Rusty Stahl is the Founder and CEO of Talent Philanthropy Project, a campaign to inspire Foundation and grantmakers to fund and nurture developing staff and leadership in grantee organizations and the nonprofit sector at large. He is helping to build a movement to maximize talent investing. Rusty joins us to talk about the deficit of talent investing, and how grantmakers can leverage the impact of their philanthropic dollars by supporting and nurturing the community of change makers in their grantee organizations and the wider social sector.  

As Executive Director of Grants Mangers Network (GMN), Michelle oversees a program dedicated to streamlining the grants management process, and helping organizations achieve better grantmaking and better overall philanthropy.  The grants management process might not be the sexy side of philanthropy, but it is absolutely essential to creating more harmony between funders and nonprofit organizations, and a better way of doing business. 

Legendary impact investor Jed Emerson has a long and accomplished career in various sectors of investing and creating community impact. He was co-author on some of ther earliest books on Impact Investing, as well as the theory of Blended Value. Here he talks about his own career path and where it's leading, the state of social capitalism, the roots of blended value, and the future trends of impact investing. This is a highly informative and involving interview that shouldn't be missed! 

As the leader of Community Partners, Paul Vandeventer writes and speaks extensively on networks, partnerships, civic engagement, and promoting greater 'civic reach.' He passionately advocates for a more united and collaborative Los Angeles. He is a wonderful speaker and deep thinker, with knowledge on the region, and a passion for storytelling.  

Impact Makers, a management and IT consulting company in Richmond, VA, is truly creating impact on an unprecedented level. They have made a commitment to gift 100% of all profits and equity from the company back into the community, through a couple of community foundation organizations. That is correct. 100% of the company is owned by community nonprofits.  As one of the original certified B Corporations, the purpose of this company is to maximize community and social value.  It has been good for their bottom line as well, since Impact Makers is listed in Inc. magazine's Top 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies.  Profits, Purpose, and Passion. 

Katie Kerr, Director of Communications for B Lab, discusses exactly what a B Corporation is, how companies can gain certification through the B Impact Assessment, and how a generation of social entrepreneurs is using business as a force for good in the world. B Corp certification is to sustainable business what LEED certification is to green building or Fair Trade certification is to coffee. Today, there is a growing community of over 1,000 Certified B Corps from more than 30 countries and 60 industries working together toward 1 unifying goal: to use business as a force for social good.

Nell provides concrete examples from her 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She discusses how truly effective organizations always begin with a Theory of Change, getting to the core of why they exist, and being able to articulate that through a Message of Impact. From there, an org must focus on strong leadership, building an effective board of directors, and staying true to their core mission and strategic plan. This is an insightful interview full of great actionable tips.  

Cathy Clark is a professor, researcher, impact investor, and leader in the movement for social enterprises, B Corporations, impact investing, and social good.  She is a Director of CASE i3 at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, i3 standing for Initiative on Impact Investing.  In this episode she speaks about impact investing, social entrepreneurs, and the importance of this model in the world of business, and how it represents the future of fundraising for pro-social organizations. 

Challenge grants like My LA2050 represent a new model for Foundations, byseeking out innovative new organizations, visionary projects, and also crowdsourcing the opinions of people all across the city, who have a chance to vote for their favorite projects.  Besides this program, Goldhirsh Foundation is also exploring new ways of funding social entrepreneurs and B Corporations, through a hybrid venture philanthropy model.  Tara discusses all of the exciting things that are taking place, and how the landscape of philanthropy is shifting in unexpected ways. 

Ryan Honeyman, author and thought leader, discusses the popularity of B Corporations as a business model, and represents a profound shift in thinking about the way business measure their success. In this episode we discuss what a B Corp is, how it is set up, and how it helps business achieve their goals. Ryan also talks about some important resources that can help get you started.