Apply to be a Atlas Corps 2009-2010 Fellow

The search for our next class of nonprofit leaders begins on Monday, February 2! We are seeking mid-career professionals from more than 160 nations, with three or more years of experience in the nonprofit sector, a university degree, and fluency in English, to participate in our one-year fellowship in Washington, DC. Applications from Colombia, India, Brazil, Vietnam, South Africa are of special interest to some of our Host organizations. There are also fellowships in Bogotá, Colombia for nonprofit professionals from the United States who are fluent in Spanish.

The Atlas Corps Fellowship Program strengthens leaders and organizations in the nonprofit sector through a one-year international exchange of mid-career professionals. Atlas Corps is helping to create a world where talented individuals and good ideas in the nonprofit sector cross borders to share best practices, learn new perspectives, and address the world's most pressing social challenges.

The application deadline is April 1, 2009. For more information or to download an application, please visit www.atlascorps.org/apply.html

The updated application will be available on Monday, February 2nd. Questions? Email apply@atlscorps.org.

Sankalp Awards 2009 Nominations Open

For all social Entrepreneurs - a brilliant opportunity to showcase your enterprise!

Sankalp 2009 supported by partners such as The Rockefeller Foundation, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Rural Innovation Network (RIN) is South Asia's first investment forum for emerging enterprises as well as ideas that aim to solve pressing issues of the day in a sustainable and profitable manner.

The Sankalp Awards are an effort to discover, connect, support and recognize
the most investible ideas and emerging enterprises operating in high impact
sectors.

The sectors that business plan nominations are being sought are:
a. Agriculture & Rural Innovations
b. Healthcare Inclusion
c. Education for All
d. Environment & Clean Energy
e. Other highly scalable social models

For further information on the award process kindly view http://sankalpforum.com

D.light Design Fellows Program!

D.light Design (www.dlightdesign.com) is a lighting and power company that delivers affordable and high quality solutions to serve families living without adequate electricity. Our mission is to replace every kerosene lantern in the world to provide everyone access to a basic human need: safe and bright light.

Announcing the D.light Design Fellows Program!

We are pleased to announce the launch of the D.light Fellows Program! The Fellows Program connects D.light with passionate and talented professionals from around the world. For terms of 3-10 months, fellows will use their unique skills and experiences to contribute in a significant way to our mission of replacing kerosene lanterns with safe and bright light.

Each fellow will be located in one of our three field offices in India, China, or Tanzania, working closely with our multi-national team across three continents and four countries. As D.light continues to expand quickly, we promise that all fellows will have an invigorating, challenging, and life-change experience!

Please visit our website to view a more detailed description of the program and how to apply. The first application deadline is February 15, 2009, so please consider applying and help us spread the word! We are currently recruiting for the following fellows:

* Business Development (India)
* International Business Development (China)
* Marketing (India)
* Marketing & Communications (China)
* Product Design (India)
* Reliability & Testing (China)
* Research & Development (China)
* Supply Chain Management (China)

APPLY HERE

CNN is looking for Young Heroes

CNN is searching the globe for people whose selflessness, dedication and achievement are as inspiring as the CNN Heroes we honored in 2008. Tell us about your hero, and why CNN should share his or her story with the world. The most outstanding nominees will be honored at an all-star tribute at the end of the year.

Check out the 2008 CNN Hero Archive.

APPLY HERE

Engineers 4 Social Impact (E4SI) Fellowship

An excellent opportunity for university students in India

Engineers for Social Impact is a unique fellowship program that connects top engineering talent to credible social enterprises driving market-based solutions to development in India. It serves a dual need: matching talented students with worthy social enterprises and increasing awareness of for-profit approaches to development.

E4SI Fellows will not only be paid competitive stipends but will also be supported by Team E4SI and its network of advisors. Fellows will have a chance to telescope their learning curve by attending leadership workshops at the Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad, working with leading social entrepreneurs, and pitching their ideas to thought leaders.

Important Dates
Application Starts Jan 15, 2009
Application Deadline Feb 22, 2009
Fellows Declared March 11, 2009

Duration of the fellowship: May 2009 – August 2009 (Exact dates depend on university schedules)

REGISTER AND APPLY HERE

Win a Trip You Won’t Forget

Nicholas Kristof writes: I’m pleased to invite you to apply for the 2009 Win-a-Trip contest. As I wrote in my column, I will take a university student with me on a reporting trip to Africa, giving the student a chance to blog for nytimes.com and to file videos to The Times and Youtube.

Just to get you in the right frame of mind, here’s how Michael Kinsley envisioned the trip in one of his columns in The Washington Post a few years ago:

It’s the middle of the night. We’re in a small tent pitched on the rocky slope of a mountain trail: me, Nick, our trusty guide, three prostitutes we’ve rescued from a life of sex slavery and four local businessmen unjustly accused of insider trading on the village’s primitive, hand-pumped stock exchange. Outside, the jackals are yelping. Inside, nature is calling. Urgently. Am I man enough to face the jackals, or masochist enough to wait until morning? Answer: Whatever. I’m tough. I can handle either of these. But ultimately, the jackals are less terrifying than the thought of one more minute listening to Nick’s tales of all the real adventures he’s been on that make this one seem like a game of patty-cake. I flee the tent, am devoured by the jackals and Kristof gets a column out of it.

Actually, we’ll stay away from the jackals on this trip. I’m not sure where we’ll go, but some possibilities are Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia and/or Ghana. The coup in Guinea is still sorting itself out, so we’ll see how that develops.

The contest is open to students at American universities – either undergraduates or graduate students – who are 18 years old or over. I know I’ll get indignant letters from other people, but right now I’m confining it to students. Please consult the full rules, which explain more about eligibility.

You can apply either with an essay or with a video, or both. Send the essay to winatrip@nytimes.com. Post the video on my Youtube channel, www.youtube.com/NicholasKristof, next to my own video invitation for applications. In either case, just explain why I should pick you.

ALSO: Check out this Trip Video

Alan Khazei (Be the Change, Inc) at Colbert Nation

Alan Khazei explains to Stephen why anybody would do something for someone else and not get paid for it.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Alan Khazei

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Tool for those who feel the need to do something

The Tactics of Hope website centers around an interesting tool called "My Circle", which is designed for individuals, to determine what social or environmental causes they're passionate about, where in the world they want to make a difference, and how they can do so.

It's easy to use and provides a great way for people to quickly and easily donate to, volunteer for, or collaborate with non-profit and for-profit organizations around the world.

Watch this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MokRURNnSC0 - to understand how to use this tool.

Sankalp Awards Nominations Open (India)

Deadline 15th February 2009 Sankalp Awards The Sankalp Awards are an effort to discover, connect, support and recognize emerging enterprises in India as well as new investible ideas operating in high impact sectors such as: - Agriculture and Rural Innovations - Healthcare Inclusion - Education for All - Environment and Clean Energy - Highly Scalable Social Models Who should apply for the Awards? 1. Do you have a unique enterprise that will sustainably address issues in any one of the above sectors? 2. Are you looking to raise your profile and meet with regional and international investors in the sector? 3. Is your enterprise likely to be raising capital in the coming year or two? If you answered 'yes' to any two of the above, you should apply for the Sankalp Awards. Categories Sankalp High Impact Award will recognize high-impact models being implemented by established enterprises that will have revenue greater then Rs 25 crores in 3 years; or will be seeking scale-up capital of over Rs 4 crores in the coming year. Sankalp Growth Award is for Social enterprises with proven approaches that will have revenues between Rs 1.5 crores and crores in the next 3 years; or will be seeking growth capital of Rs 40 lacs to Rs 4 crores in the coming year. Sankalp Emerging Model Award will identify newer models and ideas for sustainable development. Eligible entries should have revenues between Rs 50 lacs and Rs 1.5 crores in the next 3 years; or will be seeking risk capital of less than Rs 40 lacs in the coming year. Details required for nomination An eligible social enterprise can apply online at the link below or send an email to info@sankalpforum.com along with the nomination. The nomination should include the following: 1. Description of the social enterprise or idea 2. Overview of the product(s) and/ or service(s) 3. Key people engaged 4. Current status 5. Goals for the next 3 years 6. Contact details The nomination should be no more than 3 pages in length (excluding cover page). Further details For more details visit www.sankalpforum.com For any queries email info@sankalpforum.com Contact Ms. Sujatha Muthayya: 91-40-40300236 or Ms. Rashmi Pillai: 91-22-40359204

The Power of Us: Re-Imagine Media

What happens when everyone has the power to tell the story?

Join We Media and Ashoka’s Changemakers in the search to find the best new ideas for inspiring a better world through media and technology. They are looking for business and non-profit venture ideas and will award $50,000 in seed funding to the innovators who can bring the best ideas to life. They invite entries from all fields. They will have two categories, one for business ventures and one for non-profit ventures, and will give $25,000 to the best idea in each category.

Submit your entries by January 21, 2009 6:00 pm EST (21:00 GMT)

APPLY HERE

Scholarships to Nonprofit Technology Conference 2009

Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) is going to provide up to 57 scholarships to this year's Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco, April 26-28. Convio is matching donations dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $10,000.

Scholarships are available to employees of 501(c)(3) nonprofits (or the international equivalent) with annual budgets under $1 million. Scholarships cover only the cost of registration for the NTC, but they're also asking donors to contribute their extra frequent flyer miles, to help bring down the cost of attending a bit more. Scholarships will be provided in the order requests are received (and information is verified). The results would be out by March 13th.

APPLY AT - http://nten.org/ntc-scholarships

IF YOU WISH TO DONATE - The donations go to the GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND. Plus, NTEN is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, so your donation is tax deductible! Please donate on the NTEN website or via the NTEN widget on the sidebar of my BLOG.

Bangalore Live Bus Tracker

Bangalore Municipal Transport Commission (BMTC) seems to developing an innovative bus tracking application that updates the location of BMTC buses on the website via a GPS. The Bus locations are updated once in a minute. BMTC is also building an application for cellphones so that one can view the bus location information on the go. This could be of incredible help to the public in Bangalore.

Check it out at http://www.btis.in/buses.htm

Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project

Message from Vodafone Americas Foundation

We have launched a new initiative called the Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project, where we're seeking to identify and fund the best innovations using wireless related technology to address critical social issues around the world.

Three winners will be awarded prizes of $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000 for unique, late-stage wireless innovations that offer the best potential for creating social change in the areas of education, health,
economic development, the environment and access to communication.

The Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project is open to projects submitted by applicants from universities and nonprofit organizations based in the United States. Eligible projects must:

1) Demonstrate a multi-disciplinary approach that uses an innovation in wireless related technology to address a critical global issue

2) Hold the potential for replication and large scale impact

3) Include a business plan or basic framework for financial sustainability and rollout

Applications will be accepted online from November 17 to February 2 at
http://project.vodafone-us.com/

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at
project@vodafone.com

“Thirst” wins SlideShare’s World’s Best Presentation Contest

I found this interesting and socially relevant presentation which also won the World's Best Presentation Contest at SlideShare.

Here is Jeff Brenman’s Thirst for your viewing pleasure.

| View | Upload your own

Ref: Rashmi Sinha's Blog

Apply to the Faiths Act Fellowship

WE’RE SEARCHING FOR YOUNG LEADERS COMMITTED TO GLOBAL ACTION.

This Fall, thirty outstanding young leaders from the US, UK and Canada will reach across faith lines and work together toward building a movement of global social action.

We are now seeking applications from outstanding young people and potential host organizations to take part in a brand-new initiative run by the Interfaith Youth Core and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation called the Faiths Act Fellowship.

The Faiths Act Fellowship will empower thirty religiously diverse young leaders from the US, UK and Canada to serve as inter-religious ambassadors for the Millennium Development Goals.

In August 2009, these young leaders will embark together on a 10 month journey of interfaith service in the fight to eradicate deaths due to malaria. The fellowship begins with two months of intensive training with Tony Blair in London and the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago. Fellows will then be placed with primary health care partners in Africa for a one month intensive immersion program. After having been introduced to the important role of interfaith cooperation in helping fight malaria on the ground in Africa, Fellows will return to their home countries where they will spend the next 8 months raising awareness and resources. Working in religiously diverse pairs, the young leaders will inspire others in their home communities to take action.

Together, the Faiths Act Fellows will show their faith in a brighter future and prove to the world that Faiths Act.

Learn more about the Faiths Act Fellowship at http://faithsactfellows.org