Stanford Social Innovation Review
@ssir.org
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A reentry initiative at New York City's Rikers Island illustrates the gap between evidence and outcomes directly. The intervention had a strong evidence base. The financing worked as designed. An independent evaluation found no impact.
When Evidence Isn’t Enough (SSIR)
If policy and spending decisions have become much more rigorous, why have outcomes still failed to improve?
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No City Stands Alone Lessons from Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis on defending our neighbors and democracy ~ @ssir.org
No City Stands Alone (SSIR)
Lessons from Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis on defending our neighbors and democracy
ssir.org
"Economic growth ultimately comes from functioning markets rather than isolated investments. Yet there is a substantial difference between adopting the language of market building and actually changing the nature of how investments are sourced, assessed, and measured."
Market Creation Has Been Having a Moment. Now Comes the Hard Part (SSIR)
Shifting impact investment toward market creation means doing a lot more than changing how we talk about what we do.
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"Many nonprofits are data-rich but insight-poor. That means they collect vast amounts of information—for compliance, in CRM systems, health records, or program logs—but lack the internal capability to turn that data into a road map for their mission."
Closing the Data-Utilization Gap (SSIR)
How nonprofits can build the data infrastructure to analyze what they already know
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"There is not an easy 'how-to' guide to accelerate the flow of philanthropy. That said, there are glimmers of possibility—emerging ideas, practices, and developments that may help or point toward new ways of thinking about the challenge."
Slow Philanthropy (SSIR)
Amid much discussion about the future of philanthropy, one mystery deserves more attention: Why does the giving of so many ultra-wealthy people lag far behind the aspirations they express?
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"Giving can be simple. Giving is human. Community knows what it needs. And, more often than not, community is much better at meeting the moment than the institutions built to serve it." https://ssir.org/articles/entry/minneapolis-giving-can-be-simple
Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) (SSIR)
When the village cannot wait, philanthropy must learn from community.
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I deeply appreciate what Ashley offers in this piece: "Our democracy and our collective future are under threat. If philanthropy wants to play a role in building a just future, then it needs to be willing to find new channels, new structures, and new forms of trust." ssir.org/articles/ent...
Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) (SSIR)
When the village cannot wait, philanthropy must learn from community.
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"In the face of these conditions, our philanthropic responsibility has had to evolve, to balance mitigating immediate harm with advancing long-term mission. How to act decisively amid legal and political uncertainty? This is our new reality. Every one of us must adapt and respond."
No City Stands Alone (SSIR)
Lessons from Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis on defending our neighbors and democracy
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"For years, organizers and leaders had been inviting people into public life through relationships: sharing stories, listening across differences, analyzing power, moving institutions, and taking action. Those practices can seem ordinary when the stakes are lower. In crisis, they become protection."
Protecting Our Neighbors (SSIR)
Building power in communities now will protect them from the next threat to democracy.
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Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) via @ssir.org
Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) (SSIR)
When the village cannot wait, philanthropy must learn from community.
buff.ly
well, I never expected to be published in a Stanford journal, but the McKnight Foundation asked me write my thesis to the philanthropic world after the MN ICE surge: when there is an emergency, just... give money to people on the ground doing the actual work. as fast as possible. radical, I know.
Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) (SSIR)
When the village cannot wait, philanthropy must learn from community.
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“Giving can be simple. Giving is human. Community knows what it needs.” @ziibiing.com ssir.org/articles/ent... @ssir.org
Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) (SSIR)
When the village cannot wait, philanthropy must learn from community.
ssir.org
"I am not famous. I do not work in philanthropy. I am a woman who grew up in public housing in South Minneapolis. My net worth is negative. And yet in May of 2026, Time named me one of its 100 most influential leaders in philanthropy..."
Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) (SSIR)
When the village cannot wait, philanthropy must learn from community.
ssir.org
Are You Building Something? An interview with Marshall Ganz on what the social sector gets wrong about power and structural change ~ @ssir.org
Are You Building Something? (SSIR)
An interview with Marshall Ganz on what the social sector gets wrong about power and structural change
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How did thousands of people know where to go? How did families find support? How did organizations coordinate legal services, communications, rapid response, mutual aid, and community defense at such a scale?
Resilience Is Built Before the Crisis (SSIR)
How immigrant-led networks create community defense
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Live TODAY at 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST: SSIR talks w/ authors Christine Mahoney and John Kluge Jr. about investing in the world’s refugees and building economies of belonging. Sign up now to join:
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Building the Refugee Economy: An SSIR Author Conversation. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
As humanitarian aid agencies buckle under the collapse of financial support, should the private sector step in to invest in refugees and integrate them into the economy? Christine Mahoney and John K...
stanford.zoom.us
"Minnesota’s response to Operation Metro Surge in late 2025 and early 2026 offers one of the sharpest recent illustrations of this dynamic. It also offers a way to think clearly about what civic infrastructure is made of, why the recognition problem persists, and what it costs."
The Gyms on the Corners (SSIR)
Recognition, distortion, and the organizing infrastructure behind Minnesota's response to Operation Metro Surge.
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With Fulbright Portugal support, I visited central Portugal and hear one town's experience integrating foreign migrants into their plans for climate resiliency, reducing wildfire risk, and rural revitalization. Also, goats! 🐐 Read my piece in the @ssir.org summer issue! ssir.org/articles/ent...
"Fundão’s narrow streets feel ancient. For decades, this small city of 27,000 people in central Portugal has experienced a gradual decline. Since 1960, its population has nearly halved as residents left for larger cities in search of work, a pattern reflecting broader national trends."
Climate Help From Overseas (SSIR)
The agricultural city of Fundão, Portugal, is integrating foreign migrants to help with fire mitigation, climate resiliency, and rural revitalization.
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"Universities can assume a leading role using concrete, catalytic mechanisms that enhance and drive change larger than themselves." Lessons from Tecnológico de Monterrey, the Mexican university that has deeply integrated sustainability into the school’s culture and educational model:
Catalyzing Climate Action Through Universities (SSIR)
Ruta Azul, the sustainability and climate action plan of the Mexican university Tecnológico de Monterrey, has integrated sustainability into the school’s culture and educational m...
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When many democracies are backsliding, what enables career bureaucrats to resist anti-democratic demands from politically appointed superiors? A team of researchers used Brazil under Bolsonaro as a case study, examining what happened when appointees took over previously nonpolitical agencies.
Why Bureaucrats Defend Democracy (SSIR)
Civil servants are more likely to resist authoritarianism when they are supported by peers, ombuds offices, and professional associations.
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On Oct 1, 2025, the US federal government shut down. Among the many consequences was an unprecedented crisis: For the first time in its history, SNAP was poised to suspend benefits to 42 million Americans. In SF, that meant 112,000 residents suddenly faced the prospect of losing food assistance.
When the Safety Net Fails (SSIR)
How an innovative public-private partnership responded rapidly to keep 82,000 families fed during a government shutdown.
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A typology of philanthropy that highlights the risks of the prevalent monoculture that focuses on “getting to scale” by influencing state policy. The counter examples of philanthropy that takes a stand, builds power or elevates values are particularly compelling. #philanthropy @ssir.org
What Else Can We Do? The Thirteen Intentions of Philanthropy (SSIR)
A year of turbulence has exposed the dangers of philanthropic monocultures and upended assumptions about impact, effectiveness, and scale. Embracing the varied intentions that motivate people to give ...
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"More than a single answer, we need a conversation with many voices—some aligned, some dissenting, but all thinking hard about what public schools are for."
Building Schools Worth Defending (SSIR)
A response to nine essays on renewing the purpose of public education
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Impact investors can successfully serve as a counterbalance to governments that are ambivalent, obstructionist, or even hostile to refugees. SSIR’s David Johnson speaks w/ Christine Mahoney and John Kluge Jr. about their new feature article, “Building the Refugee Economy.” Tuesday, July 14:
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Building the Refugee Economy: An SSIR Author Conversation. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
As humanitarian aid agencies buckle under the collapse of financial support, should the private sector step in to invest in refugees and integrate them into the economy? Christine Mahoney and John K...
stanford.zoom.us
Impact investors can successfully serve as a counterbalance to governments that are ambivalent, obstructionist, or even hostile to refugees. SSIR’s David Johnson speaks w/ Christine Mahoney and John Kluge Jr. about their new feature article, “Building the Refugee Economy.” Tuesday, July 14:
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Building the Refugee Economy: An SSIR Author Conversation. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
As humanitarian aid agencies buckle under the collapse of financial support, should the private sector step in to invest in refugees and integrate them into the economy? Christine Mahoney and John K...
stanford.zoom.us
Successful advocacy requires not only increasing support on our issues, but inspiring people to believe that they can win. ~ @ssir.org We Need to Close the Hope Gap
We Need to Close the Hope Gap (SSIR)
Successful advocacy requires not only increasing support on our issues, but inspiring people to believe that they can win. | This article is free to all readers thanks to sponsorship by BLIS…
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In the United States, arts and culture work has long relied more on philanthropy and civil society than government support. The organizations that support bookstores usually do so within the constraints of the for-profit model.
Sustaining Independent Bookstores (SSIR)
How financial models that support long-term resilience and sustainability are helping local bookstores across the United States strengthen their role as Main Street anchors. | This article is free to ...
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"The defining challenge for this new generation of billionaire philanthropists is therefore not simply determining what to fund but how to exercise influence in a society where trust is fragile and legitimacy cannot be bought." — Priya Shanker of @stanfordpacs.bsky.social
The New Gilded Age Needs Civic Leaders, Not Just Philanthropists (SSIR)
What a new generation of entrepreneurial donors should learn from legacy institutions and leaders.
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