International Transparency Solutions is honored to have been selected to pitch at this years “The Feast Kitchen” Pitch Competition in New York City. Over 80 startups from around the world applied or were nominated, and only eight were selected to pitch — so it’s an honor to be among them!
From the website:
See what’s cooking in “The Kitchen” of the world’s most innovative and creative entrepreneurs looking to make the world a better place.
All Day Buffet will flip over every rock and boulder to find 10 startups who will have five …

Mario Morino of Venture Philanthropy Partners recently published an article on the growing pressure for transparency in the non-profit sector. He starts off referencing Joel Fleishman’s book, The Foundation: A Great American Secret, where the nonprofit sector’s lack of transparency is cited as its greatest liability.
Morino points to a growing force that is holding institutions accountable and demanding increased transparency:
“A new force has gathered tremendous steam in just the three years since Joel completed his book. It’s far more powerful and enduring than a Senate committee’s gaze, and it’s affecting …

Charity Navigator is a non-profit watchdog that ranks 5,000+ of the top US charities in order to give donors and investors the tools they need to decide where to invest their money. Transparency Solutions is in the process of building a similar system that operates on a global scale and targets non-profits in the developing world — adding a new layer of transparency and global credibility to help them unlock their investment potential.
We really like the Charity Navigator site, in fact we use it regularly to do research on US …

I had a great conversation last week with Karim Harji, a Kenyan from Mombassa who now lives in Toronto doing social investment. We got on the topic of social investments and metrics vs. storytelling. Karim made the point that the nonprofit sector has relied heavily on storytelling as a means to advance their cause and raise funds. This morning I was reading this blog post, “Stories Can Change the World”, where the author writes, “Storytelling is the most important tool for any innovator. It is the best way to create …

Earlier this week, David Cameron of the UK’s Conservative Party laid out plans for a new approach to international aid. Noting “lost” or “misplaced” funding, Cameron called the current system of aid “far too opaque”. Cameron stated that his party’s platform calls for “transparency over what is spent, where; [and] accountability so people know we’re paying for real results.”
In doing so, he suggests posting all aid information online, as well as pioneering a system of checks and balances that encourages “results-based” aid.
Additionally, Cameron calls for the creation of an independent …