SOCAP is proud to partner with CSRwire on a monthly newsletter: Impact Investing Monthly. Impact Investing Monthly will bring you insight from global leaders on the spectrum of investing for social impact, including socially responsible investing, corporate social responsibility and more.

Our 1st issue has launched and includes the following:

• Creating a Sea Change in Impact Investing
• Solving the Ben & Jerry’s Problem, One More Time
• Spotlight: Brian Trelstad, Acumen Fund’s Chief Investment Officer
• CSR and Socially Responsible Investing: 5 Trends for 2012
• Recommended News from Social Capital Markets and CSRwire

>>> View the Full February Newsletter

The 5M Project Coordinator is responsible for a wide range of operations support for both the development and community building sides of the 5M Project. The position will be very active with absorbing strategic development and related operations flows and ensuring execution of action steps by all 5M team members. Position will act as a key bridge between development and community building sides of 5M. Position is ideal for an entrepreneurial-thinking individual with deep interest and/or experience with urban planning and marketing/design/communications. He/she must be passionate about learning how a creative, highly complex development project unfolds, step by step. The position requires a deep commitment to 5M and its overall mission.

>>> Learn more and apply here!

B Corporations are invaluable because they create high-quality jobs and improve the quality of life in our communities. Already, there are more than 500 Certified B Corps from 60 industries across nearly 40 states. Georgia now boasts six Certified B Corps (Better World Books, Freeworld Media, Gray Ghost Ventures, if People, Solution Force and Womenetics) and is considering legislation to recognize the B Corporation as a distinct legal entity.

Jay Coen Gilbert (B Lab co-founder) and members of his leadership team will be visiting Atlanta on February 7th and 8th to discuss “The Promise of the B Corporation in Georgia”. As a part of this two-day event, we are assembling individuals from Atlanta’s impact investment community to discuss the implications of the B Corporation movement – across the U.S. and here in Georgia – for the field of impact investment. This roundtable discussion will feature Kevin Jones (Good Capital and SocialCapitalMarkets) and John Hardman (Gray Ghost Ventures) and will work to the following format:

• Welcome – Peter Roberts (Goizueta Business School)
• Introductions
• The aims of B Corp vis-a-vis impact investment – Jay Coen Gilbert
• B Corp from the investor’s perspective – Kevin Jones & John Hardman
• Questions (and discussion) from around the table
• Concluding remarks from Jay, Kevin and John

This roundtable discussion will be held on Wednesday, February 8 from 2:30 to 4:00 in Room 500 of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

We believe that this will be an excellent opportunity for you to meet and build networks with similarly-oriented investors while learning more about this critically-important B Corporation movement. Please RSVP to Ellen Williams (ellen_williams@bus.emory.edu) to reserve your spot in what is sure to be a very interesting conversation.

The world is changing at a meteoric rate, says ING Direct CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann. No longer can organizations spend years developing new products, getting everything right the first time. Today’s leaders need to make quick decisions that maximize new possibilities as they arise. Look at ING Direct, Facebook, Apple and Google. Leaders must be both business people and artists, comfortable making innovative decisions in the face of ambiguity, and these new ways of operating must be embedded in the cultural DNA of their organizations.

Hear ING Direct CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann speak to how these leadership philosophies challenged the financial services world even as they served to drive ING Direct. Then join our conversation with Kuhlmann about how to meld culture and finance and take your work in the world to a new level.

Date: February 1, 2012
Time: Reception venue: 5:00 PM,
Online event: 6:00 PM PST, 9:00 PM EST
Location: Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater, San Francisco
Price: $35 live*, $10 online

>>> LEARN MORE AND REGISTER NOW!

Entrepreneurs from 60 countries vied for the 25 slots available to attend the 2012 Unreasonable Institute. After conducting 125 interviews, the Unreasonable Institute has narrowed it down to 46 exceptional Finalists. Now, in a true test of their entrepreneurial mettle, each of these Finalists face one final challenge before becoming Unreasonable Fellows: galvanizing the globe to raise the $10,000 it costs to attend the Unreasonable Institute.

The first 25 Finalists to raise $10,000 will be chosen to attend. Its going to take an Unreasonable effort, and the decision lies in your hands. Head to theUnreasonable Marketplace and join hundreds of thousands of people across the globe to vote with your dollars for an entrepreneur you believe might change the course of history.

Hub Ventures, a startup accelerator for entrepreneurs building a better world, is now taking applications for its upcoming Spring 2012 cohort.  The program is looking for startups that have potential for scale, profitability, and significant measurable impact on the world.  Entrepreneurs can apply at www.hub-ventures.com/apply, and the deadline is March 5^th.

Hub Ventures helps high caliber entrepreneurs build their world-changing startups better and faster.  The 12-week program provides startups with seed funding, mentorship, collaborative sessions with program peers, workshops on topics relevant to impact-oriented startups, and investor connections.  Hub Ventures is based at the Hub Bay Area, a purpose-driven collaborative workspace with over 1,000 members in San Francisco and Berkeley that is connected to 30 other locations through the global Hub network.  For more information, please visit www.hub-ventures.com.

Could you use up to $90,000 to launch your innovative idea to change the world? Echoing Green unleashes next generation talent to solve the world’s biggest problems. Each year since 1991, the Echoing Green Fellowship selects promising social entrepreneurs with bold ideas and provides them with up to $90,000 in seed funding, strategic support, and a powerful community of 500+ other Fellows and Alumni over a 2 year fellowship.  The first round online application is open now, through January 9, 2012. Learn more at http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship.

When: Saturday, December 17, 2011
Where: UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center 1675 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA
RSVP BY: December 12, 2011

Please join Presidio Graduate School’s Community on Saturday, December 17th at the UCSF Mission Bay Campus for the MBA Integrative Capstone Venture Showcase presentations from the graduating students.

During this event, students completing their MBA degree requirements will present their New Venture Plans, outlining a diverse, dynamic, and engaging set of New Ventures born out of our Integrative Capstone Course.

RSVP is required! >>> Learn more and RSVP here!

FAST Global Forum 2011 is an international event addressed to all those interested in developing the effectiveness of ‘impact investment’ strategies worldwide, and those looking to explore the important role that SME finance plays in the success and growth of sustainable markets.

Through a series of inspiring speakers, panel discussion and interactive workshops, the event will focus on:

• Working together to collect and analyze strategic information to address both opportunities and challenges in sustainable SME finance.
• Sharing experiences and best practices among stakeholders to explore new strategies and tools to increase and maximize impact investment.
• Attracting more capital through new financial and agribusiness models, such as value chain finance, and other innovative SME finance tools and services.

>>>Learn more and register!

View the Application Questions

The 2012 Echoing Green Fellowship application short answer questions are now available online. While the application doesn’t open until December 5, 2011, the questions and help text are available to give applicants a head start.

Register for an upcoming webinar

As part of our effort to increase the pool of talent and bold ideas we see each year, we’re introducing four new webinars specifically designed for women, African-Americans, U.S.-based Latinos, and local leaders from developing countries. During these webinars, past Fellows from these communities will give advice on how to put your best foot forward.

-Tuesday 11/29, 4:00-5:00 pm EST - Opportunities and Challenges for Local Leaders from Developing Countries in Social Entrepreneurship

-Wednesday 11/30, 10:00-11:00 am EST - Opportunities and Challenges for U.S. Latino Social Entrepreneurs

-Thursday 12/1, 10:00-11:00 am EST - Opportunities and Challenges for Female Social Entrepreneurs

-Thursday 12/1, 4:00-5:00 pm EST - Opportunities and Challenges for African-American Social Entrepreneurs

Click here to watch the General Information Webinar Video (Recorded 10/27/11)