Social Finance

💭High school shop programs are doing their part to prepare the "toolbelt generation" for the labor market of the future. But what about the current generation of workers—how can we help them enter the skilled trades? Our workforce training system isn't designed to do this. Even when funding for training is available (i.e., free community college), gaps remain: 💰 Assessing program quality: How do you know if a program has good ROI? 🏠 Financial hurdles: How do you pay for life (housing, childcare, transportation) while trying to upskill? 💡 Future proof: How do you ensure, in the face of AI, that your training will still be relevant in five years? Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/etVunzm8 #workforcedevelopment #upskilling #outcomes

📢 Calling all impact investors: Register today for the National Impact Investing Intermediary Webinar! 📅 Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2025  ⏰ Time: 11:00 AM MT/1:00 pm ET  📍 Location: Online Webinar Inclusiv, Mission Driven Finance®, and Social Finance will share how our organizations are connecting investors with mission-driven opportunities. Learn how to navigate financial intermediaries, align investments with impact goals, and discover strategies to maximize your financial influence. ✅ Understand the role of financial intermediaries  ✅ Learn best practices for collaboration  ✅ Gain insights into impact investing infrastructure 🔗 Register Now: https://lnkd.in/dAPN23AE #ImpactInvesting #FinanceForGood #InvestForImpact

Put your hands together for Carrie Benjamin, who is celebrating her 5th anniversary at Social Finance!👏🎉 A director on our communications team, Carrie is celebrated for her problem solving and people management skills. She has helped countless teams tell their stories, shining a crucial light on our partners and program participants. Carrie, thank you for all you have done and continue to do to support our impact!

"The potential to drive positive impact is no longer just a consideration in asset allocation; it’s becoming the driving force." This week in ImpactAlpha, Toniic's Melody Jensen outlines how more and more capital allocators are putting impact first and finance second. We call this approach "impact-first" investing, and we believe it is a critical tool in any philanthropist's toolkit. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/edFewegX

In partnership with HumanServices.ai (HSAI), we are piloting the AI Learning and Innovation Hub Sandbox (AI Hub): a tool for state and local governments interested in AI solutions focused on workforce development, economic mobility, and public benefits access. The AI Hub provides participants with access to AI models, a secure testing environment, synthetic data, and expert guidance, allowing agencies to test use cases and tools before engaging in a procurement process. Head to our website to learn more and get involved! #publicpolicy #aisolutions

This week, our Vice President, Impact Investments Michael Silvestri will be traveling to San Francisco for Confluence Philanthropy's 15th Annual Practitioners Gathering. Mike will be joined by Andrew Schneiderman from the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund and Adam Cummings from the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Together, they will be discussing new models for mobilizing philanthropic capital. Will you be attending? Be sure to stop by our session to say hello!👋 #impactinvesting #futureofphilanthropy #valuesinvesting

Our team had a blast at SXSW EDU! Thanks to everyone who attended our panel on "New Partnerships to Finance Workforce Mobility," moderated by Social Finance Institute managing director Karen Anderson. A couple things we're still thinking about: 💭 The half-life of new skills for workers is now down to 2-3 years -- meaning even a 50-year-old worker will need to upskill 4-5 times before retirement, said AARP Foundation President Claire Casey. Sectoral models with cross-sector funders may be key to building reskilling opportunities at the necessary scale. 💭Hire-Train-Deploy firms can relieve businesses of the administrative burden of recruiting and training entry-level workers. Jeremy Bernard-Sasges from Achieve Partners described how an intermediary can deliver both services and staffing support to their clients while training workers and serving as their employer of record. 💭 Adopting outcomes-based models for workforce development means aligning incentives around the right outcomes. Texas State Technical College's "commission-based" model, tied to employment and wage gain outcomes for their students, has improved student success and boosted state funding. But senior vice chancellor Michael Bettersworth noted that employment/wages are a key outcome, higher ed programs with other missions should be funded based on additional factors. Want to continue the conversation? Head to workforcerealigned.org and subscribe for updates. #workforcerealigned #workforcedev #outcomes

"It is never the case that a foundation converts overnight from having none of its endowment aligned with its grantmaking to all of it." As Steve Dubb writes in Nonprofit Quarterly, endowment impact investing is a journey—one that is necessarily as varied and personal as a foundation's mission. When we're working with a foundation to stand up an impact investing program, we open the conversation with the following questions: ➡️ What key capital gaps or challenges do you want to solve? ➡️ To what extent are you willing to accept greater financial risk or lower expected returns in exchange for deeper impact? ➡️ Who are the key champions on your staff and board to help us drive change? Read about the impact investment journeys other foundations have been on:  https://lnkd.in/eAQHEKmm

We are excited to announce the two newest members to our leadership team: Robin Peterson Gibbs, our first Chief Philanthropy Officer, and Alexis Stoller, our first Vice President and Head of Communications!🎉 Robin, who brings a unique expertise in both financial services and philanthropy, will lead fundraising to help us achieve a new level of impact. Alexis, a mission-driven strategic communications leader, will help build and expand our brand. Welcome to our team, Robin and Alexis! We are so grateful to have you on board. Read the announcement: https://lnkd.in/e83pNkjG

Happening this Wednesday at SXSW EDU! Will you be attending? Join the Social Finance Institute, the AARP Foundation, Texas State Technical College, and Achieve Partners in Salon H at 2:30 to learn more about the innovators and institutions reimagining the future of workforce education finance. #workforcedevelopment #economicmobility #socialfinanceinstitute