TED Community » David Higbee

More About Me

I'm passionate about

inspiring young professionals and utilizing my generation as a resource to change the status quo.

An idea worth spreading

Creating a TED type young professionals/student group.

My TED Story

Too new to TED at this point.

Comments

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• A reply on Talk: Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong

  Mar 15 2013: Hi Anthony, this is a great question and I'm very interested in hearing Dan's response. I'd like to chime in as a nonprofit leader. This merging of business best practices into social impact and nonprofits not only applies to operations, marketing, HR, etc; but also in accountability and transparency. It is the job of the nonprofit to show quantifiable and qualitative impact. Qualitatively, that's pretty easy. Pull those heart strings, tell good stories and collect testimonials. The quantitative a bit more difficult. Some nonprofits have it easier than others, they can showcase increased grades in kids, measurable performance in adult literacy or, as you mentioned, more food for more people. I believe in data, and nonprofits need to learn how to effectively mine and analyze information within programming. One example is the KIPP Charter School's character report card. Character is subjective, obviously, but it is possible to collect information. Properly administered surveys and self-efficacy evaluations are all ways to measure impact. There are ways to show that social ROI, and it comes in many forms. I did finished my annual report for 2012 for example. To your overall question though, nonprofits need to assess how they want to show impact based upon their mission first, and second, what their donors and supporters want to see. If I invest in a company, I have certain financial ROI parameters as an investor. If I invest in a nonprofit or NGO, I have certain parameters social ROI parameters. The last thing I'll mention, is that I encourage nonprofits not to look for a impact based upon what a donor wants, do what is in your capacity and, most importantly, your mission and beliefs. Believe it or not, it's okay to say no to dollars, if it takes you beyond your mission.

• A reply on Conversation: LIVE CHAT With Kevin Carroll: Can a ball save a life & change the world? What are the social innovation values of sports? June 15, 4-5PM EDT

  Jun 15 2011: Changing the mentality and culture in the homes is one of the biggest challenges we face. The kids are always advocates for fun and sports, the parents are much harder to convince. I will certainly look into these resources. Thank you very much.

• A reply on Conversation: LIVE CHAT With Kevin Carroll: Can a ball save a life & change the world? What are the social innovation values of sports? June 15, 4-5PM EDT

  Jun 15 2011: BRIDGE Lacrosse Dallas. We currently have 5 teams, boys and girls, in the south Dallas area. I'd love to talk with you and anyone else about the organization. It is a great group with a great mission.
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  A comment on Conversation: LIVE CHAT With Kevin Carroll: Can a ball save a life & change the world? What are the social innovation values of sports? June 15, 4-5PM EDT

  Jun 15 2011: I must be a little late to this conversation but I love the interaction between sports and social change. I've been able to see if first hand myself. I work with a nonprofit that utilizes lacrosse as a vehicle for impact in urban Dallas.
  
  On micro level how do you work with parents who don't see the value in sports?

• A comment on Conversation: Are printed textbooks obsolete? Are there good reasons to keep using them along with or instead of digital learning environments?

  Feb 17 2011: It is unfortunate that the textbook game is overwhelmingly about money and profitability. At this point, however, print textbooks are not quite obsolete. The overall trend seems to be moving to a digital educational format. But while I myself loved my textbooks and probably would have struggled learning biochem on a kindle, the issue is more about the content rather than the format of information. Digital formats allow great potential of manipulation and editing (not always bad) whereas the physical tactile format allows for interaction and engagement.
  
  The solution really just lies in finding the educational balance and the monetary balance. Kids needs to be engaged with their books and pens but a smartboard allows for tremendous volumes of information to be displayed at will. And textbook publishers need to reinvent the application of their educational tools to provide information in either format.
  
  I also don't believe we are heading into a state of all digital format overnight. These new innovative tools aren't always thrown into a classroom immediately but rather introduced slowly and systematically. Not every school and district gets the newest toy and therefore trial and error have a lot to do with the process. I don't fear that one day we'll wake up and every single kid has an iPad 8 and no use for a number 2 pencil. I think balance between the two will be discovered at the greatest learning benefits of our kids.