Author Archive:
Elaine Smith
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 …
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 …
‘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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …