"The global water challenge is really about balancing the micro and the macro. People, industry, agriculture–everybody needs water in the right place, in the right quantity, at the right quality, and at the right time. Doing that is unbelievably hard.” –Tom Ferguson Imagine H2O is an organization with a mission to empower people to develop and deploy innovations to solve water challenges globally. On this episode, Alex sits down with Tom Ferguson, VP of Programming at Imagine H2O, to discuss the...
Mar 10, 2020•52 min
How can technology help extend access to financial services to the 1.7 billion unbanked people in the world? In the latest episode of Money and Meaning, Lindsay Smalling interviews Kiva’s Chief Strategy Officer, Matthew Davie, about some of their new solutions to the challenges of financial exclusion. Davie talks about Kiva Protocol and other new ways they are working to change the underlying system in order to expand access to capital in emerging markets.
Feb 25, 2020•38 min
Blended finance deals have the potential to drive trillions of dollars of institutional capital into high impact projects in emerging markets and could lead to massive progress towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In this episode, Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence, explains how blended finance can accelerate solutions to poverty, hunger, and the other SDGs. She also talks about the future of the blended finance industry and why we need to really hustle to get on a billions to ...
Feb 11, 2020•48 min
TechSoup was the first nonprofit in the US to launch a national direct public offering (DPO). In the year since the launch of this growth capital campaign, they have raised over $8 million, with individual investments ranging from $50 to $1 million. In this episode, Alex Kravitz has a conversation with Rebecca Masisak and Ken Tsunoda about their unique approach to fundraising, lessons they have learned from the experience, and how the DPO has helped TechSoup grow and strengthen their community. ...
Jan 28, 2020•48 min
Laura Callanan and her organization Upstart Co-Lab are working to convince investors that they have a tremendous opportunity to drive impact through investments in the arts, culture, and heritage-based businesses that make up the creative economy. Souls Grown Deep is a Foundation and Community Partnership dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting the cultural traditions and work of African American artists from the South. Under the leadership of Maxwell Anderson, Souls Grown Deep has p...
Jan 14, 2020•45 min
For the final episode of 2019, we bring you highlights from the SOCAP19 mainstage. The theme that ties each of this episode’s featured highlights together is that they all demonstrate the power of cross-sector collaboration. The clips highlight examples of ways that leaders from across the global marketplace have been working together in innovative ways to solve some of the greatest challenges of our time. Featured Voices: Neville Crawley of Kiva with Helen Avery of Euromoney Bonnie Glick of USA...
Dec 17, 2019•39 min
The evolution of microfinance from radical idea to global industry was surprisingly fast, sometimes messy, and filled with successes and failures. Despite numerous challenges, microfinance grew into a global industry that has helped lift millions of people out of poverty. As impact investing continues to move into the mainstream, what can the industry learn from the early days of microfinance? This week’s episode, recorded live at SOCAP19, features a panel of leading microfinance experts and pra...
Dec 03, 2019•48 min
Though no one can predict exactly how automation, robotics, and other emerging technologies will shape the future of work, we can be sure that workers will need to be able to quickly learn new skills in order to compete. In this episode, you’ll hear Jean Shia, Head of Portfolio and Investment at Autodesk Foundation, lead a SOCAP19 panel discussion among active investors in workforce tech. Each expert shares their unique approach to investing in the future of work, data and trends that are drivin...
Nov 19, 2019•45 min
In this episode, Javier Torres of the Surdna Foundation leads a conversation on what it will take to achieve racial equity with Black Lives Matter co-creator and Principal of the Black Futures Lab Alicia Garza and Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change. They discuss how, in order to achieve real, lasting change, the conversation must move beyond income and wealth disparity and begin to address disparities in power. They also share personal stories of why they do the work they do, how they...
Nov 06, 2019•56 min
Fran Seegull is the Executive Director of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, an organization spun out of the G7 Social Impact Investment Taskforce to raise awareness and grow demand for impact investing across America. In this episode, Lindsay Smalling has a conversation with Seegull that offers insight into the history and growth of the field, including many of the most important watershed moments and policy landmarks, and offers her perspective on the mainstreaming of impact investing. She al...
Oct 22, 2019•55 min
Invisibility and harmful stereotypes are two of the biggest challenges facing Indigenous people today. According to research conducted by The Reclaiming Native Truth Project, nearly 80% of Americans know little to nothing about contemporary Native peoples, which leads to systemic bias, racism, and neglect of Indigenous communities. In this episode, Lindsay Smalling talks with Crystal Echo Hawk and Nick Tilsen, two Indigenous leaders who head organizations working to change the narrative and the ...
Oct 08, 2019•50 min
At the intersection of democracy, impact investing, and progressive media, you will find New Media Ventures (NMV). This organization is a nonprofit seed fund and angel network working to create positive change across America by investing in entrepreneurs and activists “wrestling with the biggest challenges facing our democracy.” By investing solely to maximize impact, whether into nonprofits or for-profits, NMV is working to address fundamental challenges to democracy and to correct systemic pow...
Sep 24, 2019•34 min
For any community development initiative to achieve the desired positive outcomes, impact investors must design with communities instead of for them. Opportunity Zones, even with the recent criticism, are still seen as a way to drive investments that will build wealth and create social impact in marginalized communities. How can the great community development work that is being done at the local level be connected with big top-down policies like Opportunity Zones? This episode, recorded live in...
Sep 10, 2019•51 min
Despite bring the fastest-growing population of American entrepreneurs, founders of color are systematically under-recognized and under-resourced in America today. How can we begin to build new systems that will support entrepreneurs of color? What will it take to build an inclusive impact economy? This past June, SOCAP convened the first-ever SPECTRUM event in Atlanta to discuss these challenges and begin building an action plan to solve them. In this episode, we offer a selection of inspiratio...
Aug 27, 2019•38 min
Foundations traditionally have grant-making staff and endowment investing staff that operate entirely independent of each other. How can we move past this traditional “two-pocket thinking” to utilize the full spectrum of capital - not just grants and market-rate investments - to better align a foundation’s entire portfolio with their desired impact outcomes? In this episode, Dr. Stephanie Gripne of the Impact Finance Center and Teresa Ish of the Walton Family Foundation discuss the work they are...
Aug 13, 2019•37 min
The new Opportunity Zone legislation is expected to drive billions of dollars of investment into low-income communities around the country. Yet, with limited oversight, this capital has as much potential to harm communities as is does to benefit them. In an effort to set a precedent for transparency in this new space, the Kresge Foundation has recently committed $22 million to two Opportunity Funds in exchange for higher levels of reporting and accountability. In this episode, Rip Rapson, Presid...
Jul 30, 2019•49 min
Cooperatives hold incredible promise to build wealth in marginalized communities and reduce the racial wealth gap but myths and misconceptions about alternative ownership models are common. Many lenders and investors are skeptical of cooperatively-owned businesses or find them too “risky” to qualify for investment. This episode, recorded live at a SOCAP 365 event in Baltimore, is a panel discussion about the promise of the cooperative model to create social and economic change, including frank o...
Jul 16, 2019•48 min
How can innovative financial technologies help marginalized and underserved communities manage their personal finances and build wealth over time? In this episode of Money and Meaning, host Alex Kravitz talks to Marcia Chong Rosado of Village Capital, an accelerator for social enterprises, and Ramona Ortega, Founder of My Money My Future, a platform providing personal financial guidance for millennials of color who have been overlooked by traditional financial institutions.
Jul 02, 2019•31 min
On prior episodes of Money + Meaning, we have explored ways innovative ideas generated by unlikely allies can create change across institutions and communities. But what about the systemic level? Could conversations between people of different perspectives and backgrounds lead to more equitable economies or systems of government? In this episode, host Lindsay Smalling has a conversation that addresses these questions with unlikely allies who are working on civic engagement and democratic initiat...
Jun 19, 2019•55 min
Mitch Kapor is fond of saying, “genius is evenly distributed by ZIP Code, but opportunity is not.” So, in 2011 Mitch and his wife, Freada Kapor Klein, set out to tackle this issue by investing in seed stage tech startups closing gaps of access, opportunity, or outcome for low-income communities and communities of color in the US. After more than 100 investments over eight years, Kapor Capital has not only been able to generate gap-closing social impact but has done so while achieving financial r...
Jun 04, 2019•37 min
MPOWERD is an innovative solar light manufacturer recently named one as one of the Real Leaders 100 most impactful companies in the world. Their mission is to sustainably provide clean, safe, and affordable solar lighting to everyone, including the people in developing countries who need it most, and their innovative design has made their products a favorite of humanitarian aid organizations around the world. In this episode of Money + Meaning, host Alex Kravitz interviews Seungah Jeong and John...
May 21, 2019•42 min
This week's episode is a conversation with impact investing pioneer Dave Kirkpatrick of SJF Ventures and Impact Capital Managers. Dave was at the forefront of the impact investing industry when he co-founded SJF Ventures back in 1999. Originally the Sustainable Jobs Fund, SJF has grown from a $17 million first fund to the recent $125 million close of fund four. In this conversation, host Alex Kravitz asks Dave about his longevity in the industry, how his investment philosophy has evolved over th...
May 07, 2019•40 min
Two-thirds of the workforce in the United States lacks a college degree. With many companies and job platforms screening cadidates based on education, a significant number of smart, hard-working people are locked out of the job market. Seeing firsthand the impact this has on workers and their families, Yscaira Jimenez founded LaborX, a talent marketplace that connects skilled workers with employers and training programs. TechSF is a government agency that was started to provide access to technol...
Apr 23, 2019•40 min
On this week’s episode of Money + Meaning, recorded live at the SOCAP 365 PNW event in Seattle, you’ll hear Sayer Jones, Director of Mission Related Investing for Meyer Memorial Trust, Lisa Yancey, Co-Founder of The We's Match, and Stephen Green, Founder of PitchBlack, in a candid and realistic conversation about what it will take to close the racial wealth gap. Each panelist shares their own experiences working to increase financing and support for entrepreneurs of color, as well as stories of ...
Apr 09, 2019•47 min
What happens when the people who live and work in a community are able to pool capital then collectively decide how to use those funds for the betterment of everyone in their community? The Boston Ujima Project is answering that question by blending grassroots organizing with finance to build an equitable, community-based local economy. In this episode, Lindsay Smalling sits down with Aaron Tanaka and Lucas Turner-Owens of The Boston Ujima Project about how their project evolved, how they are us...
Mar 26, 2019•43 min
Host Alex Kravitz talks to Olivia Rebanal from Capital Impact Partners, Jean Chorazyczewski of The Fair Food Network, and Amit Makhecha of FEAST Detroit. These guests share the stark facts about this challenge, detail the steps they are taking to cultivate a more inclusive and equitable local food system, and offer suggestions for what it will take to solve this challenge in communities across America.
Mar 12, 2019•39 min
As user data collection has evolved from web data to mobile to ubiquitous environmental sensing, important questions are being raised about data usage, consumer privacy, and corporate transparency. Today, we discuss who owns the vast amounts of personal data that are being collected today? Is privacy becoming something that only the rich can afford? Has user behavior created an economic incentive for companies to care about data and privacy breaches? How are governments attempting to regulate “b...
Feb 26, 2019•43 min
For generations, people from all backgrounds have come to the US in pursuit of the American Dream: opportunity, access, resources and ultimately ownership. Yet many minorities are systematically excluded from drivers of wealth, such as home ownership and entrepreneurship. This panel explores systemic issues that have led to this inequity, why catalyzing wealth creation for communities of color should be a national imperative, and how we can invest in historically marginalized communities.
Feb 12, 2019•51 min
The textile and apparel industry is among the world's most extractive and environmentally damaging industries, accounting for 10% of global CO2 emissions and 20% of industrial wastewater. This episode of Money + Meaning, a live recording from SOCAP18, explores circular fashion innovations that are working to turn the industry from extractive to regenerative. For additional resources about circular fashion, visit our blog post on socialcapitalmarkets.net.
Jan 29, 2019•48 min
Season 2 of Money + Meaning kicks off with a special episode featuring luminaries from the SOCAP18 main stage including Anand Giridharadas, Joy Anderson, Joan Carling, Mitch Kapor, and Amit Bhatia. Themes include gender lens investing, the racial wealth gap, indigenous rights, distinguishing real change from fake change, and how complex power structures underlie all these important discussions.
Jan 15, 2019•35 min
