ZeroDivide is a nonprofit, engaged/venture philanthropy

Venture philanthropy

Venture philanthropy, also known as philanthrocapitalism, takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and high technology business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals.Venture philanthropy is characterized by:...

 foundation based in San Francisco, California. ZeroDivide invests in community enterprises that use technology to create earned-income businesses, policy change movements, and high impact programs within nonprofit community-based organizations. ZeroDivide’s investment partners leverage technology to benefit people in low-income and other underserved communities. Through these community, philanthropic and corporate partnerships, ZeroDivide helps nonprofit

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 organizations find new revenue sources to become more self-sustaining. ZeroDivide has invested more than $50 million towards achieving this goal.

ZeroDivide has awarded more than 500 grants

Grant (money)

Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...

 to over 400 community-based organizations in 41 of California's 58 counties.

Community investments

The foundation makes investments in three areas:

• Youth and Technology - investments promote changes in earned income potential for youth through media and technology skills training in afterschool programs in disadvantaged communities.
• Community Media - increases market demand for community news and media using new media tools in targeted underserved communities.
• E-Democracy - investments demonstrate wide adoption of effective, technology based civic engagement strategies and tactics by nonprofit organizations serving disadvantaged communities, and inspire new participants in advocacy, electoral politics and public services interaction.

Big Bet Investments

Big Bet Investments are multi-year ventures that have demonstrated potential and initial capacity for taking a technology based service/product/campaign to an underserved market, with revenue generating possibilities, and/or scalability and replication potential. They include;


•Bay Area Video Coalition

BAVC

The Bay Area Video Coalition is a non-profit organization that works to connect independent producers and underrepresented communities to emerging media technologies...

 (BAVC)

•YMCA of Greater Long Beach Youth Institute (Change Agent)

•Youth Outlook

New America Media

New America Media is a multimedia ethnic news agency and a coalition of ethnic media. Founded in 1996 by the nonprofit Pacific News Service, NAM is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC...

(YO!)

•Youth Radio

Youth Radio

Youth Media International better known as Youth Radio is a youth-based non-profit media outlet based in Oakland, California. From its beginning until May 2007, it was located in Berkeley, California. It has won various awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Peabody Award in 2001...

History

Founded in 1998, ZeroDivide (formerly the Community Technology Foundation of California) is a public foundation created as the result of the advocacy work and coalition building of 134 community-based organizations during the merger of two telecommunications companies, SBC Communications and Pacific Bell.

In 2007 ZeroDivide adopted a social enterprise model of investment, which utilizes community, philanthropic and corporate partnerships to help nonprofit organizations find new revenue sources to become more self-sustaining. The new grantmaking approach broadened ZeroDivide's focus beyond community technology centers

Community technology center

A community technology center or CTC offers resources to help bridge the digital divide, primarily through the public accessing computers and the internet. These centers are a key part of what is now being referred to as digital inclusion programs. Many centers provide training that ranges from...

, toward organizations that have innovative service models and forward thinking leadership, who are devising innovative, self sustaining programs that empower disadvantaged communities, and have the potential for replicability in other communities.

External links

http://www.zerodivide.org

http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/kiss-spider-woman

http://www.newroutes.org/projects/abriendolascajas