Here’s another smart idea from our friends in the USA. It’s called Life Box and it looks like just about any old box except that it has been impregnated with tree seeds (and thousands of spores of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi) so you can plant your packaging and watch it grow!

 Let's face it, no-one likes paying ATM fees. They just feel like a big waste of money. But what if every visit to the ATM meant another opportunity to donate a portion of your fees to a charity of your choosing? Would you be happy to pay then? It’s already happening in the USA so why not in the financially-forward SA?

In the digital age, humanitarian aid doesn’t always mean giving food parcels to those in need. That's where the New York-based Kopernik comes in, offering a grassroots platform that will help bring breakthrough technologies to developing nations. And it lets the public decide. 

Here’s an interesting venture capital idea coming out of the USA that is based on the premise that people “invest in people” as much as good business concepts. Three social entrepreneurs have united to form a “thrust fund” which will see them selling equity in their life’s earnings in order to get unrestricted funding upfront. Their estimated value? USD 10M

Here’s a smart and responsible way to find reliable, skilled casual labour and help address the growing unemployment at the same time. “Men at the Side of the Road” is a powerful NGO which helps unemployed men and women gain skills and find work in a way that creates a win-win situation for both client and worker.

As consumers, we are getting quite used to the “buy one get one free” business model, which usually sees us buying more than we need or can afford. But what if our buying meant someone else could receive something they needed to survive? What if our buying power meant that a child could receive a pair of school shoes or a rural villager clean drinking water?

As consumers, we are getting quite used to the “buy one get one free” business model, which usually sees us buying more than we need or can afford. But what if our buying meant someone else could receive something they needed to survive? What if our buying power meant that a child could receive a pair of school shoes or clean drinking water?

Here’s a bright idea amidst the global energy crisis – a project that turns a child’s love of soccer into a way to generate and store energy for later use. It’s called sOccket, and it’s coming to a level playing field near you.

There’s a commonly shared belief in sustainable development that if you empower women, you empower an entire community. Because, let’s face it, women are most often the threads that bind; without them entire communities would unravel and pretty quickly.

What do most South Africans have daily access to? Cellphones. What do many more not have access to? Employment.  Could the one be used to help alleviate the other? Txteagle (www.txteagle.com) seems to think so. In fact they call it “ empowering the largest knowledge workforce on earth”. 

The Sustainable Supply Chain Management Conference 2009, taking place at the Reserve Bank Conference Centre in Pretoria from 17-18 November 2009, offers both local and international sustainability experts' views on innovative supply chain solutions to improve efficiency, reduce risk and achieve lasting financial savings.

For 20 years the Mail & Guardian’s annual Investing in the Future Awards have celebrated the contributions made by corporate South Africa to the country’s future. The awards not only showcase excellence in corporate social investment (CSI) and responsibility, but serve as a platform for discussion around best practice in the corporate world.

Meet RockCorps – a social enterprise that lets young people “buy” their big concert tickets through “sweat equity” (volunteering) – and the man who is bringing it to SA – Matthew Karpinski. RockCorps has a vision of getting as many young people as possible to experience volunteer work, and discover how enjoyable and rewarding it is to help out.

Meet Dr Francois Bonnici, a medical doctor by training and Head of Africa and Middle East for the Schwab Foundation by passion.

The Schwab Foundation’s mission is to raise global awareness around social entrepreneurship as a key element to advance societies and address social challenges in an innovative and effective manner.

In the first of his monthly meanderings, Peter Shrimpton, Founder of heart, pleads the case for Social Innovation in South Africa…. We know the facts. Every day, the very livelihood, dignity and survival of people in need come under attack from a number of hybrid aggressors – from water to food, disease to wars. In Africa, the numbers are so great that people have become statistics, bell curves on flip charts and Powerpoints.

Vulnerable groups in Bulgaria are receiving aid through the countrys Social Investment and Employment Promotion Project. The project has renovated and rebuilt institutes of education, as well as places where the countrys disadvantaged can find work. One such place is a clothing factory in the city of Stara Zagora, where most of the employees are hearing impaired

DAN TISCH and KATHRYN WORTSMAN exemplify the qualities of a new kind of professional - the Venture Philanthropist. They are two of the founding members of Social Venture Partners Toronto, a group of 43 successful professionals who commit their time, money and expertise to not-for-profits.

East Africa Breweries (EABL), through its corporate social investment division - EABL Foundation, has confirmed plans to step up environmental promotion and awareness programs in four East African countries.

People who have an interest in social causes are finding ways to incorporate that passion into business.
You may be a voluntary organisation looking to establish a social enterprise as a way of reducing your reliance on grant funding. This move from voluntary sector to business concern can involve a change of organisational culture and a period of intense learning.

Cape Town - Acting President Kgalema Motlanthe has urged South Africans to lend a helping hand to those who are less fortunate in their respective communities on Madiba Day, 18 July.