Avoiding Plagiarism Social Capitalist Award Each Year

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Social Capitalist Award

Each year Fast Company offers the Social Capitalist Award to acknowledge 45 social organizations that strive to make a difference in the world. Using Fast Company's methodology section, this paper identifies why five of the winners met the evaluation criteria. Additionally, how each of these organizations tell their story, describe their mission, engage volunteers, and measure success is overviewed.

Evaluation Criteria Met by Five Organizations:

Of the 45 winners of Fast Company's 2008 Social Capitalist Award, five that met the evaluation criteria are: City Year, IFF, Rare, SEED Foundation, and Witness. City Year excels in the social impact criteria for the award, with participants logging more than 2.4 million volunteer service hours, in 18 locations across the country and in South Africa. IFF has exceeded the entrepreneurship criteria for Fast Company, and the ability to do a lot with a little. The organization for every dollar lent by IFF, the organization is able to leverage additional outside funding, resulting in total capital investment of $2.50. Rare is an excellent example of an organization that demonstrates that aspiration and growth criteria, as the organization has undertaken a growth plan to triple in size. SEED Foundation excels in innovation, with their pattern breaking idea of public boarding schools, in the student's own home community. Lastly, Witness demonstrates excellence in the social impact criteria, by bringing to light human rights' abuses from around the world.

About the Winners:

City Year tells its story of global volunteerism through the activities of its volunteers. Their mission is to "young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them skills and opportunities to change the world" ("City Year," 2011). They engage their volunteers by giving them the skills and opportunities to volunteer as tutors, mentors, and role models across the country and in South Africa. The organization measures success by the number of young people they have enrolled in the program and how many service hours their members perform over the course of the year.

IFF tells its story of providing financing through the non-profit organizations it helps. Their mission is to "provide flexible, below-market financing for nonprofit corporations serving low-income and special needs populations, connecting them with the capital they need to acquire or improve their facilities, to purchase equipment or vehicles, and to build net assets" ("IFF home," 2009). IFF does not utilize volunteers, in the traditional way. Instead, the organization uses invested funds from banks, religious orders, mutual funds and foundations. The organization measures success in the number of loans it provides, the dollar value of those loans and the low failure rate of these loans.

Rare tells its story of conservation efforts through the training and work of their organizers. The organization's mission is to design "conservation programs that benefit both people and nature -- ensuring that change is embraced and sustained" ("Designed community-based," 2011). They engage their volunteers by focusing on the concept of "pride" and use costumed animal costumes to motivate others. Rare measures success in the number of campaigns they conduct and people they reach.

SEED Foundation tells its story of improving educational opportunities for children, through the success stories of those that have attended their schools. The organization's mission is to partner "with urban communities to provide innovative educational opportunities that prepare underserved students for success in college and beyond" ("About SEED," 2011). SEED does not utilize volunteers in the traditional sense, but does solicit donations to support their schools. They measure success through the number of students that are currently enrolled in their schools and the percentage of graduates that continue on to college.