Monitor Institute recently released an excellent report on the state of impact investing, how it has evolved, who is doing it and how, and where it may go. You can download the Full Report or the Executive Summary. As noted in the report, the key findings describe:

• The current state and shape of the industry at a critical moment in its development — so you can locate yourself in the current landscape, relect on its opportunities and challenges, and understand what has catalyzed other industries at this phase of evolution
• How impact investing might evolve — so you can develop an understanding of what the future may hold, including the promise and tradeoffs of pursuing different strategies
• An approach for accelerating the growth and impact of this style of investing — so you can assess what you can do to seize the business opportunities inherent in it and understand what could be achieved by joining with others
• A call to action — so you can understand the importance of the moment and can develop a concrete sense of what success in building a marketplace for impact investing might look like in the months and years ahead

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There is a lot of interest among new graduates and young professionals around careers prefixed with "social"... social finance, social entrepreneurship, social innovation, etc. Many of these smart, educated young people want to change the world, make some money, save the environment and have a balance in their lives. And more.

However, there seems to be a dearth of jobs that can allow young professionals to engage in these areas as part of their "day job". Volunteer opportunities exist, and increasingly so, but there are still big questions around career prospects in this space. I've been there: before landing my (awesome) current gig at Social Capital Partners, I've worked in strategy and business planning, community economic development, social finance, social entrepreneurship, microfinance, and human rights.

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The world's third-richest man has moved on from Microsoft to take a full-time role in managing his Foundation, and recently penned his first annual letter around his goals and vision for the Gates Foundation - inspired, of course, by fellow billionaire (and the man at the top of the rich list) Warren Buffet.

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Here's the presentation that Michael Lewkowitz, Kerry Golden, Allyson Hewitt and I gave at MaRS (details on the event here) on SoCap08 and potential implications for Ontario.

For more context, see the written recap by Michael and Kerri as well as my comprehensive posts on Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.

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Several people have asked for the presentation that Michael Lewkowitz, Andrew Dilts and I made at Studio Earth. As well as being a useful introduction to social finance, it's probably one of the only times you'll find quotes by Karl Marx, Ayn Rand and Pink Floyd all in one place!

On a more serious note, this presentation was meant to provide some context around the broader social issues that we face, and stimulate conversation around "innovative" roles that finance could play in meeting some of these challenges. By changing the nature of the conversation around how capital and social issues intersect, we can provide new perspectives on specific social finance products and vehicles, but also build the foundation for broader systems change (which is even more important given the continued turmoil in the financial markets).

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