| I have returned, once again, from Central America, where I had the opportunity to work with the Latin American Impact Investment Forum to set up the Latin American version of the Impact Accelerator Network. Our friends at Angel Ventures Mexico will be taking the lead on that. I’m also honored to have received the “Star Delegate Award” from the good folks at the LAIIF. It has been exciting to watch our partner organizations coalesce into a field, as we work together to support impact entrepreneurs. The scorecards for the first round of our competition are in, and I’m pleased to say that we have once again averaged more than 20 pages of feedback per plan per round. The announcement as to which companies will invited to our full plan round will be made on Monday March 4th. Sincerely, Ian T. Fisk Executive Director The William James Foundation |
| Triple Your Impact: Brackets for Good starts next week Help William James Foundation Reach our 2013 Fundraising Goals with a fun, “March Madness” style tournament with other local DC Non-Profits. The website goes live on Monday, March 4th washingtondc.bracketsforgood.org. If we win the competition, we will receive a $5,000 match from Brackets for Good. Also, our founder, Chuck Dell, has offered to match the 1st $5,000 raised. So the impact of your donation will be tripled! On Our Calendar Interact with the social enterprise community at a variety upcoming events. Members of the WJF team will be at the March 1st, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th events. Feb. 28th: Bethesda Green Workshop: Sources of Financing and Deal Structure (Bethesda, MD). Mar. 1st: University of Maryland Social Enterprise Symposium (College Park, MD). Mar. 5th: What’s Next for the Region’s Benefit Corporations and LLCs? (Washington, DC). Mar. 7th: Village Capital / VentureWell Venture Forum (Boston, MA). See pitches from current WJF entrants: Essmart Global, moWoza, Waterbelly, and Energy Harvesters. Mar. 9th: SOCAP SOUL (Boston, MA) Mar. 12th: Locating Social Entrepreneurship in the Global South: Innovations in Development Aid (Washington, DC). Apr. 30th: The 15th Annual Angel Venture Fair (Philadelphia, PA) WJF Community Notes – February 25, 2013 WJF is proud to announce that current entrants MoWaza, Lumeter, First Access, and Re-Nuble have all advanced to the semi-finalist stage in the Echoing Green Fellowship program. Soupergirl, 2009 prize winner, has expanded their Tacoma Park, MD retail and kitchen space. Watch 2011 entrant Wello‘s founder Cynthia Koenig reveal the WaterWheel 2.0 in this Ted Talk: http://fb.me/2nFPtFS98. WJF partner Invest2Innovate is hiring a Biz Development MBA Fellow WJF judge and in-kind donor Drew Tulchin of Social Enterprise Associates shows how to invest locally to benefit all. On Our Reading List What’s the Best Way to Measure Impact?, FastCo.Exsist, Feb. 2013. Money is Never Enough, Stanford Social Innovation, Spring 2013. Time for a Smarter Conversation around Impact Investing, Huffington Post, Feb. 12, 2013. |