System Catalysts’ Post

"The truly “new” world order will not be achieved through any typical “new” social, political, economic, or ecological movements or ideology, regardless of how well-intentioned they seem. Real change will come when the emerging “countercultural” threads of EXISTING community-based movements (silos) embed a new “weaving and bridging function” (Symbiotic Culture DNA) into their operations that will connect and amplify the good already happening into a new Power for Change — where all these good intentions are gathered under “one big intent” — with a unifying worldview, purpose, and action plan. A true grassroots and bottom-up global transformation starts in each local community and with every single one of us." From my new book, Birthing the Symbiotic Age, Chapter 5, Part 2 https://lnkd.in/gXxCsH5a

Had an insightful discussion with Susanne Salerno, MPP, CAP®, diving into the "impact continuum" and the importance of aligning #CSR and sustainability initiatives with business strategy. 🌱 Many midsized companies excel in impact-driven programs but often keep them separate from their core strategy. Charitable giving and community service are just the starting point – extending efforts along the impact continuum can unlock significant value. 🌟 Building on these initiatives is crucial, but effective communication is key. If your impactful work remains unknown, the full potential value may not be realized. 📈 To delve deeper into this topic, check out the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gN3_YvyP #sustainabilityreporting #impactreporting #communications

Can you clearly communicate your nonprofit's "common purpose"? Do you know how to measure whether you're achieving your mission? Listen to Clear Impact CEO Adam Luecking and Julia C. Patrick on The Nonprofit Show to learn why defining and measuring your common purpose is so important. Plus, hear two stories about real Social Sector Heroes who are putting these concepts into practice to measurably improve outcomes for children, families, and communities. Watch the podcast now: https://lnkd.in/eRZbhD3h

Our CEO Joan M. Larrea recently spoke with the Lowy Institute’s Roland Rajah about how blended finance could be an answer to meeting the world’s climate and development goals. Joan shared her insights on what blended finance can realistically achieve, what’s needed to increase its impact, and how it can help in low income and small island developing countries. Listen to the full podcast now: https://bit.ly/49yJPSK #blendedfinance #philanthropy #privateinvestment #developingcountries #climate #developmentfinance #sustainablefinance #sdgs

Earlier this year, we hosted the first-ever author roundtable for The Foundation Review with Editor-in-Chief of Special Issues Hanh Cao Yu to look back on the most popular articles from the journal's 15-year history and discuss trends and issues in philanthropy. The authors identified four key needs of the sector: • Philanthropy needs better strategy, more capacity, and more collaboration to address the “polycrises” of today and tomorrow. Philanthropy is not adapting quickly enough to a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and rapidly changing. • Foundations need to engage in authentic and effective networking and organizing practices in order to advance change. Foundation leaders promote the idea of collaboration and aligned action but rarely engage with the same intentionality within their own foundation roles. • At the heart of all the change and transformation that philanthropy is trying to achieve are PEOPLE — the human capital component of our theories of change and our intended impact. We are not investing enough in the people who need to lean into the riskier change needed to advance and achieve impact. • Foundations should better leverage the investment opportunities and market forces that could support and catalyze change and they should strive to create additional long-term and sustainable finance for nonprofits and change organizations. Watch the full conversation with Jane Wei-Skillern, Jara Dean-Coffey (she/her/hers), Jewlya Lynn, Rusty Stahl, Sam Marks, Amy Celep, Brandon Youker, Marilyn Darling, and Michael Quinn Patton. #Philanthropy #TheFoundationReview

🚀 Blended Finance: Unlocking the Potential for Climate and Development Goals 🌍 Blended finance isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a proven strategy to mobilize private capital for public good. With only 2% of global climate finance reaching small island developing states and less than 5% directed toward low-income countries, it’s clear that traditional funding mechanisms aren’t enough. Joan M. Larrea’s recent conversation with Roland Rajah highlights the potential of blended finance to bridge this gap by de-risking investments and attracting private sector participation. Yet, the question remains: how can we scale this to address the estimated $4 trillion annual funding gap to achieve the SDGs by 2030? 📊🌱 As emphasized, a sharper focus on creating local enabling environments and offering innovative financial instruments is critical. For instance, blended finance structures could increase funding for nature-based solutions, which currently receive only 3% of climate finance. To truly harness its transformative power, stakeholders must prioritize transparent metrics and equitable partnerships. The conclusion is clear: blended finance holds immense promise, but its success hinges on scaling best practices and targeting the world’s most vulnerable regions. 🌴💡 #BlendedFinance #ClimateAction #ImpactInvesting #NatureBasedSolutions #SustainableFinance #GlobalGoals #ClimateFinance #DevelopmentFinance #PrivateCapital #LowIncomeCountries #SmallIslandStates #ClimateAdaptation #GreenInvestments #SDGs #Sustainability #FinanceForGood #SocialImpact #EmergingMarkets #EconomicResilience #FutureFocused

I am delighted to share insights on agile fundraising strategies for conservation non-profits, drawing from my time as chief of equity, justice, and culture at ClimateWorks Foundation with the Association of National Advertisers. Many thanks to Alicia Osgood for highlighting this important topic! Having witnessed the transformative power of advanced technologies in enhancing donor engagement and fostering transparent communications, I can attest to their impact. Brand partnerships also present valuable opportunities for non-profit organizations to collaborate with larger corporations on projects that align with their conservation goals. Read the article to learn more! #Fundraising #Conservation #NonProfit #AgileStrategies #Technology #DonorEngagement #TransparentCommunications #BrandPartnerships #ClimateAction #Sustainability #Equity #Justice #Collaboration

Less than 48 Hours to take advantage of Early Bird pricing for my Unlock Your TEDx Potential Workshop taking place on Friday 24th January Early Bird pricing ends at 11:59pm on Wednesday 1st January, saving you £50! Why not get your 2025 off to a flying start by investing in yourself and your TEDx Speaker dreams? Link to book in the comments

💡 Doing Good vs Avoiding Bad 💡 I have spotted this phrase recently as I was reviewing the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Values and it reminded me of one initiative that I have facilitated in the past. The creators of it are Helene Gerin and Frederique Laloux, author of “Reinventing organisations” who I mentioned in my previous post as well. The initiative is called “The Week” and it opens up one of the most important conversations - Sustainability. 🌱 🌳 You can organise it at home, with friends or family members, with colleagues in your workplace, with neighbours, with students in a class, in your community. 🌳 You meet 3 times in a course of a week, you play the videos that are provided by the organisers once you subscribe for it and follow the guidelines. 🌳 It is a very meaningful experience and a great thing to do over the summer. 🌳 You do not need to have facilitation skills. 🌳 All you need is the willingness to do good vs avoiding bad. Have you tried “The Week” already or are you planning to do it? If so, please, share your experience. What other examples of “Doing good vs avoiding bad” can you think of? #sustainability #theweek

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 👇 🎙Caitlin MacLean, Senior Director of Innovative Finance at the Milken Institute and Holly Freishtat, Senior Director at Feeding Change join host and CEO of VegTech Invest, Elysabeth Alfano, to discuss blended capital and why institutional and philanthropic investors are using this approach to focus on food. Specifically, they discussed: 🔹What is the Milken Institute's Feeding Change initiative? What does it aim to accomplish? 🔹What were the main takeaways from COP28 and how has this played out in the finance community thus far? 🔹Is investing in food systems transformation considered innovative finance? If so, why? 🔹When do we think Wall Street capital, a major component of blended capital, will come into play? How will this transpire? 🔹No one knows the future, but if we had to guess timelines, when do you think we will see 'S-curve capital' come into the plant-based innovation space? What could this mean for investors? 🔹How are you seeing the recognition of this topic take seed on Wall Street? 🎧 Listen to the full episode 👇