A Heart Rate of Return
A model for social impact investing from Team Together.
Authors: Kristin Bodiford and Sara Truebridge
In the for-profit world, we expect some sort of financial return for our investments. In the non-profit world, we make donations expecting the contribution will help advance the mission. Impact investing offers the ability to invest capital with a rate of return generally measured in terms of social and environmental impact along with profits. (1)
We are proposing instead of financial profits, a “heart rate of return” that demonstrates the value of the investment in terms of lives impacted (social impact) and values the strengthening of community collective capacity and global partnerships. Through “teaming together” resources of capital are joined with the capacities of those who are most effective at creating change in their communities. This teaming together is a recognition of our interconnectedness and a partnership of love and caring for the well-being of all. Professor Amy Edmonson says, teaming is a verb, a dynamic activity of engaging in teamwork on the fly. (2)
Here is an example. Health Nest Uganda in Entebbe, Uganda was concerned about the challenges families were facing during COVID-19 in accessing enough food to eat and alarmed by the high risks of starvation. In response, leaders from older persons’ groups came together to discuss the impact of COVID-19 and developed a design challenge: “How might older persons and youth work together to be able to develop sustainable food solutions for ourselves and our families?” As a result, they are implementing action plans for intergenerational training in backyard gardening of traditional nutritious foods and animal rearing in order to ensure food security and income generation. Unfortunately, older persons were not able to access loans for their project as they are considered risky borrowers by banks in Uganda. As a result, older persons started their own saving scheme. They contributed their own money to a SACCO (Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization) account. They also raised money from global partners to engage in impact investing, where the community is the steward of investing funds for social impact, with a “heart rate of return”, investment return firmly rooted in a philosophy of partnership, relationship, and love.
A SACCO is a savings and credit society that enables people to come together to save their money and offer loans to each other at reasonable rates of interest. Members decide how their money will be used for the benefit of the group.
In partnership with the Older Persons Groups, Team Together was able to provide seed funding through the SACCO and partnership through teaming together.
Through teaming together and focusing on a heart rate of return, a social impact investment pairs the:
> collective creativity of community members to address shared concerns and support each other’s well-being in partnership with
> investors who recognize our interdependence across geographical and other boundaries to
> engage in a short-term collaborative learning process to co-create and invest in innovative solutions to complex problems.
A heart rate of return puts relationships at the center and values the human connections that are developed through strengthening partnership and building collective capacity.
Note: In the story of community leaders coming together, every person was provided a mask and practiced social distancing outside.
(1) Addy et al. (January–February 2019) Calculating the Value of Impact Investing: An evidence-based way to estimate social and environmental returns. Harvard Business Review
https://hbr.org/2019/01/calculating-the-value-of-impact-investing
(2) Edmonson, A. (2012) Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy. Jossey Bass. San Francisco
