On January 14 Wayne Silby, Founder of Calvert Funds, and I attended a meeting of the Obama Transition Team in Washington DC after being asked to present a proposal for a new Enterprise Impact Investment Vehicle that would create a public - private partnership between private investment managers and the Government to generate more capital investment into social enterprises.The meeting was hosted by Cheryl Dorsey, President of Echoing Green, Jonathan Greenblat, Founder of Ethos Water, Greg Nelson and Sonal Shaw, Director of Global Development for Google.org, all of whom were volunteering their time for the Transition team.
The administration is looking to develop an office of social innovation that would support social entrepreneurs, social capital and impact investing. The transition team stated their intention not to lead but to support the field and welcomed ideas and knowledge that could help them do just that. The discussion included the need for infrastructure like B-Corp's Global Impact Investing Standard for ranking companies and funds and the need for a common language that can be used throughout all levels of government and that allows the field to be more accessible to a broader audience.
Wayne and I stressed the need for a sustainable, long term vision for jobs with impact and the role new equity capital can have as a catalyst for the field - particularly the opportunity the Government has to provide incentives for private capital to form and that serves as a forcing function for the field. This proposal may or may not make it into the current stimulus package but we hope it will catalyze a dialogue among investors and entrepreneurs that leads to legislation. Another potential avenue includes working with the SBA (Small Business Association).
In his most recent visit to China just befor the meeting Wayne also received interest in the proposal from senior Chinese leaders in partnering with the United States in developing the fund.
Mark
Wayne and I stressed the need for a sustainable, long term vision for jobs with impact and the role new equity capital can have as a catalyst for the field - particularly the opportunity the Government has to provide incentives for private capital to form and that serves as a forcing function for the field. This proposal may or may not make it into the current stimulus package but we hope it will catalyze a dialogue among investors and entrepreneurs that leads to legislation. Another potential avenue includes working with the SBA (Small Business Association).
In his most recent visit to China just befor the meeting Wayne also received interest in the proposal from senior Chinese leaders in partnering with the United States in developing the fund.
Mark