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A few months ago, I had a conversation with someone at a university, who runs an entrepreneurship center. During our conversation, I brought up social entrepreneurship, stewardship etc. ideas that are becoming mainstream.

He argued that there is no such distinctions are artificial. All entrepreneurship is about creating value and social change. So, by this logic, all forms of entrepreneurship should be seen as ‘social entrepreneurship.’

While I am still mulling this, months later, I am beginning to see how this might be wrong.

Entrepreneurs of course want to create value. And this value may not always be socially beneficial. Those who turn perishable commodities and other depleting resources – think fossil fuels etc. into profit are obviously only interested in profits and shareholder value.

What about tech geeks who claim to hold the moral high ground, as Silicon Valley folks are wont to. Even there, if the investments are from people who are not very ethical or are hurting freedoms, human rights or the environment; then how ‘socially responsible’ are they? Think of the recent debate about the Saudi investments in Silicon Valley.

While this debate rages on, I am still not too sure of the original argument that was made.

What do you think?

Recently, I spoke at the local Rotary Club in the Oxnard area. I shared some data and a few insights, gained from my research on this phenomenon.

More than $466 billion were sent from countries around the world. This number, which the World Bank estimates to be a slight improvement over the previous year, is three times the size of international development aid.

In today’s world, where Western powers are becoming more inward looking and focused on their own national priorities, the appetite for helping others, who are poorer seems to be decreasing.

A lady at the event asked me “Isn’t this a net negative cash flow from the US?” referring to remittances flow from the US.

Perhaps so. But isn’t an entire chain of  Americans benefiting from the work of these migrants? Many migrants are creating new businesses, contributing to the economy, paying taxes and only THEN, are they sending money back to the countries of their origin. Even in this process, an entire chain of people are making money off these remittances – the banks, the money transfer companies involved and others who are in this business.

Besides, the goodwill that the US earns, by virtue of these migrants being able to live, work and improve the lives of those across the border is incalculable. The word I was thinking of was ‘Soft power.’

Remittances are indeed a form of soft-power for the US.

 

I am working on a project, that could potentially become larger than what it is currently. The central idea is to map out how philanthropy is shaping community : An idea I have argued for, in my dissertation.

Given that the past year or so has been spectacularly chaotic, both socially and politically in the US; the idea that America is being reshaped fundamentally, is something worth exploring. Whether this is true is something I would like to examine.

Steve Almond in his provocative book Bad Stories argues that Trumpism is a “bad outcome arising directly from the bad stories we tell ourselves. To understand how we got here, we have to confront our cultural delusions: our obsession with entertainment, sports, and political parody, the degeneration of our free press into a for-profit industry, our enduring pathologies of race, class, immigration, and tribalism.”

What this means in other words is also that we have become a people who form communities around these bad stories and are excluding those who dont believe in our versions of reality. This is potentially dangerous, as a society.

I see this occurring in India as well, another country that is beset with right-wing ideologues, who want to make ‘India great again’ though in a slightly different form. They want to make ‘India Hindu again,’ harking back to an era of supposed purity where the undesirables : Muslims, Christians and the secularists were not around.

I wonder if this new idea of what America means will radically alter what America will become, both legally and socially. This project aims to dig deeper, using philanthropy as a lens. If you would like to talk – to be interviewed – or even just pass on an idea to me, feel free to get in touch!

Earlier this month, government officials, nonprofit professionals and donors got together at one of the most important gathering of nonprofit leaders in Saudi Arabia. If discussions there are any indication, the kingdom may be in for a major overhaul. Hosted by the Center of Excellence in Development of Nonprofit Organizations at the King Fahd University, the conference brought together ideas on how to involve the nonprofit sector in development and addressing issues of public health, education and housing- challenges that are facing the Kingdom.

There is a new momentum around nonprofit institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which could transform how we think of the ways in which people in the country dispense of their excess wealth. This could have implications in terms of how people think of their relationship with the state apparatus and also with each other.

What is the need for developing the nonprofit sector, where the state is so strong, one might ask? The answer to this question is both complex and multi-faceted. While there is increasing realization among the ruling class that the dependency on Oil cannot be continued forever, there is also a concurrent realization that there can and needs to be greater individual and group level participation by those who have wealth. Religious and cultural norms favor greater individual philanthropy.  Nonprofits are seen as potential agents that will bring about greater civic participation – both in terms of volunteering as well as setting up institutions that address key fundamental issues. While health, housing and education sectors will need significant inputs in the years and decades to come; this stress on increased funding and efforts is being put on nongovernmental entities. A new nonprofit law is being drafted to allow for potential tax-deductibility, according to sources.

In my conversation with foundation executives and legal experts, I found that the sector leaders see a greater need for clarity on regulations. Secondly, there is also a perceived need for clarity in terms of what the nonprofit sector is supposed to do. “The government should let us work” pointed out one senior executive, pointing to the need for greater freedom of action.

Regulations are being framed and put together as we speak. This will help in framing the identity of the nonprofit sector, which will be unique to the country. While the nonprofit sector needs to borrow ideas from the rest of the world, it also needs to adapt them to the realities of life in the Kingdom. This means an intelligent and thoughtful fine-tuning of ideas, concepts that have worked for decades or even centuries in the West.

Human capacity development is another area that needs focus. While there is a huge pool of young people who are being trained in areas of public policy, nonprofit management etc. this capacity should be mentored, channeled to work in the development sector in the Kingdom. “Young people don’t see this as a stable career choice,” pointed out another senior executive. He suggested that this needs to change and the government involvement in legitimizing the sector may help.

The need for greater women’s involvement in the sector came up time and again during the three-day conference. There was a healthy participation by women in the conference and all participants – both women and men stressed women’s involvement in developing Saudi society using all tools available to the third sector.

If discussions and exchanges during the three days are any indication, then there is great momentum and energy in the country. The future of nonprofits in KSA will depend on how the government and nonprofit leaders work with each other to collaborate, create norms and a culture of mutual respect and trust in their abilities to solve social problems.