In the past decade community groups have been portrayed as the solution to many social problems. Yet the role of ‘below the regulatory radar’ community action has received little research attention and thus is poorly understood in terms of both policy and practice.Focusing on self-organised community activity, this book offers the first collection of papers developing theoretical and empirically grounded knowledge of the informal, unregistered, yet largest, part of the voluntary se...

The incredible story of the man behind TOMS Shoes and One for One, the revolutionary business model that marries fun, profit, and social good.“A creative and open-hearted business model for our times.”—The Wall Street JournalWhy this book is for you:• You’re ready to make a difference in the world—through your own start-up business, a nonprofit organization, or a new project that you create within your current job.• ...

George Soros is one of the world's leading philanthropists. Over the past 30 years, he has provided more than 7 billion to his network of foundations, known collectively as the Open Society Institute, for projects around the world and in the United States.In this e-book, Soros writes in detail for the first time about his vision for philanthropy. "I have always been leery of philanthropy," he writes, "Philanthropy is supposed to be devoted to the benefit of others,...

This eBook is designed to provide an important reminder for all organisations (although focused on new small, and emerging groups), to maintain good financial bookkeep as part of its overall organisational operation. This eBook edition purely provides screen shots of each of the five main spreadsheet headings that need to be kept and maintained on a monthly basis recorded all income and expenditure. This instruction guide on use accompanies the Excel template. &nbsp...

How the drive to end poverty has taken a wrong turn with thousands of well-meaning volunteers on boardIn this era of eroding commitment to government sponsored welfare programs, voluntarism and private charity have become the popular, optimistic solutions to poverty and hunger. The resurgence of charity has to be a good thing, doesn't it? No, says sociologist Janet Poppendieck, not when stopgap charitable efforts replace consistent public policy, and poverty contin...

Seven voices contribute to this rare glimpse of the work being done on the front lines of the fight for social change in India. Playing with Fire is written in the collective voice of women employed by a large NGO as activists in their communities and is based on diaries, interviews, and conversations among them. Together their personal stories reveal larger themes and questions of sexism, casteism, and communalism, and a startling picture emerges of how NGOs both nourish and stifle local ...

The inspiring story of how the iconoclastic humanitarian Jim Grant succeeded in saving the lives of tens of millions of children through his extraordinary ability to win over world leadersNicholas Kristof hailed Jim Grant as a man who “probably saved more lives than were destroyed by Hitler, Mao, and Stalin combined.” Nominated by President Jimmy Carter to head UNICEF, Grant ran the United Nations agency from 1980 to 1995 and became the most powerful advocate for c...

Determining why, when, and to whom people feel compelled to be generous affords invaluable insight into positive and problematic ways of life. Organ donation, volunteering, and the funding of charities can all be illuminated by sociological and psychological perspectives on how American adults conceive of and demonstrate generosity. Focusing not only on financial giving but on the many diverse forms generosity can take, Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson show the deep impact-usually good,...

Born in Dublin in 1845, Thomas John Barnardo was a workaholic Irishman whose non-stop efforts in the cause of children’s welfare landed him in an early grave at the age of sixty. However, in his own area of work it’s fair to say he changed Britain forever, as much as any one man can. Much of modern child welfare started with him. Martin Levy digs into the filth and rot of what was the world’s biggest empire to discover what this man was up to, what he was up against and how wonderfully wel...

They say an image speaks a thousand words—these images speak millions.The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004, which devastated the shores of 11 countries and took the lives of over a quarter of a million people, burned through the world’s consciousness for months afterwards. Just as the wave shattered everything in its path, so the stories of those who lived through it forever changed, torn apart and unraveled. The sea forced them not only to rebuil...

The Essential Volunteer Handbook provides all the help you will need to find a rewarding volunteer experience in your local community. Easily read in one sitting, information is provided on locating and selecting opportunities that will make a difference while helping you grow as a person. The author shares philosophical insights, useful information and great stories about what you can expect from your helpful work and how it may change your life for the better.

From its origins as a project to rescue Chinese prostitutes and slave girls from a life of supposed depravity the Chinese Rescue Home became a feature of the moral and racial landscape of Victoria – a place where the Methodist Women’s Missionary Society attempted to reform Chinese and Japanese girls and women, in part by teaching them domestic skills meant to ease their integration into Western society. Between 1886 and 1923, over four hundred Chinese and Japanese women sheltered in the ho...