August 2023 Social Impact News Roundup: Spotlight on the SDGs

Event Season is Upon Us!

Fall is the busiest season for social impact conferences, and we are excited to see how these convenings generate new ideas, commitments, and insights. Kicking us off we have the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in mid-September, where world leaders will come together in New York to align on priorities related to the SDGs. This year, we expect to see eradicating poverty and ending hunger in the spotlight, along with climate action and ecosystem restoration. In tandem, a number of other industry leaders will host events to capitalize on this momentum to drive progress towards the SDGs, like DevEx, Business Fights Poverty, and more. For a full list of UNGA week events, check out this roundup. To stay up to date on the latest developments as they unfold, be sure to subscribe to the MovingWorlds blog!

Sustainability is Here to Stay

The 12th United Nations Global Compact and Accenture CEO study is out, incorporating perspectives of more than 2,600 CEOs across 128 countries. One of the most interesting findings is that sustainability was consistently identified as the core of resilience, a competitive differentiator, and a promising business model. A whopping 98% of CEOs reported that sustainability is core to their role, and leaders are acting now to integrate sustainability in their strategy, workforce, supply chain, and ecosystems. Learn more in the full report here.

Making an Impact at the Intersection of Business and Purpose

When corporate professionals step outside their comfort zones to combine business and purpose in a new way, it creates a triple-bottom-line impact that lasts long after the experience is over. We recently sat down with Jaime Martin Ko Atilano and Mallory Rioux from SAP to learn how their first pro bono consulting experience with Alexa Goodman, PMP, MMM of Alexa Goodman Consulting created change, and left them changed in return. It’s an inspiring testament to the power of stretch experiences to broaden perspectives, hone existing skills, and develop new ones – check out the full story here.

Social Impact Job Openings

• Apple is hiring for a Social Impact Specialist (based in Culver City, CA)
• Ashoka is hiring for a Youth Years Leader, North America (based in Arlington, VA)
• Bold Reuse is hiring for an Operational Specialist (based in Seattle, WA)
• Global Impact Investing Network is hiring for a Lead Impact Standards Strategist & Developer (hybrid out of New York, NY) 
• Hello Fresh is hiring for a Manager, Sustainability & Social Impact (based in Boulder, CA)
• MasterCard is hiring for a Supply Chain Sustainability Program Manager (based in New York, NY)
• Meridia is hiring for a Business Development Manager (based in The Netherlands)
• Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is hiring for a Senior Manager, Impact Investing (based in Santa Clara, CA)
• Obama Foundation is hiring for a Strategy & Impact Senior Associate (based in Washington, D.C.)
• Pure Paani is hiring for a Social Entrepreneurship Coordinator and Cultural Translator (based in Bengaluru, India)
• Reinvestment Fund is hiring for an Impact Manager (hybrid out of Philadelphia, PA)
• Second Life is hiring for interns in sales & business development, digital marketing, and project management (based in Thailand or Singapore)
• Stand Together is hiring for a Director of Marketing Strategy, Social Impact Programs (based in Arlington, VA)
• Strive Community is hiring for a Global Grants Manager (remote within the U.K.)
• Tata Consultancy Services is hiring for a Sustainability Marketing & Communications Manager (based in Brussels, Belgium)
• TIDES Advocacy is hiring for an Advisor (based in San Francisco, CA)
• United Nations Foundation is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Operations Associate, GirlUp (based in Washington, D.C.)
  • Senior Manager, Climate & Energy Modeling, Clean Cooking Alliance (Remote)
• World Food Programme is hiring for a Head of Communications – Supply Chain Division (based in Rome, Italy)

Upcoming Events & New Programs

• September 1: Join A Curiae for another webinar in its Collaborative Court Speaker Series to discuss coordinating collaborative care in the drug court setting. Register here.
• September 4: SEWF Rising Star Competition is searching for a young social enterprise leader and/or founder from Europe who is passionate and dedicated to creating a better world. They’ll get to speak on a global stage at SEWF23, get a complimentary Physical Pass to the event and receive travel support up to 600 EUR.
• September 6: Deadline to apply to InnovateUK’s Unlocking Potential Award, which will award a grant amount of £50,000 and tailored business support to underrepresented founders in the UK.
• September 11: Deadline to apply to Village Capital’s GreenTech Europe Accelerator, open to European women-led green tech startups with selected enterprises awarded $125k of total grant funding 
• September 7 & 28: Join the TRANSFORM Support Hub for a two-part webinar series “Systems Change Fundamentals” featuring Cole Hoover, Director of Learning and Community at MovingWorlds. This series will be an introduction to the field of systems thinking to help you uncover and address the root causes of complex problems. Register here. 
• September 12: Deadline to apply for the Global Distributor’s Collective “Upskilling the Last Mile” Training Program, open to last mile distribution companies and other inclusive businesses that are selling beneficial products/services to underserved or ‘last mile’ consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more and apply here.
• September 14 & 21: Join the TRANSFORM Support Hub for a two-part workshop series, “Creating your Justifiable Ask” with social enterprise experts Andy Lieberman and Paul Belknap from the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Register here to join us and learn how to ask for money in a way that gets a “yes” from funders!
• September 15-24: Observation of Global Goals Week, an annual week of action, awareness, and accountability for the SDGs.
• September 16: Join ReThink Plastic Vietnam (and other enterprises in our network working for a cleaner planet) in celebrating World Cleanup Day 2023! Wherever you are in the world, see how you can take action to improve your community here.
• September 20: United Nations General Assembly hosts its General Debate. 
• September 21: Join the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship for a workshop, “Street Business School: Unlocking Prosperity Through Entrepreneurship.” Register here.
• September 21: Join Social Enterprise Alliance for a Coffee Chat with social enterprise and innovation professor, Jim Kucher, to discuss earned income vs. earned value. Register here.
• September 25: Deadline for students to apply to Seeds of Fortune’s College Prep Leadership Program with Columbia University. Learn more here.
• Ongoing: SuitUp is committed to helping ensure that all students have the access and awareness to pursue the college and career of their choosing. Its seeking companies to partner with for its Business Challenge competition – learn more here. 

Congratulations to…

• Bambuhay on being recognized by the Most Inspiring MSME Awards in the Philippines for its work inspiring Filipinos to thrive through entrepreneurship! 
• Mark Sultan Gersava, Founder of Bambuhay, on being the youngest Executive Member of the National Innovation Council in the Philippines!
• Socialbnb on publishing its first impact report, and launching its first Impact Round Trip in Ecuador in September!
• Youth Hub Africa on the launch of its Social Impact Academy to empower young Nigerians to create lasting change!
• Meli Bees Network on being selected as a 2023 Green Changemakers Challenge winner, and on launching its pollinating regeneration program to drive bottom-up climate justice in indigenous communities!
• SuitUp on the publication of its 2022 Impact Report! 
• LightEd on being selected as the Small Grant Winner for 2023 by proposalsforNGOs!
• Seeds of Fortune on its recent feature in Forbes highlighting its work financially empowering young women of color!
• Casa Tres Patios on the social impact delivered by its R3Cre0 program for vulnerable children in Medellin, Colombia through training in creativity, curiosity and critical thinking!
• Nilus on making the Norrsken Impact 100 list, and being featured in Times Square!

A Final Bit of Inspiration

“Don’t focus solely on what may happen to you today — and dither. Look at what will happen to all of us tomorrow — and act. We have an obligation to act, in deep and systemic ways. After all, the world is not moving incrementally…We cannot move incrementally. This is not a time for tinkering. It is a time for transformation.”UN Secretary-General António Guterres