Canada puts a green banker in charge of its response to Trump
The former chief of the Bank of England and chair of Brookfield Asset Management, Mark Carney, won a landslide victory in Canada’s Liberal …
Tagged with: Democracy and Power
Mobile Pathways raises $1 million for AI tools for US immigration attorneys
Immigration legal and advocacy groups in the US have had a lot more work to take on since President Donald Trump came back …
Mission-driven funders scramble to respond to Trump’s funding freeze
The COVID shutdown and Silicon Valley Bank meltdown were practice missions for emergency relief. President Trump’s federal funding freeze could be The Big …
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 26, 2019: US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - sign seal emblem at HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
Nonprofits sound alarm on House bill that would give Trump administration power to crush dissent
It’s been called “the non-profit killer.” Charitable organizations are mobilizing to defeat a bill being voted on Thursday in the US House of …
Bangladeshi youth anoint Muhammad Yunus, a symbol of bottom-up empowerment, to chart a new future
An octogenarian has become the face of Bangladesh’s youth movement. Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old father of microfinance, personifies the demands for security and …
Mexico chooses a new president amid extreme heat – and little urgency on climate action
Mexico’s vote on Sunday will grab headlines for the election of the country’s first female president. Less prominent will be the climate crises …
Modi sends conflicting messages on climate as Indian voters brave the heat
As India wraps up nearly six weeks of voting for its national election, voters have faced one major impact of climate change at …
Better Brew: Josh Gotbaum on what the Starbucks fight means for labor – and impact
Who’s center-stage in this pivotal year for US organized labor? Amtrak Joe Biden, the self-proclaimed labor-friendliest president in history? More like the baristas …
Muhammad Yunus addresses the raids on Grameen Telecom on March 1.
Facing raids and trials, Muhammed Yunus struggles to preserve Grameen’s anti-poverty network in Bangladesh
ImpactAlpha, March 11 – The decade-long vendetta against Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus by the prime minister of Bangladesh is escalating toward a …
Photo: Eman Mohammed, Survival Media Agency
Climate protestors step up their game as climate action falters
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 11 – Tomato soup on Van Gogh’s sunflowers. A blockade of Burning Man. This weekend, climate protestors staged their latest stunt …
Photo credit: Gram Vaani
Acumen invests in Gram Vaani to increase accountability in India’s ‘media dark’ communities
ImpactAlpha, July 12 – If “democracy dies in darkness,” as the Washington Post says, there’s cause for concern in India, the world’s largest …
Photo credit: MDIF
MDIF and partners democratize impact investing in independent media
ImpactAlpha, March 29 – Media Development Investment Fund has for 23 years invested in independent media outlets in places where a free press …
A human rights approach in impact investing
Overcoming today’s global challenges and creating positive change requires collaboration and innovative solutions from every sector and corner of society to enable all …
Anticipating election wins, conservative politicians escalate attacks on ESG ‘collusion.’
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 8 – Republicans are feeling emboldened as Americans head to the polls for today’s midterm elections. Just days ago, a group …
What’s at stake for climate, ESG and impact investors in the U.S. midterm elections
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 2 – The annual global climate summit known as COP27, this year in Egypt, will coincide with next week’s midterm elections …
Is a green transition the cause – or the solution – in Sri Lanka’s crisis?
ImpactAlpha, July 14 – It was an irresistible meme: A crash transition to organic farming tanked Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector and sent the country …
Aristata Capital raises £40 million for impact litigation fund to close the ‘justice gap.’
ImpactAlpha, July 7 – London-based Aristata launched in 2020 to carve out a slice of the booming litigation funding space for cases that deliver …
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine delivers a dose of green shock therapy
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 1 – The “shock therapy” that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago was intended to speed the …
On anniversary of Capitol attack, stakeholders hold corporations accountable for democracy
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 6 – Add political stability to the list of systemic risks that keep investors up at night. ‘Political risk’ has historically …
Turning pandemic profits into ‘democracy dividends’
Even as the recent discovery of the Omicron variant drags out the Covid pandemic, the richest Americans are still doing incredibly well. The …
Photo by Guilherme Cunha on Unsplash
Expanding employee ownership to empower workers and strengthen small businesses
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has made the already unpredictable futures of working and middle class Americans even more fragile. Impact investors are turning …
Photo credit: Workable's Resources.
Omidyar Network commits $10 million in grants for reimagining capitalism
ImpactAlpha, October 12 — Markets can be, and are being, reshaped by movements, policies and investments. Omidyar Network, which has spun off a …
Photo credit: Change.org
Big-name investors donate their stakes as Change.org converts to nonprofit ownership
ImpactAlpha, September 23 — With its dot-org website and social-activist mission, Change.org was often mistaken for a nonprofit organization. Now it is owned …
Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash
Disinformation poses systemic risks – so universal owners are pressing media companies to renounce it
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 14 – Talk about negative externalities. False information intended to mislead viewers on climate, COVID-19, racial justice and other issues may drive …
Photo credit: PolicyLink
Turning pledges into policies to invest in Black Americans and multi-racial prosperity
ImpactAlpha, June 24 – Investors and executives can lead in many ways as they seek to fulfill their often heartfelt pledges to do …
Turning the renewed power of workers into a lasting pillar of stakeholder capitalism
These days, American workers could well be saying, as Richard Fariña wrote and Nancy Sinatra sang, “Been down so long it looks like …
Reviving a Black cultural corridor in West Oakland – as a community-led cooperative
In another era, Esther’s Orbit Room helped make West Oakland the “Harlem of the West,” hosting the likes of B.B. King, James Brown …
Georgia is throttling voters. The South’s financial system is doing the same to its entrepreneurs.
The ban on offering snacks and water to people waiting in line to vote that was just passed into law in Georgia really …
NovotMoto raised $418,000 on Wefunder to bring affordable solar power to the Congo.
Rule changes could spur $1 billion in crowdfunded investment
Regulation Crowdfunding allows startup founders to raise capital from unaccredited investors as well as accredited investors, and publicly promote their offerings. Part of the …
Scenes from the Party to the Polls in Brunswick, GA | Michael Scott Milner
How Georgia’s civic mobilization is rallying local efforts to close the racial wealth gap
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 5 – The impact of the massive voter education effort in Georgia may last well beyond today’s runoff election for two seats …
Impact investors are wonking out on policy
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 15 – The spate of recommendations greeting the incoming Biden administration is the fruit of years of work in the fields …
Why impact investors should double down on democracy funding
The post-mortem on this election is far from over, but as the news of the past few weeks has unfolded, we are seeing …
How to stop ‘astroturf’ campaigns and the spread of misinformation
That the network of trade associations and advocacy groups blocking meaningful action on climate change was bankrolled by fossil fuel interests comes not …
Photo credit: Good Work Network
Grassroots groups are mobilizing communities to take racial justice from protest to progress
With $30 million in grants to 60 local and national racial justice organizations, Kresge Foundation is seeking to harness the power of this …
Insurer QBE backs Save the Children’s impact fund
ImpactAlpha, September 29 – Save the Children, best known for its humanitarian aid work, has reached a $6 million first close for an …
MacArthur Foundation commits $25 million to COVID recovery and election integrity
ImpactAlpha, September 24 – MacArthur Foundation has made grants totaling $10 million to organizations supporting Black, Native and other under-represented groups disproportionately affected …
Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium secures $10 million
ImpactAlpha, September 14 – The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium is tackling a glaring lack of investor and philanthropic attention. The Appalachian …
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg commit $300 million to safe, fair elections
ImpactAlpha, September 2 – Two impact investors sounded off in ImpactAlpha this week about the importance of securing the fairness of the November …
Impact investors have a role to play in preventing worst-case election scenarios
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 1 – November is coming and hopefully the beginning of the end of the authoritarianism, oligarchy, and violence that have become …
How impact investors can help ensure racial justice includes electoral justice
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 1 – With voter registration deadlines rapidly approaching, our firm is seeing a desire amongst impact investors to elevate voting rights …
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Investing in news and media by and for people of color
ImpactAlpha, July 16 – Blavity’s $1.5 million raise from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (and another $9.5 million from earlier investors) helped demonstrate the …
Investors share experiences in getting their assets off the sidelines
“It’s a great time for new entrants, but for those of us who’ve been doing this for a while it is equally urgent to raise our game right and to not get complacent,” said Margot Brandenburg of the Ford Foundation.
Putting people at the center of financial structures
As we design for impact, it’s important to put people at the center of financial structures. In 10 ways to redesign venture finance …
How 10x tech can drive 10x impact in 10 years
ImpactAlpha, June 29 – The start of a global recession in the middle of a pandemic that has laid bare structural inequality and …
Investors push stakeholder protections with shareholder resolutions
ImpactAlpha, June 23 – This season, shareholder resolutions involving human rights and worker rights made up the largest category for the first time, …