Author Archive:

Elaine Smith

Opinion Elaine Smith 31 October 2014

What does a close result in the Brazilian presidential elections mean for philanthropy?

Brazil has just had presidential elections and the incumbent president Dilma Rousseff won by a very narrow margin. Never mind scrutinizing numbers as her 51.63 per cent of the votes represent millions of voters in …

News Elaine Smith 26 September 2014

Why philanthropy should take note of a new social and environmental index for the Amazon

Lots of people talk about conserving the Amazon rainforest, which harbours one-third of the world’s tropical forests and the planet’s largest hydrographic basin. The forests of the region retain vast amounts of carbon and play a …

Conference reports Elaine Smith 28 May 2014

‘How can capitalism better serve society?’ Reflections from the Brazilian Forum on Social Finance and Impact Investment

The 1st Fórum Brasileiro de Finanças Sociais e Negócios de Impacto – Investir para Transformar took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 6 and 7 May. Over 500 people participated in the event, organized by …

Special feature Elaine Smith 1 December 2013

Seeking social impact through their businesses

Though Brazil’s rapid economic rise has made it the sixth largest economy by nominal GDP in the world, it is not a generous country in terms of philanthropy. What can we expect from the next …

Opinion Elaine Smith and Instituto Geracao 11 November 2013

Social investments versus impact investing in social themes

The second edition of the LH Forum for Positive Economy took place in Le Havre, France, from 25-27 September. It had over 4,000 enrolments, of which some 1,400 were from local students. This was a huge …

Conference reports Elaine Smith and Instituto Geracao 31 October 2013

2013 Brazilian Philanthropy Forum: we want more, better and faster

The 2nd Brazilian Philanthropists Forum, organized by the Global Philanthropy Forum (GPF) and IDIS, took place on 24 October in São Paulo. Attendance had grown to 186 participants from a little over 150 last year.  …

Opinion Elaine Smith and Instituto Geracao 29 August 2013

Connecting two resources: social investments and social work

‘We are living in a world that is different from what we dream. Recently, we reached our limit and lots of us run to the streets to complain because we cannot stand the current situation …

Opinion Elaine Smith and Instituto Geracao 23 July 2013

Food for thought in the midst of Brazilian social unrest

When you arrive back home after five weeks of travelling, all you want is to unpack and snuggle in your bed. After spending three weeks in a HBS program in Boston and later spending two …

Opinion Elaine Smith and Instituto Geracao 17 April 2013

Creating innovative solutions to social issues in Brazil and beyond

To work in the social field and help organizations in their development process requires the ability to read social processes with attention, effort and patience. As it is a development process, it is a process …

Opinion Elaine Smith and Instituto Geracao 27 February 2013

The need for financial literacy

Brazil is a country with mild winter, which means that for a Brazilian to hit the slopes and learn how to ski, he or she needs to be able to travel, and therefore gets to …