Impact investing – for profit AND social good | Catalyst Kōrero - 28th August

Both charities and companies need capital.  How to achieve both profit and public good at the same time, especially in these economically straitened times, is the subject of our August 28 Catalyst Kōrero.

Steven Moe, Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading lawyer in impact investing, works on both sides of the equation. He helps investors achieve public good from their business, and charities to structure their offerings to attract investors.

“We need to challenge the old paradigms of thinking about doing good and making profits, stuck as they are in Milton Friedman’s doctrine of shareholder primacy,” Steven says. “That binary conception no longer stands.  There are structures that mean both corporates and fundraisers can achieve their goals.”

Steven has formally advised hundreds of groups ranging from charities to companies and entrepreneurs.  He hosts the Institute of Directors’ Board Matters governance podcast and his own Seeds podcast, on which he has interviewed 450 inspiring entrepreneurs and individuals.

As chair of Community Finance, NZ’s largest private impact investing fund, he has helped raise more than $265 million for social housing in the last four years, through the government-backed Community Housing Funding Agency.

Steven will outline different legal structure options to use for advancing purpose while being profitable, and lead a practical workshop considering different scenarios. Bring your questions.

Thursday, August 28, 6 to 7:30 pm, at The Liger Academy, Five Mile. Registration required to ensure your seat. Please donate online or bring cash for your koha, which will be given to the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust.

NB: The same day this Catalyst Kōrero was confirmed, May 15, the government unveiled a new $190 million social investment fund designed to eventually take over contracts secured by government agencies for social services from non-government agencies, currently worth around $7 billion a year.