Impact Explorer
We Are Impact Collective
We bring together impact experts to bring impact into play.
Dear Readers,
As we navigate the complex intersections of politics, health, AI, biodiversity loss, and more, we hold steadfast to the belief that connection is where impactful solutions begin. At We Are Impact Collective, we are happy to welcome To De Bondt as our newest team member, as we continue to grow and evolve into the multi-impact collective we aspire to be.
In this edition of Impact Explorer, we invite you to explore with us the questions driving our work, the challenges we face, and the hopes and dreams that fuel our mission.
✨ Welcome to our newest team member
We are excited to introduce To De Bondt as the newest addition to our collective. To began her career as a staff member focused on education quality and innovation at the University of Antwerp, within the Faculty of Applied Engineering Sciences. It was there, inspired by the research of her colleagues, that her passion for sustainability took root and began to grow.
No longer content to stand on the sidelines, To pursued her desire to create meaningful change. She earned a certificate in Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies from the University of Cambridge and joined NV Congé as a sustainability manager. In this role, she organized events on sustainable entrepreneurship, conducted impact measurements, and developed action plans in collaboration with The Ecological Entrepreneur.
To will be supporting team members in many ways, have key roles in different of our projects, add value to our communication internally and externally and will be a trusted support member in the entire variety of waic- projects. To started recently and is has been busy developing presentations for an impact real estate project, worked on the perfect flow for a family office project and styled our agenda’s in a way that brings overview in our we are impact collective days. To joined our meeting in Amsterdam, where amongst other things we explored the karaoke elevator in the Amsterdam tower. 🎶
🚀About We Are Impact Collective and Our Services
We’re a passionate and driven group of individuals focused on initiating, nurturing, and scaling impact. What sets us apart is our ability to bring together expertise from various fields—hence, the ‘collective’ in our name.
So, when you ask if we offer keynotes? The answer is yes. Mentorship? Advice? Absolutely. Workshops? Of course!
We’ve made it easy to explore all our services on a single page—be sure to check it out. While you’re there, take a look at our specialized offerings, including training for family offices and funds, our maturity scan for family offices, high-impact team assessments, and our AI for impact workshop.
🌅Looking ahead: strategy and reflection
In our next edition, we’ll be reflecting on the strategic session we’re having in October with our members as we prepare for the year ahead. It feels like the right time to start sharing more about some of the work we’ve been involved in—nearly 100 impact projects! We’ve also reached 2,000 LinkedIn followers and took our first look at the numbers for this newsletter: with a 72% open rate, we’re more than happy! Please keep sharing, everyone!
If you have any tips to take with us in our upcoming strategy weekend? Please do not hesitate to share them with us! Here are some of the questions on the table: do we want to work with everyone or focus only on impact experts? Can we continue guiding impact ventures, funds, and wealth holders? Should we aim for more global reach? Should we be building ventures ourselves? What about continuing with inspiration days, academies, and advisory services? Should our collective grow or remain the same size? Can we keep our organic flow of organizing, or is it time to consider more focus, processes, and methodologies? Are we moving too fast, or should we intentionally slow down in certain projects, recognizing that slowing down and embracing silence can be uncomfortable but also fruitful?
If you have insights, please share them wherever you think they can be useful. And to all those eager to join our collective (80 people by now), thank you for your patience! After our strategy meeting, we’ll be ready to continue the conversation.
💭Food for thought
Get a glimpse in what occupies the minds of our experts:
The sustainability State of the Union 2024 by Kees Klomp It will not have escaped your notice. It is crisis. In fact, there is so much crisis that we need new words to express the seriousness of the crisis situation. And so these days we speak of the polycrisis; an intimately interwoven, complex set of ecological and social crises affecting all aspects of human society. [read more]
Mirova Foundation Mirova’s new social impact private equity fund targets €200m funding Mirova’s new fund will invest in unlisted European companies that are trying to address many of society’s more interconnected problems like climate change and growing inequality, according to the firm.
Warm data Complex, systemic challenges are shaped by the interaction of multiple contexts—the economy, nature, politics, culture, technology, etc. —and to effectively address such challenges, we have to understand the transcontextual interdependence. With this awareness, we can shape responses to meet the complexity around us effectively. Without it, we often enact simple responses to complex challenges which in turn create their own problems. Warm Data is the relational and transcontextual information about and within the interrelationships that integrate elements of a complex system.
Philantrophy & funding: our best bet is a long bet “However, unlike private sector businesses, we're not selling products or services, we're enabling rights.” [read more]
Biobased bouwen zit in de lift, maar houten wolkenkrabbers kosten te veel bomen Er wordt in Nederland steeds meer gebouwd met hout en boerengewassen. Door beton, staal en baksteen te vervangen door biobased materialen kan de bouwsector zijn CO2-uitstoot en klimaatimpact fors verminderen. Terwijl de ene na de andere toepassing wordt uitgevonden, blijkt uit onderzoek van de Universiteit Wageningen (WUR) dat er een maximale hoogte zit aan duurzame houtbouw. Dat is 60 meter. [read more]
AI analysed 1,500 policies to cut emissions. These ones worked. Only 63 climate-change interventions led to significant reductions in carbon emissions. [read more]
Hoogleraar Brené Brown: Dat kwetsbaarheid zwak of soft is, is een hardnekkig misverstand “Als jij niet weet wie jij bent, heb ik geen enkele interesse om voor jou te werken.” [read more]
Every ecosystem is different. Every species is unique. Learn physics, alchemy, transformations, and biology from nature. 🐫 [explore]
Petition: tax the mega-rich As global citizens concerned with spiraling inequality, we call on you to tax the entire wealth of the ultra-rich now. A tax like this could raise trillions annually, enough to address urgent social needs and environmental crises around the world. It's time the ultra-rich pay what they owe. [sign the petition]
Recommended by LinkedIn
City of (be)longing This initiative aims to plan a large event in spring 2025. Expect a playful environment for serious topics. Real city challenges in space, climate, inequality, nature, tech, humanity, finance and beyond. A totally different approach to urban planning. [read more]
EU-regels tegen ontbossing kunnen grondstoffenmarkt hertekenen Verregaande Europese regels om ontbossing tegen te gaan zijn een gamechanger voor bedrijven die werken met landbouwgrondstoffen. De geest van de regel is goed, maar de uitwerking staat bol van de onbedoelde nevenschade... [read more]
📅Mark your calendars..
You might encounter some of us at following events:
October 3: Exploring how AI delivers impact for nonprofits - online webinar Nonprofits aren’t known to be early tech adopters, but that might be changing. From local orgs to large educational institutions and healthcare systems, nonprofits are leading the charge in AI adoption—with 58% of nonprofits using AI in their digital communications compared to 49% of B2C businesses. They’re using these tools and capabilities to better understand end user needs and communicate more effectively. What can you learn from these early adopters?
And why do some end users remain skeptical about AI’s benefits?
Find out by joining us for a thought-provoking virtual session hosted by Twilio's Chief Social Impact Officer Erin Reilly and President of The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Vilas Dhar, on the transformative potential of AI, and how nonprofits are using it to build connection and drive social impact. [read more]
October 15 - 17: Jan Leyssens is one of the speakers at the Climate Change Summit - Romania This year, we are taking the dialogue on climate change even further. We are introducing Climate Change Summit Awards, the ESG Forum and a multitude of community events meant to discover solutions for the future everywhere in Romania. [read more]
October 17: Futureproof je KMO - Belgium (dutch) Jan Leyssens will be one of the speakers on this event that focuses on futureproofing your small scale business, covering the topics of circularity, HR and subsidies. [read more]
October 17-18: The Real Summit - the Intersection of Finance & Mental Health - NY This event is designed to expand the finance ecosystem by driving more global capital toward the companies leading innovation in mental and behavioral health. Astrid Leyssens will talk about impact investing in this space. [read more]
October 24: Gin time - We share a breakfast with corporate rebels in Amsterdam, but will also be ready for follow up conversations with Triodos and meet different impact fund founders to sound board them in their journey; reach out to Suzanne Wisse - Huiskes if you are there!
November 5: Conference 'Mentoring to work for asylum seekers: challenges and opportunities' - Belgium (english) In recent years, reception systems have faced a significant increase in asylum applications. This influx often leads to extended waiting periods for asylum seekers, resulting in the underutilization of their skills and delaying their integration into society once they receive a positive decision. Meanwhile, many countries, including Belgium, are experiencing significant labor shortages.
Fedasil is pioneering innovative solutions to transform this waiting period into productive time by equipping asylum seekers with valuable skills and competencies that facilitate their integration into the host society. For those whose applications are rejected, these skills can also be beneficial for their reintegration into their home countries. Artemis Kubala (she/her) 💡🤝🌱 will be moderating this event, find out more about the program and registration [here].
November 4-6: Elite Summit - As we are trusted by family offices and wealth holders, we are asked to participate in panels around the globe on impact investing; Suzanne Wisse - Huiskes en Astrid Leyssens will join a panel in Cannes at the Elite Summit; if you are going, join us! [read more]
November 8-10: IDG Ambassador Programme - The Island of Ekskäret The Inner Development Goals (IDG) Ambassador Program is a three-day course designed to help changemakers effectively advocate for inner development, facilitating its integration into society to bring us closer to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [read more]
November 27: Philanthropic Circle - We Are Impact Collective We are excited to host the second edition of our Philanthropic Circle, an exclusive, invitation-only event for progressive wealth owners. If you’re reading this and feel called to join, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Kurt Peleman or Astrid Leyssens .
We believe in creating a safe and courageous space where participants can openly share their doubts, emotions, ideas, and experiences with their peers. Through these exchanges, we hope to inspire confidence, encourage more thoughtful giving, and ultimately drive systemic change. Our goal is to foster a wealth system rooted in inclusivity, distributive ownership, and governance—with empathy and decency at the core.
These circles will specifically focus on philanthropy and giving, drawing from the collective wisdom of the group.
We’d like to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to one generous individual who reached out with a simple yet powerful message: “I would like to financially contribute to this idea.” Wow—such gratitude! And, after our Impact into Play day, another participant asked, “How can I give financial support so that you can continue hosting these kinds of days? I feel so inspired and nourished today.” Double gratitude!
And a big thank you to Yonca, who encouraged us to join the Wealth Hack Challenge with a last-minute push (just two days before the deadline!). We’re excited to see where that leads and look forward to sharing feedback later this month!
“There will be no community without first communing” (Nora Bateson) - discover the upcoming in-person trainings to become a warm data host in Amsterdam (February 2025), Adelaide (March 2025) and online (April 2025).
Help us compile this newsletter by sharing interesting impact news and events with us. We’d love to strengthen visibility of all things impact related: events, information, programmes, challenges,.. in Belgium or abroad. Make sure to reach out and let us know what content you’d like to see featured in the next Impact Explorer!
👀❤️Looking forward and beyond
As Winston Churchill said: “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty”
We're all about involving game changes and impact players with tranfsormative initiatives that generate durable impact. Here's to pushing boundaries, making informed choices, and shifting the mindset from competition to collaboration.
Onwards and Upwards!
The Team at We Are Impact Collective