As Rudi Macaggi said on this year's America’s Got Talent, "I like you!"

There are a bunch of reasons that I admire both social entrepreneurs and local small business owners, and there is much each can learn from each other.  As I head over to LikeList.com, I look forward to sharing the social entrepreneur spirit and ideas with small businesses, and I will look to likewise share sustainable and profitable ideas from small businesses with my #SocEnt friends.  Here's why:

Social Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners have a lot in common... here are a few of things you can learn from them:

Know your customers
Social entrepreneurs understand that solutions to problems have to be co-created with the community they serve. There is something to the old adage that "you need to walk a mile in someone's shoes."  Better yet, why not have the person wearing the shoes co-design a better pair of shoes? IDEO demonstrated this value in their Ripple Effect project to innovate water solutions.  Small business owners too understand and anticipate the needs and wants of their customers.  When I was at eBay, and scrapbooking was becoming a craze, small business owners were customizing their inventory and offering real-world space for people to scrapbook together.  They understood the communal aspect of the hobby and not only sold items, but facilitated the growth of the hobby.

Know how to be frugal
Figuring out how to offer the best service and still be sustainable and profitable is at the root of businesses that are in it for the long haul.  How can you serve your community if you can't find a way to keep the lights on?  Nancy Lublin famously pointed out in her book Zilch that Big Corporations could learn a lot from the innovative, ingenious ways that small businesses and nonprofits work - from collaboration to in-kind support to "never underestimating the importance of fun and remembering to say "thank you."

Provide real value
Impact assessment has been a popular discussion in social entrepreneurship because social entrepreneurs want to make sure that they are having an impact and changing the world.  Vera Cordeiro of Renascer realized that just treating the recurring illnesses that were hospitalizing many children in Brazil was not enought, and focused on curing the environments that were making them sick in the first place. By not just treating the illness, they provided the real value of breaking the cycle of sickness. 
     Small businesses have long realized that their business survival is closely tied to customer relationships.  By providing that extra service and sharing expertise, they differentiate themselves from the Big Box stores.  Harkening back to eBay once more, I remember hobby stores who would help people assemble (or re-assemble for those who fumbled the project) their high-end remote control vehicles for free - because they knew their job was providing an RC experience, not just selling a car.  Small business owners understand the importance of creating a bond with their customers.

Care about your communities
And that bond with customers extends to their neighborhood.  Small businesses are famous for giving back and donating to local charities.  Whether in-kind or in cash, small businesses help strengthen and support their local communities.  Social entrepreneurs take this concern to extraordinary levels.  Take the amazing Sakena Yacoobi at the Afghan Institute of Learning who is educating and empowering women and girls in Afghanistan. Against many odds, her organization has reached 6.8 million people. Concern for her community is upmost, even when it meant closing a center and breaking hearts because keeping it open put the girls at too great a risk.

Be fearless and optimistic
Risk is something entrepreneurs are very familiar with.  It takes a lot to start your own business or venture. You have to believe in yourself, believe in what you are doing, and then take the plunge.  Can everyone be a social entrepreneur?  Can entrepreneurship be taught?  (Check out this handbook for preparing young, at-risk women to become social entrepreneurs.) This has been an ongoing debate in social entrepreneurship and microfinance, but perhaps the better question is can people be taught to be fearless and optimistic?  After all, it is important to be prepared for a venture, but on the other hand, if you "study the obstacles too early, see the risks too clearly, and you may never allow yourself the glimpse of the impossible possibility.”

So to all those who dare to "glimpse the impossible possibility," I say to you (much like Actress Sally Field in the famous “you like me, you really like me!” acceptance speech),

“I like you, I really like you”

Let’s keep in touch.

Jill
 
 

It has been a tremendous privilege to work among the community of social entrepreneurs for the past three years.  Sharing your insights, ideas, and solutions has been inspirational and enlightening.  I have learned much from you.

I am now moving over to a company called LikeList which helps you get referrals from your friends when you need them, and helps owners of small to medium business connect with the people who like them. It is everything that is great about word of mouth, only better.

But before I walk out the door, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on some of my favorite Skoll and Social Edge Moments... 

Skoll World Forum: I was continually moved by the stories, energies, and immediate connection felt among attendees.  Perhaps nothing will match seeing Jimmy Carter in person as he humbly spoke not of his accomplishments, but of the people he has met and the work that is left to do. But Nobel Prize winner Jody Williams came close with her quote "Just because you have a Nobel Prize...doesn't mean you're Mother Teresa." I still think that would make a great t-shirt, but very few people could wear it.  And in 2010, I ran three awesome sessions including one on Networking with Mona Eltahawy, Joichi Ito and Liu Yan. Chatting with Joi Ito on the importance of serendipity was fantastic and I completely agree with him as he pointed out that social entrepreneurs "need to use serendipity. Networks facilitate serendipity and allow you pull in the people you need when you need them."

Global Social Benefit Incubator:  Jim Koch and Sherrill Dale run a fantastic program that not only incubates but accelerates social ventures using a local, highly valuable commodity - seasoned Silicon Valley start-up veterans as mentors.  But equally exciting is that the model they have created for the application process that ensures all who enter (not just the winners), leave the process with an improved business plan that articulates their target audience, business model, and value proposition.

Social Entrepreneur Search and API: Helping social entrepreneurs find each other and be found may seem like a simple concept but without an open source collaborative database, you are missing a key piece of the infrastructure for the field of social entrepreneurship.  Thanks to Peter Deitz and Christine Egger, the social enterpreneur api was created with the support and collaboration of the Peery Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Schwab Foundation, Draper Richards, Civic Ventures, PopTech, and our newest participating organizations Ashoka and Echoing Green.  If you want to help build the rest of the infrastructure, be sure to also tap into the marvelous minds of Lucy Bernholz, Suzanne Biegel, Christina Jordan, and Gary Bolles.

Book blogs: Social Edge has been home to a number of book blogs and just to share two of my favorites, I am appreciative to Seth Godin for sharing Tribes with us, and Beth Kanter whose Networked Nonprofits is helping people adjust to the idea of using social media and being more transparent.

Skoll Grantees: I am not worthy.  Such a lovely experience to share space and conversation with these amazing folks.  I feel a special heart tug whenever I think of Sakena Yacoobi, Mark Plotkin, Bart Weejens, Jim Fruchterman, Ann Cotton, Rodrigo Baggio, Mai Siriphongphanh, Sebastien Marot, Jenny Bowan, Matt Flannery, Mechai Viravaidya, Gillian Caldwell, Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, and the irrepressible Dorothy Stoneman, and hope they will feel free to call me if I can ever be of help.

My colleagues:  Wonderful, wonderful talented people... too many to name, but I must at least point you to Lakshmi Karan for all your impact assessment thinking needs.  And what can we say about my edgy, brightly colored sock wearing, inspirational colleagues Jason T Clark and Monsieur Victor d'Allant aka Le Grand Fromage aka Global X who built the Social Edge into the thriving, challenging, thoughtful, insightful, and ever so helpful community that exists today.
 

Don't miss all the leading thinkers and friends in social entrepreneurship, but I think one of our Social Edge Community sums up best how I feel about Social Edge:

"Social Edge is an outstanding and unselfish online reference and knowledge sharing center I have ever encountered. It is part of my life as a social entrepreneur and changemaker. Everyday, I should not miss reviewing discussions and blogs and reflecting with other's comments and knowledge sharing ... Social edge is my online text book and mentor as I spend almost 16-18 hours a day in my small non-profit office here in southern Philippines. In fact, when I got my brain drained and stressed with my work to the extent of having a burn-out, I just read articles at Social Edge. Its a relief at the same time increasing my understanding of the intricacies of being a social entrepreneur.... Knowledge is free and connecting local knowledge to contribute to the global body of wisdom and greater principles of life is indeed a great service to humanity. Great job!"  John Piermont Montilla

Congratulations to all of you who have made Social Edge what it is today and I look forward to watching your continued conversations and growth.

Cheers,

Jill 

Here are some ways to celebrate some of the many things mamas do so well:

1.  Mamas make a house into a home.

Mama Lucy has done so much for her students in Tanzania. You may remember her from our discussion on Amplifying Grassroots Voices where she said “even if a person/community is poor, the best way to help is to listen…” Through blogging and tweeting she has been amplifying the voices of her students, and been helping people around the world to hear not only her communities needs but their solutions as well. Now her solution is going beyond giving her students an education, she wants to give them a home. Her kids come from all over and some have to travel a long way to come to school, while others have no home to return to. By building a home, the children will have a supportive environment that enables and strengthens learning.

Take a moment to show a Mama you love her by creating a heartspace to honor all the ways your mama made you feel loved at home. A small donation to Epic Change in honor of your mama will invest in another remarkable mama, Mama Lucy, who dreams of building a home for children in her village. Send a delightful ecard to mama with love and share your heartspace you mother. It will warm her heart.


2.  Mamas give life.

Mothers2Mothers helps mothers with HIV turn their lives around, deliver healthy children, and manage their own health. Some mamas go on to become Mentor Mothers teaching others what they have learned and gaining independence and self-sufficiency through careers. “It costs $71 to send flowers that will last a few days, but for only $50 you can save a child's life. A gift of $50 or more to mothers2mothers can support an HIV-positive pregnant woman with education empowerment to give birth to a child who is HIV-free.”

Send a M2M Mother's Day card letting the mama you are honoring know that a very meaningful donation has been made on her behalf. And as a bonus, she can download from iTunes an exclusive music DVD of a song written by 17-year old rising star Rachel Eskenazi-Gold entitled Save An Angel (song mastered and produced by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer).

3.  Mamas support their families.

ARZU, which means “hope” in Dari, helps Afghan women weavers and their families break the cycle of poverty by providing them steady income and access to education and healthcare by sourcing and selling the rugs they weave.  ARZU STUDIO HOPE offers you the chance to celebrate Mother's Day with a gift designed to make a difference. ARZU rugs honor the strength and beauty of mamas worldwide.  

Nominate a mama to win  a limited edition ARZU Achievement Rug woven by Basima Zafar. Read Basima Zafar's story of resilience and courage.  Nominations are open until May 4, 2010.  And take a look at the beautiful artistry of all these talented mamas. With the code "Mothers" you will receive 15% off rug orders.


4.  Mamas love and nurture.

Half the Sky gives you a chance to honor mom by helping a child who does not have a mama. Named for the Chinese adage, "Women hold up half the sky," Half the Sky provides love and family-like nurturing care in the lives of thousands of orphaned children in China who have lost their mamas.  It was founded by an amazing mama, Jenny Bowen, whose adopted daughter, Maya, came from a welfare institution in southern China and had suffered both the trauma of institutionalization and the amazing transforming power of individual attention, love and nurturing through Jenny and her husband. In founding Half the Sky, Mama Bowen has begun to answer the question “What if you could do the same for the many children in China who languish waiting for families — or those who will never be adopted?”

Join “a community of doggedly optimistic hummingbirds” who believe they can eventually bring a family’s loving care to all of China’s orphaned children. Your mama would be proud.

5.  Mamas teach.

CAMFED gives you a chance to thank a mama for everything she has taught you, by sending a girl to school. “When you educate a girl in Africa, everything changes. She’ll be three times less likely to get HIV/AIDS, earn 25 percent more income and have a smaller, healthier family.”  

So in honor of a mama who has changed your life and helped you reach your potential, help a girl grow up to be all that she can be, including down the road, even a strong, healthy mama herself and role model for her own children. Beautiful photos of proud, engaged students are available as ecards.


6.  Mamas care about the future.

Another mama making the world a better place for her two teenage children is Mindy Lubber. As President of Ceres, the leading U.S. coalition of investors and environmental leaders working to improve corporate environmental, social and governance practices, she is helping companies recognize that making themselves more sustainable will make them more successful in the 21st century. As she says “The global economy will surely grow, but so must our stewardship of the planet we rely on.”

So help take care of Mama Earth and drive toward a culture of sustainability for future Mamas and their children and grandchildren…  


7.  Mamas walk the extra mile for you.

Women disproportionately bear the burden of collecting water and that impacts their health and productivity.  So it is not surprising that mamas play a critical role in Water.org’s efforts to help communities develop sustainable, healthy water solutions.  Water.org is celebrating mothers around the globe for their “incredible strength and courage and for all that they do for their families.”

Watch videos on two amazing mamas, Bhavani and Valli, who are making a difference not just for their families, but for their entire communities in India. Then imagine it taking you hours to walk from your living room to the kitchen sink - all for a drink of water, and consider a donation to help shorten that journey for mamas and their daughters around the world.   


8.  Mamas lend a hand.

What do mamas want most?  Happy, healthy children. And mothers will do anything to help their family, but sometimes it can be hard to ask for help.  Rising to the challenge, Tori Tuncan candidly shared her personal story of trying to treat her son's Autism-related disorder, and, recognizing the huge financial burden, started Lend4Health to help mamas facing similar circumstances access person-to-person, interest-free loans to pay for their children’s treatments.   Her program is helping people like 6 year old Christian and his mom. Last Mother's Day, he said "mama" for the first time but has not said it since. Her loan request is for a treatment that she is hoping will help her son be able to say "mama" again. 

So this year, why not turn the tables and lend a mama a hand.  Celebrate Mother’s Day and Cinco de Mayo with Lend4Health’s “Cinco de Linco Day” when everyone is encouraged to try to make a $5 loan on Lend4Health.org  


9.  Mamas leave a legacy.

Queen Rania has said, “Empowering women today is, perhaps, the single greatest legacy we can bestow upon our children.” As global ambassador for Women for Women, she is helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives.  This program helps them regain income and rights, so they can advocate for peace in their communities.  

Make a donation in honor of mamas everywhere who want to keep their children safe, and send a beautiful ecard designed by women in their Rwanda program.     

10.  Mamas [FILL IN THE BLANK].

Comment on this blog post with the things Mamas do best. Then make this Mother’s Day meaningful with a gift that will make your Mama ever so proud. And share your heart while you are at it.  Here is my heartspace.  Now go make one for a mama you love.

Here is how it works:

Funders, who are known for their successful efforts in finding, researching, and funding social entrepreneurs, have come together to pool the information on all their vetted social entrepreneurs in one place.  This open source database is available to anyone who wishes to query, syndicate, or republish the data on their own websites.  To make it super simple, we have created widgets so anyone can search and add a real-time list of social entrepreneurs to their webpage.  Take your pick of Full Social Entrepreneur Search, Funder Fan Club, or the Instant Social Entrepreneur List.

Why is this a win?

For emerging social entrepreneurs: 
“One stop shopping” through the Social Entrepreneur Search helps them find others in their field, issue, or region so that they may learn from other business models, find ways to collaborate and complement each other, and build coalitions for change. 

For vetted social entrepreneurs included in the database:
Same as above, but additionally, inclusion in the database increases exposure for themselves and their organizations.  Whether being contacted by others working on the same issue, being discovered by journalists, or being funded by family funds or other philanthropists, the database showcases their credibility and helps them be found and gain support so they can do more.

For funders:
Funders are hugely proud of their grantees and are committed to helping them scale their ventures and impact. By including their awardees in the Social Entrepreneur Search, they are helping their folks to be found and funded. Funders also invest heavily in finding and verifying the impact of these social enterprises.  This due diligence effort is hugely valuable to smaller funds and philanthropists who may lack the time or staff to carry out this important work.  Sean Stannard Stockton called it "following the smart money." By participating in the Social Entrepreneur Search, funders are helping strengthen the field of social entrepreneurship, and are also gaining broader recognition for their ability to identify successful social entrepreneurs.

For journalists and other writers:
Whether investigating a story on a major issue facing the world or a region, the social entrepreneurs search allows you to quickly find organizations on the ground that truly understand their issue and community.  The discovered social entrepreneurs can be a source of information and referral.  Including a list of social entrepreneurs alongside an article also gives readers a chance to connect with real people working on solving big problems. They may decide to donate or volunteer, or even become inspired to start their own social venture.

For researchers, corporations, emergency response…
Once data is aggregated in one place, the opportunity for learning is fascinating.  Studying why are there more vetted social entrepreneurs in one country than a neighboring country could be enlightening and identify a gap in needed services.  Corporations with employee giving programs wishing to expand options could add this list of vetted social entrepreneur organizations to their donor choices.  In an emergency, rather than driving all donations to the Red Cross (as amazing as they are), the Social Entrepreneur Search could help interested donors give to social entrepreneurs already on the ground, with a vested in interest in both response and long term recovery of their community that they know so well.

That’s great you say, but could it be better?  Yes!

Adoption:  We need your help to show "proof of concept”.  By adding a relevant widget to your blog post, Facebook page or website, we can see if inclusion in this database can really help social entrepreneurs and help donors save time and discover organizations they would like to support. We would like to show the value of bringing all the vetted social entrepreneurs into one searchable database, so any anecdotal evidence that discovery, funding, or some other impact (for the social venture or the sector) resulted from the Social Entrepreneur Search would be helpful and welcome.

Expansion:  We would like to add more feeds, fields, analytical tools, and other ways of making the Social Entrepreneur Search useful, while still keeping effort involved in maintaining the database low and efficient.  We will be adding The Tech Laureates and Global Social Benefit Incubator winners shortly and in breaking news: Echoing Green announced they will be adding their Fellows to the Social Entrepreneur Search API.

Other additions we have discussed include adding “finalists” who have been vetted but were not one of the few winners selected due to limitations of funding, fit, or stage of organization. Other field additions may be quite simple, such as representing the number of years the organization has been around, or number of paid staff, which could help investors and donors search for organizations at a specific stage. There is also interest in adding actions that people can take to support social entrepreneurs and giving social entrepreneurs access to updating this information directly.

Innovation:  We would love to have developers start pulling the data directly and creating their own value added layers to the data, such as creating a seamless interface to facilitate donations.  One of our beta-testers is looking at other ways of displaying the data including visual representation on a global map.

Inclusion:  This data specifically leverages the research and vetting done by funding organizations to demonstrate credibility and effectiveness of social entrepreneurs.  However, someone could take the same template used in the Social Entrepreneur Search and create a database of self-identified social entrepreneurs.  They could come up with different ways of demonstrating credibility that could be showcased such as testimonials from beneficiaries, references from board members and influential people linked through social media, as well as credentials such as 501c3 status or independent verification of organization budget, management, and/or impact.

We are very proud of this essential first step in creating a searchable database of social entrepreneurs.  Through thrifty and selfless management by Social Actions, initial support of the Peery Foundation, and the forward thinking participation of Civic Ventures, Draper Richards, PopTech, Schwab, and Skoll, we have created this open source aggregation of social entrepreneurs. The widgets created by Exygy and funded by Skoll Foundation make this data even more accessible. 

But with so much more we would like to do, it does raise the critical question of who funds projects that help the whole.  We are looking for supporters who understand the importance of investing in “actionable knowledge” and want to see this resource grow.   We are ready to build from this substantial accomplishment, but need to find financial support to take the Social Entrepreneur Search to the next level and truly demonstrate the potential of this rather incredible collaboration. If you would like to be part of the visionary leadership that takes the Social Entrepreneur Search and open philanthropic data to the next level in 2010, please contact Social Actions by email or review the funding proposal online.

Comment here or join the discussion on the web:

PopTech : The New PopTech Social Innovation Widget
"Happy social innovation searching!"

Skoll Foundation : See the Funder Fan Club widget in action on the Skoll website and their comments on their blog.

Take Part :  The Power of Search: New Social Entrepreneur API Encourages Collaboration
"I'm personally invested and interested in innovation in education, and want to find people working in North America. A quick search brings up three... with one more click I can donate ... it's a perfect match."

Echoing Green : Announcement they will be adding their fellows to the Social Entrepreneur Search API -"we’d love nothing more than to see this spread"

Tipping Bucket :  Social Entrepreneur Search
"The project gets plenty of “cool” points in and of itself, but here are some reasons I find it truly remarkable...collaboration...catalytic capital...the potential to raise the profile of social enterprise..."

"The search may also inadvertantly reinforce what Charles Light calls the social entrepreneurship “cult of personality”..."Still, the search is undeniably a step in the right direction–and may well provide both a solid foundation and a jumping-off point for genuine collaborative efforts that will help expand the field and magnify the impact of social entrepreneurship in this next decade."

Exygy talks about why they were thrilled to build the Social Entrepreneur Search widgets: “our true passion lies at the intersection of technology and social innovation”

A. Fine Blog by Allison Fine, author of Momentum - Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age says, "A group of funders working together to share their databses of people and organizations in whom they’ve invested is a welcome development. Making the database sharable through the widgets is a great idea. And enabling social entrepreneurs to connect with one another by geography or issue area is an important step in the creation of a more cohesive field."

Share and tweet this post:  http://bit.ly/edgyblog
Go to the widget store: http://bit.ly/SEsearch

Social edge is an outstanding and unselfish online reference and knowledge sharing center I have ever encountered. It is part of my life as a social entrepreneur and changemaker. Everyday, I should not miss reviewing discussions and blogs and reflecting with other's comments and knowledge sharing as well as updating my participation at the GSBI.

Social edge is my online text book and mentor as I spend almost 16-18 hours a day in my small non-profit office here in southern Philippines. In fact, when I got my brain drained and stressed with my work to the extent of having a burn-out, I just read articles at Social Edge.

It's a relief at the same time increasing my understanding of the intricacies of being a social entrepreneur. My peers too are exposed to social edge but they need the understanding why they should learn.

Knowledge is free and connecting local knowledge to contribute to the global body of wisdom and greater principles of life is indeed a great service to humanity. Great job!

The Edgy Team is blushing!

Thinking about starting your own NGO or jetting off to personally end
hunger? Read Social Edge first. [...]

Social Edge furthers innovation among social entrepreneurs through its
collection of blogs, discussions, and resources dedicated to the “pioneers
of innovations that benefit humanity.” No matter what your plan to solve
the world’s problems, you’ll probably find a blog from someone who’s been
there before. [...]

Though lots of members, like Kiva founder Matt Flannery, are well-known and successful, the site is intended to help social entrepreneurs share common experiences, positive or disastrous.

Thank you to our community that has been helping Social Edge become the practical, global network for social entrepreneurs.

• Reason # 10 to apply to #GSBI Scale your impact & change the world faster! http://bit.ly/gsbi10 What is your reason to apply? Let us know. 
• Reason #9 to apply to #GSBI Special opp for orgs helping communities off the grid or suffering frequent disruptions in their energy supply 
• Reason #8 to apply to #GSBI Be the next #Kiva. @mattflannery attended along w/other successful #SocEnt frm around world http://bit.ly/5LyokM 
• Reason #7 to apply to #GSBI Make trusted connections "I now work w/a GSBI participant I met there & have partnered w/another" Matt Flannery 
• Reason #6 to apply to #GSBI @robertkatz http://bit.ly/7QDEd1 & @fjnoguera @nextbillion think it's a good idea http://bit.ly/5FjJOF 
• Reason #5 to apply to #GSBI Mentoring by Silicon Valley veterans "help open doors for funding opps..& cont to be avail as a sounding board” 
• Reason #4 to apply to #GSBI "Typically results in major "ah-ha" moments" "you don't often get chance to step back, look strategically @ org" 
  
• Reason #3 to apply to #GSBI It forces you "to step back & assess current market & competitive landscape.." Hardika Shah http://bit/ly/gsbi10 
• Reason #2 to apply to #GSBI Application has "tremendous value" RT @socentex Global Opps for Active Social Entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/8GUu8N 
  
• Reason #1 to apply to #GSBI Incubators are great! Business Week: "triple-bottom-line biz encounter unique challenges" http://bit.ly/5HpYHo

There are many more reasons to apply, but starting right now, you can get free feedback on your Value Proposition. The mentoring will help you explain "Why you" and distill your "mission essence" into a concise statement that will help people understand what you do and how your solution will change the world.

Don't delay. The first deadline is January 15. Then you can get help with defining your target market and business model... and that's just for entering. Can you imagine the value of being one of the 20 selected for a full scholarship to the incubator?!

Will you join them?

Jeff Skoll is second on the list of 25 (just behind fellow eBay Pierre Omidyar). The article also mentions Jeff's founding of the Skoll Centre at Oxford and his work with Participant Media in making movies that both entertain and inspire people to action on social and environmental issues. Jeff Skoll also launched Social Edge in 2004.

* A professor who invented a way to transform toxic fly ash into green bricks;

* A psychiatrist who helps saves soldiers’ lives by offering free mental health treatment;

* A former NASA exec who works to treat alcoholism in Native American communities by reviving old customs and traditions; and

* A couple who honor their son, killed on 9/11, by helping to bring mental health services to countries ravaged by terrorism, violence and war.

These people – and five other $50,000 winners – are social entrepreneurs over 60 who are using their experience and passion to take on society’s biggest challenges. Now in its fourth year, the six-year, $17 million program is the nation’s only large-scale investment in social innovators in the second half of life.

The Purpose Prize is a program of the Encore Careers campaign run by Civic Ventures, a national think tank on boomers, work and social purpose.

• 2009 Iran Election: Women's Revolution? Twitter Revolution? (Mona Kasra, UT at Dallas)
• The Art & Science of Seductive Interactions (Stephen Anderson, PoetPainter)
• Blah Blah Blah: Why Words Won't Work (Dan Roam, Author)
• Crowd Sourcing Innovative Social Change (Beth Kanter, Beth's Blog)
• Digital's Emerging Role In Unconsumption (Nita Rollins, Resource Interactive)
• Exploiting Chaos -- How to Spark Innovation During Times of Change (Jeremy Gutsche, TrendHunter.com)
• Future of Context (Matt Thompson, Newsless.org)
• How to Teach Entrepreneurialism Globally (Doug Richard, School for Startups)
• In Code We Trust: Open Government Awesomeness (Noel Hidalgo, New York State Senate)
• Indirect Collaboration: Collective Creativity on the Web (Joe Alterio, Robots and Monsters)
• Interactive Documentaries: a Multidimensional Narrative (Victoria Ha, Stitch Media Inc)
• Process Journalism: Getting it First, While Getting it Right (Will Sullivan, The Poynter Institute)
• Real-Time Everything: the Era of Communication Ubiquity (Rob Gonda, Sapient)
• Search Patterns: Tangible Futures for Discovery (Peter Morville, Semantic Studios)
• Student Startups: Entrepreneurship in the University (Hung Truong, Troubadour Mobile)
• Uprising Tide - Inciting Online Communities into Offline Movements (Chris Schultz, LaunchPad, New Orleans)
• We F*cked Up. Now What? Exploring Failure, Together (Kevin Hoffman, Happy Cog)
• When Swine Flew: Embracing Innovation in H1N1 Response (Andrew Wilson, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services)
• Why Challenge Prizes Are the Future of Innovation (Brandon Kessler, ChallengePost)
• Will Kiva Kill Your Nonprofit? Donations 2.0 (Skylar Woodward, Kiva)

First Batch of Panel Announced for SXSWi - see all that made the cut http://bit.ly/myGgD

Clay Shirky will be there too.  Which sessions caught your eye?