Individuals, organisations or institutions that finance social/environmental impact finance are mission-oriented organisations, social enterprises or projects (impact finance). They are linked by the fact that they contribute to solving social/environmental problems through their financial investment or support. They are therefore an indispensable part of the ecosystem for solving social/environmental problems.
Depending on their financial goals in addition to social impact, they can be divided into two broad categories (both have additional forms): impact investors, who can become co-owners and receive dividends for their investment. They set out both financial and social/environmental impact objectives as part of their investment goals. The second large group of investors are those who do not expect any financial value added for themselves in return for their support, they focus only on social/environmental impact. They are venture philanthropists.
Impact-focused funding is characterised by intention and measurement. Intention is the planning and prior impact assessment that precedes the funding, i.e. the social/environmental impact is not an accidental by-product, but is always planned and conscious. The measurement process determines the social/environmental impact and effectiveness of the investment or support by comparing the baseline situation with the positive change brought about by the activities financed.
The situation assessments carried out in the framework of the Focus on Impact project showed that it was precisely this awareness and measurement that was lacking among our target groups. The in-depth interviews conducted during the project with executives and CSR managers of small and medium-sized enterprises and private donors concluded that when they help or fund solutions to social problems, they often make decisions based on emotion and very rarely ask about the long-term impact of their support. The project therefore proposes to build their communities, with the aim of exchanging experiences and knowledge transfer, in particular on impact measurement.
