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This is a space for your ideas. To collectively exchange, connect and collaborate for social good and to foster new thinking on groundbreaking social innovation. Change Connections is part of a wider initiative to support Nokia's potential to offer empowering solutions through new connections - between people, places, information and ideas - that improve the quality of lives, globally. We've undertaken a series of conversations and events to find out where the future of communication technology could help billions of people around the world better their lives - from organizing for collective power, to accessing health care, or learning even when getting to school is not a possibility. Along the way, it's become undeniable that this happens by building community. That's why we're connecting with you, here, now: to create a space for open ideation and change. On this site you'll find ideas from leading thinkers we've interviewed, background on some of the issues and opportunities at hand, links to our friends, and most importantly opportunities for you to connect to people, current work, new ideas and future possibilities in new and inspired ways. We've started a conversation and we're asking you to join and to help shape the potential future of communication technology for good. So jump in, and change connections.

We get results! - We don't just have great ideas; we know how to turn these ideas into actions that lead to results. We have proven success in earning our clients quality and frequent media placement - both locally and nationally. We are strategic in identifying story opportunities and keeping on top of emerging trends. We tell compelling stories and give editors what they want the way they want it. We are social media experts - We know that the ever-evolving online world of blogs, social networking and bookmarking sites, micro-blogs, and forums can seem overwhelming. There can be thousands of bloggers talking about your business, as well as relationships to develop using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We craft successful viral campaigns, navigating the social media space to identify opportunities and who our clients should connect with. We are also active participants in, and monitors of, relevant conversations and are fluent in the myriad ways our clients can effectively participate. Connect with us on Facebook We build strong relationships - We take the time to really get to know our clients and their work intimately with regular face-to-face meetings and conversations. And we provide detailed monthly status reports so they always know what work we are doing on their behalf and why. We have earned a solid reputation among our diverse media contacts as an excellent resource for stories and are counted on for accurate and timely assistance with story development. In addition, we have numerous connections that can be catalysts for extending the impact of our communication efforts. We take a team approach - Instead of the traditional agency "silo" approach to client services, our staff collaborates on all clients so they benefit from the collective brain trust of our entire team. We do our homework - In order to serve our clients in a fast-changing media and economic landscape, we stay on top of the latest research, statistics and trends wi

"egg is a visionary marketing, brand development, and advertising agency for sustainable brands. We specialize in creating emotional connections between the conscious consumer and sustainable brands. Our proprietary research into and understanding of this rapidly-growing cultural movement provides us with the insights needed to create messages that inspire action and brand loyalty. As a leading visionary in the realm of marketing and brand development for economic, social, and environmental change, egg similarly believes in the need to reassess, redefine and renegotiate the corporate charter to serve a greater public need beyond solely private economic benefit. egg believes in this new effort to register "public benefit companies". Today, people expect more from brands and companies. They are searching for brands that share their values and priorities. They look behind the logo, often voting with their pocketbooks to ensure that their personal values are reflected in their spending. egg is a one-of-a-kind brand communications firm that specializes in helping these brands build lasting, meaningful connections with today's conscious consumer. The Change We Seek™ egg seeks to build brands for a better future. * Our strength is building connections between consumers and responsible brands. We understand today's conscious consumer, and we know how to communicate with them through traditional and non-traditional channels. Communicating about responsible brands requires a simple but transformational shift in thinking, both in the message and the medium. For example, responsible brands find little benefit from spin. Instead, they find success in a meaningful amplification of what they truly are - from authenticity. * We gear our brand-building toward the 7-70 consumer. 7% of the population is socially responsible to the core. And 70% are socially responsible in some way, but to a lesser extent. They are motivated by many different values and ideas, but

"Committed and innovative people change the world. Our mission is to enable youth and adults to solve challenges with sustainable, innovative solutions. The world needs genuine innovators-those who dedicate themselves to an ideal, draw from many domains, and reframe challenges as opportunities. Innovators not only move mountains but often change the entire landscape. That landscape defines the potential available to the rest of the community. When focused on important problems innovations can result in enormous social good. We plan to increase the potential for innovative solutions in areas where good ideas are needed most. Springboard Innovation was formed in 2004 to help fill the gap of learning and support for those who wish to make a difference in a new way. We create opportunities for community members to learn how to launch social ventures, provide ongoing consultancies, help them network with others, help them get seed funding, and work to build a supportive ecosystem in the cities where they live. Springboard works through four core strategies. These work together to offer both a sequenced continuum of experience and a cycle of programs and resources that allow leaders and supporters to connect at any point, nurturing community-led community change. "

"Seattle Good Business Network is a new membership association of locally-owned, Seattle-area businesses that are committed to the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. Its purpose is to educate member businesses on the value of operating sustainably, support them in improving or adopting sustainable practices, and connect them with the information and resources to create a healthy and prosperous local economy based on shared environmental and community values. We Imagine A Seattle Where: * Business profits are circulating within our regional economy, supporting other local businesses. * The very concept of "waste" is passé, where only renewable sources of energy and water are used, and carbon emissions are dramatically reduced. * Residents choose to buy local and green first, and businesses are active partners in their communities. * Everyone understands that the person behind the register is a neighbor. An economy based on these values-local ownership, environmental awareness, and community engagement-is a vibrant, resilient economy more immune to external upheaval and changes in global energy prices. Businesses that operate with these values are profitable, thriving businesses. With the right information and active support, local business owners have the power to transform their operations in ways that benefit their business, employees, customers, and our larger local economy. The Seattle Good Business Network aims to be a catalyst for this transformation. Membership Members of the Seattle Good Business Network are locally-owned businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, grocers, and bars; retailers of all kinds; personal care and home services; professional services of all kinds; and local producers. The Network will help its members: 1. Connect with other local businesses. We will establish a local business network to provide interactive ways for you to share valuable information about becoming more sustainable, includi

"The rise of social and sustainable enterprise has occurred in response to an overwhelming need for systemic change. Yet collectively, the issues we're seeking to address require more intelligence, more resources and more influence than we individually have access to. We firmly believe that the wisdom we require to pass through the perfect storm of social, environmental and economic problems is to be found in the collective - in our connections and collaborations - as opposed to within the confines of our own individual, entrepreneurial and organizational structures. W1SDØM has been created to support change agents, investors and advisors by facilitating the flow of capital - be it human, intellectual, social or financial - to more effectively create the next generation of global sustainable enterprise."

Our mission is to ignite a national movement of young social entrepreneurs who align people, planet and profit. We are a community hub for young social entrepreneurs, and a grower of their social enterprises. Now two years in the making, YSEC was founded by a group of 20-somethings whose experiences as community organizers made it crystal clear that something needed to change. We saw young people in the social sector squeezed by huge expectations but sparse resources: no professional guidance, business education, access to funding, lack of credibility, and the list goes on. YSEC is our response. It is a front-door to the social sector - a hub for connections, education and support of young people in social enterprise.

The Academies for Social Entrepreneurship creates training and mentoring programs for sustainable, mission-based businesses. Our core program is Social Enterprise Academies. The Academies for Social Entrepreneurship plays the role of convener and catalyst, connecting the organizations and people needed to create, grow and celebrate social enterprises. SOCIAL ENTERPISE ACADEMIES ABOUT THE ACADEMY A Social Enterprise Academy creates an eco-system of support that nurtures entrepreneurship and innovation in non-profit organizations. Its goals are to: * Enable non-profit organizations to develop the skill sets and resources that will enable them to attract growth capital and increase revenue from earned, rather than donated income. * Build overall organizational capacity. Academies enable non-profits to improve organizational performance by applying business practices and analytical thinking to their everyday operations. * Create community-based change in the broader local non-profit marketplace by promoting convergence between the best practices of business and philanthropy. IMPACT OF THE ACADEMY To date, our unique combination of training, mentoring & "fast pitch" plan competition has: * Expanded capacity in 126 non-profit organizations; * Utilized the mentoring talents of more than 100 business men and women ; * Produced millions of dollars in new investment and earned income streams. 90% of those participating in one of our business plan competitions say that it had a significant positive impact and 65% have launched or expanded ventures which generate new income for their agencies within a year. Academies are currently planned or under way in OrangeCounty and Los Angeles and San Diego counties (California) and in Las Vegas.