Vistas: Geri Stengel’s Blog: Social Capital

Unlocking growth capital, now there’s a challenge, one addressed by a knowledgeable panel at the 2011 Social Impact Exchange’s Conference On Scaling Impact.

Foundations don’t invest enough for nonprofits to succeed, according to Kelly Fitzsimmons, chief program and strategy office for the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. The missing links:

• money to experiment and learn,
• money for capacity-building.

It’s a point made at last year’s conference as well but one well worth repeating.

Is collaboration the secret ingredient to solving America’s social problems? If we’re going to create and grow a capital marketplace, one that scales proven models, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Financial Ingenuity

Ingenious financial solutions to the world's social and environmental challenges are becoming a global force for change.

The microfinance movement started in the '70s in Bangladesh. By 2007, the microfinance industry provided $15 billion in microloans to 106 million of the world’s poorest families, according to the Microcredit Summit Campaign. The campaign was to reach 100 million of the world’s poorest families, especially the women of those families, with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the year 2005. That goal was very nearly reached and in November of 2006 the Campaign was extended to 2015 with two new goals: reach 175 million of the world's poorest people and ensure that 100 million families rise above earning $1 a day.