Business as a Force for Social Good

This post was written by J.D. Brady on behalf of the Case Foundation:

At the Case Foundation, we believe impact investing is an excellent example of how business and philanthropy can work hand-in-hand to drive social change. We applaud the work of for-profit enterprises that deliver both a financial and social return, and we encourage investors to support the growth of these companies.

J.P. Morgan’s Nicholas Tedesco is doing just that–creating a bridge between for-profit and non-profit worlds. He joined us at MCON 2015—our annual event that brings together thought leaders from across sectors to explore new ideas regarding engagement with the Millennial generation. As a Senior Philanthropic Advisor in the J.P. Morgan Philanthropy Centre, Nicholas helps clients achieve their philanthropic goals. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Nicholas was with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In that role, Nicholas helped launch the Giving Pledge, an undertaking that encourages the world’s wealthiest people to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropic endeavors. To date, nearly 200 philanthropists have signed the pledge.

The Case Foundation sat down with Nicholas to discuss the Millennial generation’s approach to investing, where the impact investing sector is headed and what challenges leaders in the philanthropic space.

CF: How do you see Millennials engaging in philanthropy?

NT: It has been widely talked about that we are in the midst of the greatest wealth transfer in history–-the next generation will inherit an estimated $59 trillion over the next 40 years and are positioned to be some of the most influential donors in history. We are seeing some interesting trends among Millennials with respect to their giving. It is starting earlier: wealth is being made at a much earlier age and on a much larger scale than ever before. And people are looking to give back much earlier. They are taking a venture approach–-they are looking to address large-scale social problems with a more hands-on and results-oriented approach. They are also willing to experiment and test new approaches and are more apt to employ nontraditional methods like impact investing.

CF: What is the most interesting thing that you’ve seen in the last year regarding impact investing?

NT: One of the most interesting things I have seen in the last year is the rise in popularity of social impact bonds. Although they are still largely in their infancy, social impact bonds are gaining traction. Utah is spearheading a program that will bring a lot of attention to the “pay for success” model, as are California and Oregon. Although the model will likely never be widely adopted due to its reliance on the government, it is shedding light on the importance of impact metrics.

CF: Is the impact investing movement growing? Do you think we’re at a tipping point?

NT: I absolutely believe that the impact investing movement is growing–-particularly on the west coast. Its core tenants appeal to younger donors who are eager to tackle longstanding social issues with a multipronged approach. We are also seeing an increased awareness among the business community that social and economic returns do not have to be mutually exclusive and decoupled. I do not think we are at a tipping point (yet). We need a few more years to allow more deals to surface, investments to mature, and thought leaders (like Jean and Steve Case) to inform the general public. Impact investing is still a largely unknown and young movement and people are reluctant to be a pioneer.

CF: What are the greatest challenges philanthropic leaders are addressing today?

NT: One of the greatest challenges philanthropy–-as a discipline–-is facing is how to define and measure impact. Americans gave a record $335 billion to charitable causes in 2013, yet it is hard to quantify the impact of those gifts. There are very few philanthropists who are equipped to adequately assess the yield of their grants–-with a large number of donors simply trusting their grantees to execute a successful strategy. However, we are seeing an increased focus on measurement and evaluation from philanthropists at all levels, and as a result, we are seeing donors who are much more engaged with the organizations that they choose to fund.

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts featuring speakers from MCON 2015. Check back to learn about more innovators and leaders from the private, nonprofit and public sectors. Also, be sure to check out the 2015 Millennial Impact Report

Impact Investing Gets a Four Billion Dollar Boost

Today, the White House hosted a summit that highlighted more than $4 billion in commitments to finding solutions to climate change. These commitments – from foundations, investors, federal agencies and others – represent the diverse ways that private capital can be mobilized for public good.

Sonal Shah, former Senior Fellow at the Case Foundation and current Executive Director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, has been engaged with policymakers and investors on how to build smart, high-impact partnerships that bring the talent and resources of the private sector into the business of social change. Read more about today’s announcements from Sonal in her blog.

The commitments announced today represent the increased interest from investors to bet on the ingenuity of the private sector to find sustainable solutions that address climate change. They also represent the commitment from the federal government to spur innovation in the sector and convene a wide range of stakeholders who have committed to allocate capital to build the clean tech ecosystem.

The announcements today follow $2 billion in commitments announced by the private sector in June of 2014 to make investments in companies, funds and programs that aim to generate both financial and social returns. Those announcements were accompanied by the release of a report – Private Capital, Public Good: How Smart Federal Policy Can Galvanize Impact Investing – which provided a framework for policymakers in support of impact investing.

The announcements follow other recent news of the private sector thinking big about impact investing. In February, BlackRock—the world’s largest money manager—announced the launch of a new business unit, BlackRock Impact, to be led by former Robin Hood Foundation President and COO Deborah Winshel. In April, Bain Capital announced that former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick would lead its new impact fund.

The last year has also seen the creation of impact funds by global corporations like Mars and Danone, as well as new investments in responsible companies and funds by respected entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman and Marc Andreessen. The number of certified B Corps has grown to over 1,300, and certified B Corp Etsy announced an IPO in April. Finally, the public markets for responsible investments are also growing—US SIF’s biannual report released in late 2014 found that SRI investing in the United States had increased 76 percent since 2012.

Jean Case said in April that it’s a new inning for impact investing. The $4 billion in commitments announced today strengthen the all-star lineup of investors, companies, and government agencies that are mobilizing the power of the private sector to address some of our most critical challenges.

A New Path forward for UP Global

At the Case Foundation and Revolution, we have long been supporters of the idea that unleashing the power of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial approaches is crucial to drive innovation, accelerate economic growth, create jobs and solve big, intractable problems. That’s why we’ve invested directly in entrepreneurs, supported programs like the US-Palestinian Partnership (and as a result the creation of a venture capital fund in the West Bank) and created initiatives like the Startup America Partnership and Rise of the Rest. And it’s why I’ve served, and continue to serve, in leadership roles for efforts like the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.

In May of 2013, we supported the creation of a new organizationUP Global, which represented the combined power of the rapidly growing Startup Weekend and the Startup America Partnership, which we co-created alongside the Kauffman Foundation. I’ve been proud to serve as chair of UP Global as the organization seeks to leverage grassroots communities to create and nurture entrepreneurial ecosystems in the U.S. and around the world. Since that time, the UP Global organization has continued to expand – nearly doubling the presence of Startup Weekend, which in 2014 held 905 events in 501 cities (in 135 countries), and introducing new programming like Startup Week, bringing together 18,000 attendees in places like Columbus, Phoenix, Manila and Stockholm. You can learn more about the organization’s growth in its most recent impact report, available here.

Today, UP Global has taken an important next step in the future of the organization by becoming a part of Techstars, an organization that has played a key role in identifying high-potential entrepreneurs and bringing the power of the ecosystem to help them grow. The merger will combine two powerful entrepreneurial networks with closely aligned missions. It is our hope that the efforts of UP Global will continue to gain momentum, further extending its global footprint and reaching more people in more places.

The Startup Weekend, Startup Next, Startup Digest and Startup Week programs will remain under the Techstars umbrella, and while much of the groundwork and principles established by the Startup America Partnership efforts will continue within a number of Techstars programs, the brand will not. At the Case Foundation, we continue to see an opportunity for an effort focused specifically on the role of entrepreneurship to drive American innovation, and as a result we have retained the Startup America Partnership brand. We have begun to explore opportunities for future Startup America programming, and will have more to share in the coming months.

In the meantime, please join us in congratulating the UP Global and Techstars team as they forge a new path ahead for entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world.

Powering Entrepreneurship with Inclusion

At the Case Foundation, we believe that entrepreneurship is powerful driver of innovation, economic growth, job creation, and solutions to big, intractable problems at a global and local scale. But as we look at the increasing inequality – economic and digital divides – we have begun to explore how to tap into the fuller entrepreneurial potential of communities and countries – all backgrounds and all locations. We’ve also begun to explore the notion of catalyzing a movement in inclusive entrepreneurship built upon the theory of change that diversity breeds innovation and innovation breeds business (financial and social) success. There are a lot of ways to define “inclusive” entrepreneurship. To us, it means getting beyond those who traditionally have easier access to entrepreneurship and thinking about how to lift up—women- and minority-owned businesses, businesses that are funding good jobs for the community, and social enterprises that are committed to financial and social returns.

As part of our exploration phase, the Case Foundation team, led by our CEO Jean Case, returned to New Orleans to dive deeper into the entrepreneurship ecosystem there. Through our work with the collective impact organization, Forward Cities, we have been fortunate enough to meet entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders in New Orleans, Durham, Detroit and Cleveland who are committed to utilizing entrepreneurship to build their economies. Our team has spent the past six months listening and learning about the concept of Inclusive Entrepreneurship and we have emerged from this period of exploration even more convinced of the power of inclusion.

Our time in New Orleans was spent learning about the rebuilding of the city as we approach the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and meeting with on-the-ground ecosystem builders who are using the power of inclusivity to create thriving entrepreneurship communities.

We want to extend a warm thank you to our partners on the ground in New Orleans who shared their approaches to inclusive entrepreneurship and walked us through their city and their work while we were there. Accelerators like PowerMoves and Propeller, along with ecosystem builders like Greater New Orleans, Inc., and advocates like former New Orleans Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer have seen the value in democratizing entrepreneurship and are actively creating a more inclusive New Orleans.Photo May 08, 11 09 39 AM

And we ended our visit with a full house at NoBic, as part of the Rise of the Rest road trip, featuring the importance of diversity and inclusion in rebuilding and growing New Orleans through entrepreneurship. Jean Case led a dynamic conversation with star innovator Beth Galante and ecosystem builders Earl Robinson and Tim Williamson. It is leaders like these who are breaking down barriers and bringing the power of inclusivity to the forefront of the New Orleans entrepreneurship landscape.

And how wonderful to see the power of inclusive entrepreneurship pay off, with PowerMoves-backed entrepreneur Crystal McDonald and her company GoToInterview, win the Rise of the Rest pitch competition and a $100,000 investment.

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The conversation on diversity and inclusion continues to grow. It is clear that if we want to build up our cities and grow our economies, we need to follow in New Orleans’ footsteps and level the playing field to bring more people to the table and maximize the full potential of local, national and global talent to building the companies that are going to change the world.

It’s In Our Jeans: How One Clothing Brand Conquered Fear

This post was written by J.D. Brady on behalf of the Case Foundation:

Few changemakers embody the Be Fearless mantra quite like Levi Strauss & Co. and its Foundation. For more than 160 years, the brand has implemented a unique approach to investing in causes. As a company, they have always strived to go first. In fact, they were one of the first brands to help fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic; their work force was racially integrated years before Civil Rights legislation was implemented; and the company was one of the first to offer domestic partner benefits. Levi Strauss & Co. developed “the code that launched a thousand codes” when it became one of the first companies to create a “code of conduct” determining how contractors must treat workers and the expectation of contractors to produce a quality environment in which to work.

Just last year the Case Foundation featured the Foundation as a Be Fearless case study. Led by executive director Daniel Jae-Won Lee, the Foundation makes big bets and causes they are invested in and was one of the first to set aside dedicated funds for an experimental, “innovation” portfolio. Each year roughly 15 to 20 percent of their budget is directed to potentially transformative projects and their leaders with great ideas.

In advance of MCON this month, Daniel shares his lessons learned at the helm of the foundation and how his team has worked to solve some of society’s most pressing social issues. We look forward to hearing him share his insights at MCON 2015.

CF: Part of your emphasis as an organization is improving worker well-being at apparel companies located in communities where your products are made. Tell us more about these efforts and what impact you have made.

DL: We have a longstanding commitment to improve the well-being and rights of people who make our products. Levi Strauss & Co. has invested more than $10 million in the past fifteen years on factory-based programs to enhance the health, financial security, life skills and awareness of apparel workers. But here’s the catch: when we asked how many of these terrific initiatives were sustained in the factory beyond our initial funding, the answer was resounding — zilch.

Out of this came a new business approach: Improving Worker Well-being. Our foundation is supporting efforts by Levi Strauss & Co. to foster the ownership and sustainability of these programs among key vendors in the supply chain, based on the premise that what is good for workers is also good for business. We recognize a lynchpin to factory ownership is measuring the social and business impact of these worker programs. Studies have shown that for every dollar invested in women’s health on the factory floor, there are three or four dollars of return in terms of improved productivity and reduced absenteeism. It won’t be turnkey or overnight success, but the company is committed to working with its key suppliers over the next five years to generating this business and social value – and making Improving Worker Well-being a way of doing business.

CF: What are the greatest challenges facing communities today? What are some ways the Levi Strauss Foundation is addressing these challenges?

DL: In the United States and across the globe, the rise of income inequality is one of the most critical issues of our time. It is striking to see both Democrats and Republicans speaking on this topic in the prelude to the 2016 Presidential election. The Levi Strauss Foundation has invested $7.5 million in asset building programs since 2007. These allow low-income people not merely to gain an income but also generate savings and invest in long-term assets like education or a home. More recently we joined SF Gives, a collaborative effort spearheaded by the anti-poverty champion, Tipping Point, and Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce. The initiative takes a full-circle approach by bringing together companies from across the Bay Area – including many new players from the technology sector – to leverage their support, employees and influence to address poverty in the Bay Area.

CF: What is one of the biggest bets that the Levi Strauss Foundation has made since its inception?

DL: In 1982, Levi Strauss & Co. was among the first corporations to respond to HIV/AIDS (even before it had a name, when it emerged a mysterious and deadly virus) due to its impact on our employees. One year later, our foundation was the first to help fund the fight against the epidemic. More than 30 years later, this global epidemic is expanding in key markets like Russia, China, India, South Africa and the United States. Due to stigma and discrimination, those people and groups who bear the brunt of this epidemic are viewed as not worthy of having rights.

In the early days of the epidemic, our funding helped seed and grow many incredible organizations – first in San Francisco and eventually in over thirty countries around the globe. Today, the Levi Strauss Foundation is proudly supporting the human rights response to this global epidemic, an approach that receives less than one percent of total HIV/AIDS funding. Only by changing discriminatory laws, bad public health policies and stigmatizing cultural practices – and cultivating those groups most impacted by HIV/AIDS as advocates and agents of change – can we claim victory over this disease and cultivate an AIDS-free generation.

This is the first in a series of blog posts featuring speakers from MCON 2015. Check back to learn about more innovators and leaders from the private, nonprofit and public sectors. Also, be sure to tune in to the live stream of MCON on June 24th and 25th!

Building Momentum at TEDWomen

What do two former presidents, an expert on insect mating behavior, an 18-year old activist fighting to end child marriage, a “bad feminist” and two legendary actresses have in common? Well, they were just a few of the dozens of speakers and performers who graced the stage of the Steinbeck Forum in the Monterey Convention Center during last week’s TEDWomen conference, an event focused on the power of women and girls as creators and changemakers.

The (foggy and cool) Monterey setting was one that is close to the heart of long-time TED-sters. It is where the original TED conference got its start in 1984 (before moving to Long Beach, then ultimately Vancouver), and the locale only added to the energy and emotion that is a hallmark of TED events.

The diverse slate of speakers showcased both the incredible potential of women and girls to change the world, and challenged the audience to think about the critical issues of our time. From climate change to education and religious extremism, there were a few key themes that resonated throughout the conference for me:

If we’re ever going to have true gender equality, we can’t accomplish it alone. We need men to be a part of this movement too. It might seem as obvious to you as you read this as it did when I typed the words, but as it came up over and over again I thought about how the movement to make the world better for women and girls is dominated by campaigns that largely involve women and girls. I was struck by the words of sociologist Michael Kimmel who said, “Privilege is invisible to those who have it.” We need more campaigns that make gender visible and demonstrate that (in Kimmel’s words) “gender equality is not a zero sum game.” Like the United Nation’s @HeForShe campaign highlighted by the formidable Elizabeth Nyamayaro. And of course we were lucky to see one of the world’s most influential men, President Jimmy Carter, on stage talking about his fight for gender equality, noting that “The number one abuse of human rights on Earth is the mistreatment of women and girls.”

And this lesson of making privilege visible doesn’t just apply to gender equality. The fearless and funny Rich Benjamin walked us through his adventures as an African American living in “Whitopia,” the communities in America attracting the highest concentration of white populations in an era where we are, according to Benjamin, as racially segregated by neighborhood as we were in 1970. I can only imagine (and hope) that he helped some of his neighbors learn a little bit about privilege in the process.

What drives performance? It’s not what you think. In one of the most moving talks of the event, Linda Cliatt-Wayman, a high school principal who has turned around some of Philadelphia’s most dangerous schools, shared the three core tenants of her leadership philosophy. The first two, “If you’re going to lead, LEAD” and “Now what? So what?” were powerful on their own, but the third was the most powerful. Every day, Cliatt-Wayman makes sure to tell her students, “If nobody told you they love you today, remember I do.” Sure, that might seem corny or hokey to some – but in an environment like North Philadelphia’s public schools, many of the school’s students experience difficult home settings that often lack the compassion.

So as we think about the power of women and girls, we can’t forget one of the key skills we bring to the table to solve big problems – compassion. Margaret Heffernan, a management expert and a TED talk veteran, underscored this idea in her talk, which was centered around an MIT study that showcased that the most productive teams were those in which team members all had a sense of social connectedness. Essentially, these groups performed well because they cared about each other. Or, as she put it, “a culture of helpfulness routinely outperforms intelligence.” Food for thought as we build and manage teams.

Authenticity trumps all. Over and over again, TEDWomen speakers embodied the idea that we are our best selves when we truly embrace who we are. Roxanne Gay pushed us to stop demanding perfection from feminists – noting that we are all full of contradictions and flaws. In her case, her love of hardcore rap and the color pink might make her a “bad feminist” – but, like Roxanne, we can still be good women. Another woman who was truly herself was the hilarious Alix Generous, a young woman with Asperger’s. Between perfectly delivered self-deprecating jokes, Alix inspired us with her work to develop “autism assistive technology,” enabling individuals with autism spectrum disorder develop communications skills.

But of course being one’s true self takes a lot of courage. It certainly took South African slam poet, Lee Mokobe, courage to share with the world that she self-identified as male, coming from a culture that doesn’t exactly embrace gender identity issues. Or the formidable (and just 18 years old) Malawian Memory Banda who said no to being married off at age 14 in a culture that routinely marries off young women as early as age 11.

Amongst all of the high notes, there was also a live reminder of the world of contradictions we face as women. A young mother with her five-month infant in tow was asked to leave the conference, citing TED’s strict “no children” policy. Sharing her story on Twitter, she posed the question about how a conference on the power of women and girls could simultaneously not be for working moms. A big kudos to the TEDWomen team for “failing forward” and responding honestly and transparently to the issue.

The theme of this year’s TEDWomen conference was “Momentum” – and whether it was having the opportunity to interact with the incredible women in attendance, marvel at the incredible talent of the musicians, singers and poets who performed, or laugh, cry and cheer with the speakers on stage, it is clear that when it comes to the power of women and girls to change the world, we really do have momentum.