Net Impact

The world can no longer wait for change at scale and Net Impact, with its global network, is uniquely poised to drive change at the intersection of today’s most pressing issues. With the support of the Elevate Prize, we will be equipped to amplify our mission, uplift the ambitious ideas of our community, and engage industry leaders to push past the status quo.

Net Impact currently relies on restricted grants to engage our network. While these grants support incredible programs, we are eager to fund our community across a wider range of initiatives, issue areas, and geographic locations to spawn exponential outcomes for people and planet.

Net Impact looks to establish a perennial pitch competition/accelerator for our global community to bring innovative solutions and ventures concepts to refine into social and environmental careers and enterprises. We will look to establish the necessary resources, infrastructure, and mentoring that allows applicants to exponentially address today’s most vexing issues. The Elevate Prize will be the catalyst to build and launch a resilient model necessary for scale. Through this work, we can enrich the ways we equip our members, engage partners in new initiatives, and expand our influence within the social impact space.

I have always wanted to change the world, but felt I lacked the ground-breaking idea or technical expertise to make a real difference. I was full of good intentions, but I didn't know where to begin. Six years ago, I joined Net Impact and realized that my view was too narrow, being confined by what I may have lacked instead of thinking about the integral role I could play, leveraging my skills, experience, and privilege, to be a catalyst for change. 

Net Impact believes in the power of people and business to change the world and understands that it takes the coordinated action of the two to drive change at the scale necessary to address and solve today’s most pressing issues. In my role as CMO, I am inspired by the brilliant minds, disruptive thinkers, innovative solutions, and relentless ambition that our interdisciplinary network and partners bring to the table. I now see my purpose is to use the skills of storytelling to amplify our members' voices and passions to catalyze the next-gen movement that we need. As a white ally, my role is to mentor and pass the mic to the rising leaders that the world needs urgently.

At Net Impact, we believe that many people want to change the world but most do not have the skills, resources, or network to translate good ideas into action. We leverage people’s passions into solutions for today’s biggest challenges and implore industry to do and be better. We believe that business can be a force for good, and we provide our more than 160,000 members with the skills, network, and inspiration to reimagine capitalism from within. This approach allows us to inspire a growing global community, equip them with necessary intersectional and interdisciplinary skills and resources, and activate a larger portfolio of great ideas, business initiatives, and entrepreneurs. 

We do this through our 435+ global chapter communities, annual programs and competitions, thought leadership content, and our virtual and terrestrial events. Through our work, members have scaled ideas into ventures ranging from a ride-sharing travel solution for the Texas Triangle, self-sustaining, urban aquaponics farms, on-demand local delivery services via e-cargo bikes, and so much more. 

The power of Net Impact’s global network aligns around key social and environmental focus areas: leadership, JEDI, environment & climate change, social capital & impact investing, circularity: responsible production & consumption, and civic engagement.

Net Impact was founded in disruption when a group of MBA students challenged the notion that they had to choose between pursuing business or following their values. Since 1992, Net Impact has followed in our founding members’ footsteps, welcoming innovation and agility to our approach for how we inspire, equip, and more recently activate a growing global community. 

Today, we embrace an evolving social impact and sustainability landscape and believe that we can not wait 30 years to slowly see next-gen assume traditional roles of influence. The issues we are facing require the energy and optimism of the Net Impact network to address them head on, no matter title or stage in life.  Net Impact embraces the radical concept that diversity-- of backgrounds, disciplines, sectors, and geographies-- is essential to creating solutions that are durable, deeply transformational, and world-changing.

Net Impact is currently testing new engagement models, building larger leadership development initiatives, partnering with a varied portfolio of organizations, and creating purpose-driven communities, like our newly launched Black Professionals Chapter, to ensure that all people have a seat at the table and can influence their purpose to enact change at scale.

“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” Net Impact challenges this notion further by adding that if you give a person resources and connections, that person can launch an enterprise that feeds the world! 

Our mission is to inspire, equip, and activate emerging leaders to build a more just and sustainable world. In 2020, amid a challenging year for all, the Net Impact global network didn’t shy away from continuing to tackle the world’s most pressing issues and together, Net Impact achieved milestones such as: 

• 100+ social and environmental solutions, action plans, and ventures were created 

• 100,000+ people engaged in our events

• Chapters hosted/completed more than 3,000 events and impact projects

• 90% of participants were inspired to take further action based on their experience with Net Impact

• 92% of participants said their experience expanded their knowledge across key issue areas

In 2021, we look to expand our impact and lean further into developing leaders, creating  communities and launching opportunities to ideate real-world solutions, engage in deliberative dialogues, and leverage careers and business endeavors for good.