Shavon Marley was working in sales while dreaming of starting a business in her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. Then in 2016 she was hit with a breast cancer diagnosis. Faced with a situation that might have derailed many others, Shavon used it for fuel to turn her dream into reality. During long hours of […]
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Changes made to the Alliance magazine conference calendar
Alliance magazine has listened to your feedback about the conference calendar, and we’ve made some changes. From now on, you will be able to filter global philanthropy conferences and events by region: Africa Asia and the Pacific Europe Global (webinars) Latin America Middle East USA and Canada The Alliance magazine conference calendar lists all major upcoming events […]
Is it time to the roll the dice on first-time fund managers?
Over the last year, it feels that philanthropists have become the new target group tasked with a responsibility of ensuring that impact investments continue to scale at the current market pace. My attention to this trend may very well be the result of my own changed interests and focus areas, but it is an interesting […]
Invest for better: women lead the way
International philanthropy has consistently been on the leading edge of the movement to use market forces to stimulate sustainable social change. Organizations like the Grameen Bank and KIVA, for example, taught donors the power of providing access to capital to change the statistics of poverty for women and low-income entrepreneurs in far-flung communities, and paved […]
The road to gender equality
It’s not just a question of giving money or making investments, it’s time for us all to examine our work through a gender lens Long ago, in simpler times when donors roamed the philanthropy forest giving away money to causes close to their heart, often without a strategy or evaluation, the donor I worked for […]
Using social impact investment to help the money gifted to your donor advised fund go further
Donor Adviser Funds (DAFs) represent a growing proportion of philanthropic capital in the UK with £1.3 billion in UK charitable assets. They are an attractive alternative to setting up a charitable foundation which can be costly and time-consuming. More and more philanthropists are realising this, but fewer are aware that they can also be an […]
Pan-African investor network unveiled
The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) was unveiled this month, which has been described as a unique network for social investors to fund innovative organisations tackling the continent’s social, environmental and economic challenges. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the AVPA will be modelled the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) and the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) AVPA […]
Socrate’s recipe for systems change: know thyself
Systems change calls for more collaboration among public, private and civil society actors. But how can you collaborate if you’re not transparent about your impact and financial returns expectations and how much risk you are willing to take? How can we drive transparency in the venture philanthropy, social investment and impact investing sectors? We asked […]
Three key considerations to put social impact at the core of your employee engagement programme
Almost 94 per cent of the biggest European companies offer their employees company time to volunteer[1], but too often the conversation about employee engagement in corporate social initiatives is about the ‘business case’. We talk about how these programmes contribute to employee professional development, their commitment towards the company and talent recruitment and retention. These […]
Family matters: thoughts on a Philanthropy Impact roundtable
Family foundations are taking active steps to engage the next generation and in many organizations, all generations are involved in influencing giving decisions and operations as a means to educate and prepare family members for a philanthropic career. As professional advisor to (U) HNWI, understanding these dynamics and influences between generations will play an important […]
As money moves offshore, new questions about how foundations invest their assets
Throughout philanthropy’s history, it’s drawn intermittent waves of intense criticism, and it certainly feels like we’re heading into one now. Outrage over wealth accumulation, an unbridled tech industry, money in politics and more is inspiring healthy scrutiny from many directions (including us). Some of this criticism is not over funders’ influence, grantmaking practices, or relative […]
The future of impact investing: a view from Asia
Within philanthropy circles, people are beginning to look beyond grants to the creation of a package of what might be called social finance, which will not only be bigger but will involve the kind of expertise traditionally considered the province of the financial industry. If the UN’s Sustainable… This article is only available for our […]
Small initiatives can create huge impact
What would you do without your smartphone these days? We depend on it for so many activities. But not everyone is aware of how their smartphone is produced. Our phones hold a complex story of the hundreds of people who helped make it. Fairphone wants to tell that story, and positively impact the way phones […]
Impact investments are philanthropy’s brave new world
The synchronisation of asset portfolios and donations within a joint mission is the way forward if philanthropic foundations and funds are to maximise their impact and value. That’s the view of impact-investment organisation GIIN. But what is needed to achieve this brave new world? When foundations develop new strategies, they are often designed with sharp […]
Three ways collaboration could potentially advance place-based impact investing
Place-based impact investing is gaining momentum in philanthropy, helping communities grow small businesses, create high-wage jobs, and increase the supply of affordable housing. Rather than going at this practice alone, many foundations, especially small and midsize foundations, are designing innovative ways to work with each other and leverage their own investment capital and the capital of others to make […]
MDIF closes $6 million media impact fund
Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), the New York-based non-profit which supports independent media in countries where it is under threat, has announced the final close of its MDIF Media Finance I (MMF I), a $6 million impact investment fund which will support news media in emerging and frontier markets. Likely investees, says a press release […]
What constitutes a good deal anyway?
At the 10th anniversary of the Good Deals conference (combined with the 1st anniversary of Beyond Good Business), nestled within London’s Royal Institute of British Architects, hundreds of social entrepreneurs, social investors, intermediaries and sector experts came together to ‘explore how to do good business better’. Social enterprise makes more than £55 billion for the […]
Red Cross launch world’s first humanitarian impact bond
The world’s first ‘Humanitarian Impact Bond’ has been launched by The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to improve the financing of aid in conflict-hit countries. The Humanitarian Impact Bond, set up by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has raised over £20 million pounds (26 million CHF), to set up three […]
Reflections of an Alliance intern: Philanthropy, the problem or the solution?
‘What is philanthropy?’ was one of the first questions Alliance editor Charles Keidan asked me when I first arrived at the magazine’s London office for my internship. Amanda Aguilar. We sat in a round, sunny room, and I quickly searched my brain for an answer through the flurry of first day nerves. I hadn’t come […]
Social investment in Asia: philanthropy’s new venture
‘How many people here don’t have their smartphone within easy reach?’ asked Ong Peng Tsin, Chair of Solve Education in the opening plenary of this year’s Asia Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) conference in Bangkok, 7-9 June 2017. Only one hand out of 700 went up. Mine. Most of my fellow delegates inferred from this – […]
What happens to the rest of it? How foundations make investments
Low-risk investment companies that channel a small percentage of their assets into philanthropy – that’s how Clara Miller, president of the Heron Foundation described foundations in an interview with Alliance a year ago. It’s on that ‘small percentage’ that the spotlight generally falls. What happens to the rest of it? How are those investments made […]
Millennial philanthropists are breaking tradition, research finds
Millennial philanthropists are unafraid of breaking tradition to achieve social impact according to a new report, sponsored by French bank BNP Paribas. The report, written by the Economist Intelligence Unit, is based on research and in-depth interviews with 15 philanthropy experts and millennial philanthropists around the world. The report revealed that millennials are turning away […]
Website launches guide to social investment field
Good Finance, which guides charities and social enterprises through the social investment process, launches a new website today. This is the second phase of a year-long collaboration between key social investment sector partners including Big Society Capital, Access, DCMS, NCVO, Social Enterprise UK and Matter & Co. The project is the result of user-focused design […]
Ford Foundation ploughs $1 billion into mission related investments
The Ford Foundation, one of world’s largest charitable foundations, has announced that it will invest up to $1 billion of its $12 billion endowment in Mission Related Investments (MRIs). Billed by the New York based philanthropy as ‘the largest commitment of its kind by a private foundation’, its executives hope it ‘sends a signal to […]
The case for social investment in microcredit
Timothy Ogden, contributing editor to Alliance, today published his paper ‘The Case for Social Investment in Microcredit’ with the NYU Development Research Institute. It examines the recent research into microcredit impact, and based on this, goes on to argue for continued investment in microfinance. Ogden writes, ‘social investors flocked to the sector, not just because there […]
The millennials who don’t want to call themselves philanthropists – and why we must listen to them
The term philanthropist, it seems, is getting a bad rep. The next generation of philanthropists at this year’s Philanthropy Australia conference made it perfectly clear that they would prefer to be known as ‘change-makers’ or ‘social entrepreneurs’, and so, are ‘consciously uncoupling’ from being known as philanthropists. It appears today, as discussed at the Conference, […]
The best place to be a social entrepreneur? The results are in
Thomson Reuters today published the findings of their global perception poll of the best places to be a social entrepreneur. This poll was conducted in partnership with UnLtd and Deutsche Bank, and asked 900 experts in 45 of the world’s biggest economies a series of questions relating to this business-for-social-good sector, ranking the countries accordingly. […]
Council on Foundations: Spotlight on how US foundations invest their endowments
In July 2016, the Council on Foundations and Commonfund Institute released a new study of responsible investing practices at US private and community foundations. The survey investigated policies, perceptions and practices related to how foundations align investment of their endowments with their charitable purpose. With nearly 200 respondents, it is the largest study of its […]
Impact Investment – now a global movement
‘Let’s do it – people’s lives depend on it.’ That was the opening line from Big Society Capital founder Sir Ronald Cohen, by video to the Global Impact Investment Plenary in Lisbon: a gathering of 250 people from many countries. There is no doubt that the Social Impact Investment Taskforce, which launched three years ago when the […]
AVPN 2016: A Conversation with Bernard Chan
From May 23 to 25, the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) held its annual conference for the first time in Hong Kong, away from its home base of Singapore. Among the 130 featured speakers from around the world, one of the most anticipated was Mr. Bernard Chan, a pioneer in advancing social sector work in […]
Breaking the iron curtain between investing and grant-making
Private companies have the purpose to make money. Civil society organisations want to do good. Foundations need to do both – make money through investing their endowment, and contribute to social change, based on their values and mission. This hybrid character of foundations – the challenge to match the mission with the need to make […]
Launch of new Challenge to Get Businesses to Become Social Investors
Business leaders across the UK are being challenged to think outside the box and come up with innovative ways of using social investment to tackle some of the most pressing social issues. Big Society Capital is launching its second Business Impact Challenge to look for the best ideas for high-impact investments that generate both strong […]
Chair in Philanthropy a first for the continent
A collaboration between the Southern Africa Trust and Wits Business School (WBS) will see a Chair in African Philanthropy established on the continent in a pioneering move to take forward the study of gifting in Africa. Full vesting of the chair will be assisted by the temporary appointment of Dr Alan Fowler as a visiting […]
How to get started with Venture Philanthropy and Social Impact Investment- From Set-Up to Exit
EVPA, the European association for social (impact) investors and venture philanthropists, has released its latest report capturing the learnings and findings of ten years of practice: A Practical Guide to Venture Philanthropy and Social Impact Investment. Building on the collected lessons, failures and successes from practitioners and several years of EVPA research, the guide is […]
Finland bets on SIBs to solve social welfare challenges
Finland launched its National Impact Investing Task Force at a well-attended, sleek event in Helsinki on 9 December. After having kept a close eye on initiatives like the G8 Social Impact Investment Task Force and its various offshoots for the past several years, Sitra—Finland’s innovation fund, which reports directly to parliament—is leading the group. It […]
Millennials and Venture Philanthropy
During the annual gathering of the European Venture Philanthropy Association on December 2 and 3 in Madrid, which saw record 520 registrations, one of the emerging themes that received some air time was Millennials and their approach to Venture Philanthropy. For the sake of clarity, Venture Philanthropy is an approach to strengthening social purpose organizations […]
NPC and KLF beginning to sort the impact investment wheat from the chaff
New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) in the UK and the KL Felicitas Foundation (KLF) in the USA have together launched a new framework for measuring the social and environmental returns on impact investments. In a new report, Investing for Impact, NPC reviews the KLF’s work since 2004. Looking at the 41 investments made by KLF to […]
SOCAP 2015 HIGHLIGHTS – See how Capitalism is Serving the World.
Walk into the Fort Mason building that has housed SOCAP for nearly 10 years – and you will see the buzz. A mix of people who own socially conscious businesses, invest in them, or want to work for them – has descended! I’ve seen it from the start, eight years ago. Perhaps 40 people convened […]
An index we really need
We’ve been measuring philanthropic giving for decades. There are several directories and annual tallies of American charitable giving. For about the last decade, the impact investing movement has been trying to establish definitions, baselines, and annual measurements. It’s a work in progress, but they’re getting there. All kinds of groups monitor and measure spending on […]
Social impact bonds: made in Switzerland – finally!
In 2010 the first social impact bond was launched in the UK. In its very nature this innovative structured fixed-income instrument proved the concept of realising a reasonable financial return along with a measurable social dividend. This summer such a bond has been launched as a pilot project in the Cantone of Bern, Switzerland. Many […]
Impact investing – what we’ve learnt
Two and a half years ago, we launched Nesta Impact Investments, a fund that aims to scale innovative solutions to the UK’s most challenging social issues. We want to see our ventures develop financially while also demonstrating the positive social impact of what they do. This means we invest in ventures that have a credible […]
The state of impact investing, Day 2 of the COF conference: bubbles and unexplored frontiers
The diffuse state of impact investing in the foundation world was evident again in sessions at day two of the Council of Foundations’ annual conference in San Francisco (and outside of them). The main impact investing session of the day was a panel of foundations that began some form of impact investing more than ten […]
The state of impact investing: reflections from day one of the Council on Foundations’ conference
A few years ago I swore off attending philanthropy conferences for the simple reason that I felt like I was hearing the same things over and over again. I’m attending the Council of Foundations’ annual conference, held 26-28 April in San Francisco, for the first time since 2011 with a particular eye on what, if […]
Investing with the head and the heart: reflections from the AVPN conference
Reflecting on my three days at the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) conference, held 20-23 April in Singapore, I was struck by the number of conversations that wrestled with seemingly dichotomous concepts: head vs heart, disruption vs sustainability, local solutions vs scale, perseverance vs ‘fail fast’, and even as far as love vs hate. But […]