Articles Worth Reading

April 18, 2011 – 11:01 am

Worth reading: on evaluation Evaluation of social programs might as well be alchemy or brain surgery for the mystery and complexity surrounding it.  The simple reality though is it’s worth doing when it leads to better results for the people we serve; and when the funders who pay the bills know they are maximizing the [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a Comment

Resolution for 2011: create jobs

January 12, 2011 – 9:51 am

Last year’s blog started with my resolution for 2010: to make positive change. As 2011 launches with the unemployment rate stuck above 9% (12%+ in California), and the gut-wrenching shootings in Tucson, sunny optimism is on holiday. In its place, here is resolve for 2011: Create jobs.  Especially for people least likely to have one [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Spending money well builds public trust

November 19, 2010 – 1:34 pm

As our newly elected Governor and other representatives prepare for the coming year, and the highly partisan public debate about government spending rages, those of us working at the community level know that the fight over cutting or increasing taxes does not tell the whole story.  We know that business as usual is neither possible [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Election Day 2010: An open letter to the incoming Governor of the State of California

November 2, 2010 – 12:08 pm

Dear Governor-Elect: Congratulations, and please get some rest.  We’ll need all the energy you have for the next four years. When Governor Schwarzenegger was first sworn in as Governor in November 2003, Californians faced an unemployment rate of 6.6% — 5.4% when he was reelected in January 2007. You take the oath of office with [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Leveraging change where the market has failed

October 18, 2010 – 3:06 pm

No matter what your position on crime, whether law and order or reform and rehabilitation – just about everyone knows that if we don’t get people to work after they serve their sentences, we are unlikely to change the unfortunate and costly reality that the US has 5 % of the world’s population and 24% [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

All people need the chance to work

August 17, 2010 – 3:12 pm

REDF is gearing up fast to meet the terms of the Social Innovation Fund award we received last month, with plans to issue a first-time ever (for REDF) Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to identify outstanding nonprofits in California to consider for our portfolio. Watch our website for imminent announcements about the timeline and requirements. Meanwhile, [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

To profit or not to profit: resources from the field

July 23, 2009 – 3:32 pm

For those creating and operating social enterprises, several new articles shed light on which legal structure to choose. A new primer by Robert Wexler of Adler and Colvin offers a terrific overview of the options across the nonprofit/for-profit spectrum, and an article in Business Week describes some of the tradeoffs of nonprofit and for-profit status. [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Comments (1)

Opportunities in the midst of a changing economy

May 29, 2009 – 10:09 am

As the economy continues to stumble, federal spending ramps up, and California government melts down, the buzz in the air is about the respective roles and effectiveness of the public and private sectors in solving social problems. Some are concerned that we might take a step backwards from the current emphasis on private-public partnership – [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Government vis-à-vis philanthropic ‘take-out’ strategies

April 24, 2009 – 3:35 pm

By Carla I. Javits, REDF President Sean Stannard-Stockton’s recent blog post suggests government as the ‘take out’ for social innovations pioneered through philanthropic investment. This is a new way of looking at the relationship between philanthropy and government, which has been evolving and changing for decades. While it is intriguing to consider a rational system [...]

By Carla Javits | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Comments (5)
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