Earlier this spring, SOCAP announced its newest initiative, the Good Capital Project (GCP), the next step in bringing impact investment into the mainstream. Through a design thinking process, the GCP will convene all constituents to drive greater collaboration, partnerships and accelerate capital flows into purpose-driven investments.
The format of the day will include plenary sessions, break out design sessions where smaller groups will collaborate to further define strategies and goals on specific issues of relevance to them, and presentations by the individual teams on the work they accomplished together. Each working group will have a facilitator to guide them through the creative process.
The launch event is less than six weeks away and is gaining momentum. Here are five reasons why the GCP is the right event for this challenge and why now is the time for this event:
- Because there is huge demand for investments that offer a social impact. From the customers of big financial institutions, family offices, institutional investors, and retail investors, there is a rapidly growing demand for investments that deliver a positive social and environmental impact. Over the last decade, the sustainable, responsible and impact industry has gained critical momentum and the US market size has grown from less than $1 trillion in 1995 to over $8.7 trillion in 2016.
- Because it is time to create a truly collaborative way for industry practitioners to join forces to drive the future of impact investing. This includes international development organizations, leading financial institutions, institutional investors, academic, foundations, and impact communities. We need to bridge the silos to accelerate the flow of capital to social good in order to solve the world’s toughest challenges through market-based solutions.
- Because these leaders and pioneers in the Impact Space will be there making it happen: Jed Emerson, Blended Value; Brian Trelstad, Bridges Fund Management; Debra Schwartz, MacArthur Foundation; Jim Sorenson, Sorenson Impact; Gil Crawford, Microvest; Tim Freundlich, Impact Assets; Tracy Palandjian, CEO of Social Finance; Bradley Busetto, UNDP; Rodney Foxworth, Invested Impact; Jessica Norwood, Runway Project; Craig Pfeiffer, Money Management Institute, Astrid Schulz, Sphaera; Martin Whittaker, Just Capital plus many more!
- Because SOCAP is the leading trusted convener and thought leader in the impact investing space. The GCP is brought to you by SOCAP, the leading gathering of impact investors and social enterprises in the world. Over the last 10 years, SOCAP has convened more than 15,000 impact investors, world-class entrepreneurs, and innovative cross-sector practitioners. SOCAP created the GCP to lead the next ten years of innovation and maturation in the social capital markets.
- Because this is not a typical business conference. The GCP is an interactive, engaging design session with world class facilitators. The goal is to work together to explore, discuss, define and design the future of impact investing. We want your voice at the table.
The Good Capital Project will be a much smaller and more intimate event and tickets are selling quickly. Click here to reserve your spot before ticket prices increase on May 12th and again on June 9th.
What Our Partners are Saying About the GCP?
In the lead up to the June 19th launch event we have been interviewing key pioneers and leaders in the impact space who have partnered with us Good Capital Project. Here are a few words they have shared with us about their excitement and expectations for the GCP:
“The idea of Good Capital is really an evolutionary jump, saying look, let’s bring the key stakeholders not only from capital deployment, but also from measurement and from capacity development, and include a strong international voice. From a practice standpoint, let’s talk through how we move beyond the wonderful, but siloed efforts into more coordinated efforts in the impact sector.”
–John Kohler,Sr. Director of Impact Capital at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
“Any movement that has ever been successful in changing behavior over time has been collaborative instead of competitive. We need people from every single background, way of thinking, business model. You need them all. The only way we’re going to get there is to collaborate because there’s too much to be done.”
–Gloria Nelund, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of TriLinc Global
“I would ultimately like to see greater awareness and education available on impact investing…where people understand what impact investing is and want to become engaged–believe in it and become passionate about it. That is the opportunity that I see the Good Capital Project helping to facilitate.”
–James Lee “Jim” Sorenson, recognized leader in impact investing and the Chairman of the Sorenson Impact Foundation
“The need to scale is the number one problem in impact right now. I think the sophistication of what The Good Capital Project is trying to do is to figure out how to bring the constituencies around with the financial people who know how to scale.”
–Jolyne Caruso, Founder and CEO of The Alberleen Group
“The Good Capital Project doesn’t demand that everybody speak the same language–we want to be a Rosetta Stone. Capital comes in different cultures and flavors. We want everyone to be able to speak their own language, but we need to know how to coordinate to accelerate the capital flow to good.”
–Kevin Jones, Co-founder and Convener of Social Capital Markets and co-creator of The GCP
“I’m most excited about the Good Capital Project helping SOCAP turbocharge its potential to become a driving force in the field of impact investing where the most relevant conversations about the field’s current practice and its future direction are held.”
–Brian Trelstad, partner at Bridges Fund Management
