A Money + Meaning Podcast with the SOCAP Global Team
What can you expect at SOCAP24? Three full days of networking and learning infused with the spirit of community, the power of connection, and the magic of serendipity — all with the goal of facilitating capital flow for impact. As the largest event in global impact, SOCAP24 will draw entrepreneurs, investors, large financial institutions, and others from around the globe ready to catalyze systemic change.
In a new episode of the Money + Meaning podcast, members of the SOCAP Global team share a look at what’s in store at SOCAP24, October 28 to 30 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco:
- Robert Munson, President
- Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter, Executive Director of Strategy & Content
- Nicole Lasasso, Senior Content Manager
- Amanda Lee, Vice President of Programming & Events
- Tova Lobatz, Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships
- Sarah Sterling, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship
“We’re a community that gathers together once a year, but we also have a lot of other points of collaboration throughout the year, including through the SOCAP Fellowship Program and with our partners,” Munson says. “This community is unique. It is broad, it is vast and it is global. One of the most valuable things all of us get from conferences is those opportunities for networking, those serendipitous meetings that SOCAP is so famous for.”
Learn more about opportunities for connection, the SOCAP24 agenda, and other insights about this year’s event in the excerpts below and by listening to the recording.
Digging Deeper for Meaningful Action on Systemic Change
Arevalo-Carpenter says the overarching goal of the SOCAP24 agenda is content that serves the community and encourages the flow of capital for impact. “When we’re thinking about what it is that makes capital flow, it’s a combination of things. One is trust and community building,” she says. To that end, SOCAP24 will feature more workshops and intentional networking sessions, encouraging people to connect over a shared sense of purpose.
She says another key goal is to build knowledge about innovations and solutions to global challenges. The agenda offers eight content tracks that encourage attendees to explore so they encounter new people and voices. Plenary sessions will offer inspiration aligned with the theme of systemic change. “We want to dig deeper into what systems change means … and really understand how people are rolling up their sleeves and investing along systemic thinking,” Arevalo-Carpenter says.
Lasasso notes that content is curated to reflect the geographical range of attendees as well as the SOCAP team, which stretches from Ecuador to Guatemala to Montana and points between. “We definitely want to live up to the ‘global’ in the SOCAP Global name,” she says. This year, 100 sessions will include content sourced from the community via SOCAP Open, through the work of content curation councils, and created with SOCAP partners. She recommends that attendees prepare before the event by logging in to the Brella app, updating their profile information, interacting with others, and exploring the agenda and event space.
The SOCAP24 schedule is designed with time for serendipity as well as purpose, Lee says. The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts space presents unique opportunities for both, including Brella group meetings in the garden, intentional networking sessions in the Blue Cube, and delegate-led sessions in the lounge. “We re-envision the event annually to increase accessibility, networking, and deal flow opportunities,” Lee says. “I do suggest leaving time for those kismet connections … and embracing the magic of meeting an invaluable stranger.”
Creating Genuine Connections for Funders, Founders, and Others
Connections and meetings are at the heart of the SOCAP Fellowship Program, which has evolved to include underrepresented founders and fund managers this year. Sterling says the program includes a series of sessions leading up to SOCAP24 on topics such as impact measurement, investment readiness, and storytelling so participants can make the most of their time at the event.
“We’re having fund managers and entrepreneurs actually having discussions around impact measurement and team leadership considerations and storytelling,” Sterling says. “Our goal at SOCAP always is how do we create more … genuine human connections between members of our community, and a big part of that is the flow of capital,” Sterling says.
Partner sessions at SOCAP24 will include opportunities for funder matches, Lobatz says. These include an investor showcase for underrepresented general partners and a lounge for Indigenous changemakers. Other partner sessions will focus on place-based investing, the risks and rewards of the carbon market, and catalytic capital to foster systemic impact.
Explore some of the relevant and topical SOCAP24 sessions co-curated with our partners that our team is looking forward to:
- Career Education: Investing in Early-Stage Companies and Diverse Leaders, in partnership with American Student Assistance (ASA)
- Accelerating Community Investment: Strategies for Place-Based Capital Deployment, in partnership with Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
- Is VC Eating Impact’s Lunch? Fueling Responsible Tech Investment, in partnership with Siegel Family Endowment
- Funder Showcase, presented by MassMutual and JPMorganChase
- Offense and Defense: Strategies for Advancing Equity, in partnership with U.S. News & World Report
- 2024 Social Enterprise Ignite Talk, in partnership with Miller Center
- Ownership Pathways to Building Wealth, in partnership with Prudential
- Unlocking Maximum Impact: A Roadmap to 100% Mission-Aligned Investing at a Global Social Enterprise, in partnership with World Education Services (WES)
- Building Power in Place: Culture-Centered Local Investments, in partnership with ImpactPHLl
- Investing in Ecosystem-level Impact, in partnership with Skoll
- The Role of Catalytic Capital in Fostering Systemic Impact, in partnership with MacArthur Foundation
- Investing for Equity in Web3: Democratizing Access to Opportunity for All, in partnership with W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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