The past decade of growth in the Impact Investing movement has been impressive. More investors, entrepreneurs, corporations, foundations and nonprofits are investing with the intention of generating both financial and social return than ever before. As the field has expanded, we’ve built a series of tools like the Short Guide to Impact Investing and the 10-year Interactive Timeline to provide information, learnings and insights to those inside the movement as well as those looking to “stick their toe” into Impact Investing.
And others have joined us, with many taking to podcasts to give investors a window into the ins and outs of Impact Investing by showcasing conversations with professionals and leaders in the field. Here’s a rundown of some of our favorites:
Stanford Social Innovation Review Podcast features lectures and talks by leaders in the social change movement. These leaders come from all places and walks of life, but they have one thing in common: they are dedicated to using their businesses and crafts to make a social impact. By telling their own stories, these leaders are able to inspire the listeners to embark on a social impact journey of their own.
Beyond Reports is a monthly podcast that discusses the latest news in the world of sustainability. It features interviews with experts such as Amanda Feldman, Director of the Impact Management Project and Caroline Rees, President of Shift, the leading center of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This podcast will bring you the latest on global sustainability from experts in the GRI global community.
Returns on Investment is a podcast from ImpactAlpha. The brief episodes give you the opportunity to quickly learn from leading impact investors. The short tid-bits are a perfect coffee break activity if you’re looking to delve into Impact Investing. The episodes are light, conversational and put things in layman’s terms so anyone can listen in and learn something new.
Next Economy Now, produced by impact consulting firm LIFT Economy, the podcast features pioneering individuals and leaders who are working to use business as a force for good. Highlighting people such as Rose Marcario of Patagonia, John Fullerton of Capital Institute, and Rha Goddess of Move the Crowd, this podcast interviews leaders in a conversational atmosphere that gives them a platform to present how they are working to make a change and how you too can get involved in Impact Investing.
Investing in Impact is a short podcast series produced by The Fletcher Social Investment Group, a student-run organization committed to the study and practice of Impact Investing This group gives students and young entrepreneurs advisory services and information that makes Impact Investing accessible to them. This podcast is an extension of those services that dives deep into the practices of their featured guests, which include investors, organizations, and beneficiaries. Some of these guests include Yigal Kerszenbaum, Senior Program Associate for PRI of The Rockefeller Foundation and Mitchell Strauss, the Special Advisor for Socially Responsible Investment Finance.
The Impact Investing Podcast includes interviews and conversations with leaders in the Impact Investing movement to help build a community of new investors. By interviewing leaders in Impact Investing, it gives listeners an idea of how to begin and how to delve into socially responsible investing themselves. This podcast takes the larger idea of Impact Investing and boils it down to accessible and understandable information for listeners.
The SRIESG Podcast features relatively short episodes that give how-tos on the ins and outs of Impact Investing and socially responsible investing. The host, Bill Holliday, candidly and casually speaks about how you can make an impact in the world with your capital. Holliday highlights a range of topics that make it easy for readers to find their interest area.
Impact on Record is hosted by three Yale students who are interested in educating the public, and especially young adults, about Impact Investing. When encountered with confusion from their peers, Kodjo Adovor, Jenny Chan, and Kristina Whyte created Impact on Record in order to bring Impact Investing to the mainstream. The podcast features interviews with experts in the field who go through the logistics of Impact Investing and make it easy for listeners to learn how they can get involved.
Social Entrepreneur Podcast is hosted former Fortune 500 executive Tony Loyd. He invites changemakers on the show to spotlight individuals who are investing in impactful causes through their own businesses. He makes a point to invite underrepresented voices on the podcast in order to make Impact Investing accessible to everyone. The podcasts consists of cheerful and lively conversations with small business owners that give people a thorough idea of how they can get into Impact Investing. Some of these changemakers include Alicia Wallace of All Across Africa, Junita Flowers of Junita’s Jar, and Aine Mulloy of GirlCrew.
More Than Money focuses on how people can use their conscience to guide their investing. Host Dawn Carpenter created the podcast in order to bring her doctoral research on the responsibilities of wealth to the public. The podcast encourages listeners to use their ethics and values in order to inform investments. Carpenter presents Impact Investing as an alternative approach to asset management through interviews with leading impact investors.
Financing Social Entrepreneurs is a weekly podcast that interviews social innovation leaders like grant providers, impact investors, foundations and even independent individuals. These people share their backgrounds, how they got into their business, their successes, and failures. All this information gives the listener a well rounded image of what Impact Investing looks like, as well as how they can get involved.
The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business hosts a series of podcasts that present the idea of responsible investing that creates a social impact. The different podcasts come together to give the listener a well rounded image of the world of Impact Investing, featuring leaders from the Gates Foundation, the Wharton Social Impact Initiatives and more Impact Investing Leaders. The lively conversations emphasize the importance of using business and investing as a source for good.
Money + Meaning is a new podcast launched by SOCAP hosted by their own Linsday Smalling and Liz Maxwell. This podcast aims to widen the conversation around Impact Investing and the strategies to stimulating social change through finance and partnerships. They come out with new episodes each week filled with relevant and up to date information on Impact Investing today.
The CDC Podcast launched by Development Finance and the CDC, UK’s development finance institution, brings you discussions on the role of development finance firms in the fight against poverty. The podcasts features experts such as Philippe Le Houerou, the CEO of International Finance Corporation and Sir Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The Bottom Line, hosted by Drucker Institute’s Rick Wartzman, highlights companies that are advancing social progress. The podcast features conversations with top executives who give insights as to how their companies are fighting against the world’s most pressing problems. Some of these experts include Deloitte Consulting’s U.S. Human Capital leader Erica Volina, as well as Tim O’Reilly, CEO of O’Reilly Media. The conversations with leading changemakers in the world of business will give you the foundation you need to dive headfirst into the Impact Investing world.
We hope these podcasts will help you learn how you can change the the world and invest with impact. Check out our Impact Investing page for more information on the field and to learn how people are joining the movement. Have any other Impact Investing podcasts you think we should keep on our radar? Tweet us @CaseFoundation.
Lisa Hall, Senior Fellow at both the Case Foundation and the Beeck Center, and Monica Pizzo, an intern at the Case Foundation, contributed to this article.