Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation (PSI)

Cross-Sectoral Convenings

PSI brings together philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs, private sector leaders and policymakers who share a commitment to positive social change. They will consider those methodological questions that might divide them, and those substantive goals they share to build a consensus on the way forward. Our goal is to overcome barriers to effective action and to identify and seize opportunities for collaboration. Program convenings have focused on such subjects as mission-related investing, measures for community foundations, increasing nonprofits’ access to capital, leveraging the private and public sectors in advancing social innovation, improving nonprofit advocacy, and the role of community-based organizations in disaster relief. These evidence-based convenings are informed by cutting-edge research aggregated or commissioned by PSI. 

Barriers to Impact and Innovation
At a time when innovative solutions to our country's most pressing problems are desperately needed, the Aspen Institute's Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation hosted "Barriers to Impact and Innovation: The Power of Statistical Data on the Nonprofit Sector," a gathering of government representatives, Presidential Transition officials, scholars, nonprofit leaders, philanthropic executives, and social entrepreneurs to discuss the need for higher quality, up-to-date, statistical data on the social sector.  Participants cited the need for more data on the size and financing structure of the nonprofit sector, the efforts of their organizations to collect more data on their constituencies, and ways in which the government modify its data collection methodology to extract and disseminate data relating specifically to the nonprofit sector.  Read the full meeting summary.

Recommendations for Policy Makers and Government Agencies on Advancing Social Entrepreneurship
The Aspen Institute and Root Cause, a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, MA, released a report, Advancing Social Entrepreneurship: Recommendations for Policy Makers and Government Agencies, that explores how government leaders can address major community challenges through partnerships with social entrepreneurs. The report also offers 13 specific models that help illustrate how such partnerships can be carried out. On April 29, the Aspen Institute and Root Cause hosted a briefing to discuss the report and the challenges government leaders face in supporting social entrepreneurship.  The report and panel discussion are part of Root Cause's newest initiative, Public Innovators, and Aspen’s on-going social enterprise initiative which began in 2004. Read the press release and download the full report.

Creating Social Capital Markets for Fourth Sector Organizations: Opportunities and Challenges
On June 14, 2007, the Aspen Institute and the Fourth Sector Network, in partnership with the Calvert Social Investment Foundation and The Case Foundation, brought together 30 capital market innovators at Google’s office in New York City to discuss new developments in social capital markets. Underlying the June roundtable was the long-term interest of the meeting sponsors in easing the access of social-purpose organizations to existing sources of funding, growing new types of capital, and organizing a high-performing landscape of actors who can work together seamlessly to deliver more funding at a faster pace to enterprises working for the common good.