing sustainable income to artisans in emerging markets. Soko’s virtual factory provides artisans with market research, mobile enterprise tools and an online marketplace to sell their products to a global customer base.

Universidad Mexicana de Innovacion en Negocios (UMIN) provides the best-applied and theoretical education to the Mexican and broader Latin American population. UMIN provides affordable high-quality education to Mexican and Latin American students that combines theory and practice—so that students are more prepared to secure full-time employment when they graduate.

Check back after October 6th to find out which organization won the competition!

The Case Foundation is proud to sponsor this competition alongside: Forbes; the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation; the Pratt Foundation; the Keywell Foundation; Echoing Green through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation; and entrepreneur Bob Duggan.

Latest Email Marketing Benchmarks and Tips for Nonprofits

Posted on August 13, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

Email remains one of the most effective communication tools for organizations when they want to engage with constituents, peers, community members and others. But like many of us across sectors, we are not using our email channels as effectively as we could be—and for those of us in the nonprofit sector that is ultimately costing us volunteers, donors, advocates, website visitors and more.

Earlier this week, Laurie Hood, VP of Product Marketing for Silverpop, an IBM Company, presented a webinar titled, Email Marketing Benchmarks: How Do You Measure Up? Hood’s presentation aimed to answer one of the key questions communication leaders consider every time they hit “send” on an email to subscribers—how are your email marketing campaigns performing compared to the average? If asked this about your own email program, would you know the answer? Does it matter?

Hosted by the American Marketing Association, the session was based on Silverpop’s 2015 Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study analyzing emails sent by nearly 3,000 brands and 750 companies from more than 40 countries between January 1 and December 31, 2014. The takeaway for those of us in the nonprofit sector and really anyone providing communications through email is that yes, it does matter how your email is performing because the content you share is useless if no one opens what you have painstakingly prepared.

Here are some of the most often used benchmarks when it comes to email marketing that you can use to determine how you measure up:

OPEN RATES

Unique Open Rates: how many people “view” or “open” the email based on whether or not the recipient enables the images in the email or the recipient interacts with the email by clicking on a link.

Overall

Mean* = 21.0%
Median** = 17.4%
Top Quartile*** = 41.3%
Bottom Quartile**** = 7.0%

Mean = 20.7%
Median = 16.7%
Top Quartile = 40.9%
Bottom Quartile = 7.5%

Nonprofits, Association, Government

Mean = 27.5%
Median = 24.7%
Top Quartile = 48.1%
Bottom Quartile = 8.0%

Transactional Opens: transactional emails are most often sent by a company, store, vendor or service provider for example, as a follow up to an action taken by the email recipient. Opens for these specific emails are referred to as “transactional opens.”

Mean = 44.9%
Median = 45.9%
Top Quartile = 72.2%
Bottom Quartile = 16.6%

By nature of it being a follow-up with an already engaged recipient who trusts the sender the open rates are extremely high compared to when no transaction has occurred. In the social sector, transactional emails often occur after a donation has been made, a volunteer service has been performed or online engagement such as signing a petition has taken place. The follow-up email is often a good place to further engage with your recipient due to the predictable level of engagement shown by the transactional open rate.

CLICKS

Click-Through Rates (CTRs): the number of users who click on a specific link out of the total users who viewed the email.

Overall

Mean = 2.3%
Median = 1.4%
Top Quartile = 9.4%

Mean = 3.0%
Median = 1.3%
Top Quartile = 9.0%

Nonprofits, Association, Government

Mean = 4.0%
Median = 2.0%
Top Quartile = 11.4%
Bottom Quartile = 0.3%

Click-to-Open Rate: of the subscribers who opened the email, how many clicked on a link or image, etc.

Overall

Mean = 12.6%
Median = 9.4%
Top Quartile = 28.7%

Mean = 11.8%
Median = 8.5%
Top Quartile = 27.2%

LIST CHURN

Hard Bounces: a permanent reason an email cannot be delivered such as a non-existent domain or when a user has blocked your emails.

Overall

Mean = .547%
Median = .021%
Top Quartile = 0%

Mean = 0.568%
Median = 0.260%
Top Quartile = 0%

Unsubscribes: when someone chooses to no longer be on a mailing list.

Overall

Mean = .130%
Median = .021%
Top Quartile = 0%

Mean = .131%
Median = .021%
Top Quartile = 0%

TIPS

Hood also shared several tips to help anyone improve their email communications. I found these three to be particularly helpful when it comes to increasing the success of your email program.

Tip #1: Make your email as easy to read as possible. The simplest way to do this is to increase the size of the font for the copy. Hood suggests using the following guidelines for font size:

Body Copy 14 px+
Headlines 22 px+
Buttons 44 px by 44 px

Tip #2: Remember to design your email for the devices your readers are using. Hood reminded listeners that in some cases, more than 50 percent of emails these days are being opened on mobile devices. This percentage is only going to increase over time, so be sure to take design for desktop, mobile, etc. into consideration.

Tip #3: Tell your readers what you want them to do – make it obvious! This means making sure your copy is action-oriented and provides readers with a direct and specific call-to-action.

One final note—remember, data and benchmarks should be used as a diagnostic tool and taken into consideration alongside elements of design, strength of your list and how active your subscribers are relative to your content, rather than alone or without context.

As part of the Case Foundation’s efforts to improve our own online presence and strengthen our communication channels, we too are taking a look at our own email program and assessing what we can do to improve the experience of our subscribers and future readers. I hope you can also put these benchmarks and tips to use in improving your email distribution!

If you have your own email marketing tips, questions or ideas specific to the nonprofit sector, please share and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #CFBlog.

Definitions

*Mean – the “average,” derived when you add up all the numbers in your data set and then divide by the number of numbers.
**Median – the “middle” value in the list of numbers or data set.
***Top Quartile – the top 25 percent of data, which Silverpop then took the average to determine what the “Top Quartile” was.
****Bottom Quartile – the bottom 25 percent of data, which Silverpop then took the average to determine what the Bottom Quartile was.

How ‘Tech for Good’ is Disrupting the Foster Care System

Posted on June 3, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

At the Opportunity Nation Summit earlier this year, I caught up with Foster Skills founder, Marquis Cabrera. He is a tech entrepreneur who recognized the ongoing problems in the foster care system and set out to create a solution. He was also one of the Finding Fearless grant winners in 2012!

Though well intentioned, foster care continues to fail too many young people. The statistics paint a dismal future for a large portion of the 400,000 children and teens in foster care in the U.S. Of the current foster care population, 20,000 “age out,” meaning they are neither reunited with their families nor permanently placed in new homes. Additionally, 40 percent of former foster youth repeat one or more grades; between only 2 and 9 percent of former foster youth attain a bachelor’s degree; the average reading level of 17 and 18 year olds in foster care is only the 7th grade; it is estimated that between 11 and 37 percent experience homelessness after age 18 and 25 percent of foster youth are incarcerated within 2 years of “aging out.” According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report, minorities represent a disproportionate percentage of the foster population in our country, compounding some of the issues this demographic has historically struggled with – academic under-achievement, unemployment and incarceration.

Why do these poor outcomes persist and what can be done?

Marquis has pinpointed the lack of real-time innovations, responsive, human-centered technology and community voice as the root causes of the consistently poor outcomes for foster youth, saying, “Government needs innovators to become more citizen-service-centric.”

Marquis and the Foster Skills team want to respond to this need by transforming the child welfare system in the U.S. They intend to fill the innovation gaps that allow foster youth to flounder socially and economically. They’re part of a new breed of nonprofit – social entrepreneurs that, like many emerging startups, wants to ramp up their use of technology to create faster solutions. However, Foster Skills wasn’t always a tech-oriented organization, and we’re excited to share the story of how their approach has evolved over time to better address the needs of the foster youth community.

The evolution of Foster Skills

Foster Skills began as a mentoring program to help foster youth get into college. However, they soon discovered that unaddressed funding gaps were still keeping college out of reach for many in the foster care system. In response, Foster Skills introduced Got Skills?, a work force development and job placement program that includes partnerships with State Street, Northeastern University and Boston Children’s Hospital, to provide foster youth with opportunities for meaningful employment.

As a fearless change-maker, Foster Skills champions rapid experimentation, creative partnerships and learning from failure. Accordingly, they were unsatisfied and impatient with their rate of impact. They wanted to do more to break down the remaining barriers to foster youth success, and they wanted to do it quickly. So they “reinvented Foster Skills,” because, as Marquis explained, “we are innovators and did not feel a traditional service-focused organization would create the change we wanted to see in the world. We wanted to have a more tangible impact that we could see now, not just 20 years down the road.”

Put simply, Foster Skills reinvented themselves as the “Quirky of child welfare.” They recently re-launched as a co-creation platform that invites the general public – including foster youth, foster parents, social workers and child welfare professionals – to contribute out of the box solutions and relevant ideas for the chance to win a prize. The Foster Skills team reviews, rapidly prototypes and markets the ideas with the most potential to tackle a “pain point,” as revenue generating subsidiaries. This new business model will allow them to continuously engage with their community and evolve in response to its needs.

A Foster Skills solution

The new crowd-sourcing platform led to the creation of ratemyfosterhome.com, a mobile application that collects real-time data updates on foster home conditions from the foster parents, foster youth and social workers. It is an easy to use, accessible tool for reporting any number of issues that might arise in a foster home situation – behavioral, emotional, communication breakdowns, etc. Each person involved in the foster care relationship can access it to improve reporting and response rates. Ratemyhome.com is one of many tools being developed, aimed at addressing the innovation gaps and barriers to success that drive Marquis and Foster Skills’ work. The real-time reporting collects and lifts up the voices of those engaged in the foster care environment; it delivers accessible, innovative technology applications to streamline a government service; and it promotes rapid, human-centered, responsive design.

We at the Case Foundation, like the team at Foster Skills, recognize that government offices have fewer opportunities than private organizations to incorporate experimentation and test innovative approaches. We are thrilled that more entrepreneurial organizations, like Foster Skills, are deploying their tech abilities to develop tools like ratemyfosterhome.com and are reaching outside their bubble to work with local governments to spread innovative solutions to a greater number of states, cities and neighborhoods. We hope their tools and partnerships continue to empower the foster community, creating more environments in which these 400,000 young people have a stronger start, so they too can thrive.

If you have an idea to improve the child welfare system that you would like to share with the Foster Skills team submit it here!

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For more updates on the other Finding Fearless winners check out the blog post by Senior Director, Social Innovation, Sarah Koch, “Looking Back on Finding Fearless: Where are They Now?”.

For more on the opportunity for more innovation in government, see the Case Foundation’s CEO, Jean Case’s Forbes article, “Why Pay for Success Matters,” in which she discusses innovative, outcomes based, government funding models.

The Future of Transportation: More than Just Convenience

Posted on March 25, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

I’d venture to guess that most of you reading this blog have used technology in some way to help us navigate our cars around town or make transportation from one place to another easier – from Google Maps or other online maps services (MapQuest, anyone?) to Uber or Lyft. Or you may have already started to get excited about the possibilities for self-driving cars. Perhaps you’ve watched the YouTube video on Google’s Self Driving Car Project or heard the news that Uber has partnered with Carnegie Mellon University to create the Uber Advanced Technologies Center to move this technology forward faster. No matter what your experience is with these technologies, you have probably sensed that there is a significant shift happening in the world involving transportation and consumer habits.

What does widespread adoption and acceptance of companies like Uber, or apps like Google Maps, mean for the future of transportation? And how will these technologies change how individuals and groups can safely, efficiently and happily get from point A to point B? The answer to these questions will ultimately define the future of transportation in the coming decade.

Technology Advancements

Services like Uber have been made possible because of the confluence of a number of factors: improved camera technology, street-by-street mapping, ecommerce and the ever present, always connected smart phone. The same will be said about self-driving cars as they ultimately represent a higher and higher percentage of cars on the road. Companies like Google are putting a tremendous amount of resources into getting the self-driving car right. While it may seem scary to give up control of the steering wheel to a computer, the reality is the self-driving car will be more self-aware, since it will be equipped with a 360-degree camera and it won’t be distracted by talking on the phone or handing an item to a child in the back seat. The car will recognize impending danger faster than a human, will use heat signatures to identify living things that have the potential to cross its path and it can’t panic or over correct in times of stress. In fact, Elon Musk believes that one-day human-driven cars will be outlawed, as they will be thought of as too dangerous.

A Transportation Future that Empowers All

These cars seem perfect for a new fleet of on demand taxis, shuttles and buses. Fewer cars on the road that are aware of each other means that accidents will likely decrease. We can imagine these cars in our cities, suburbs and neighborhoods, but what about the great potential for the developing world? Can this transform the way in which hundreds of millions of people move from point A to point B?

Like all new technologies and advancements, those individuals with the financial means will be the early adopters and will initially define what the opportunity means. Uber has expanded from young upwardly mobile Silicon Valley technology professionals getting around San Francisco to teenagers being shuttled to piano or soccer practice in cities around the country. This is a natural evolution of adoption as services like Uber become more mainstream and are accepted as the natural way to navigate a city. When this happens, we will begin to see a market form. There will be competitors, third-party applications and after market products that will help create new companies. In this not-so-distant future, the self-driving car will cross the chasm from the early adopters to the early majority. Prices will come down and these services will be accessible to the masses.

These cars of the future will revolutionize individual transportation, public transportation and the sharing economy of groups like Uber and Zipcar. Imagine how empowering it will be for those who have lost their ability to drive to be able to take themselves to work, and then take their children to soccer practice, with a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home. Existing services for these individuals is typically binary, where they get assistance from another individual or a support van takes you from point A to point B. Owning a self driving car will provide a new level of freedom and control.

The market will drive innovation, spur new industries, lower the cost of transportation, reduce carbon emissions, increase road safety and increase the opportunity for more people to move throughout their communities. Yes, people will be nervous – there is often anxiety around ambitious new innovations – and there will be bumps in the road, but the benefits will prove to be too great to stop us moving toward what will be a safe and interconnected world.

Want to continue the conversation? Tweet us @CaseFoundation with the hashtag #CFBlog!

Did Potato Salad Save or Kill Crowdfunding?

Posted on March 24, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

It started with a little campaign to raise money for making potato salad. It went viral, raising $55,000 and became one of the highest-viewed campaigns in Kickstarter history. Some rolled their eyes, thinking that this just showed all that was wrong with crowdfunding. Others thought this was a breakthrough moment – a crowdfunding campaign, albeit a silly one, was making national and international news and bringing the concept into homes everywhere. And no matter what their viewpoint, pretty much everyone was left wondering, is this a joke?

This is where we started the conversation at a panel I had the opportunity to moderate last week on the Next Stage at SXSW, featuring Zack Brown, the “Potato Salad Kickstarter guy,” Ryan Grepper, CEO of the Coolest Cooler (the second highest-grossing Kickstarter campaign, raising $13.3 million) and Gary Wohlfeill, director of marketing at Crowdrise, a crowdfunding platform focused on raising money for causes and nonprofits.

We had a fun conversation focused on tips and tricks for creating a successful crowdfunding campaign , how to harness crowdfunding for good and the future of the industry. Here are a few takeaways from our conversation:

• Content is king – For those of you who are familiar with the Coolest Cooler (which really is the coolest cooler I’ve seen), it seems obvious to us now that it would be a product in high demand. But what many don’t know is that the first Kickstarter campaign for the product actually failed to reach its goal. The reason? The lack of simple, creative and compelling content, according to Grepper. The second, wildly successful campaign for the Cooler featured a simple, straightforward video that captured the imagination of anyone visiting the site right from the start. Similarly, Zack Brown noted that his goal in developing content for the Potato Salad campaign was to keep it minimal and to the point. And while yes, the campaign was in fact designed to be a joke, the panel agreed that no doubt the nature of the language used in the campaign page drew people in and excited them about being “in” on the joke. Another proponent of good content and the importance of tone is Gary Wolfheil, who pointed out Crowdrise’s mission to “make giving fun.” And so it’s no surprise that the campaigns that do best on the platform are entertaining and engaging.

• Successful crowdfunding campaigns are based on equity – No, we’re not talking about securities-based crowdfunding here (we’ll get to that a little later), but rather a point that Gary Wohlfeill raised – successful campaigns make you feel like you have some sort of equity and stake in its success. This type of equity can be physical (i.e., receiving an actual product like the Coolest Cooler), community-based (like taking part in Zack Brown’s “Potato Stock”) or emotional (Wohlfeill shared an example of a young woman raising money for a family in Haiti who attracted participants in the campaign by promising video footage for every milestone reached – including the family moving into a new home).

• Wild success is a good thing – for the most part. In both the case of Potato Salad and the Coolest Cooler, the campaigns surpassed not only the initial fundraising goal but the organizers’ wildest expectations. Which is largely a good thing – but not without its pitfalls: from criticisms to how the money might be used to challenges in delivering product. In both cases, transparency and pivots were key to the success of the campaign – and the days that followed. On Brown’s side, as the campaign continued to blow through new stretch goals, he posted regular updates to the site to share new plans with supporters, which ultimately led to the development of not only the giant potato party known as Potato Stock, but a partnership with The Columbus Foundation, turning the energy around potato salad into a force for good. For Grepper, the campaign’s wild success meant manufacturing exponentially more Coolest Coolers than he had initially planned – which ultimately meant delays. Grepper has been incredibly transparent about the entire process – posting numerous lengthy updates to the campaign page and sharing with backers – giving them an inside view of the project and how it’s progressing (and rewarding them for their patience with even more features).

• Crowdfunding has unleashed incredible human generosity. At the Case Foundation, we’ve long known about the transformative possibilities of combining a large number of small gifts, having supported platforms like Network for Good and MissionFish, that have collectively raised more than $1.5B for nonprofits. And we’ve seen crowdfunding used in big ways to rally around individuals in need – $700K for a vacation for a bullied bus monitor, or $350K for the man in Detroit with a 21-mile walking commute (though it should be noted that these success stories are not without their critics and downsides). But, as Wolfheil pointed out, all you have to do is surf the Crowdrise site to see generosity on display at a smaller, but equally as meaningful scale. Brown and Grepper agreed that there was tremendous power to direct the energy that a crowdfunding campaign can generate towards making the world a better place.

• The future of crowdfunding is bright (but maybe a little complicated). In 2014, crowdfunding campaigns raised an estimated $10 billion, and the industry is expected to grow to $20 billion in 2015. My fellow panelists all seemed to agree that the industry is poised for continued exponential growth – pointing out that we’ve barely just scratched the surface when it comes to crowdfunding becoming a mainstream phenomenon. When it comes to new types of crowdfunding – and specifically securities-based crowdfunding for non-accredited investors (meaning anyone will be able to contribute to a campaign in exchange for a financial stake in a company), which is awaiting finalization of SEC rules – the panel was mixed. Based on his experience in managing a wide range of comments and criticisms in his product-based campaign, Grepper raised concerns over how company founders will effectively manage such a large pool of investors. But most were intrigued about the potential of equity crowdfunding if implemented right.

At the end of the discussion, we revisited the opening question: did the Potato Salad campaign kill or save crowdfunding? At the end of the day, we realized that it wasn’t really the right question to ask. Rather, it was how can we continue to unlock the power of crowdfunding to drive new innovations, advance game-changing projects and ultimately harness energy and dollars to change the world? Sometimes, it might take a little bit of humor and a lot of potato salad.

The 5 Biggest Social Good Trends from SXSW 2015

Posted on March 19, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

For an update on social good trends in 2017, check out, “Biggest Trend in Social Good? Women in the Driver’s Seat!”

We came. We saw. We conquered.

In between the music, the parties and the Meerkat-ing, one thing was clear—SXSW was ground zero once again for new opportunities for cross-sector collaboration and innovation in the social good space. While previously left out of the festival all together just a few years ago, this year’s expanded Social Good Hub and Startup Village brought government, nonprofits, foundations, impact-driven startups and entrepreneurs front and center with a strong message: we can and should act on a level playing field with corporations and for-profit entities.

This year’s festival brought many newcomers, from impact investors to civic leaders. The DC government even hosted its own lounge—We DC House—across from the convention center. Tracks focused on industry verticals, like healthcare, fashion and education, instead of traditional skill-sets, causing a collision of cross-disciplinary attendees.

And come we did. This relatively new approach to format at SXSW has been embraced by both organizations and attendees alike, igniting several big trends that we at the Case Foundation are helping to spearhead:

1. Collaboration and Unlikely Partnerships Drive Success

 In the third wave of the Internet, big successes won’t come from isolated efforts, but rather unlikely partnerships will be required to accelerate growth and impact, said the Case Foundation’s Chairman Steve Case in his Saturday keynote. This sentiment was an undercurrent throughout SXSW. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, also speaking at SXSW discussed innovating in government as a multi-stakeholder process that can be driven by public and private sector collaboration. Even Yahoo’s Chief Information Security Officer, Alex Stamos, raised how the company was breaking down internal silos to create new partnerships between user experience and security to create new alternatives to passwords.

2. Social Returns are as Important as Profit 

It’s going to be transformative breakthrough businesses that come to the table to solve the world’s biggest problems, said CEO Jean Case at the Impact Investing Rumble, where two teams went head-to-head in a debate about whether one can earn financial and social returns on investments. This was one of many featured talks at the SXSW Social Good Hub. The concept of not only making a profit but having a purpose resounded everywhere—including startups looking to change their community through technology to energy efficient internet of things devices.

3. The Rest is Rising Through Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship provides the promise of economic mobility and the power to lift up communities. With nearly double the space devoted to entrepreneurship from last year, the startup community continues to grow in visibility at SXSW. From Colorado to Iowa, local innovators outside of Silicon Valley came out to learn, share ideas and disrupt their sectors. UP Global’s Startup Oasis was bustling with pitch competitions and community-centered happy hours.

4. Diversity and Inclusion are Still an Issue 

Diversity has been an ongoing challenge in technology, but many at SXSW are actively calling for inclusion regardless of culture, race and gender. A female founders panel on accelerators and investors noted 88 percent of venture-backed companies have no female leadership. There is a business reason to have diversity and inclusion in entrepreneurship, to bring all voices to the table, said the Case Foundation’s CEO Jean Case at the Kapor Center Diversity Lunch and Pitch Competition. Entrepreneurship shouldn’t just be for the privileged. One way of policing panels for inclusion was the Gender Avenger app that allowed attendees to shame panels that didn’t have any marginalized voices represented.

5. Big Data and Measurement are Driving Innovation  

In the push for impact and transparency, data, metrics and measurement are becoming critical in aiding experimentation and rapidly assessing success. When evaluating our metrics, we see “failures” as a red badge of courage and experimentation, said Tom Nelson, president of Share Our Strength at the Case Foundation’s Be Fearless session. Many other organizations participating at SXSW such as USAID’s innovation lab, which leveraged health data to inform the fight on Ebola; and the ASPCA, which utilized adoption data and visualizations to identify gaps in their adoption programs are actively engaging on the data front as well. Increasingly, more organizations, such as Open Supporter Data Interface are working to form standards for open data and APIs to streamline integration of multiple data sets and development so measurement and evaluation can be easier and more accessible.

Did you spot any other trends from this year’s SXSW? If so, please share with us on Twitter using #CFBlog! See you at SXSW next year!

Power to the Peeple

Posted on March 16, 2015October 31, 2018 by Case Foundation

What do you get when you combine the Case Foundation team, 240 peeps, 2 pounds of wood glue, 50 sheets of assorted felt sheets and 3-dozen pipe cleaners? A one-of-a-kind, handmade diorama depicting “Live Tweeting of Nobel Peeps Prize Winners Throughout Time” in the Washington Post’s 2015 Peeps Diorama contest!

We’re celebrating past Nobel Peace Prize winners who took risks, who were bold and who failed forward, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Malala Yousafzai, Mother Theresa and the Dalai Lama. We honor their contributions to the world as they stand on stage before a packed house in this recreation of the ceremony at the Oslo City Hall. True to the Case Foundation’s style, we’ve also integrated technology into the scene and imagined what they would have tweeted—had they been able to live-tweet the acceptance of their award.

Live Tweeting Nobel Peeps Prize Winners Throughout Time

Now we need your help!

More than 400 submissions were entered into the Peeps Diorama contest, of which only 32 were selected to compete in the “Peep-le’s Choice” competition. Every day starting today through March 20, 2015, readers can vote for their favorite diorama in a March Madness style bracket challenge.

Let’s show everyone just how powerful peeps doing good can be!

Martin Luther King, Jr.; Nelson Mandela; Aung San Suu Kyi; and Malala Yousafzai

Martin Luther King, Jr.: #IHaveADream that we will 1 day live in a nation where we will not be judged by the color of our sugar, but by the content of our mallow.

Nelson Mandela: Courageous people do not fear forgiving for the sake of #Peeps.

Aung San Suu Kyi: If you are feeling helpless, giving someone a Peep

Malala Yousafzai: One box of bunny peeps and one box of chick Peeps can change the world. #GiveMeAllThePeeps

Kaliash Satyarthi; Dalai Lama; Mother Theresa; and President Obama

Kaliash Satyarthi: Peeps, then what? If not you, then who?

Dalai Lama: Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your Peeps.

Mother Theresa: We shall never know all the good that a simple Peep can do. #GivePeepsAChance

President Obama: What Washington needs is MORE Peeps! #YesPeepsCan

Simply click on our diorama “Live Tweeting Nobel Peeps Prize Winners Throughout Time” and then submit your vote daily! Thank you in advance for your support!

BONUS: Here are some behind the scenes pictures of the team in action!

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