Social Impact Blog

The time to Knock Out Poverty in central Ohio is NOW! Your online donation to SocialVentures at knockoutpoverty.org can help us win a portion of the $200,000 prize pool at stake in United Way of Central Ohio’s friendly bracket challenge, Knock Out Poverty. If you haven’t made an annual gift yet (or even if you have) […]

Over the past five years, Philanthropitch, the social impact fast pitch competition, has been on a mission to scale innovative nonprofits in communities around the nation. Presented by Kiwanis Club of Columbus & co-hosted by SocialVentures, the first annual Philanthropitch Columbus will take place at the the Speaker Jo Ann Davidson Theatre in the Riffe […]

Philanthropitch has announced six of the seven total finalist organizations to pitch at the inaugural Columbus event on March 4, 2019. The seventh finalist organization will be announced at SocialVentures’ Nonprofit Sustainability Showcase on February 7, 2019. Presented by Kiwanis Club of Columbus and co-hosted by SocialVentures, Philanthropitch Columbus event will take place at Jo Ann […]

B Labs and its Certified B Corp program have gained significant traction over the years as a way to communicate businesses’ transparency as it relates to their commitment to ethical business practices, as well as their commitment to using environmental sustainability. Similarly, Conscious Capitalism is also trending among corporations examining their 360-degree impact, and exploring […]

Fit to Navigate wins crowd favorite at SEA Change Social Enterprise Accelerator Pitch Day – Columbus 2018. Photo courtesy of GIVEBACKHACK Columbus. On August 22, more than 200 individuals gathered to hear eight organizations pitch their social enterprise concepts at SEA Change Social Enterprise Accelerator Pitch Day – Columbus 2018. A total of 15 organizations […]

During SocialVentures’ annual Positioned to Prosper event, which took place on August 7 at the Columbus Museum of Art, Allen Proctor, President & CEO, SocialVentures, announced that SocialVentures will co-host the first annual Philanthropitch in Columbus on March 4, 2019. Philanthropitch is a social impact fast-pitch competition on a mission to scale innovative nonprofits. Presented […]

During the August 7 presentation at SocialVentures’ annual Positioned to Prosper event, Allen Proctor announced that Social Ventures Fund has made its first investment in Roosevelt Coffee Roasters. Social Ventures Fund, LLC lent $50,000 to Roosevelt Coffee, LLC. Kenny Sipes, Founder of The Roosevelt Coffeehouse, came to the stage to talk about his new business […]

Lily Vail leads the Kiva lending program in Columbus. The online platform allows small-business owners to access zero interest, crowdfunded loans that range from a few hundred dollars up to $10,000. In 2005, Kiva started as a platform to connect borrowers and lenders abroad. In the United States, it operates as a direct lending platform […]

Over the past four years, Central Ohio has experienced a rapid expansion of the social enterprise movement. Strong and growing, today it numbers over 100 social enterprises. To continue this momentum, SocialVentures has introduced sponsorship packages as a way to showcase our community’s belief in business as the key to creating significant and lasting social […]

Talking about social enterprise and social impact is getting confusing because the words are being used to apply to any business that is good. We define social enterprises as  businesses that intentionally integrate social impact as a non-negotiable component of their business model through the people they employ or the social missions they support