Giving Compass' Take:

• Heather Grady, author of Key Driving Forces of Social Innovation, discusses the importance of impact investment and social enterprise and how they can be used effectively. 

• How can you or your organization begin getting involved with impact investing? Is this the right course of action for you?

• Learn about the need for philanthropic innovation. 

In China, as in every country, governments hold fundamental responsibilities for ensuring that all people are educated and healthy, and have opportunities to be productive and prosperous. The field of philanthropy in China is growing, so there as elsewhere, philanthropy and impact investment are finding their roles complementary to—not replacing—the fundamental role and responsibility of the public sector. Indeed, today in China as elsewhere, smart combinations of public and private funding will be an essential component in tackling complex social and environmental challenges.

Case Studies and Examples of Impact Investing and Social Enterprise in the U.S. and China

The book concludes with several notable examples from the field of impact investment and social finance in the U.S. and China. The world’s most famous foundation is always a topic of interest in China, so a section describes how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched PRIs in its program areas of education, international development, and global health. A second example is Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing. Case studies on social enterprises and social impact bonds in education in the U.S. offer in-depth illustrations of the opportunities and challenges. Chinese case studies written by the Social Finance and Innovation Center of the China Global Philanthropy Institute focus on Dao Ventures, Tsing Capital, and the Aiyou Foundation. But whether examining the U.S. or China, the field is moving fast and there are a growing number of examples to learn from.

As the many examples and case studies in this book show, important factors for success are collaboration, patience, and communication. These are social endeavors that build on processes of listening, discovery, experimentation, sometimes failure, and integrating new knowledge of what works and what does not. China’s place in this landscape of philanthropy and impact investing is important, and rapidly evolving. Philanthropy and impact investing that crosses borders helps to increase the mobility of ideas and greater understanding between different cultures. We hope this book makes a contribution to that in the years to come.

Read the full article about impact investment and social enterprise by Heather Grady at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.