"Asia has more diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular patients than anywhere else in the world," Abrar Mir states, emphasizing the severity of the health crisis in the region.
Most for-profit companies still confine nonprofit relationships to corporate philanthropy. Donations flow through foundations, annual reports highlight community contributions, and nonprofit engagement is framed as evidence of corporate responsibility.
In the AI era, it should be easier than ever for people to build new businesses. We want to build the services that enable this. This is important for ensuring that people broadly share in the prosperity created by superintelligence.
Through Community Facilities Districts (CFD), Municipal Utility Districts (MUD), Public Improvement Districts (PID), Community Development Districts (CDD) and reimbursement districts (RD), builders can potentially shift infrastructure costs off their balance sheets and onto special districts that homebuyers ultimately absorb through property taxes without potentially adding debt to the builder's books.
We've had enough of politicians standing up and telling people what needs to happen in their area. It's time to listen to local people themselves. We're putting money behind local voices so they can choose for themselves how they put pride back in communities that felt ignored for so many years.
Multinational firms are under rising pressure-from investors, regulators, and employees-to demonstrate positive societal impact in the places where they do business. With ESG-focused institutional investments projected to reach nearly $34 trillion this year and roughly 90% of large U.S. companies now disclosing ESG reports, these pressures are now a central part of corporate strategy.
Nscale has now raised over $4.5 billion across equity rounds in less than six months. The capital funds Nscale's vertically integrated AI infrastructure, consisting of GPU compute, networking, data services, and orchestration software, with expansion planned across Europe, North America, and Asia.
First Interstate Mortgage Co.'s income property division has arranged a $2.3-million construction loan and $2.6-million permanent loan for the rehabilitation of an existing three-story building in Pasadena, located at 95 N. Marengo St.
Understanding the difference in purpose Unlike private businesses, which exist to make a profit, public institutions are designed to create impact - especially social and economic outcomes that benefit everyone, not just paying customers. A public agency doesn't measure its success in revenue or margins, but in how much it improves lives, builds equity and maintains public trust. This doesn't mean budgets and spending don't matter - they absolutely do - but money is not the goal. It's the tool.
Free open source software is fundamentally broken. In 2023, Denis Pushkarev, maintainer of the widely used core-js library, vented his frustration with the fact that users of his software seldom offer financial support, highlighting the disconnect between widespread dependency on open source and inadequate financial compensation for developers maintaining critical infrastructure.
In places where inclusion is part of the infrastructure of their economy-supply chains, procurement processes, capital access, or business ownership-people thrive. Inclusive economies create more resilience by expanding the base of potential business owners who can build, own, innovate, and hire. They allow more opportunities for homeownership and investing in the longevity of communities. As our economy becomes increasingly stratified and volatile, we need as much resiliency as we can get.
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You don't have to live long in Williamsburg or Greenpoint to know New York is becoming too expensive for working families. Rents are out of control, and far too many of our neighbors are being priced out of the communities they've called home for generations. As president of the Cooper Park Residents Council, I see every day how the housing crisis affects seniors, parents, and young people who are just trying to stay in the city they love.
Community grants Applications are now open for the City of Cupertino's 2026-27 Community Funding Grant Program, which provides funding to nonprofits in social services, fine arts and other public programs that benefit the Cupertino community. The program awards grants of up to $20,000. Applications are open through Sunday, Feb. 1, at cupertino.gov/communitygrants.
Asia's healthcare challenges include aging populations, rising disease, and strained infrastructure, but the crisis is better understood at the kitchen table, where families decide what conditions to treat, and what to ignore, according to their savings. While the APAC region makes up 60% of the world's population, the region accounts for a mere 22% of global healthcare spending. According to the World Health Organization, most developing Asian countries spend just 2-3% of GDP on health, and in many cases public
But if you're innovating within your industry, it's a problem you should expect and prepare for because it means having to operate in two realities-the internal reality where you know the challenges in your industry and how you're going to solve them, and the external reality where nobody else has recognized the problem that needs to be solved. In a highly regulated industry like healthcare, safety, and stability create an inertia that often works against innovation.
Construction remains paused for now and we continue to work with our contractors to plan how to deploy these funds in the most effective way and get workers back on the job to resume some construction as soon as possible,
When Obvious Ventures launched 12 years ago with a focus on "world positive" companies, the idea was a contrarian bet: that startups tackling climate, health, and economic resilience could deliver big returns, not just feel-good impact. Founded by Twitter cofounder Ev Williams and others, the firm backed companies like Beyond Meat, the AI drug discovery company Recursion Pharmaceuticals, and Diamond Foundry, which makes sustainable lab-grown diamonds.
Some of the significant partnerships emerging today are less about bolt-on capabilities and more about re-architecting how financial services show up inside everyday workflows, be it taxes, shopping, or rent. They are being designed to be invisible to the end user, yet foundational to how money moves, decisions are made, and trust is established.
