SSIR Online, Fall 2023 Issue

(Illustration by iStock/Kubkoo) 

Mental Health in Focus

IN-DEPTH SERIES | Global Perspectives on Mental Health and Social Change

While mental health and social change are frequently considered separately, strong evidence suggests that integrating the two can lead to lasting impact. In this article series, produced in partnership with the Catalyst 2030 Mental Health Collaboration, contributors explore the why and how of addressing mental health in support of climate justice, gender equity, peace building, and the workplace. All together, they justify making mental health a central piece of any social-change effort.

Trouble With Impact Investing

ARTICLE | Impact Investing Can’t Deliver by Chasing Market Returns

There’s a basic truth that many impact investors are reluctant to accept, writes Jim Bildner, CEO of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation: “Investments that create full market return and true social impact … simply do not exist at scale.” What role does impact investing have to play then? As complement to other forms of capital with more realistic economic expectations, Bildner argues. “Impact investing is not its own thing. It’s part of a coordinated effort to attract market capital, not be the market capital.”

Trust-Based Capacity Building

ARTICLE | Building Nonprofit Capacity, Hand in Hand

Is strategic capacity building in tension with a trust-based philanthropy approach? The power dynamic between funders and grantees certainly affects how nonprofits receive and experience capacity-building support, write Anu Malipatil and Lucy Brainard of the Overdeck Family Foundation. But this shouldn’t prevent funders from helping grantees to become more cost-effective, sustainable, and scalable. “Strategic capacity building can work in concert with trust-based philanthropy to achieve greater impact than funding can alone.” What’s required is trust, shared respect, and mutual accountability.

Redirecting Climate Dollars

ARTICLE | Better Climate Funding Means Centering Local and Indigenous Communities

Failure to deliver funding to local and community organizations is nothing new. When it comes to the dual climate and biodiversity crises, though, supporting the land rights and environmental stewardship of Indigenous peoples and other local, rural communities is urgent and essential. Doing so will require “major changes in the culture, infrastructure, and practices of climate and conservation funders, including international NGOs, private foundations and philanthropies, and government funding agencies.”

HR Department

ARTICLE | Why Settle for Cookie-Cutter People and Culture Practices?

Organizational performance depends on thoughtful policies and practices with respect to employees and culture. That may seem obvious, but who hasn’t had experience with a less-than-stellar situation? Leaders from the Center for Effective Philanthropy explain six of their internal practices that they believe have contributed to success in hiring, performance, and equity. For one: They don’t give merit pay.

Read more stories by SSIR Editors.