One Day, One Job » social investing

Sparkseed

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:55:06 +0000

As a member on the Board of Advisors for a startup non-profit, I know how hard it is to get things going. Building a website, raising the first $1,000, and writing a “business plan” are all huge challenges that separate ideas from real non-profits. And that doesn’t even include getting started on the good work that is the organization’s mission. The first few years are filled with ups and downs, and leaders of non-profit startups can use every little bit of extra help that they can get. One way that they can get that help is to work with Sparkseed, a San Ramon, CA based non-profit organization “that exists to develop the next generation of social entrepreneurs and increase their impact on society.” It’s an incubator/angel fund for early stage, student-led social ventures (both for-profit and non-profit).

Spark Your Career

The way that Sparkseed works is that they select up to ten “student-led social ventures” every year to get “six months of high-impact support.” To some extent, it’s a contest, and the prize includes the following:

Mentoring from entrepreneurs and executives
Pro-bono consulting from business and nonprofit professionals
$1,000 in seed money towards start-up costs
Webinars that teach skills such as creating a business plan, managing a team, pitching to investors, leveraging social media, and measuring financial and social impact.
$10,000 in web tools, including web site design, web hosting, & SEO consulting.
A four-day summit in Silicon Valley that includes networking, skill-building, and strategic planning.

After the six months have passed, Sparkseed chooses three ventures to receive ongoing support. I think it’s a wonderful idea, and it has the potential to significantly push forward innovation in the social venture community. As of now, Sparkseed doesn’t have any full-time jobs listed on their website or their Idealist page, but they do seem to have a decent sized staff. My bet is that if you pitched them on why you’d make a great addition to their organization, they’d at least be willing to listen. Give it a try by using their Contact page to reach out to them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Sparkseed?

People Capital

Willy Franzen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:49:13 +0000

I was lucky enough to graduate from college without having had to take out any student loans, but even if I had needed to take out a loan, at least it would have been before the “credit crunch.” These days it’s a lot harder for students to finance their educations than it was just a couple of years ago. Credit in general is extremely tight right now, and beyond that, lenders are being very picky about whom they lend to. For students with no credit history, getting a loan can be a big pain in the butt. People Capital is a New York City based startup that is aiming to change that through what they call a “peer-to-peer lending platform.” They’ve developed a Human Capital Score “to assess the creditworthiness of those just starting their credit histories,” and they’re now building out a network of borrowers and lenders to bring the idea to life. It’s kind of like Kiva for education, but with a for-profit incentive keeping things efficient.

Add Your Human Capital to People Capital

When People Capital’s idea catches on, it has the potential to completely change the lending industry—not just the student loan industry. We used to trust banks to make smart financial decisions, but those days are over. Now we can micro-manage our lending and borrowing through peer-to-peer lending. Borrowers can get lower rates based on information that goes beyond the traditional credit score, and lenders can make a profit while financing the educations of promising students. It’s hard to say whether people are ready for this kind of a business model yet, but if they are, People Capital is going to be growing at insane rate pretty soon (if they aren’t already).

If People Capital sounds like the kind of place that you want to start your career, then you should check out their job listings on Startuply. Right now they’re looking to hire people to help them with Business Development in Philanthropic/Endowment/Affinity Channels and in Capital Markets. You can apply for these positions online right now, and keep your eyes peeled for more new jobs as peer-to-peer education lending becomes all the rage in the world of microfinance.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about People Capital’s concept of peer-to-peer lending?

Domini Social Investments

Willy Franzen — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:00:32 +0000

What are your principles? How do they affect the way that you go about your every day life? Depending on what’s important to you, it can be extremely difficult to live up to your own standards in everything that you do. Everyday decisions are much more complex when you have to think about whether your shirt was made in a sweatshop, whether that hamburger you are about to eat was humanely raised, and whether your investment portfolio is profiting from sales of harmful and addictive tobacco products. Some people don’t really care about these issues, while to others they are of grave importance. Not long ago, you might have had to sequester yourself from society to live what you believe to be a socially conscious life. Now there are thousands of entrepreneurs who are creating products and services that will help make living a life that meets your standards easier.

No, the weekend didn’t come early (if you’re new to One Day, One Job, you should know that we write about non-profit jobs on weekends). Although social investing is often done by non-profits, Domini Social Investments is a for-profit company. They offer financial products for people who put principles over rate of return, but still want their investments to make financial sense. By maintaining global investment standards, Domini takes the need for heavy research (unless you get this job) out of building a socially conscious portfolio.

Domini is currently hiring a Shareholder Advocacy Research Associate at their main SoHo office in New York City. This is a great opportunity for someone who has honed their research and organizational skills in college. In this position you’ll be working with the Director of Shareholder Advocacy to ensure that the socially conscious views of Domini are represented through shareholder activism at annual meetings, in proxy votes, and in public policy. Shareholders have a voice, and Domini’s voice is often louder than those of other private or institutional shareholders. If this sounds interesting to you, take a look at how the shareholder advocacy process works as well as Domini’s history of success. To take the first step in becoming a part of Domini’s Shareholder Advocacy team, send your cover letter and resume to careers@domini.com (they also say a salary requirement is necessary, we think that’s silly, but apparently you have to).

Domini is a small company, but they’re growing rapidly along with the demand for socially conscious financial products. They have a casual, but professional atmosphere with lots of room for innovation and idea sharing. Sounds about right for what they do.

Note: On April 22nd we revisited entry-level jobs at Domini Social Investments.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you socially conscious about your investments? Leave a comment and tell us how you manage your portfolio.