Month: July 2015

Announcing a New Partnership to Support Young Social Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Case Foundation

The Case Foundation has long been a believer that entrepreneurs can change the world, and that young people have a particular set of skills and impact-oriented ambitions to build great social enterprises.

Today, we’re excited to announce our sponsorship of the Forbes $1 Million Change the World Social Entrepreneurs Competition – the largest ever competition for young social entrepreneurs.

Through our participation, we will support the most promising of the for-profit entrants into the competition with disruptive and scalable ideas who can best demonstrate how business can change the world.

Check out Jean Case’s blog announcing the competition—Searching for the Next Big Thing—for more information and to learn how you can get involved. Please share this opportunity with your networks of young changemakers far and wide!

Unleashing Entrepreneurship in Africa: Solutions for the World

Posted on by Case Foundation

At the core of the Foundation’s “Unleashing Entrepreneurship” pillar is the belief that startups—and entrepreneurial approaches—play a key role in tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’ve put that belief into practice by supporting promising initiatives that bring business to the problem-solving table and catalyze strong entrepreneurial ecosystems in the U.S. and abroad.

We’ve seen first-hand the role that a business approach can play in unleashing innovative new ideas and providing scalable models for change all over the world through a number of organizations and initiatives we’ve supported, including: the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership’s investment in entrepreneurs in the West Bank; Water for People’s efforts to leverage community-based entrepreneurs to provide access to clean water and sanitation in the developing world; and Startup America Partnership and UP Global’s development of strong entrepreneurial ecosystems. We’re also focused on building the impact investing movement, which we believe will catalyze a significant wave of new capital to companies that will not just benefit their shareholders, but society as a whole. The Foundation’s most recent exploration has been in launching an Inclusive Entrepreneurship initiative that confronts rising inequality and taps into the fuller entrepreneurial potential of communities and countries (including all backgrounds and locations) to get beyond those who traditionally have easier access to entrepreneurship and lift up women- and minority-owned businesses.

It is for all of these reasons that we are excited to participate in the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) taking place in Nairobi, Kenya later this week. We are thrilled to join the event as part of Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker’s official delegation. Our CEO, Jean Case, will moderate a panel on “Women Entrepreneurs” and will judge the GES “Women + Youth Day” seminal event—a pitch competition with financial and mentorship capital prizes. The Case Foundation is proud to contribute to both aspects of the prize pool. Steve Case, who will be participating in his capacity as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE), is moderating a panel on “Getting Ready for Growth” featuring groundbreaking entrepreneurs and investors, including fellow PAGE member Brian Chesky from Airbnb.

There is plenty of excitement over the fact that this year’s summit in Nairobi is the first GES taking place in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past few years, we’ve continued to hear about the shift from aid dollars to investment flowing to the continent, expressed by the familiar refrain that “Africa is open for business.” That is why in addition to our time at GES, we are excited to spend time in Nairobi, as well as in Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria exploring these emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems over the next few weeks.

In each city, we will have the opportunity to visit with some of the organizations we’ve supported in Africa over the years (including Sanergy in Nairobi), spend time at accelerators like the iHub, HubAccra and Co-Creation Hub and participate in panel discussions with leading African entrepreneurs and investors. We expect to learn more about the unique aspects that make each city’s entrepreneurial scene tick—from social entrepreneurs tackling challenges like energy and sanitation in Nairobi, to the fashion-savvy hub of Accra and the e-commerce revolution in Lagos.

Most of all, we are excited about spending time with the entrepreneurs—with special attention given to women entrepreneurs and social enterprises—who are at the heart of driving innovation in each of these cities. In addition to site visits with some of the continent’s fastest growing companies like M-Kopa in Nairobi, Andela and ACE in Lagos and the Cadling Fashion Factory in Accra, we will host a pitch competition in each city. A set of the most promising young startups in each region will vie for an investment prize of at least $25,000 from Jean and Steve Case, matched by local and international investors.

We can’t wait to hear the stories of these entrepreneurs who are working on game changing solutions not just for Africa, but also for the world, and sharing those stories along the way. Be sure to follow along via Twitter @CaseFoundation and #CaseAfrica, as well as via our personal Twitter handles: @AllieB, @SHerrling and @Broksas.

Celebrating Exploration with National Geographic

Posted on by Case Foundation

This post was written by Aaron Coleman on behalf of the Case Foundation:

National Geographic has celebrated explorers for more than 120 years and each year they honor these fearless individuals by sharing their stories during Explorers Week. Through a series of panels and TED-style talks, National Geographic spotlights intellectual pioneers from around the world. This June, the Case Foundation team attended the “Explorers Week: Disrupters Panel” to hear scientists and designers discuss the triumphs and failures from their explorations. The topics varied from recycling nuclear waste to constructing urban farms, and while eclectic in subject matter, the presentations emphasized the urgent need to catalyze social and scientific change.

“Create another world if you’re not happy with the one that we have,” suggested Caleb Harper, an Urban Agriculturalist and National Geographic 2015 Emerging Explorer, who is building vertical farms to address the global food crisis. His daring proposition was echoed by fellow emerging explorer Leslie Dewan, a nuclear engineer, whose company converts nuclear waste into a “resource to be tapped instead of a liability to be disposed of.” By harnessing energy from discarded nuclear waste, Dewan and her team are working to “reduce the radioactive lifetime of the nuclear waste from hundreds of thousands of years, to a few hundred years.”

Dewan calls this a transition from “a geological timescale to a human timescale.” This concept, that a society we can fix big social problems on a human timescale, is a bold shift away from the incremental change typical of social progress; it challenges us to find solutions in our lifetime.

For too long, we have believed that some problems are too big—that tough issues should be left to gradually dissolve under the tides of time, but in this void of timid and unimaginative thinking entire communities in need have languished. Persistent social problems require bold solutions. Just because you’re faced with cumbersome legal regulations and political red tape “doesn’t mean that you have to do small scale things,” said explorer Skylar Tibbits during the closing segment. Tibbits notes that “there are lots of opportunities to innovate.”

At the Case Foundation, we stand alongside Caleb, Leslie, Skylar and countless other explorers in the belief that the impossible is possible and that we must move from a “someday timeline” to a “right now” timeline. These explorers inspire the work that we do and remind us how to be fearless in our efforts to change the world.

We encourage you to get inspired by learning about National Geographic Explorers and learning how you can Be Fearless and take on a new approach to making big change.

 

Photograph by Lynn Johnson, National Geographic Photography Fellow

 

Authenticity, Relevance and the Power of Business as a Force for Good: Inspiration for the 37,000 Changemakers at MCON 2015

Posted on by Case Foundation

For the fourth consecutive year the Case Foundation proudly supported the Millennial Impact Conference, MCON2015, hosted by Achieve at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. The dynamic two-day conference, which coincided with the release of the 2015 Millennial Impact Report, featured thought leaders from companies like Upworthy, American Express, the Huffington Post, the Levi Strauss Foundation, Square, sweetgreen, Baltimore Corps, the Knight Foundation, National Geographic, Opportunity International and more. The theme for this year’s convening was “The Power of Influence” with breakout tracks exploring art, business, media and place – and their collective impact on the ways in which the Millennial generation is engaging with the world and creating change. We were also joined by Reena Ninan, of ABC News, Cody Switzer from the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Tom Davidson from PBS, as they moderated and guided the discussion throughout both days.

In Good Design: Trends Fade, Truth Remains

There were countless moments at MCON 2015 that emphasized this theme and several that stood out to our team. These included a conversation on art and design with Amy IMG_9587and Jennifer Hood from Hoodzpah Design Company and Steve Alfaro from Voto Latino. The panel identified the importance of recognizing your true mission and cutting the extra noise created by attempts at trendiness to create honest communication about a given organization. Genuine branding and imagery can be a powerful tool to help spread messages to all audiences, not just Millennials. But authenticity is key – Millennials can sniff out insincere messaging and forced trends. Hoodzpah explained that for companies to take advantage of Millennials’ inherent interest to shop for social good, they have to authentically connect their products, services or operations to a socially beneficial outcome. Otherwise this generation will fail to be impressed.

Alfaro agreed that the same degree of authenticity is a requirement for nonprofits. Design must resonate with audiences as timely, easily shareable and communicable, and the message has to be authentic.

Investing with Profit and Purpose in Mind, it’s Good Business

 Impact investing played a central role in many of the conversations at MCON, and for very good reason. Over the next four decades, the baby boomer generation will transfer $30 to $41 trillion in assets to the Millennial generation. At the same time we are witnessing the next generation’s drive to create social change now, rather than waiting until the end of their careers, and this includes starting or investing in socially conscious companies.

As Stephanie Cordes, the vice chair at the Cordes Foundation (and a Millennial) shared, 91% of consumers say they would switch products to purchase in support of a cause and millennials make up an ever-increasing proportion of these consumers. Moreover, according to Spectrem Group, 75% of Millennials now consider the social and environmental impact of the companies they invest in to be an important part of investment decision-making. Companies that closely integrate social good into their business model were featured widely at MCON, including the Fashion Project, which enables fashionistas to sell their gently used clothing and accessories online while donating a portion of proceeds back to a charity of their choice, and Miir, which gives back to charitable causes for every product it sells (ranging from bikes to backpacks to water bottles.)

Attendees also heard about the full range of impact investing opportunities from Dr. Rishi Moudgil from the University of Michigan, attended a co-fireside chat with Ellen-Blair Chube of Ariel Investments and Karen Martell of Square, and Nicholas Tedesco from J.P. Morgan discussed philanthropic engagement with millennial investors.

The notion that Millennials value the social commitments of the companies they invest in and purchase from resonated through many of these talks. The market is responding to the millennial generation’s expectation that doing good requires cross sector collaboration and greater fluidity between different market types.

Lessons from more than a Century of Doing Good

mcon photoFinally, two household names shared their insights on how their brands remain strong cultural symbols that transcend generations. Daniel Lee of the Levi Strauss Foundation (which was recently profiled by the Case Foundation in our Be Fearless Action Guide) gave a moving talk about the impact of the Levi Strauss brand since its founding in 1873. Throughout its 142 year history, the foundation has spearheaded moments of progress for civil rights throughout history. As a foundation and a corporation, Levi Strauss is not afraid to show its support for the movements that align with its values and to take necessary steps to be considered a continuously relevant brand.

The audience was noticeably excited to hear from Gary Knell, CEO of National Geographic (Nat Geo). The media company has been a cultural phenomenon and educational resource for millions of people across the globe (it is printed in 41 languages) for more than 125 years. A whopping 23 million people follow Nat Geo’s Instagram account, which serves as a powerful storytelling platform and place to share mesmerizing imagery, and as a result is regarded by Knell as one of the organization’s strongest communications tools. With its size, global reach and history, Nat Geo continues to set the bar for true, authentic storytelling. By articulating its clear values of conservation, education and inspiration and coupling them with powerful stories, told through video and photography, they show us all how an organization can build strong relationships with its audiences across generational lines. By successfully traversing many different media platforms (Nat Geo also has a noticeable presence on Snapchat, for example), while staying true to their brand, Nat Geo remains a relevant and beloved brand for audiences that range from the eldest Baby Boomers to Millennials (and younger!).

The Conference concluded with a live performance from the lead singer of O.A.R, Marc Roberge. Marc is equally known for both his musical talent and for his commitment to social good causes. He shared how his band has given back to the communities they tour across the globe, including donating a $1 from every ticket sold in some cities to local charities like the Habitat for Humanity. Check out the band on Spotify HERE.

MCON2015 was a wonderful opportunity to hear what is going right with current inter-generational relationships and highlighted the potential for millennials to truly become, as Jean Case, the Foundation’s CEO says, “the next greatest generation.” The conference gave concrete details about Millennials’ interests in blurring the lines between personal and professional lives through philanthropy and their desire to chart individual courses to civic engagement based on personal talent and passion. The Case Foundation is proud to continue our support of MCON and the Millennial Impact Report as a tool to foster understanding and engagement as millennials grow into leadership positions and begin making decisions that will further shape the futures of our nonprofit, government and corporate sectors.

Through the two days of presentations, panel discussions and Learning Labs a few themes emerged about effectively engaging Millennial audiences – the importance of authenticity in your brand and message; the power of business to be a source for good; and the significance of maintaining relevancy through generational, cultural and civil rights changes. We look forward to sharing many of the featured speakers and their videos with you over the course of the next few weeks. Be sure to follow @CaseFoundation via Twitter for a glimpse into MCON!

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