October 2022 Social Impact News Roundup: Unlocking the Potential of the Social Economy

How Nonfinancial Support is Advancing Social Innovation

Making social innovation happen is like riding a lion – the people seeing you do it think “wow, that person is brave.” Meanwhile, the innovator is thinking, “how did I get here, and how do I get off without getting eaten?” Earlier, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, we shared the importance of supporting social enterprises during this phase. By coming together across sectors to mobilize nonfinancial support to these entrepreneurs, we can accelerate the progress of the social economy. In a recent interview, social entrepreneur Chandramouli Samatham shares how pro bono consultants and ecosystem connections accessed through the TRANSFORM Support Hub have helped Caare accelerate its impact and revenue to bridge the healthcare gap for rural communities in India. 

Additionally, Global Fellow Vaishali Paliwal shared a poignant reflection about what it’s like to serve as a pro bono consultant to co-create human-centered solutions with a social entrepreneur. 

Corporations Are Increasing Investments to Grow the Social Economy

For corporations interested in supporting the social enterprise movement as a means to advance their own social innovation and sustainability strategies, here are 10 ways that social enterprise partnerships can unlock shared business value. Want to learn more about corporate efforts to advance ESG? Read our article published in Stanford Social Innovation Review that argues why we need to develop a shared language so the ESG movement can help facilitate better financial decisions and progress towards the SDGs. 

Investing for Impact

In its latest report, “20 Years of Patient Capital: Investing as a Means,” Acumen shares what it’s learned about the challenges and successes of building and shaping markets for people who are low-income, as well as the opportunities and limitations of using Patient Capital in a venture capital model. For social enterprises seeking this kind of impact investment as a means to grow, our TRANSFORM Support Hub webinar series with Integrative Solutions has provided practical tips about how to choose the right methods to gather and communicate impact data (find key takeaways here), as well as how to use that data to refine business models (find key takeaways here.) 

Grassroots Solutions to Close the Gender Gap 

At our current rate, it would take 132 years to close the global gender gap. But, social entrepreneurs around the world are stepping up, challenging the status quo, and driving progress towards gender parity in their own innovative ways. 

Here are a few recent highlights from our network: Lafiya Nigeria launched a successful pilot to provide access to safe and voluntary family planning, Business and Technology University partnered with UN Women to launch the “500 Women in Tech” initiative to expand the role of women and their involvement in the field technology in Georgia, Citizen Impact Organization is creating paths to financial independence for women in Malawi through beekeeping vocational training, and Good to be Good is currently recruiting for its third cohort of its Change Make-Her Entrepreneurship Support Group for women, non-binary, and gender-diverse people.

Social Impact Job Opportunities

• 60 Decibels is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Head of Digital Marketing (based in London or New York)
  • Senior Software Engineer (based in Bengaluru, Nairobi, London, or New York)
  • India Deputy Head of Office (based in Bangalore)
• Ashoka x Changemaker Companies is hiring for a Tech and Finance Corporate Partnerships Manager (based in Washington, D.C.)
• Aspen Institute is hiring for a Senior Program Associate (based in New York, N.Y.)
• Aspiration is hiring for an Engagement Manager – Carbon Program Monitoring (remote)
• Closed Loop Partners is hiring for a Program Manager, Strategy & Engagement (based in New York, N.Y.)
• Common Impact is hiring for a Chief Program Officer (based in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, or New York)
• Democracy Fund is hiring for a DEI Learning & Development Manager (based in Washington, D.C.)
• Practical Action is hiring for a Head of Global Distributors Collective (remote)
• MicroMentor is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Bilingual Mentoring Community Engagement Manager (remote within U.S.)
  • Development Senior Coordinator (remote within U.S.)
  • Senior Software Engineer (remote within U.S.)
• National Geographic Society is hiring for a Sr. Manager, Strategic Partnerships & Grants (remote within the U.S.)
• Nava is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Business Development Analyst (remote)
  • Product Manager (remote)
  • Program Manager (remote) 
• The Nature Conservancy is hiring for an Associate Director, Climate Policy and Renewable Energy Communications (remote)
• Patagonia is hiring for an Environmental Program Officer- Thriving Communities (based in Ventura, CA)
• Pledge 1% is hiring for a Director of Operations (based in San Francisco, CA)
• Trama Textiles is hiring for a Program Coordinator (based in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala)
• W. W. Kellogg Foundation is hiring for a Program Officer, Racial Equity and Community Engagement (remote)

Upcoming Events & New Programs

• November 7-10: Hear from Luum at the Latinamerican Impact Investment Forum about using blockchain for supply chain traceability. Learn more and register here.
• November 9: Join the TRANSFORM Support Hub for a free social enterprise webinar, “Winning Over Funders with Impact Data.” Learn more and register here.
• November 9: Join OECD for a webinar, “Unlocking the Potential of Youth-Led Social Enterprises.” Learn more and register here.
• November 13: Deadline to apply to the Corporate Changemakers Challenge, an initiative of UpLink, SalesForce, and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
• November 17: Join ProFellow for a webinar, “How to Launch Your Social Impact Career Through Professional Fellowships.” Learn more and register here.
• November 30 – December 2: Join Sattva at the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) Annual Conference for a session on Scaling EdTech Solutions. Learn more and register here.

Congratulations to….

• Social enterprise Caare on receiving the NGO Leadership Award for supporting NGOs with the enablement of their health programs across India with its innovative app and telehealth model!
• Solar powered digital infrastructure social enterprise ARED, and its founder Henri Nyakarundi, on being featured by CNN in its “Inside Africa” entrepreneurship segment! 
• Ronald Mugaiga of Ecomak Recyclers, Dieudonne Kwame Agudah of WASHKING, and Lieselotte Heederik of Nazava Water Filters on being recognized on the Meaningful Business 100 List 2022 for their leadership combining profit and purpose to achieve the UN SDGs!

A final bit of inspiration

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Albert Einstein