social capital

Last week I attended the TEDxLive talks via TEDxCalgary. The talks on crowd-sourcing and social change really perked my ears. It was exciting to hear people sharing their thoughts on things that I have been thinking about for a while and how they took my thoughts to a new level. Isn't that the whole point of TED - to make us think and dream bigger?

Guest Blogger Lindsay Mitchell, a member of the Dexterity Consulting team, recently returned from SOCAP10.  Here are some thoughts on her experience.

Impact investing. Social entrepreneurship. Social enterprise. Tactical Philanthropy. New Money. All buzz terms heard last week when I attended the Social Capital Markets Conference (SOCAP) in San Francisco, along with 1200 other like-minded individuals from all parts of the value chain, from social entrepreneur to investor.  From what is usually seen as opposing perspectives - financial profit and social good - there came much hope, optimism and energy towards bringing these polar worlds closer together. Read more »

Check out this link for answers to the question about what donors are thinking of charitable fundraising tactics.

"As a donor to charity, what do we nonprofits do that REALLY annoys the tar out of you?"  This question was posed my Marc Pitman.

While you are on LinkedIn, check out the group Generating Social Capital.  A very interesting gathering of people trying to foster social change.

Finally, a few words on last nights speech by Barak Obama as it pertains to social change and social capital.  Here is a man who, for the first time since I have been engaged on the periphery of politics, actually moved me and made me believe in what he said.  Most importantly that he will deliver.  I have pulled out an excerpt from his speech that speaks to the generative changes that his government intends to make. 

This past week I have been in NYC.  Everywhere I went I asked people thoughts about the election.  One person's response was to ask me why I was interested.  The importance of this election does not simply impact the lives of Americans, this election and the policies that come out of it will directly impact the lives of Canadians, Afghanis, Iraqis, Africans, Chinese, Israelies, Russians... the globe.  I know for this Canadian, the need for change is desperate, change in environmental standards and policies, change in foreign policies, change in economic policies. 

As the American economy sinks further, the Canadian economy is also slowing.  This in turn can have major effects on charitable investments and the services that our non-profit organizations provides; as part of the social safety-net, as part of the cultural activities, as part of the educational opportunities provided and as part of the environmental securities we seek out.

Obama's platform is all about social change.  Hopefully his fiscal policies will reflect generating social capital to assist in that change.

Here is the excerpt from his speech.  The whole version can be found on his website - Barak Obama.

...What is that promise? 

It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.

It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.

Our government should work for us, not against us.  It should help us, not hurt us.  It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.

That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.

So what does the Truth and Reconciliation Process in Australia and the land claim issues facing Canada's Aboriginal Community have to do with Generating Social Capital?  It has to do with the process in which we address some of the underlying issues facing these communities and those in which they are situated.  In essence, it is a new way at looking at an old problem.  In a previous post I talked about "What do We Have in Common?"  As I prepare for the 4 R's Conference in Sydney, Australia later this fall I have been asking myself this very question.  Can we learn from our mistakes, if so, what should we learn?

Here is what I put forward - This is not an issue about right and wrong, fair or unjust, it is a matter of what kind of society (whether in Canada or Australia) are we wanting to leave for our children and grandchildren?  I had lunch today with a lawyer who represents the government in Aboriginal land claim issues.  He said (and I am paraphrasing), we have created a culture of greed and put a value on philanthropic activities thereby cutting people out of the process for making change. 

Business with our Treaty 7 communities does not just have to be around land rights and geological resources, other social business ventures could be had.  If we can put aside our biases and prejudices for a moment there is an untapped intellectual marketplace available to us.  Of course, taking the time to learn the cultural nuances and not limiting ourselves to what we believe to be true is critical.  Think of the ripple effect we could generate by investing the time (and yes, it would be a significant investment on BOTH sides) into doing business with each other - education, job skill training, effective mentorship within a cultural setting that honours certain labour skills leads to the building and strengthening of rural communities that are struggling under the weight of limited resources.  By integrating Traditional Wisdom practices with new concepts of Adaptive Philanthropy and Social Capital we can, as a community, change the face of how business is done on a local level and national level.  Of course change is difficult, and it will take time, it just takes that one company who will risk something and the one potential employee who will participate in that risk to get the ball rolling.  If we all provide our collective intelligence on this, who knows how fast this can move forward.

Continuing in the vein of business and philanthropy - the Calgary Business Hall of Fame will be holding its annual event on November 5^th.  This event is hosted by Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta will be honouring three people who have been instrumental leaders in Calgary's business community.  These three people are also leaders in our philanthropic sector.  Ed Galvin (posthumously) Jim Palmer, and Don Taylor are this year's laureates. Examples of their commitment to community can be seen in their business practices, but also in their familial engagements.  For those of you who are looking for how generating social capital can be done, check these guys out!  For more information on this event please visit their website.

Generating social capital is the means to raising human and financial resources that enable positive social change through innovation.  I am in the middle of reading Getting to Maybe by Westley, Zimmerman and Patton and this book has articulated the process in which I engagemy own life, but also advise my clients on their charitable investments.

Social Change is inherently fraught with paradoxes and opposites.  These opposing systems can be seen in simple cause and effect situations like children living longer because they are not dying from diseases like malaria, but they don't have access to education because the system in place was never meant to have so many children living beyond the age of three.  These systems can also be seen in more complex situations like the removal of government funding for social services to be replaced by private foundations.  This in turn means that private foundations that are typically established to fund innovative ideas, are now supporting baseline programming in order to ensure that the basic needs of an organization are met.

Supporting social change is done through a process, according to Westley, Zimmerman and Patton.  The basic premise of this process is as follows:

• Support vision, people with a passion and emerging possibilities
• Support knowledge transfers, networking opportunities and connections between people and systems that can take things in a new direction
• Remove barriers to innovation
• Be passionate about things that matter to you
• Express your vision to others, this in turn will attract them to what you are trying to accomplish
• Be the change. As systems change around you, you will also adapt and change
• Support others in their attempts to change systems. Social innovation does not always conform to organizational management systems - be okay with this
• Watch and listen
• Accept the imperfections

This can be translated into Generating Social Capital in the following ways:

By investing your financial, human and intellectual resources into a person or an organization with passion, means that you agree with what they are trying to achieve.  If you don't, or you can't align your values with their passion then this is not the type of social change you want to be engaged in.

Philanthropic investors can learn from each other.  This knowledge transfer happens on many levels from attending conferences like the Global Forum for Philanthropy to more passive experiences like blogging (see my blog roll for some sites that I read regularly).  The more you know about what others are the doing the stronger your network can be for leveraging your philanthropic investments to generate greater impact.

Don't always be hung up on outcomes.  I write a lot about impacts.  I think this is what is important.  Working with a charitable organization to help them achieve their mission is just as important as providing them with the funding to achieve that mission.  By providing unwieldy reporting requirements, or not providing the funding to generate those reports is, in essence, preventing you from achieving your objective of generating social capital and change.

If you believe in what you are doing, share that with others.  Your passion will inspire others.  Over the past few months, as I have been interviewing people on how and why the started their foundations, so many of them have said they were inspired by someone else who also wanted to change the world.  It is that inspiration that fosters innovation.  You might not end up working on the same project or with the same mandate, but your energy will encourage others to invest their energies into their own beliefs.

Social innovation, as stated before, is about conflict.  The conflict can be around the issue that is being addressed, it can be around the process that is feeding into the current system or it can be the different approaches implemented to address the issue.  As the system evolves and adapts, and as you influence that movement, you will be changed.  Be okay with this.  Innovation in and of itself is about altering the status quo, so you cannot be part of the status quo.

Did you know that LISTEN and SILENT are anagrams of each other?  There might be a reason for this.  As you see how others are generating social capital, learn from them and adopt their best practises into your own systems.  As questions and hear the answer.  You are impacting the world on so many levels, it is important to understand how one action can impact an entirely different system.

We live a in world, as you know that is imperfect.  These imperfections are what drives us to change and be innovative.  Enjoy this as you discover new ways of generating social capital as they align with your values and passions.