Venture philanthropy and other new products and trends indicate that philanthropy has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. Donors are younger than ever before and foundations have become increasingly professionalized. In this discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, philanthropy expert Peter Hero interviews Laura Arrillaga, a leader in Silicon Valley, about developments that are now making philanthropy a powerhouse for social change.

People learning to read will soon be able to use a handheld device to practice their reading skills when trained teachers and the Internet are not available. Using inexpensive hardware, Literacy Bridge plans to provide Talking Book audio players/recorders in developing nations starting this fall, with a goal of selling them for $10 per device or less. Listen to Cliff Schmidt describe the Talking Book and the benefits it will bring to people in far-flung locations.

PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology and Health) is a nonprofit organization designed to ensure that the benefits of innovation in science and technology are available to developing countries and remotely located, low-income groups. Host Sheela Sethuraman interviews Dr. Christopher Elias, president and CEO of PATH, who talks about the beginnings, accomplishments, and challenges of PATH.

The Industrial Revolution ushered in an era of technological change, leading to better standards of living for us today. Yet this progress has taken a toll on the non-renewable resources of our planet. Given the accelerated rate at which developing nations now follow in our footsteps in the exploitation of natural resources, how long will our planet be able to sustain such growth? Panelists Harriet Babbitt, Nancy Birdsall, Lawrence Summers and Cameron Sinclair discuss the meaning of, and ways to achieve, sustainable development.

In the frenzy over accountability funders, donors, and the general public are calling for more program evaluation. Yet few understand how expensive and complex good evaluation is. Speaking at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford, Alana Conner, senior editor of the Stanford Social Innovation Review illustrates how half-hearted evaluation can do more harm than good. Rick Aubry and Victor Kuo join her to give nonprofit and foundation perspectives.

With valuable advice for all types of entrepreneurs, this Stanford Entrepreneurship Week panel offers a unique perspective for funding a social entrepreneur startup. Kriss Deiglmeier leads an engaging discussion between funders and social entrepreneurs that provides actionable advice and insightful lessons.

Despite the stunning advances in medicine during the last half century, more than 25,000 children die each day for want of medicine that costs less than a cup of coffee. Inadequate access to health care is just one of the tremendous problems facing the millions of people around the world who earn less than $4 a day. Invited to Stanford by the Center for Social Innovation, Yasmina Zaidman describes how the Acumen model supports microenterprises that are helping to alleviate poverty, and shares the opportunities and challenges the organization faces.

In Britain, something is happening that hasn't happened for 100 years. More people are becoming incredibly wealthy, not only through inheritance, but also because of their own hard work. A phenomenon on this scale has not happened since the Victorian industrialists. Philosopher Charles Handy tells his 2007 Skoll World Forum audience about entrepreneurs who put their energies into meeting some perceived social need--something that government never gets around to and that private enterprise typically doesn't see a market for.

As the boundary between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds continues to blur, how may philanthropy evolve to assist social change? A panel of academics and practitioners discusses how public- and private-sector support may be combined in new ways in the future to fund progressive domestic and global social enterprises.

On BioTech Nation, Jim Greenwood, the President and CEO of BIO, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, speaks with Dr. Moira Gunnabout an innovative new conference: Partnering for Global Health which brings together biotech and science, global philanthropists, and people in need.