Annual Reports, 2016-2017
In a now yearly blog tradition, I’ve reached out to student organization leaders and members and asked them to provide an “Annual Report” for their group. I look forward to sharing details on the amazing work (or fun) that these groups have been doing in their “free time” throughout the year. With thanks to the FSIG team, here is the first of the reports.
Fletcher Social Investment Group
Passionate about impact investing or social enterprises and keen to explore these fields further at Fletcher? The Fletcher Social Investment Group (FSIG) is a student-run organization dedicated to the study and practice of impact investing, as well as the development of the next generation of leaders in social investment. To accomplish these goals, FSIG facilitates opportunities for Fletcher students across three core areas: advisory services to social enterprises, investment analysis and due diligence for angel investors, and research and education on impact investing.
Over the past academic year, FSIG members took on nine client-facing advisory projects, focused on domestic and foreign market entry strategies, business model design for new customer segments, and pre-fundraising valuation support. Within due diligence, FSIG teams provided support in the form of deal assessment and sector-specific research to Investor’s Collaborative, a network of angel investors in the Boston area, and Kiva, a crowdlending platform that recently started lending directly to social enterprises. Combined, FSIG’s Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 advisory and due diligence services are worth more than $50,000 in pro-bono support.
Five FSIG members continue to compete in the MBA Impact Investing Network and Training (MIINT) competition, through which they have been able to step into the shoes of an impact investor and develop a thesis, source, screen, diligence, and ultimately pitch a social enterprise at the competition. This month, our team will travel to the Wharton School to pitch their company against those of 24 other top business and graduate schools. We wish our team luck at the competition and hope they’ll bring home the top prize — $50,000 investment in the company they pitch!
For members who cannot commit to a client-facing project, FSIG also holds a number of events throughout the semester. In 2016-2017, these included a special leadership workshop for our team leads, taught by Professor Alnoor Ebrahim, a skill-based session on valuing early-stage start-ups taught by Professor Pat Schena, and a video conference on the topic of raising capital from the perspective of social entrepreneurs.
The 2016-2017 academic year also saw FSIG further its commitment to facilitating career opportunities in impact investing and social enterprises through a Boston Career Trek, held in partnership with peer organizations at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan.
We can’t wait to hear about you and your passion for social enterprises and/or impact investing! Drop us an email or visit our website for further information!