In Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point, there is considerable attention given to a certain kind of person that makes all the difference in building causes of any kind. These people are connectors. And they, quite simply, know everybody.
Bill Clinton is a connector par excellence. And it is this gift that has allowed him to become a driving force for good causes across the globe.
The William J. Clinton Foundation has very little money but a lot of ideas, many experimental. Some of those ideas are working.
The CGI holds annual conferences that pull together people with money and people with ideas. The goal is to have the people with money pledge some of that money to do specific things within a specific time frame. The idea people--experts, nonprofits, NGOs, government officials--serve as resources on targeted issues, such as education, energy, global health, poverty. The results are actual commitments to, as the CGI website says, "convert ideas into action."
The commitments from CGI 07, for instance, range from establishing a Sesame Street Afghanistan, to Wal-Mart's pledge to carry only concentrated detergents in order to save water, plastic and cardboard, to Darfur relief sponsored by a group of financial companies. There are 198 commitments representing millions of dollars and affecting people around the globe.
Perhaps only Clinton could tap so many people and institutions, bring them together, and then gently hold their feet to the fire so that things actually get done. It is a great example of an ex-president using his power and influence productively.
Clinton is also bridging the chasm between nonprofit work and for-profit companies. Democrats have a reputation for pitting people against corporations as though there is some basic incompatibility between the social welfare and corporate profits. But Clinton, and others of his generation (notably Baby Boomers), is embracing the market and making it think in new ways.
An article in The Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 07) said that Bill Clinton, "aims to repurpose business methods and business culture to solve the world's problems." The Foundation has hired people with business backgrounds who are attacking those problems with cost graphs and market efficiencies.
This group of MBAs, former executives, and Clinton have coined a new term: the public-goods market. That is a market that benefits everyone while not penalizing businesses. The new approach began with Clinton's first initiative, an HIV/AIDS project.
Developing countries could not afford the high cost of HIV drugs and drug companies naturally did not want to forgo profits. The key was to group countries together so that the market of people needing drugs was large enough to make producing the drugs more cost-efficient. The Clinton group was the intermediary that brought the countries and the drug companies together.
They are now turning to global warming. The Clinton Foundation is working with cities around the globe to aggregate demand for technology that exists but that is too expensive for most cities to afford. For instance, fuel cell powered buses exist but they cost $2 million each. Why do they cost so much? Because there is low demand. Why is there low demand? Because they cost so much.
To escape this frustrating loop, Clinton's MBAs are bringing together many cities to place a bulk order. That will allow the manufacturer to sell the buses at a much lower price and still be profitable.
The same approach is being used for climate control systems for buildings, fertilizer markets in Africa, and desalination equipment. It is a good model and is likely to be one of Clinton's biggest contributions to philanthropy.
Since most of us are not world leaders, nor industry titans, the Clinton Foundation has recently set up a website for the rest of us. Called MyCommitment.com, it is a place to read stories of how individuals are helping their communities, and where you can find ideas that you can adopt. As the site says, "If each of us makes just one commitment, we can change the world."
The site includes the "My Commitment 101 Kit," where you can find a database of volunteer opportunities, read 50 tips for improving the world, and find lists of organizations and groups that you might want to buy from or join.
The Clinton Foundation is certainly breaking new ground. But it is not alone. A general sentiment that traditional philanthropy, while doing a lot of good things, is inadequate to address global concerns has given rise to "social entrepreneurism."
The Gates Foundation is a good example of this approach where the goals are big and the money is gigantic. Bill and Melinda Gates are also following a business playbook rather than engaging in traditional foundation philanthropy where, as one expert puts it, "foundations dutifully deliver funds to nonprofit organizations that dutifully deliver the services." These new philanthropists, and connectors like Bill Clinton, do not pore over grant applications but engage in full body-contact social change. In the process they are likely to change the world for the better.
For an update on Bill Clinton in his post-presidency, see this article from the NYTimes, "The Mellowing of William Jefferson Clinton."
