SSIR Online, Summer 2021 Issue

Links to all of SSIR's online-only articles published the past three months, with editors' notes about standout pieces on fighting disinformation, Indigenous entrepreneurs, multigenerational innovations, and effective virtual boards.

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By SSIR Editors Summer 2021

(Illustration by iStock/axel2001)

Strengthen Media Literacy to Win the Fight Against Misinformation by Kristin M. Lord and Katya Vogt

The spread of misinformation has sparked widespread public concern and remains a serious threat to social stability. For too long, counterattacks have focused too much on changing the technology, not educating people. Lord and Vogt write that all sectors of society—business, nonprofits, advocacy organizations, philanthropists, researchers, governments, and others—must invest more in improving people’s media literacy. Making audiences smarter about their information diets offers a long-term, sustainable, and affordable solution, they argue. The authors then explore projects around the world that show how it can be done.

(Photo by iStock/InkkStudios)

Bridging the Divide Between Impact Investing and Native America by Nikki Pieratos and Chrystel Cornelius

Because Indigenous peoples tend to lack relationships within philanthropic and investment communities, Indigenous entrepreneurs often face great disadvantages when seeking deals in these circles. To bridge that gap, Pieratos and Cornelius argue, impact investors need to work with Indigenous financial intermediaries. These organizations, through their proximity to Native communities, are crucial to building relationships of trust, creating an Indigenous investing ecosystem, and performing the due diligence that investors need to manage risk.

(Illustration by Gracia Lam)

Meeting the Multigenerational Moment Series

The United States began the 20th century as one of the most age-integrated societies in the world and ended it as one of the most age-segregated, leading to a waste of human creativity, rampant ageism, and an epidemic of loneliness. In this 13-part series in partnership with Encore.org and The Eisner Foundation, social sector researchers and leaders explore ways to address the damaging divides between the young and the old.

(Photo by iStock/wsfurlan)

Leading Boards in a Virtual World by Mark Zitter and Jon Huggett

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nonprofit boards everywhere have paused in-person retreats, holiday parties, fundraising events, and casual get-togethers, and begun to hold meetings on virtual platforms like Zoom. This shift continues to pose a number of challenges: It’s hard to keep people engaged; it’s more difficult to communicate virtually, because we struggle to interpret body language through a screen; and team cohesion suffers without in-person socializing. Zitter and Huggett share field-tested ideas to keep boards effective in a remote environment.