Week 6 Resources
Impact Investing Materials Relevant for You
Check out these additional suggested reading materials that will provide more interesting materials and organizations to check out.
Jenny’s Additional Resources from Workshop
Be sure to check out the additional information and resources that Jenny provided us with that is of interest to your work. There is a wealth of info that she has sent over:
https://app.gitbook.com/o/BqRViBWMROHQiSWBDe7h/s/p5i71Ba20YNl3rg6wTij/~/changes/75/weekly-overviews-and-resources/w3-developing-your-skills#skill-session-the-argument-for-sustainable-investing
Check out Week 3 if the link doesn't work for the recordings and resources section at the bottom of the page.
Additional Resources
Check out these additional suggested reading materials that will provide more interesting materials and organizations to check out.
“Of Interest” Calendar Resource
If looking for more events, resources, and communities working around and with Impact Investing - especially those in New England. Check out this “Of Interest” Resource. This is a Calendar which provides events/webinars, opportunities/resources, and more from our friend Bobbie. Thanks for organizing this resource. To share an event to be listed or to guest at a monthly meeting, contact: bobbielamont27@gmail.com
Upstream Podcast: Technofeudalism
Thought this relevant to share with you for your own learning. Former professor of mine, Della Duncan interviews Yanis Varoufakis, the former Finance Minister of Greece. Amazing to hear him track the power of money in our system over time and his thoughts on the rise of the oligarchy state and why we’re now in "Technofeudalism." It is such a relevant lecture on how the community commons have been co-opted by big tech and how the monetary system supports these corporate giants.
Technofeudalism w/ Yanis Varoufakis
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7sm1mueXe6SMj6StHKo2MZ?si=31a3fa92cc5f4744
Is capitalism over? Have we entered into a new mode of production defined by feudal relations and the technological forces of the algorithm?
What is Responsible, Sustainable, and Impact Investments
Pensions for Purpose Case Study
Reading time: 10 minutes
The slides are a useful summary of the current pension market and where impact investing sits in relation to traditional investing and philanthropy. It provides evidence to support values-based investments and gives examples of the types of equities, bonds and funds that could be included in an impact portfolio.
What the reviewer found helpful:
“The slides contain some useful case studies that emphasise the positive impact a pension fund can have without sacrificing returns” Eilidh Anderson
Additional Values Based Banking Research
The following collection of research papers and reports have been collected as suggested helpful materials from our community as a list of crowdsourced references. They look useful and worth spending some time checking out. If you take the time to read through and want to share a few of your thoughts so the next person can benefit feel free to add them to this document
Recommended Readings and Resources
Week 6 - Past Workshops
Check out these additional ways to engage with speakers and content from the space. Here are some additional past sessions that would be of use to you
Systems Change - The Cynefin Framework with Dave Snowden
The Cynefin Framework - Creating System Change through Impact Investing
Time: 11am EST, 5pm CET, midnight SGT
Host: Sandrine
Zoom Invite: https://calendar.app.google/d7z9RfCvUUXBUpVa9
🎥 Recording - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twnJTgX5xvk
Understanding complexity is vital for thriving in today’s ever-changing environments. This requires sensemaking; the ability to understand and react appropriately to different contexts. In 2021, Dave Snowden and the EU’s Science and Knowledge Service wrote a guide to managing complexity, providing tools for decision-making in complex settings. Building on this, the Cynefin Company’s agile programme offers tools for decision support, engagement, and collective sensemaking. It promotes deep, inclusive engagement and evidence-informed decision-making, useful in areas like agile development, marketing, and project management.
Join to learn about the Cynefin Framework & how it explains systems change & the work needed for real impact to happen.
The Cynefin Company (formerly known as Cognitive Edge) was founded in 2005 by Dave Snowden. They believe in praxis and focus on building methods, tools and capability that apply the wisdom from Complex Adaptive Systems theory and other scientific disciplines in social systems. They are the world leaders in developing management approaches (in society, government and industry) that empower organisations to absorb uncertainty, detect weak signals to enable sense-making in complex systems, act on the rich data, create resilience and, ultimately, thrive in a complex world.
Week 6 - More Resources - Basic Knowledge to Develop
Here are additional resources if you need them...
Impact Skills to Develop - Course Outline
EXPLORE THESE TOPICS YOURSELF TO DEVELOP SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE
Our friends sent us the following course outline. While the program is no longer running, it was designed similarly to ours. Here are some key things you might want to explore if they are of interest to you. This is a list for entrepreneurs and funders looking to make an impact investment. What do you think? Which of these items do you want to research or learn more about?
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PROGRAM SHARE YOU FEEDBACK IF WE SHOULD INCORPORATE MORE OF THESE
Key learnings from the program
How can I identify my financing needs?
Which financing instruments would fit my needs?
How do I approach and select impact investors?
Key three areas to focus on:
Financing Needs & Options
Investment Readiness
Investor Approach & Negotiation
Unit 1: Define your individual starting position
Introduced to the most common organization types, specific to the definition of social enterprises
Find out where your organization fits in best
Learn about the main types of investors in the market.
Unit 2: Understand if and how impact investment can support your mission
Understand the "18-step framework" for preparing and raising impact investment
Find out where you are on the staircase and if and how impact investment can support you in your mission
Get an overview of the entire process of raising impact investment as well as insights into the financing model (including hybrid financing) to find out if impact investment is an option to finance your scaling.
Unit 3: Find your way within the social capital markets and understand how to manage your impact
Overview of the social capital markets and the types of market actors involved
Get an explanation of what a theory of change means
Understand how the social finance ecosystem is currently structured and where you can find the relevant supporters for your organization
Receive insights about how to effectively manage and communicate your impact to stakeholders by using the “I-O-O-I” framework
Unit 4: Identify your needs and options for financing
Identify the financing needs of your organization
Understand two common legal forms of social organizations as well as introduce the concept of a “structural hybrid”
Identify your organization’s financing needs by using the cost-income profile and projecting your future cash flows
Gain an important understanding of the basic interdependencies between legal forms and options for financing
Receive insights into hybrid models and how they may help social enterprises to find a tailored financing solution
Unit 5: Understand the different financing instruments and their main features
Outline the main characteristics and ‘side effects’ of different financing instruments
Understand hybrid financing instruments and illustrate how these solutions can be tailored to the specific needs of social enterprises
Evaluate various financing instruments from the point of view of their suitability for your organization
Be introduced to hybrid financing models and a concrete example: the revenue sharing agreement
Unit 6: Find out to which extent you are “investment-ready”
The unit will explain the concept and importance of investment readiness. It will provide a methodology of how social enterprises can initially assess their investment readiness and identify gaps as well as find support in closing them. You will understand and evaluate the level of your organization’s investment readiness.
Unit 7: Create a plan and material to approach investors
Share key insights into suitable processes and attitudes to identify and approach different types of investors
Highlight how to effectively research and narrow down the list of suitable investors and prepare compelling material to initiate first contact
Develop a structured plan for researching, selecting and contacting potential investors for your organization and learn how to tell your story in a convincing and structured way
Unit 8: Prepare for investor due diligence and negotiations
Describe the nature, components and typical characteristics of an investor’s due diligence process on your organization
Prepare for negotiations on the financing contract once the due diligence has been concluded successfully
Learn what a typical due diligence process involves and how you can effectively prepare yourself to answer all investor questions in a timely, structured and efficient manner
Understand how you can use this process for getting important information about your potential future investors and how to stay on top of the continued process by coming up with a draft term sheet.
Unit 9: Understand investor relations and avoid mission drift.
Successfully set up and manage investor relations and reporting processes so that both social enterprises and impact investors will benefit from the experience
Explore the danger of mission drift and make sure that potential future financing rounds will be well prepared
Learn best practices to maintain excellent relations with investors and engage them long-term by using effective communication tools and reporting instruments.
Prepare to preserve your mission in challenging times and approach a potential future financing or exit situation in a responsible, mission-aligned way.
More on the course:
The course is wrapped around a signature framework that explains – step by step- how the process of obtaining financing will typically unfold in real life, from getting investment-ready via signing a financing contract, to establishing good investor relations, avoiding mission drift and approaching the next financing (or responsible exit). This course is relevant for you if you are an early-stage social entrepreneur who is looking to raise your first round of investments beyond angel investors, family and friends.
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