Do One Better with Alberto Lidji in Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship

Dalberg is a strategic advisory firm serving a wide range of clients, from foundations and NGOs to private firms and governments. The firm was founded in 2001 and aims to create a world where all people everywhere are able to reach their full potential. In this episode we discuss how they're tackling COVID-19 implications and advising their clients accordingly.   Development and impact is key for...

COVID-19 in crisis settings and the power of play. CEO of Right To Play, Kevin Frey, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss how they’re preparing for the pandemic in 52 refugee camps across 22 countries.   This episode looks at Right To Play’s work and how it impacts lives in diverse ways – we frame the whole conversation within the coronavirus context and the challenges for their workforce and beneficiar...

Canopy is focused on protecting the world’s forests, species, climate and helping advance community rights.  They do this by harnessing the power of the marketplace.   Nicole launched Canopy 20 years ago with a small budget of $1,800. Today, they work with 750 large corporate customers, including H&M, Zara and Kimberly-Clark by helping them to develop and implement environmental policies.   They a...

COVID-19 threatens to decimate the developing world. CEO of ActionAid UK, Girish Menon, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss strategic preparations as the novel coronavirus spreads into the Global South.  ​ Girish notes: "We have no idea how it's going to unfold, we have no idea when it's going to end, we have no idea of how the new normal will be defined." ​ ActionAid is an international charity and hu...

CEO of Transcendental Meditation organisations, Dr Tony Nader, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the TM movement, how to start practising TM and why it can benefit your mental and physical wellbeing.   Tony sheds light on his personal journey, from PhD research on cognitive sciences at MIT to leading the Transcendental Meditation Programme across the globe.  He explains how this simple technique can...

The Social Investment Business (SIB) has been around for approximately 20 years.  From 2002 to 2010 they did £320m worth of investments into a whole range of organisations.  More recently, they’ve added grant-making and business support to their range of activities.   Their world has changed over the past 20 years, with many new players active in this field compared with just a handful that were a...

Fran explains how working on 360Giving has been an absolute joy and a bit of a roller coaster.  It came out of her experience both as a philanthropist, starting off at quite a young age, and from her experience as a technology nerd. She is a massive video game fan and has always been fascinated by the Internet and the potential for knowledge to change lives.   In her earlier career, she worked as...

Founder of Girls Not Brides and Vow, and serial entrepreneur for social change, Mabel van Oranje, joins Alberto Lidji in the run-up to International Women’s Day to discuss eliminating child marriage.   Mabel sheds light on the issue of child marriage and the two organisations she has founded: Girls Not Brides and ‘Vow’ – the Vow to End Child Marriage. She provides great insight into the causes and...

CEO of Dubai Cares, Dr Tariq Al Gurg, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the global education agenda, the RewirED global summit on education in Dubai 2021 and much more.   Dubai Cares is playing a key role in helping achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 , which aims to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning by 2030, by supporting programs in early...

Twitter’s ex head of EMEA, Bruce Daisley, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss succinct messaging on climate crisis; workplace culture; and insights from the ‘Joy of Work’ & ‘Eat Sleep Work Repeat’.   A spontaneous conversation full of energy and insight.   We start by hearing how Bruce has recently left Twitter to explore a future that is quite the opposite of highly prescriptive.   His passion for the...

CEO of The Fore and The Bulldog Trust, Mary Rose Gunn, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss seed funding for small non-profits and transforming the funding landscape and processes involved.   The Fore is a collective of individuals and businesses coming together to enhance the philanthropy market. The Fore is a seed funder for small organisations in the charity sector in the UK and, if one were to draw...

Director of LSE’s Marshall Institute, Stephan Chambers, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss research on philanthropy, social entrepreneurship; their Masters in Social Business & Entrepreneurship and more.   The Marshall Institute is a research centre, a place for teaching and a driving force for convening diverse stakeholders.   They tackle hard problems such as how to make our world sustainable and ho...

CEO of LEGO Foundation, John Goodwin, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about $100m grants in support of young children in refugee settings; the value of learning through play; and achieving systemic change.   A fascinating episode taking listeners from the LEGO Foundation’s origins in the 1980s to the present day.  We hear how the LEGO Group supports the Foundation and how the Foundation is focused on...

Google's first employee, Craig Silverstein, and Mary Obelnicki, join Alberto Lidji to talk about philanthropy, Echidna Giving (their Foundation) and signing The Giving Pledge.   We hear how Echidna Giving looks at educating girls in the developing world. It’s the main vehicle to do Craig and Mary’s philanthropy. They aim to invest their money over the course of their lifetime and make a real diffe...

Chief Executive of UnLtd, Mark Norbury, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social entrepreneurship and ways of backing social ventures and entrepreneurs.   UnLtd is a UK-based organisation that supports social entrepreneurship. They’ve helped out about 20,000 social entrepreneurs since 2002; they have an endowment of £150 million, a turnover of £8 million and a team of 75 staff.   They support social...

Executive Director of B Lab UK (B Corp), Chris Turner, and Co-Founder of Grantbook and UnWrapit, Peter Deitz, join Alberto Lidji to discuss the B Corp movement and social entrepreneurship.   B Lab UK is the non-profit organisation in the UK behind B Corp. The B Corp movement is a global movement of more than 3,000 businesses that are all acting as a force for good around the world. There are 250 B...

New Year's Special with Alberto Lidji - Key Takeaways from 2019. Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship. Handpicked takeaways for your reference as you embark on improving the world around you in the New Year and beyond. Thank you for making The Do One Better! Podcast such a success in 2019. Please subscribe and share with others -- your support, feedback and engagement are inval...

Chief Executive of the Association of Charitable Foundations, Carol Mack, joins Alberto Lidji for a wide-ranging conversation on the dynamics facing foundations today.   The Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) represents UK-based foundations and grant-making charities, it has 380 organisational members that represent £50bn in assets and annually grant out £2.5bn.   ACF is a member of DAFNE...

CEO of Mercer (Sweden), Johan Ericsson, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss diversity and inclusion within the corporate space.   Johan has been with Mercer since 2001, a global human resources advisory firm with 25,000 employees operating in 130 countries.   Johan notes that diversity and inclusion have been gaining importance in recent years. There are also more jobs in this field and those jobs are...

Co-Founders of JustSpace Alliance, Lucianne Walkowicz and Erika Nesvold join Alberto Lidji to discuss space ethics and an inclusive and ethical future in space; and implications here on Earth.   Lucianne and Erika start by dispelling the notion that space is a ‘blank canvass’. Humans bring their own perspective and history into the equation.  However, when people think about systems here on earth,...

CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), Marcus Walton, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss inclusive grant-making, racial equity and the sharing of best practice across 600 organizations.    GEO is a 20-year old organization based in the US, which helps grant-makers make better decisions and be more effective. They have 600 members and are supported by some of the world’s best-known found...

Facebook’s head of Social Impact (EMEA), Anita Yuen, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss how they’ve raised $2 billion for good causes, connected blood donors to those in need and innovated at global scale.   The conversation explores how Facebook is using its tremendous global scale to drive forward social impact and social good.   There are more than 2bn people on the Facebook platform, which in many...

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) VP for Global Corporate Responsibility, Catherine Dolton, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss sustainability and value creation across 5,800 hotels in 100 countries.   IHG has 400,000 team members, numerous brands and their biggest market is the USA, followed by greater China.   Over 75% of their hotels are run by third party franchisees; they have a broad and divers...

San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors ex-head of philanthropy and community relations, Joanne Pasternack, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the power of athletes and sports to improve the world.   The conversation is wide-raging, from Joanne’s initial foray into figure skating and her introduction to the Special Olympics when she was just 14 years old, to her work leading the philanthropy and...

Chair of the Children’s Movement of Florida, Dave Lawrence, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss advocacy, politics and coalitions in support of children in Florida and beyond.   During the episode we speak about Dave’s efforts to drive forward legislative change and mobilise individuals at local and national levels to encourage investments in children’s early years and improve their outcomes.   Dave re...