Congratulations to Lisa Hall!

Many congratulations to Lisa Hall, Tides board member and CEO of the Calvert Foundation, for her recognition by Good Business New York as one of the Leading Women in 2012. Lisa was recognized for her work with the Calvert Foundation to help improve the lives of women world-wide, and specifically for her stewardship of WIn WIN: The Women Investing in Women Initiative. Excerpts from the Good Business New York Leading Women press release about the award and Lisa's work are below.

Love and Intellect in Social Change Leadership

Social innovation is a tool, but tools don’t build or fix things. People do. This idea was explored in the first post in this series, which illustrated that despite social innovation’swidely trumpeted potential to solve the world’s problems, it simply can’t. Meaningful and lasting solutions come from

Social Innovation Won’t Save the World

David Bornstein in the NY Times Fixes column recently referred to social innovation as part of a “breakthrough – maybe even a new Enlightenment.” He believes it is creating new and lasting change that is unprecedented in the social sector. But, social innovation faces an undeniable limitation: it is merely a tool. And, like any tool, its impact is determined by the vision of those who use it. Great architecture isn’t created by hammers. It’s created by architects and carpenters with highly developed vision.

Total Portfolio Activation - A Framework for Creating Social and Environmental Impact across Asset Classes

Tides and Trillium Asset Management, LLC (Trillium)  announce today the publication of a new white paper, Total Portfolio Activation - A Framework for Creating Social and Environmental Impact across Asset Classes.

Dispatches from the Field | Impact Investing 101 in Asia

On the heels of a week-long trip to India and subsequent Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX) conference in Singapore, I returned to San Francisco inspired by extraordinary change agents who are actively building the field of impact investing. From social entrepreneurs to nonprofit leaders to activists, the grit with which these innovators are tackling poverty via market-driven solutions to health, education, and employment is truly remarkable—and offers lessons for early US efforts as well.

Ultimate Impact: Unifying an Investment Portfolio Within a Donor-Advised Fund

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) have grown in use over recent decades, serving as the core philanthropic vehicle for community and public foundations and, more recently, being offered through commercial investment firms as a philanthropic option for clients. When linked with an impact investing strategy, the DAF may serve as a unique, focused asset management vehicle for creating a unified portfolio generating financial performance with social and environmental impacts. This Issue Brief introduces the concept and structure of DAFs and explores their potential as impact investing vehicles. The DAF as a core component of a unified investment approach is explored together with discussion of why DAFs are especially suited to impact investing. The potential for DAFs to expand options for impact investors is discussed along with possible barriers to their introduction

Jalia Ventures Launches Impact America at CGI America

View Commitment: CGI America Sustainable Finance Panel

New York, NY, June 12, 2012. Jalia Ventures, which makes early stage investments in mission-driven minority entrepreneurs, announced the launch of a business training and incubation initiative on June 8, 2012 as part of a Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative America Conference. Jalia Ventures is launching Impact America HBCU Venture Catalyst, a capacity-building initiative that will grow awareness of social and environmental issues, while providing...

Program Related Investments: Changing Business as Usual for Philanthropy

Last week Tides attended the Mission Impact conference in Seattle, to continue to explore the best way to leverage program-related investments in Tides’ signature MRI Pooled Fund, and to learn more about the changes afoot in the philanthropic investors community. At the conference, More for Mission and PRI Makers Network announced they have joined forces to become Mission Investors Exchange, an organization dedicated to helping philanthropic investors increase the impact of their capital.

Giving ‘til It Heals – Won’t You Be A High Impact Contributor?

It is clear that the challenges facing poor communities at home and abroad are formidable, but the strategies for success are within reach. Tides has long recognized a visionary approach to philanthropy. What is often missing is an intimate understanding of the motivations of donors and the means to turn philanthropic intention to strategic and sustainable community support. This year alone Tides has already launched two impact focused initiatives – Civic Participation Fund and (Ad)venture Philanthropy. Our goal is to re-ignite the spirit of social change giving and philanthropy at home and abroad through donor education and the creation of linkages among this growing community of well-intentioned, and potentially high-impact givers.

Dispatches from the Field | Silicon Valley, Meet Silicon Savannah

For the past week, I have participated on a learning journey in Kenya organized by London-based Leaders’ Quest on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation. Twenty leaders from around the world joined the Quest to explore opportunities for impact investing in Africa. Participants include such diverse individuals as the domestic investment manager of China’s sovereign wealth fund, the Chairman of UK-based Sustainability, the CFO of the Rockefeller Foundation, the CEO of Bangalore-based Rural Shores, and many more.