How SOCAP24 Facilitates Deal Flow for Impact

Accelerating the Movement of Capital to Advance Our Collective Mission

SOCAP Global is committed to driving positive social and environmental change and building a more sustainable future, in large part by prioritizing deal flow for impact and creating a dynamic space for investment and collaboration. Our efforts focus on how we can better connect and increase the flow of capital to funders, and from funders to founders. The new connections attendees make at our annual in-person event are critical to advancing our and our participants’ missions.

The two sides of the funding ecosystem come together virtually and in-person at SOCAP24 in dozens of ways, including programming developed out of feedback from funders and entrepreneurs as well as collaborations with several of our partners to facilitate matchmaking and present both entrepreneur and investor cohorts. Through networking sessions, matchmaking services, pitch sessions, and other programming, SOCAP24 and partner collaborations offer more opportunities to directly connect all sides of the funding ecosystem than ever before.

Learn more about how to make the most of the ways SOCAP24 facilitates deal flow for impact below — and be sure you’re registered to participate in all SOCAP24 has to offer!

Entrepreneur and Investor Showcases, Cohorts, and Sessions

Opportunities to meet investment-ready ventures: SOCAP Global carefully selects a diverse range of investment-ready ventures to showcase at the conference through our SOCAP Fellowship Program. Cartier Women’s Initiative, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Microsoft, and Summit Impacthave partnered with the SOCAP Fellowship Program to present entrepreneur cohorts at SOCAP24 alongside the SOCAP24 Fellows. Founders will be featured in pitch sessions and can be directly contacted to schedule meetings to learn more. The ventures represent a variety of sectors and impact areas, providing attendees a wealth of opportunities to explore. Get to know them below:

Opportunities to meet fundraising GPs: SOCAP24 will showcase two in-person opportunities to connect with fund managers attending our in-person event through our Fellowship Program partnerships.

Our Funder Showcase, brought to us by MassMutual and JPMorganChase, will feature their cohorts of fund managers and give them space to present on our Main Stage about their fundraising goals and impact. The Funder Showcase will take place on October 28 at 3:00 p.m. at the YBCA Blue Shield Theater.

Through our partnership with the Marguerite Casey Foundation, we will have, for the first time ever at SOCAP, a session dedicated to connecting funders and founders together through sharing personal stories of their impact and goals in facilitated storytelling circles. This session will also feature our SOCAP Global Fellows and the Summit Impact entrepreneurs. The Fundraising Through Story session will take place on Tuesday, October 29, at 5:00 p.m. in Goldman Hall, Contemporary Jewish Museum. Get to know the fund managers here.

Virtual and in-person cohort programming to build community on both sides of the table: The 2024 entrepreneur and investor cohorts will participate in virtual sessions connecting both sides of the table as part of our SOCAP Fellowship Program. This marks the first year SOCAP has partnered to provide virtual engagement and community-building between entrepreneurs and funders before the in-person event.

Facilitated Matchmaking to Drive Deal Flow

Toniic matchmaking: Through SOCAP’s partnership with Toniic in 2024, Toniic will provide its investment matching technology to help investors at the SOCAP24 conference identify investment opportunities aligned with their impact themes of interest among the SOCAP Global Fellows and Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellows. Registered investors who are attending SOCAP24 can sign up to receive curated matches. To sign up for the Investment Matching Program, register for SOCAP24 and select this option: “For accredited investors only – Would you like to learn more about opportunities to provide funding to the entrepreneurs in our SOCAP24 Entrepreneur Program?” You will receive an email with the SOCAP Fellow company summaries according to your desired themes of interest before the event. This program comes at no added costs to investors. Learn more about this program here.

Inclusive Capital Exchange: SOCAP has partnered with New Majority Capital, Common Future, Roanhorse Consulting, and Armillaria to bring a new offering to SOCAP24 attendees — the Inclusive Capital Exchange (ICX). The ICX consortium is a group of dedicated change-makers in the impact investing space committed to transparency and the flow of capital for impact. Emerging fund managers who are currently raising a fund I, II, or III, and LPs, foundation investment officers, or asset managers who are currently allocating funds are invited to participate. Registered attendees can fill out a form to receive a set of matches to connect with directly — there will also be a “speed-dating” session at SOCAP24 where participants can meet their matches! Learn more about this program and how to participate here.

Event App That Builds Relationships

AI-powered matchmaking tool: This feature is available to all attendees within the Brella SOCAP24 event app! When you join the app before the event, you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire that will connect you to chat with other attendees and be contacted directly in the app.

In-app meeting scheduling: The earlier you join the Brella app, the more likely you are to secure a meeting with the people you want to meet (schedules can fill up quickly!). 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. Also, if you are interested in meeting someone who has not joined Brella yet, you can tag them, and you will get a notification when they join.

Downloadable attendees list: SOCAP24 attendees can download a spreadsheet version of the attendee list, with LinkedIn profiles for those who filled out this field during registration. This feature is located at the bottom of the left menu within the Brella app.

“Spaces” and discussion boards: Within the app’s “Meeting Spaces” section, we have three discussion walls—general, after-hours activities, and travel and lodging (for example, for someone seeking a rideshare). There will be additional in-app discussion boards where all attendees (even those who do not fill out the questionnaire) can participate.

We are introducing a ‘SOCAP Newcomer’ session to welcome first-time attendees and support them in building connections and navigating the conference with confidence!

Agenda Featuring Direct-Connection Opportunities

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.

More time to connect: By reducing the number of sessions by 10% this year, attendees have increased on-campus opportunities for meetings, serendipitous encounters, and 1:1 conversations to deepen relationships.

Intentional Connections sessions: Attendees are invited to connect with others who share their interests with the guidance of professional facilitators, who will guide each session’s group toward deeper collaborations. This year, for example, we are introducing a “SOCAP Newcomer” session, to welcome first-time attendees and support them in building connections and navigating the conference with confidence, particularly, for those who are looking to fundraise, invest or collaborate. Participants traveling from Asia, Africa, or Latin America will also be invited to join our regional meet-up sessions early in the conference agenda, to ensure our global community gets a chance to connect and collaborate to make the most out of SOCAP together.