Impact investments are a response to investor demand; to a moral hunger for their money to do more than just make money. A desire for their money, their investable dollars, do some good. There is not enough philanthropic dollars to meet the challenges the world is facing. The market is the most efficient delivery vehicle of value. I want the market to deliver blended value; a mix of financial, social and environmental return, but also those things you would give to, that you would pay for and that you would invest your dollars and your hope in. The fact that an eight year old can walk two blocks, around a corner to get a Popsicle, walking by clean streams, whether she’s in the inner city or a suburb. The knowledge that your children have a chance at a better future. Impact investing is in service of blended value. It arose out of the demand created by a moral hunger for people’s money to do more than just make money.
Archive for the ‘Market Mapping’ Category
On what Impact Invest is…
March 12th, 2012WANTED: THE WORLD’S MOST UNREASONABLE ENTREPRENEUR
September 29th, 2011
Convinced you have the entrepreneurial mettle to improve the lives of millions of people around the world? Accelerate your venture with mentorship from 50 seasoned entrepreneurs and practitioners, ranging from a Time Magazine Hero of the Planet, to the CTO of HP, to an entrepreneur who’s lifted over 19 million farmers out of poverty. In the process, form relationships with 20 impact funds, like Acumen Fund, Good Capital, and First Light Ventures and pitch to hundreds of prospective partners and funders. Do it all while living under the same roof in Boulder, Colorado for 6 weeks with 25 entrepreneurs dedicated to defining progress in our time! Apply by November 10, 2011 to attend the 2012 Unreasonable Institute!
- Watch the Unreasonable Trailer to see what its all about!
- See an overview of the 2012 Unreasonable Institute!
SOCAP is proud to partner with SocMetrics
August 29th, 2011
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Influence Is Relative (to every topic and niche)
Sure Justin Bieber is popular, but would you trust him with a tip on a budget-friendly family vacation, a CRM solution, or a retirement plan?
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Everyone Can Be An Influencer
So maybe you’re not a Rock star, not with a guitar anyway. But we know many rockstars in their own genre. There are rockstars in Food, rockstars in Travel, rockstars in Biotech, and rockstars in Cloud Computing. Influencers come in all colors, shapes and sizes, and are tied together by one thing- Passion (and deep knowledge) about the topics they care about.
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Numbers Lie, So Look Beyond the Surface
See that ‘nobody’ in that corner of the blogosphere? With “only” 200 twitter followers and a tiny blog readership? What do you know, it turns out that Whole Foods, Martha Stewart and Rocco Dispirito are fans. And that blogger says, in the immortal words of The Contours, “Do you love me, now that I can dance?”
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Influence is Not a Toy
We’re grateful to everyone in the space for bringing attention to it, respect. Our focus, though, is on people’s natural behavior. We want to create win-wins, where influencers in niche topics hear about things they care about, and innovative companies making good products are rewarded with greater word of mouth and social attention. We’re not going to give you points for it, sorry. We don’t want to warp behavior. Do what you do, we already love you for it.
Stanford University’s Annual ‘Class Day Lecture’ Highlights Social Innovation
June 27th, 2011
On Saturday June 11th, Rob Reich who is an associate professor of Political Science, faculty director of the Program in Ethics in Society and co-director of the university’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, spoke to the graduating seniors at Stanford University’s annual ‘Class Day Lecture’.
The lecture titled, “The Promise and Peril of the New Social Economy,” focused on the broad new landscape where organizations seek to produce social benefits. Reich spoke on the blurring of the boundaries between the three traditional sectors- private, public and philanthropic- and how the new social economy offers today’s graduates a host of choices in “doing good.” As Stanford’s mission is, “to promote the public welfare by exercising an influence in behalf of humanity and civilization,” Reich believes that the graduates can fulfill this mission through engaging in the new social economy.
>>> View a summary Prezi presentation here (Designed by Irene Nelson)
>>> Watch the lecture on Youtube here
>>> Read a write-up of the speech here
Landmark Investment in Hotfrog on Mission Markets
February 3rd, 2011
Hotfrog, an early stage media organization uniting professional and citizen journalists to confront burning issues across the globe, completed the first transaction in their $2 Million Series A Round on Mission Markets. The investment in Hotfrog is a landmark moment for Mission Markets who provide a secure, regulatory impact investing platform to increase the flow of capital to companies addressing social issues. The transaction holds larger significance for the Social Capital Market, showing that mission-aligned capital within an estimated $400 billion – $1 trillion market is beginning to move through systems designed specifically to catalyze the markets growth. Learn more about Hotfrog and Mission Markets.
