The first time I spotted An Overview of Impact Investing [PDF] by Canadian investment managers Phillips, Hager & North, it took the form of a slick, bound booklet inserted into the information folder for a workshop on Mission Related Investing being offered at the recent conference of the Community Foundations of Canada. It has since crossed my path in its electronic format. I thought that I would take a closer look!
In celebration of its 10-year anniversary, Acumen Fund has published ten of the most important lessons it has learned from the field. The first lesson is, “Dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth”. It lies at the heart of Acumen Fund’s core message that people seek dignity, not dependence. After reflecting on this, I asked myself if I truly understood what is meant by ‘dignity’. How do we place dignity at the center of development initiatives?
Upon arrival to Acumen Fund’s 10 year celebration gala in New York City, the shoulders of each guest were adorned with a bright scarf. Such simple, feather-light scarves, yet somehow, mixed with celebratory and inspiring conversations, the result was a powerful embodiment of community.
10 years after Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO and Founder, registered Acumen Fund as a charity in the US, the organization has invested over $69 million in patient capital in 63 enterprises that have created 55,000 jobs and touched the lives of over 86 million people.
I remember reading the story about the unique partnership that created Grameen Danone in Building Social Business by Muhammad Yunus - and that set off fireworks in my head! Inspired by these joint-venture possibilities, I looked at what we were doing at DreamFund Holdings and explored innovative hybrid business and investment models we could leverage to address our most pressing social issues with market-based solutions. We call them DreamFunds.
While we all eagerly await the materialization of recommendations made by the Canadian Taskforce on Social Finance to unlock more investment into this space, our social issues are mounting and our social entrepreneurs find themselves stuck in the missing middle.
Paul Slomp, a beef farmer in Ottawa shared his story of local food and finance this Saturday at a Bring Home Food conference in Peterborough, Ontario. His story contains a great many lessons about local food, local finance and the possibility of a different, more intimate way of doing business.
When Paul set out to start his farm he sought seed capital. Finding no purchase through traditional means, he struck on another idea. A casual conversation with a lawyer friend of his led to a social finance innovation.
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Your Guide helps social entrepreneurs learn how to attract financing for their social ventures.
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Your Guide to Social Finance
SocialFinance.ca hosts an online guide that helps social entrepreneurs learn how to attract financing for their social ventures.
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