Business & Social Enterprise Anak-anak & Remaja Perkembangan & Kesejahteraan Lingkungan & Kelangsungan Hidup Kesehatan & Kebugaran Peace & Harmonious Relations Hak Asasi Manusia & Perdamaian Partisipasi & Keterlibatan Publik
How would you like to be able to move house -- packing, transportation, cleaning, moving materials removal, and gardening included -- without spending a dollar? If you lived in New South Wales, Australia, you could use shells, issued in points, to pay for everything but the gardening, which you would pay for with time.
How does your bank use your money after you deposit it? Most of us have no idea. But at one Vermont bank, customers know it goes to worthy projects right in their own backyard that make the local economy stronger.
At Chittenden Bank, the largest bank in the state, anyone can choose to put their deposits into a multi-million dollar Socially Responsible Banking (SRB) fund that invests in community projects in education, affordable housing, and sustainable agriculture.
While most of us dread filing our taxes, there's something to cheer about this year: cash-strapped taxpayers now have an easier path to their refunds. Free tax preparation software, based on an H&R Block professional product, is being given away by more than 90 United Way affiliates nationwide to anyone earning $56,000 or less annually.
The global financial crisis is opening eyes to creative ways to bank with the world's poorest borrowers, a move that could actually help struggling financial institutions generate more profit in difficult times.
While traditional investment markets freeze up or melt away, microfinance institutions (MFIs) that make small loans to poor people are now being appreciated as - ironically - a relatively safe investment in a potentially huge and largely untapped market.
In the Mendoza province of Argentina, a small community of entrepreneurs is preparing for the tomato harvest. With the help of 'solidarity investors,' they're purchasing seeds, irrigating and cultivating their land, and eventually making jars of fresh tomato sauce that just might make their way to your dinner table.
The Changemakers community has big ideas for supporting positive rural development around the globe. From farming “affinity groups” in India to technologically connected health care providers in remote corners of the United States, solutions abound. See some of the best initiatives here
Being involved with Changemakers can mean a big boost to your goals. Participation often leads to further connections and opportunities that have a significant impact on the growth and reach of organizations working toward change. We keep you updated here, and congratulate the whole Changemakers community for supporting these projects.
Ken Banks jokingly and lovingly calls SMS technology "software with an attention deficit disorder." He’s referring to Short Message Service – also known as text messaging -- and he knows it’s no joke that SMS can help make social happen quickly, profoundly, and in very hard-to access locations.
