2011 Knight Foundation Challenge awardee: FrontlineSMS

FrontlineSMS developed by Digital Vision Fellow Ken Banks founder of The Kiwanja Foundation,  is one of 16 projects Knight Foundation has selected as winners of the fifth Knight News Challenge . Details:
Award: $250,000
Project Lead: Sean McDonald
Web link: www.frontlinesms.com
Twitter: @frontlinesms

FrontlineSMS: Media will create a new platform that allows journalists to more effectively use text messaging to inform and engage rural communities. The Frontline SMS platform already enables users in underserved areas to organize interactions with large numbers of people via text messages, a laptop and a mobile phone – without the need for the Internet. This grant will enable FrontlineSMS to expand its software platform and work with community radio stations and other rural journalists.

Full list here.
Congratulation to Ken and all the 2011 winners.

In-depth Interview: Dr. Madhav Chavan (June 10, 2011) | Opinion Blog | Stanford Social Innovation Review

Rahim Kanani interview: Quote "Dr. Madhav Chavan, co-founder, president, and CEO of Pratham, and a 2011 recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Pratham is the largest nongovernmental organization working to provide quality education to the underprivileged children of India. It was established in 1994 to provide education to the children in the slums of Mumbai city. Since then, the organization has grown both in scope and geographical coverage." Check out the interview:

In-depth Interview: Dr. Madhav Chavan (June 10, 2011) Opinion Blog Stanford Social Innovation Review

Women Creating Jobs, for Themselves and Others

3,818 jobs. That's right - that's the number of jobs created by entrepreneurs who graduated in 2010 from the Women's Initiative for Self Employment curriculum in the bay area. Women's Initiative, a non-profit, provides low-income, high-potential women with the training, funding and ongoing support to start their own businesses and become financially self-sufficient.  The women who go through the program significantly increase their income and assets while launching businesses, creating jobs and stimulating the local economy. The stories of Laura Leon and Reign Free I heard at the 2011 Gala as guest of HP Social Innovation, energised and helped celebrate the spirit of women leadership. It was also great to see how the Women's Initiative organisation has grown and is able to empower women to become income providers instead of charity seekers. What I find distinguishes Women's Initiative from others is that they provide a full service - which includes not just the initial training but also start-up funding and then helps them build connections (they call the 3 steps Train, Fund, Propel) thus creating a larger support system for its graduates that increases chances of success. Appropriately, reflecting this philosophy the 2011 Gala was called "Connecting Women on the Rise".
Get connected. Get Inspired.