Connecting Visionary Founders and Funders to Drive Lasting Impact
As our global ecosystems strive for systemic change, SOCAP25 (taking place October 27 to 29, 2025, in San Francisco) stands as a critical nexus where capital meets impact. The SOCAP Fellowship Program, SOCAP’s flagship initiative, continues to bridge visionary social entrepreneurs with catalytic funders, spotlighting and connecting underrepresented fund managers with LPs and potential investment opportunities. Learn more about the many ways SOCAP25 facilitates deal flow for impact and how you can get involved below — and be sure you’re registered to participate in all SOCAP25 has to offer!
A Powerful Blueprint to Unlock Capital for Impact
SOCAP’s Fellowship model demonstrates a powerful blueprint to unlock capital for impact by:
- Empowering founders with visibility, investor access, mentorship, and narrative tools.
- Enabling funders to discover curated deal flow that aligns with their impact goals.
- Designing programming and networking formats that ensure follow-through and deepen momentum.
Through the Fellowship Program, SOCAP provides a roadmap for capital and care to converge, propelling mission-driven and investment-ready ventures and funds toward scalable, equitable impact. This year, SOCAP has curated a dynamic ecosystem featuring four standout cohorts. These cohorts will converge across virtual and in-person programming designed to spark connections, surface deal flow, and ignite lasting collaborations:
- SOCAP Global Fellows: SOCAP’s curated cohort of impact-focused ventures features 10 investment‑ready, for‑profit ventures, selected from hundreds of applications and representing more than 12 countries. Meet the cohort here.
- Cartier Women’s Initiative Cohort: Returning for its third year, this cohort of 10 female-led impact ventures will showcase on October 27 at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, spotlighting the powerful intersection of gender and social innovation. See the cohort here.
- Miller Center for Global Impact Cohort: A multi-year partner of SOCAP, these entrepreneurs will be featured in the Miller Center showcase at SOCAP25 on October 27, sharing their origin stories that led them to be the impact leaders they are today. See their cohort here.
- Wells Fargo Fund Manager Cohort: Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation focus their philanthropy on housing access and affordability, small business growth, and financial opportunity. Their most recent grant program, Open for Business Growth, seeks to get affordable capital to growth-ready small businesses so that they can increase revenue, scale operations, and ultimately expand community impact. Grantees include capital entrepreneurs and the organizations that strengthen them by providing capital, expertise, and access to networks so that they can build enduring firms. At SOCAP25, gain insights from some of the most innovative and impactful funds as they share their funding goals and strategies.
Empowered Matchmaking + Curated Convening = Real Impact
SOCAP25 is engineered to go beyond conversation with programming designed to maximize interaction, intention, and results:
- Intentional Virtual Cohort Programming: All Fellowship participants (Global, Cartier, Miller Center) engage in peer-building and virtual learning, followed by in-person showcases and curated introductions with funders at SOCAP25.
- Curated Connections Process: A personalized matchmaking system that connects entrepreneurs and fund managers with targeted investors and partners — ensuring meetings are scheduled before arriving at SOCAP.
- Capital Connections Day: A dedicated day at SOCAP25 for curated meetings between entrepreneurs, funders, and intermediaries — designed to spark deal flow, deepen investor-founder relationships, and accelerate capital deployment for impact.
- Fund Manager Matchmaking at Scale: Building on prior innovations such as the Toniic Investment Matching tool (piloted in 2024), SOCAP25 brings a robust Inclusive Capital Exchange (ICX) and dedicated LP <> GP networking session. This is aimed at aligning investment theses with venture needs and ensuring downstream momentum.
Event App That Builds Relationships
AI-powered matchmaking tool: This feature is available to all attendees within the SOCAP25 event app, powered by Brella. When you join the app before the event, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that will connect you with other attendees and allow you to be contacted directly in the app.
In-app meeting scheduling: The earlier you join the app, the more likely you are to secure a meeting with the people you want to meet. Dedicated meeting spaces will be available in multiple on-campus locations, and you can invite one or more people in Brella to schedule a timeslot. Additionally, if you are interested in meeting someone who hasn’t joined Brella yet, you can tag them, and you will receive a notification when they join.
Downloadable attendee list: SOCAP25 attendees can download a spreadsheet version of the attendee list, which includes LinkedIn profiles for those who provided their LinkedIn information during registration. This feature is located at the bottom of the left menu within the Brella app.
Agenda Featuring Built-in Networking Opportunities
More time to connect: The SOCAP25 agenda allows time for deep community-building and one-on-one time. This year, the schedule also includes dedicated space for onsite networking throughout each day of the event, extended two-hour lunch breaks, and reserved time after each session to engage with fellow attendees.
Intentional Connections sessions: Attendees are invited to connect with others who share their interests, guided by professional facilitators who will lead each session’s group toward deeper collaborations. The “SOCAP Newcomer” session will welcome first-time attendees and support them in building connections and navigating the conference with confidence, particularly for those seeking to fundraise, invest, or collaborate. Additionally, participants traveling from Asia, Africa, or Latin America can join regional meet-up sessions.
Dedicated sessions and networking events: Specifically designed to connect investors with promising ventures, these include interactive workshops on investment strategies, impact measurement and storytelling, matchmaking opportunities, and in-person panel discussions featuring leading impact investors.
Don’t miss your chance to participate in all SOCAP25 has to offer! Register here.
