Money + Meaning

In this episode of Money + Meaning, Advantage Capital Managing Director Ryan Brennan discusses how the firm continues to evolve its practices and expand its reach. His conversation with Nzinga Broussard of Sorenson Impact Institute was recorded live at SOCAP23. With a portfolio that includes more than $4 billion invested over more than 30 years, Advantage Capital demonstrates how investing can cre...

As the global impact community evolves and expands, so does SOCAP Global’s annual flagship conference. One key element is SOCAP Open, which invites the impact community to submit session proposals and brings new voices and differing perspectives to SOCAP. SOCAP Open offers individuals and organizations the chance to showcase innovative ideas, delve into impactful solutions, and open conversations...

A new Money + Meaning podcast episode features a SOCAP23 session exploring innovative funding models that go beyond equity and debt. Three fund managers share their capital solutions designed to better meet the financial needs of many entrepreneurs, especially founders, who often are overlooked in traditional funding markets. 

A Canadian social finance firm is demonstrating the value of a community-driven outcomes tool for positive impact. With a focus on revitalizing Indigenous economies, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is partnering with communities to address social and environmental challenges and expand access to capital. Their innovative financial projects and products include Raven’s Indigenous Outcomes Fund an...

This Money + Meaning podcast features a SOCAP23 panel moderated by Enable Ventures Founder Regina Kline. During the “Closing the Disability Wealth Gap” dialogue, Kline spoke with entrepreneurs from four catalytic, impactful, high-growth startups who are leading the charge in technical innovations specifically for the disability sector. In this conversation, they are joined by customers and end use...

On the final day of SOCAP23, three Content Curation Council members gathered to discuss highlights and insights from the event and take a look at what’s ahead. Matthew Bishop, Senior Fellow at Sorenson Impact Institute, moderated the discussion with social impact leaders Andia Chakava of Afrishela, Morgan Simon of Candide Group, and María Carolina Suarez Visbal of Latimpacto. As Content Curation C...

With a record of strong growth over the last decade, the impact investing field has the opportunity to lead in new ways and build on that promise by attracting new investors, organizations, and partnerships for action to drive and amplify positive change. That’s part of the message that Jim Sorenson, Founder of the Sorenson Impact Foundation, shares with Robert Munson, President of SOCAP Global, i...

By embracing a broader view of impact and community from the start, the people who helped found and nurture SOCAP built a strong foundation for an event that continues to grow and connect global changemakers. From the first SOCAP conference in 2008 to the upcoming SOCAP23, the behind-the-stage leadership shares a passion for building the impact community while creating an event to help drive actio...

In a time of growing global challenges and social divisions, the arts and culture sector presents new opportunities for connection and transformation to drive systemic change.

Technology-driven startups and entrepreneurs are crafting products and methods to reduce the food industry’s greenhouse gas footprint. As they create foods with alternative materials and innovations, they also are shaping a more resilient future for people and the planet. This episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at leaders and products from four food tech companies. They shared the stories b...

As impact investing makes a difference in communities around the world, practitioners are addressing regional challenges with innovative approaches that can inspire others. Made-in-Canada impact investing approaches to social and environmental issues get the spotlight in this Money and Meaning episode. 

This Money and Meaning episode features a powerful SOCAP22 session with Trisha Etringer, Shelley Buffalo, and Sikowis Nobiss of the Great Plains Action Society, who call for action and support to end the missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis. Pulling from their personal and professional experiences, they share how the private sector can move toward a more just and regenerative economy by re...

Entrepreneurs and investors are partnering to help improve the textile industry's social and climate impact. With innovative materials and operational changes for efficiency and transparency, they are taking aim at the 1.2 billion tons of CO2 produced annually during textile creation. This Money + Meaning episode features a discussion from SOCAP22 with fashion leaders and funders who are seizing t...

As companies face growing demands from customers, investors, employees, and regulators to improve their environmental and social impact, some are creating or adding to the job of chief sustainability officer. Through a broader scope and emphasis, this sustainability-focused role can help organizations meet new expectations and set a path toward a more resilient future.  This Money + Meaning episod...

Organizations are expanding their impact mindset to create transparent, holistic approaches that can help shape sustainable supply chains and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. In this Money + Meaning conversation, Amy Brachio, EY Global Deputy Vice Chair for Sustainability, and Imogen Rose-Smith of Confluence Partners discuss how organizations and investors are addressing social an...

This episode of Money and Meaning is a recording of a fireside chat at the 2023 Sorenson Impact Summit with Randy Shumway, Founder of Cicero Group, and Geoff Davis, CEO of Sorenson Impact. Randy discusses how his more than 20 years of volunteering with people who are experiencing homelessness have influenced Cicero Group’s consulting work for social impact with governments and foundations. And he...

This episode of Money and Meaning is a recording of an onstage conversation at SOCAP22 between Dr. Allison Boxer, Managing Director of Sorenson Impact Center, and Dr. Roslyn Artis, President and CEO of Benedict College. The college in Columbia, South Carolina, is among the highest-ranked historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, in the Southeast. Benedict College is also a partner in...

Empowering women impact entrepreneurs to reach their fullest potential and drive social and environmental change is the goal of the Cartier Women’s Initiative (CWI), which became SOCAP’s newest Entrepreneur Program partner in 2022. Through the SOCAP Entrepreneur Program, CWI fellows and other selected social entrepreneurs from around the globe gain access to SOCAP’s broad network of investors, don...

For 30 years, Advantage Capital has imagined new possibilities for impact by investing private institutional capital in businesses from traditionally underserved communities. Ryan Brennan, Managing Director at Advantage Capital, says the firm’s goal is to get funding to innovative entrepreneurs poised for growth by moving “capital to places where it doesn’t naturally go.”  Brennan is featured in t...

Biases that limit investors and support organizations are often reinforced by a lack of market visibility. One unexploited solution involves using systems data to boost the visibility of the relationships that small and growing businesses have in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in which they operate. Featured voices: Jason Eaves, CEO of Discover Markets; Adesuwa Rhodes, Founder & CEO of Aruwa Capita...

For the third year, SOCAP Global is pleased to present the State of the Field and Practice of Impact Investing. Join Fran Seegull, President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance; Monique Aiken, Managing Director or TIIP & Co-founder of Make Justice Normal; and Cathy Clark, Faculty Director at CASE at Duke to hear about the current state, emerging trends, threats and opportunities as impact invest...

For 75 years UNICEF has been supporting the well-being of children around the globe, helping to save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization. In 2011, UNICEF USA launched an impact investment fund, the Impact Fund for Children (IF4C). Since the fund’s launch, IF4C has deployed close to half a billion dollars. On this episode, Alex Kravitz is joined by the President of the Im...

On this episode, host Alex Kravitz is joined by Jasper van Brakel, the President and CEO of RSF Social Finance. Since the 1980s, RSF has been driving capital to social enterprises supporting a more just and regenerative world. As an intermediary, RSF has long supported direct relationships between transactional partners, which led to the launch of their innovative Community Pricing Gatherings in 2...

“It’s not just about what you invest in, it’s about how you invest.” In their new book ‘Letting Go’, Ben Wrobel and Meg Massey make the case that in order to effectively tackle social challenges, philanthropists and impact investors need to cede control of funding decisions to people with lived experiences of the challenges they are trying to solve. During this episode, Meg and Ben join host, Alex...

On this episode of Money and Meaning, host Alex Kravitz is joined by Shalini Rao, Director of Growth Equity at Generation Investment Management. Originally founded in 2004 by Al Gore and David Blood, Generation currently manages over $30B in assets with 100% invested in long-term, sustainable investments. The growth equity team recently closed their third Sustainable Solutions Fund with over $1B i...