In her commentary, titled “My Reasons for Optimism on Education,” Kopp notes just how far we’ve come, from Jaime Escalante of “Stand and Deliver” fame pushing a class of East Los Angeles students in 1982 to pass the AP calculus exam, to today, where the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top competition has pushed State capitols to take on education reform like never before. Notably, during this most recent round of Race to the Top, all 12 of the winners mentioned Teach for America in their applications.

The movement that Teach for America has become is truly remarkable and the role it has played in advancing education reform and eliminating educational inequity in the U.S. is real and lasting. The Skoll Foundation is proud to be supporting Wendy’s effort to expand her vision globally through Teach for All – a global network for expanding educational opportunity.

Tripp and Below spoke with dozens of social sector leaders to identify the most important steps that social entrepreneurs must take to build a team and the five leadership roles that an organization must have for it to be successful at this stage of its development: the evangelist, scaling partner, connector, program strategist, and realist. The article includes comments and insights from a number of Skoll social entreprenuers whose experience building their own teams have taught them valuable lessons, which are reflected in Tripp’s and Below’s research. Those social entreprneurs include Jordan Kassalow, Co-Founder and Chairman of Vision Spring, William Foote, President of Root Capital, John Wood, CEO and Founder of Room to Read, and Jim Fruchterman, President and CEO of Benetech.

Tripp and Below conclude: “When social entrepreneurs stop thinking of leadership positions as simply a solution to an immediate problem, and begin to create roles and hire talent with the same vision and foresight that they use to perfect their idea and mission, scale becomes a natural progression rather than an elusive goal.”

Citizen Schools will provide the additional three hours of academics, hands-on activities, and apprenticeships with local professionals, at the end of the traditional school day.  In Boston, Citizen Schools offered an extended school day similar to the programs starting in Oakland, doubling proficiency rates within the first few years, according to the Chronicle.

It’s a “creative redesign of the school day,” said Joe Ross, executive director of Citizen Schools California. “You can think of it as a second shift of educators.”

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering, and promote the shared interests of humanity. Several of The Elders commented on the dire situtation in Pakistan, including Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan. You can read those statements here.

Jeff Skoll founded the Skoll Foundation to help solve the world’s most pressing problems through investment in social entrepreneurs and other innovators. Jeff, along with Sally Osberg, CEO of the Skoll Foundation, serve as members of the Elders Advisory Board.  

On Monday, the Skoll Foundation announced that it had provided emergency grants to five organizations working in the flood zones in Pakistan, three organizations headed by Skoll social entrepreneurs – the Afghan Institute of Learning, Kashf Foundation, and Institute for Development Studies and Practices, and two additional partner organizations — Ashoka and Relief International. Please go to any of these sites to contribute to the relief efforts in which these organizations are engaged.

According to GFN, from now until the end of the year, we will meet our needs by liquidating stocks and accumulating greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. The news dominating headlines this summer of heat waves, floods, wildfires and threatened grain shortages are just some of the results of this ecological overspending.

GFN and its 90+ partner organizations are leading an international campaign to mark Earth Overshoot Day around the world. Read the press release for more information on the effort or go to the Earth Overshoot page on the GFN website. 

“If you spent your entire annual income in nine months, you would probably be extremely concerned,” said Global Footprint Network President Mathis Wackernagel. “The situation is no less dire when it comes to our ecological budget. Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, water and food shortages — these are all clear signs that we can no longer finance our consumption on credit. Nature is foreclosing.”

The Skoll grantees include the Institute for Development Studies and Practices (IDSP), the Kashf Foundation, and the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL). IDSP, founded in 1999 by Dr. Quratul Ain Bakhteari, provides training and education to thousands of young men and women across several regions of Pakistan. They are now engaging in relief efforts in various provinces, including Sibi, where an estimated 40,000 people have been displaced due to the floods. The Kashf Foundation, one of the largest microfinance institutions in Pakistan, was founded in 1996 by Roshaneh Zafar. Kashf anticipate broad repercussions due to so much of the population leaving flooded rural areas and heading to cities, and are establishing a fund to support relief efforts. AIL, which provides education and health care to hundreds of thousands of women and children in Afghanistan, was established in 1995 by Dr. Sakena Yacoobi. It has refugee programs located in Peshawar, in the affected flood zone.  AIL is responding to the emergency by coordinating the distribution of safe drinking water (through hiring water tankers), food and medicines.

Two additional organizations — Relief International (RI) and Ashoka — who have active programs and staff on the ground in Pakistan, will also receive emergency Skoll grants. Pakistan is a significant area of focus for RI, who has over 300 staff across several provinces. They are currently focusing on food distribution; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions; health services and child protection—targeting communities of highest need.  Ashoka has 13 Fellows in Pakistan, including Dr. Quratul Ain Bakhteari of IDSP, who are currently involved in flood relief activities and fundraising for flood affected people.

The Skoll Foundation is extremely proud of its social entrepreneurs and partners who have been committed to this region for years. So many of our social entrepreneurs and other civil society organizations work in areas of the world where natural disasters often impede their efforts and endanger their ability to work with the most marginalized populations. The current situation in Pakistan makes that abundantly clear, adding layers of risk and complexity to the lives of millions of people who can afford neither. Though our goal is always to effect sustainable social change, today we are focused on limiting the further marginalization of millions in the flood zones of Pakistan at this critical time.

According to the Omidyar Network press release, Kiva will use the funding to further develop its technology platform, expand its network of field partners, and continue to invest in due diligence and monitoring capabilities across its growing portfolio.

Founded just five years ago in October 2005, Kiva has raised over $150 million to fund loans for over 390,000 entrepreneurs across its 119 field partners. 

Root Capital was founded 10 years ago by Skoll social entrepreneur Willy Foote to bring financing to grassroots businesses in rural areas of developing countries. As a nonprofit social investment fund, it provides capital, financial education, and market connections to those businesses that build sustainable livelihoods and transform rural communities in poor, environmentally vulnerable places.