October 2021 Social Impact News Roundup: Partnerships for the Goals

Deepening the Conversation Around Corporations Partnering with Social Enterprises

There have been a number of recent reports showing that corporations are spending more money with social enterprises through the act of “social procurement”. This past month, two reports provided a list of some of the most impactful partnerships: Acumen’s Corporate-Ready Report, as well as insights from Yunus Social Business on HOW to develop these partnerships in its new Social Procurement Manual. We break down the findings from each in this summary. We also hosted a panel of industry leaders from Resonance, Industree Crafts Foundation, & IKEA to discuss their latest research into how and why companies partner with social enterprises, which you can find a summary of here.

All Eyes on Climate Action

COP-26, the United Nations annual climate change conference, started on October 31st and will run through November 12th. Learn more about what’s on the docket and what activists, businesses, and journalists will be paying close attention to in this COP-26 Explained primer. It’s easy to get discouraged by how far we still have to go – but this list of 20 social enterprises leading the clean energy revolution is sure to lift your spirits.

Making Leadership More Inclusive

Recent research from Sattva makes clear the need to establish a cadre of leaders beyond the urban/metro areas. Read Rathish Balakrishnan’s (Co-founder and Managing Partner, Sattva Consulting) thoughts on ‘distributed leadership’ here. This point is echoed in the recent second edition of Aperian Global’s “Inclusive Leadership: Global Impact,” where the authors demonstrate how global inclusion initiatives can be combined with local insights to engage valuable employees around the world, mitigate a range of legal and brand reputation risks, and position their organizations for a new wave of innovation and growth propelled by a truly inclusive work environment.

Social Impact Job Opportunities

• Activate is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Data Solutions Architect (based in Berkeley, CA) 
  • Director of Philanthropic Partnerships (based in Berkeley, CA or Boston, MA)
  • Outreach and Recruitment Program Manager (based in Berkeley, Boston, or remote)
  • Fellowship Manager (based in New York, NY)
• Acumen is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Accelerator Associate, Acumen Academy (based in London or Bogota)
  • Data & Systems, Senior Associate (based in New York, NY)
  • Finance Grants Analyst (based in New York, NY)
  • East Africa Associate (based in Nairobi, Kenya)
• Expedia group is hiring for the following positions:
  • Manager, Social Impact & Innovation (multiple locations) 
  • Senior Manager, Climate & Sustainability (multiple locations)
• Humanly is hiring for a Founding Product Manager (based in Seattle, WA)
• Kiva is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Senior Manager, Content & Community (based in Portland, San Francisco, or remote)
  • Systems & Operations Manager, Strategic Partnerships (remote within US)
  • Senior Product Designer (based in San Francisco, CA or remote)
  • Foundations Officer, Strategic Partnerships (based in Portland, San Francisco, New York, or remote) 
• Mercy Corps Ventures is hiring for an Investment Principal – FinTech & Crypto (multiple locations)
• Resonance is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Talent Acquisition Manager (based in Burlington, VT, Washington, D.C., or remote)
  • Senior Manager, Project Operations (based in Washington, D.C.)
  • Analyst, Resonance Impact Advisory (multiple locations within US)
• Sattva Consulting is hiring for a full-time International Business Consultant (based in East Africa)
• Spotify is hiring for a Global Social Impact Lead (based in London, UK)
• Village Capital is hiring for a Head of Team & Organizational Development (based in Washington, D.C.)

Featured Experteering Projects

Need to build up your skills and experience more to earn your dream social impact job? Check out these experteering opportunities with our S-GRID network:

• Support Forest Beekeepers with Logistics/Supply Chain Expertise: African Bronze Honey Company is a Canadian B Corp that markets, sells, and adds value to fair trade honey produced by 10,000 forest beekeepers in Africa. The team is looking for an experteer to help make its supply chain and inventory management process more efficient while significantly reducing its carbon footprint.
• Support Heritage Crafts with Sales/Marketing Skills: Studio Coppre is a social impact brand working towards promoting heritage crafts by retaining traditional crafting techniques and designing contemporary wares. The team is looking for an experteer to help address the requirements of the US market in the retail boutique sector through branding, marketing and sales.
• Support Female Empowerment with Web Design Skills: 2nd Innings Handicrafts (2IH) is a social enterprise that works with NGOs to train women in India in the art of stitching, embroidery, and design. 2IH is looking to grow its revenues from business to business sales and is seeking an experteer to help create a high-quality B2B website and pitch deck.

Upcoming Events & New Programs

• November 2nd: Echoing Green is accepting applications from early stage enterprises shifting power in their communities through inclusive and intersectional solutions. Apply by 2:00 pm EDT on November 2nd to be considered!
• November 3-5: Join VSSE to kick off Vietnam Energy Efficiency Building Week with a series of technical webinars and activities around the theme of “Net-zero Buildings & Cities. For People – For Future.” Learn more and register here.
• November 4th: Join MovingWorlds and SAP on for a webinar on how to ‘Scale Your Social Enterprise’ through business longevity and establishing corporate partnerships. Register here.
• November 9-10: Devex is hosting a series of discussions on climate action and development diving into the Sustainable Development Goals and the professionals working to achieve them in low- and middle-income countries. Save your spot here.
• November 10th: MovingWorlds is hosting Davide Strusani, Principal Economist at the International Finance Corporation for a webinar on the foundations of impact investing from the perspective of an asset manager. Register here to join us!
• November 21st: The Yunus Environment Hub has launched a 2022 cohort of their GrowUp Incubator for social businesses to support and grow skills of early-stage entrepreneurs who have proven their concept and are ready to scale their social business. Learn more and apply by November 21st.
• November 24th: The European Commission is offering Social Economy Missions for Community Resilience to co-fund projects to build resilience and increase the capacity of regional social economy SMEs to overcome difficulties and crises. Learn more and apply here.
• November 30th: Looking to grow your career as a science entrepreneur? Activate is accepting applications to its two-year Fellowship to help turn your concept into a product through the last day of November.
• December 1: Acumen Academy and The Rockefeller Foundation have teamed up to launch its first Food Systems Fellowship! If you’re leading an effort to disrupt and drive change for the future of food, learn more and apply by December 1st.

Congratulations to….

• OneSeventeenMedia for being selected by the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas as one of the top 5 winners of their first Healthcare Innovation Technology Challenge with ATT Business! An award of $1M was distributed amongst the 5 winners, receiving $200,000 each.
• Blackboard Africa Founder Amonge Sinxoto for receiving the Renaissance Award in the Social Justice category!
• Global Youth Advocates Network & ASEAN Youth Advocates Network Founder Mirus Ponon for receiving the CSR Youth Award and the Young Global Changemakers Award!

A Final Bit of Inspiration

“More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together.”
Kofi Annan