The ASPCA recently help their 2008 Canine Talent Show in the spirit of "I Love NYC Pets Month". The dogs were judged on creativity and attentiveness to the handler, however, being cute totally helped.

Read more about this event on the ASPCA blog.

Brought to us by Google and Specialized Bicycle Components, the Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine Contest was a contest designed to inspire innovation and environmental change by highlighting the benefits of cycling.

The Challenge: Invent and put together machines that transform zero-emission human energy into new and useful purposes.

The Result: Success- hundred folds. Entries from all around presented their own ideas, the winner however, took a Playpumps-esque idea and made it mobile. The Aquaduct:  Mobile Filtration Vehicle, a bicycle that not only provides an environmentally friendly transportation, but also provides a means to create and move clean filtered water long-distances. It was designed to target problems in areas where clean water is not readily available, and as a result, leads to millions of deaths every year.

I present to you the winner the Innovate or Die contest, The Aquaduct:  Mobile Filtration Vehicle...

Be sure to also check out the other entries on their YouTube page here.

Sources:

• Google Blog
• Innovate or Die Contest Page

Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting National Public Radio headquarters in Washington and sitting in with Neal Conan on Talk of the Nation. The topic was the growth of social networks like Facebook and MySpace, and my role was discussing their impact on philanthropy, which I've been writing about for a while [latest story here]. Listen to the whole program, which was very informative.

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This new video from Venture Philanthropy Partners really shows how it's done in terms of storytelling. With a new CEO and some changes afoot, VPP, one fo the most respected outfits in social ventures, decided it wanted to talk about its past and its future. This video (which they smartly released via YouTube) "tells the story of VPP's work to improve the lives of children and youth in the National Capital region through the words of the many people involved--nonprofit leaders, investors, the founders, and others."

That's the description that blogger Sean Stannard-Stockton gives to Social Venture Partners, the subject of Sean's latest Tactical Philanthropy podcast. His guest is Paul Shoemaker of SVP, who defends the venture capital concept, criticizes “big mouthed” arrogant individuals for diluting the term “venture philanthropy,” tells us why he thinks there really is a “new donor” today, and talks about the rise of giving circles. Phew! And Sean has a new request for listeners to his excellent podcast series - he'd like comments and suggested questions. He's asking each Podcast guest to "remain on the line" in the virtual sense, and field follow-up discussion points in comments. Good idea, so get cracking.

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Thanks to Sean Stannard-Stockton's initial podcast from February, here's a great podcast for understanding 'blended value' and other buzzwords in social entrepreneurship. The guest is Jed Emerson, a Senior Fellow with Generation Foundation, of Generation Investment Management (London), and a fellow with the Said Business School at Oxford University. Some terrific background here.

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