What is the True Potential of
Global Impact Investing?

San Francisco - July 24th - RSVP Now

Only 13 years after the term “impact investing” emerged, investments from alternative sources now add up to over $502 billion in assets under management. These funds are more critical than ever to the enterprises and nonprofits who are devoted to social justice and reshaping industries and communities. For example:

Starting in the 1980s, RSF Social Finance started with socially responsible investments into community schools and now has $225 million under management supporting social entrepreneurs working in agriculture, education, and the arts.

Four years ago, a few budding venture capitalists who graduated from UC Berkeley started the House Fund, a $6 million venture fund to exclusively support students, faculty, and alumni of the school.

Last year, TechSoup pioneered a Direct Public Offering that allows nearly anyone in the US to invest in TechSoup, receive a financial benefit, and help TechSoup grow its capacity to deliver needed resources to civil society worldwide. To date TechSoup has already raised nearly $8 million in impact investments from stakeholders investing as little as $50.

However, there are legitimate critiques to impact investing that are worthy of debate:

What solutions can enrich the poor and generate market returns for investors?
How can impact investing succeed in market failure situations?
Does impact investing shift organizations’ focus from impact to revenue to repay loans? How does that affect their ability to deliver on their mission?
Does the idea of making money instead of donating it weaken or enhance philanthropy?

And most importantly, impact investing doesn’t change the underlying economic and power imbalances that marginalized and impoverished people from the start. Does impact investing exacerbate power imbalances?

What conditions must be in place for success in shifting a community’s focus from free-to-constituent government services to private sector solutions that expect an ongoing economic exchange from constituents?

Please RSVP now for a lively discussion led by these thought leaders and informed by your input:

Kim Arnone, Vice President, Cutting Edge Capital
Jeremy Fiance, Founder, The House Fund
Ken Tsunoda, VP of Development, TechSoup

Please RSVP now to join international impact investors, venture capitalists, and nonprofit leaders to cover questions like:

What is the current state of play for impact investing?
How can we leverage impact investing to increase our impact?
Where are the opportunities and challenges in pleasing investors?
Who is innovating and what are they learning?

We’ll have coffee and breakfast treats for a morning rush, but seating is limited to ensure an intimate discussion. Be sure to RSVP quickly. Once we reach our 35- person capacity there will be a waiting list!

Impact Investing
San Francisco Technology Salon
8:30 - 10:30 am - Discussion Begins at 9:00
Wednesday, July 24th, 2019
TechSoup Headquarters
435 Brannan Street, San Francisco CA
RSVP is required for attendance

This TechSalon is possible thanks to the support of the Vodafone Americas Foundation.The San Francisco Bay Area Technology Salon is managed by the international nonprofit Inveneo.

About the Technology Salon

The Technology Salon™ is an intimate, informal, and in person, discussion between information and communication technology experts and international development professionals, with a focus on both:

technology's impact on donor-sponsored technical assistance delivery, and
private enterprise driven economic development, facilitated by technology.

Our meetings are lively conversations, not boring presentations. Attendance is capped at 35 people - and frank participation with ideas, opinions, and predictions is actively encouraged.

It's also a great opportunity to meet others motivated to employ technology to solve vexing development problems. Join us today!

What is the True Potential of Global Impact Investing?

About the Technology Salon

What is the True Potential of
Global Impact Investing?