Friday, May 20, 2011

GIVE featured in Ode Magazine

In October, 2010, GIVE founder Steven Van Yoder published a feature story, "Fixing the free market", in Ode Magazine about the role of cooperatives in addressing global poverty. Fixing the Free Market provides a comprehensive take on how co-ops in general, but also details how they are playing a growing role in poverty alleviation in the developing world by merging economic growth with social goals. The story was recently recommended by the Tucson Citizen as one of Ode's top stories in 2010.

The story showcases GIVE's work in Manila, Philippines, with field partner Inner City Development Cooperative (ICDC), a cooperative that is bringing fresh life to impoverished neighborhoods in Manila. Through the Urban Entrepreneurship Center co-founded with GIVE in 2010, ICDC is offering microcredit loans, training in business skills and financial literacy, healthcare support, emergency programs and other services to urban squatter communities .

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Entrepreneurship in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Steven Van Yoder just returned from an exploratory meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia to discuss a possible project with several local Cambodian NGOs.

The meeting was organized by Michael Horton, founder of ConCERT (Connecting Communities, Environment & Responsible Tourism),  an organization committed to reducing poverty by connecting people who want to help with local organizations. GIVE has been in discussion with Horton for the past few months, who agrees that GIVE's entrepreneurship model could be a beneficial supplement to the efforts of ConCERT and its member organizations.

Steven led a discussion about the challenges and opportunities in Siem Reap, a province that is home to the world famous Angkor Wat temple complex which attracts over 1 million visitors a year. Steven provided an overview of GIVE's work in the Philippines, including a summary of GIVE's proprietary Entrepreneurship Center concept already established in Manila.

Despite the thriving local tourism industry, poverty persists. A number of ConCERT member organizations are applying social entrepreneurship, earned income and vocational training programs to help the local population.

Stay tuned for a possible partnership project in Siem Reap that applies GIVE's poverty alleviation model through existing local NGOs.