nonprofit innovation

amazon.com has announced finalists for its nonprofit innovation award. just a few of the contenders:

• community voice mail - "provides free, 24-hour nationwide voice mail to people in crisis--connecting them to jobs, housing, and hope--a deceptively simple concept with extraordinary impact"


• donors choose - "a marketplace where teachers and individuals connect to give at-risk students the resources they need to learn"


• kickstart - "helps channel the entrepreneurial spirit of Africa to help people help themselves. The organization creates and markets simple tools that people use to generate income"

it's exciting that people join together voluntarily to do something productive about the (perceived or actual) problems in the world. i'm a bit concerned, however, that teach for america is on the list. from my – albeit limited - experience with the program, it seems fairly pointless.

the abundance and variety of nonprofits continues to amaze me. see related posts on missionfish and the nature conservancy.

Labels: social