Social finance

Social finance is an approach to managing money which delivers a social dividend and an economic return.

Social finance is often used to describe the lending and investment into companies who consider themselves social enterprises, charities, co-operatives, and other impact-focused organisations. The term can include community investing, microfinance, social impact bonds, investing into sustainable businesses, and social enterprise lending. Outcome-based philanthropic grantmaking and program-related investments, sometimes referred to as venture philanthropy, also fall under the umbrella of social finance.

These approaches to investment and funding share the twin focus of stimulating positive social and environmental returns for investors and the larger world. Some social investors try to effect environmental return, which is referred to as a regard for a triple bottom line. Similarly, it can be seen as 3D investing, which accounts for risk, return and impact for consideration by investors.

Social finance (disambiguation)

Social finance is an approach in finance aiming to deliver a social dividend, see Social finance.

It may also refer to:

Social Finance (US non-profit organization)

Social Finance, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, that provides advisory, transaction development and project management services to governments, service providers and impact investors engaging in Pay-for-Success (PFS) and Social Innovation Financing (SIF). Core to the firm’s work is the Social Impact Bond (SIB), a tool that draws upon private capital to fund evidence-based social interventions at scale.

History

David Blood, Sir Ronald Cohen and Tracy Palandjian founded Social Finance in January 2011 as a sister organization to the UK non-profit Social Finance, Ltd., which launched the world’s first SIB in 2010. Social Finance Israel was established in 2012.

The three organizations work closely together, but are independently funded and managed.

Core activities