Justice Funders’ Post

Laurence Mehaignerie was invited at #FundsForChange to reflect on what Citizen Capital has achieved since her last pitch at ChangeNOW back in 2022. Here are the key takeways :   ➡ We know that Impact investing can perform well financially (very proud of our portfolio, including ipso santé  OpenClassrooms or Deepki). ➡ In 2022, ChangeNOW helped us highlight the fact that VC or PE funds have their limits when it comes to answering tough challenges. We need to have different #strategies but we also need to imagine different #businessmodels for funds. And we have successfully raised the 2 "out of the box" funds we presented at #FundsForChange! 👩🌾 The first fund, Agri Impact, helps farmers diversify their activities and revenues (renewable energies, primary processing). 💡 The second fund, Citizen CIS, invests in nonprofits that undertake ambitious programs to foster innovation in public policies. What happened since? 🎯 We all know the environmental transition is a huge technological, financial and industrial challenge. But it’s documented, and today we know where we should allocate capital. 🤝 BUT, what we do not know is what the social impact of this transition will be. No transition is going to happen if the people feel this tremendous change is leaving them on the side, increasing inequalities.    The environmental transition is also a social challenge. And we were thrilled to announce the launch of a new fund dedicated to early-stage projects that support a Fair Transition, around basic fundamental needs : Food, Housing, Mobility.   Thanks to Marie Suduca, Marine Jouët and Imène Maharzi for their help & insights 😊

"Doing things that are proven - this is not the role of philanthropy" If you're active in a foundation, a clever donor, a practitioner in the field of philanthropy or just curious, I suggest you check out the Futures Philantropy report published today by Philea - Philanthropy Europe Association and Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies. There is an interesting survey about the trends, risks and opportunities in the report. Conservative boards and moving too slow are the main risks, while innovation is seen as opportunity (see results below). Among the trends shaping philanthropy are topics such as climate change, robotics, and personalized health care - all of which we invest in at Verve Ventures. So I guess it's time for a closer collaboration and a dialogue between foundations and venture capital firms, we're both in the business of building a better future. Link to the report: https://lnkd.in/ems-sbb2 #innovation #venturecapital #philanthropy

We are like leaves and roots with wills to live, but nothing nurturing connections between us. We lost our stems. A willingness to stop further disconnect is a first step. We got this. But can we connect that urge to live connected, with a housholding economy? Fiat money burns all the weakened stems of our sharing connections into ashes, where the tiniest flame of greed exist, and with that fire goes everything we value. So we cannot use Fiat money? Or not allow greed? What can we do to foster the regenerative economies? Those we once found naturally occurring all around us? Here is a blueprint for financing it worth exploring!

🚀 She-Leads Impact Fund: Bridging the Last-Mile Gap and Empowering Rural Women and Communities 🚀 Did you know that over 3.7 billion people around the world survive on less than $6.85 a day, most of whom live in underserved rural areas across Asia and Africa? These communities struggle to access essential goods and services such as clean water, electricity, healthcare, and financial support. Due to the lack of efficient distribution networks in these regions, they often pay more for inferior products compared to urban areas. For women, the challenges are even greater—cultural barriers, fewer formal job opportunities, and limited mobility to urban areas leave them especially vulnerable to this access gap. ⭐  That’s why we’re thrilled to introduce the She-Leads Impact Fund (SLIF)—an initiative co-led by Frontier Innovations Foundation (FIF) and Hystra, aimed at transforming last-mile distribution networks. Our goal is to provide rural communities with access to life-changing products and services while empowering local women as leaders and change agents! 🙌 🔑  Leveraging the proven technology, processes, and business model of last-mile pioneer Frontier Markets, SLIF will provide in-depth support to 3 last-mile distributors over 3 years through technology transfer, funding, and training. This support will enable them to deepen their impact by diversifying the goods and services they offer, improving efficiency, and accelerating their path to sustainability, helping them scale faster and reach more communities. More specifically, SLIF looks to: ✅  Help the supported last-mile distributors boost their annual sales by $10M+ each. ✅ Double the income of 9,000+ local agents, with a strong focus on empowering women. ✅  Attracting $6M+ in additional investments to help scale these efforts. 💡  The future of rural communities—and the women within them—depends on better access to essential goods, services, and economic opportunities. We’re actively seeking partners, funders, and connectors who share this vision to help expand our reach. 📩  Interested in making a lasting impact? Let’s connect! #EmpowerWomen #LastMileDistribution #SocialImpact #Sustainability #ImpactInvestment #RuralDevelopment #GenderEquality #SheLeadsImpact Frontier Markets Frontier Innovations Foundation Hystra Ajaita S. Mehdi Rizvi Amrit Mohan Anurag Gangwar Lucie Klarsfeld McGrath

At Brainforest, impact drives everything—explore how we balance our platform goals with our ventures’ targets in our impact methodology white paper 📋. 👏 We are thrilled to introduce our journey on the development of an impact strategy for a venture platform. As a venture platform dedicated to forests and biodiversity, impact sits at the heart of our mission. ➡️ In this white paper, you’ll explore how we’ve developed a dual impact strategy—one that balances our role as both enablers of systemic change and supporters of ventures that prioritize impact alongside financial returns. ➡️ Within this report, you’ll discover how we’ve translated our commitment into a clear theory of change, measurable targets, and a strategy that drives our ventures to set ambitious goals demonstrated by a case study. Join us as we walk you through the framework we’ve built to ensure that impact remains a central objective, not just for us but for every venture we support. Impact begins when like-minded visionaries come together to turn big dreams into reality. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our funders Somaha Foundation FREY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundations Fondation Valery Stiftung Pro Evolution Minerva Stiftung — your belief in our mission empowers us to continue fostering ventures that make a real difference for forests and biodiversity. As we keep driving forward, we’d love to hear from you: What’s the biggest challenge your organization faces when defining its impact strategy? 🧐 #impact #impactstrategy #biodiversity #brainforest Leo Caprez Camille Accolas Ben O'Sullivan Thomas Gmeiner Gioia Lelli Elijah Kilzer

Pretty proud of this one ✨ After many months of exploring, discussing, defining and rethinking our Theory of Change and many other key ingredients of our impact strategy at Brainforest we've done it! Our Impact Methodology white paper is out, sharing our journey for how to address impact as a Venture Platform. It may seem banal but it was far from a simple task, and here are some of the reasons why: ⇾ Direct and indirect: as a venture platform, we are "enablers" of impact and we support the cases we see the greatest impact potential in! So finding the right approach to track our own platform impact was a challenge. ⇾ Complexity vs transparency: there's a fine line between transparency and complexity in impact metrics, especially in a reporting context. Over-complicating our ask to ventures risks burdening them rather than helping share their impact story effectively. ⇾ It's a work in progress: impact tracking is an ever evolving and intensely long-term exercise. This white paper is a step in the right direction to frame our due diligence process in this regard but it will necessarily evolve with the learnings we gather in the future. To those working on impact design, I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback! 💬 https://lnkd.in/e252s5nG

The Evolution of Grantmaking: Adapting to the Shifting Landscape of Social Change Read More: https://lnkd.in/e-KHPWrw In a world of perpetual transformation, the art and science of grantmaking are undergoing a significant metamorphosis. The ever-evolving soc...

Institutions, like living organisms, must adapt to changing circumstances and environments in order to ensure their continued existence. Failure to do so can imperil their very purpose and relevance. Inyathelo, an organisation that recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, serves as a prime example of an institution that has undergone shifts and changes, while consistently making a significant impact. Read more about Inyathelo's journey of impact and evolution from Russell Ally, Chairperson of Inyathelo's Board of Trustees. --- This article was first published in our Annual Report. ➡ Download our latest Annual Report here: https://lnkd.in/dhXEevhR

So excited this morning to read that Forbion, a leading European VC firm, has successfully achieved the first close of its new BioEconomy Fund I. 🤩 This fund will focus on some of our planet's most pressing challenges: the environment, the growing need for a sustainable food supply, and the rapid depletion of natural resources. https://lnkd.in/eKpq2Ukb  ❤️ What makes it special for me is that it combines two of my biggest passions: #Biotech and #PlanetaryHealth. 🌍 We all know that climate change and global environmental degradation are threatening the foundation of human health and well-being. “The health gains achieved in the past 50 years of global economic development could be reversed by 2050 due to the consequences of climate change", according to The Lancet. ➡ Although science alone won't solve all our problems, technology—and biotech in particular—can help us make a real difference. How about you? How are you involved in Planetary Health? Here are some great resources on planetary health: - The Lancet: https://lnkd.in/epvbiTnT - Johns Hopkins: https://lnkd.in/e6-NdfHN - United Nations: https://lnkd.in/eZ3tm3Xi #CEO #health #storytelling #fundraising #VCs

To all social entrepreneurs out there: 🌟 This has been one of the most practical webinars on fundraising. If you're working on your pitch deck and approaching potential funders, this session on March 7th might be time well spent! 💼🌱🚀