THE IMPACT MENU
A RECIPE FOR IMPACT INVESTORS
We are enabling impact investing to create real impact
For a long time, microfinance (loans to develop small businesses) were the pride of sustainable development. Then it was established that microfinance had no positive effect on fighting poverty and even started converging with the harmful practice of payday loans (high interest loans until the paycheck).
Meanwhile, 73% of impact investors report “decent work and economic growth” as impact, according to the Global Impact Investing Network’s (GIIN) Annual Impact Investor Survey. This is UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 8, and if applied literally, even most non-impact projects can claim they meet it.
We oppose reporting impact where there is none, so we are combatting “Impact Harvesting” (in addition to greenwashing and similar practices). Nor do we want to repeat the mistakes of others. We are working on creating an “Impact Menu” - a short summary of best practices in impact investing for different areas, designed to improve the efficiency of impact-driven decisions, for all.
For this initiative, contact:
Dr. Olga Paxson
Head of Reaction Think Tank
paxson@reaction.global
Call to action:
Reach out to us if you would like to contribute to the Impact Menu initiative. When reaching out, please indicate specific areas where you can help:
“I have connections with the United Nations / universities / research institutions / other organizations who can assist with collecting and systematizing best practices for impact investing.”
“I can fund this project.”
“I have experience with data collection and management.”
“I have the following other expertise or connections that may be helpful [please list].”
“I want to [do research / please list anything relevant].”
Click on the image to read Olga Paxson’s article on Impact Harvesting
Click on the image to read Olga Paxson’s article on the Impact Menu
About the Author
Olga Paxson is Head of Reaction Think Tank. Previously she led a 15-year career as a top ranked partner at major law firms.
About Reaction
Reaction is about creating exponential change. We are a global community of entrepreneurs, investors and executives who share a vision for a world where innovation can meaningfully change more lives in less time. Why now? Because more innovations will be created in more countries and more industries over the next decade than in the previous 50 years. Many will offer the potential to solve global issues. But will fail to reach the markets they could have benefited most. Reaction was founded by a global team of Stanford alumni who united to solve this problem together. Our mission is to measurably improve one billion lives, within a decade, by scaling innovations that will change the world.