December 2021 Social Impact News Roundup: Resilience From the Bottom-Up

As 2021 comes to a close, we continue to be inspired by the way that individual professionals, social entrepreneurs, and socially responsible companies have turned the challenges and setbacks this year has brought into opportunities to adapt, pivot, and build resilience. Here are some highlights from December 2021:

Building Nonprofit Resilience Through Capacity-Building

The disruptions of COVID-19 highlighted the need for more resilient and agile nonprofit organizations. Over the past year, Sattva and MacArthur Foundation’s Lever for Change program supported 12 organizations through the cohort-based capacity-building program, Accelerate for Impact Initiative. Learn more about the process, outcomes, and learnings about cohort-based capacity building here. One finding that stood out was the importance of network connections: 100% of participants that received one-to-one advisory support stated that they have made tangible progress against their institutional goals. 

Building Social Enterprise Resilience through Impact Investing

MovingWorlds S-GRID recently hosted Dr. Nzinga Broussard from the Global Innovation Fund to share tips with our network about what impact investors look for in a social enterprise. You can check out our summary here. The bottom line? The way you tell your story really matters – and by highlighting the way your innovation addresses the root cause of a problem, capturing the right impact metrics, and tailoring them to show how it aligns with the priorities of the investor/funder you are pitching, you’ll stand out from the rest.

Building Smallholder Farmers Resilience Through Microinsurance

As insurtech investors, donors, governments, and other agriculture value chain players look to bolster the resilience of smallholder farmers, what role will crop microinsurance  play? From the basics and the business models, to challenges in scaling and questions for the future, find everything you need to know in the new series from Mercy Corps Ventures and CASE at Duke University.

Staying Resilient While Navigating a Career Change

Transitioning your career for more purpose and impact doesn’t happen overnight. While each of our journeys will be as unique as we are, there are certain things that successful career changers do in common to stay sane and grounded throughout the process. We asked 30 Global Fellowship alumni the question, “With all of the uncertainty we’re living through, what advice would you give to people to stay sane through the career transition process?” Here is the wisdom they shared.

Social Impact Job Opportunities

• Acumen is hiring for a Senior Associate, Communications (New York, NY)
• Expedia Group is hiring for a Social Impact & Innovation Manager (based in Austin, TX)
• Google is hiring for a Program Manager, Social Impact – Google Data Centers (based in Washington, D.C.)
• Mercy Corps Ventures is seeking an MBA student intern to support its investment team with pipeline development, due diligence, pitching, and post-investment support. Learn more and apply here.
• MovingWorlds is hiring for a Senior Partnership & Account Manager (remote)
• Nike is hiring for a Senior Director of Industry Engagement (based in Beaverton, OR)
• Nori is hiring for a Chief of Staff to work closely with its CEO (based in Seattle, WA)
• PepsiCo is hiring for a Sustainability Strategy Associate Manager (based in Purchase, NY)
• Sattva Consulting is hiring for a number of positions across its Corporate, Impact Measurement, Nonprofit, & Foundations practice areas. Browse all openings here.
• Sibö is hiring for a Data Architect to support its research and development team (based in The Hague, Netherlands)
• Stand Together is hiring for a Development Content Specialist (based in Arlington, VA)
• Tent Partnership for Refugees is hiring for a Manager of US Partnerships (based in New York, NY)
• TripAdvisor is hiring for a Social Impact Program Specialist (remote)
• University of Washington is hiring for an Innovation & Engagement Manager (based in Seattle, WA)
• Village Capital is hiring for a Chief Growth Officer (based in Washington, D.C.)

Upcoming Events & New Programs

• January 19th: MovingWorlds S-GRID is hosting Dr. Nzinga Broussard, Senior Director at the Global Innovation Fund, for a free workshop about Tailoring Your Impact Story to Align with Funders. Register here to join us. (This is the second in a two-part series, and you can watch the recording of Part I here)

Congratulations to….

• Nupur Agarwal, Co-Founder of Kiwi Kisan Window, for being recognized in Forbes list of 30 Under 30 for social impact! Kiwi Kisan Window was also recently recognized by Startup India, an initiative by the Government of India, for its work empowering smallholder farmers.
• McMac Cx for winning the top prize in the Climathon Houston 2021 Competition for its USGBC Texas Best Practices app, which provides the business case justification and support of best practice champions needed to create equitable, healthy, safe, efficient and prosperous buildings and communities where everyone can thrive!

A Final Bit of Inspiration

“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”
Gever Tulley