NEW YORK -- A team of four students from the Net Impact Chapter at Drexel University were selected by a panel of expert judges to win the inaugural Liquidnet Impact Challenge. Their idea of using crowd-sourcing to identify higher performing nonprofit organizations won the team $7,500. Additionally, a $2,500 donation will be made in their honor to Jumo, the social media nonprofit selected by the Drexel team.
Developed by Liquidnet, the institutional equities marketplace, in close collaboration with Net Impact, a global organization of students and professionals using business to improve the world, the Challenge sought to find new ways of approaching charitable giving. More than 20 teams comprised of graduate and undergraduate business students from across the country submitted ideas for how to transform traditional donors into becoming social investors. After a public vote via Facebook and a selection by a panel of expert judges, six finalists were ultimately narrowed down to one winner.
This Challenge was launched to generate ideas to advance Liquidnet’s “Markets for Good” initiative, a signature component of Liquidnet For Good, the company’s social engagement program. Liquidnet is focused on leveraging its core competency – making financial markets more efficient – and applying it to the social sector. “Markets for Good” intends to bridge the divide between three different types of marketplaces: financial investing, impacting investing, and philanthropic giving. Through collaboration and strategic partnerships, Liquidnet is convening key stakeholders to identify solutions that will make these markets more efficient and effective.
“For the first time ever, we are involving some of the best business school minds to help us understand, reach and engage donors, so that we can drive more money to high performing nonprofits,” commented Brian Walsh who oversees Liquidnet For Good. “Applying what Liquidnet knows from improving efficiencies in the institutional trading community, we believe that nonprofit donors should behave more like investors, efficiently and effectively allocating capital to those organizations that are sustainably achieving greatest social impact.”
“We feel the next generation of business leaders has the potential to play a vital role in the development of smarter philanthropy,” says Liz Maw, Executive Director of Net Impact. “This was a great opportunity for students to apply their business skills to real-world social innovation.”