NEW YORK -- More than 20 teams comprised of graduate and undergraduate business students from across the country have submitted ideas for how to transform traditional donors into becoming social investors, as part of the inaugural Liquidnet Impact Challenge. The public is invited to vote for their favorite submission via Liquidnet’s Facebook page (facebook.com/liquidnetforgood). Voting will remain open until February 15th, 2011 and finalists will be announced February 18th.
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 is
using social media and collaboration to find new ways of approaching charitable giving.
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: socially responsible investing (SRI), 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.
“For the first time ever, we are involving some of the best business school minds to help us understand, reach and engage an undefined market: people who want to give back but want to give back in a smart and effective way,” commented Brian Walsh who oversees Liquidnet For Good.
“Applying what we know from improving efficiencies in the institutional trading community, we believe that nonprofit donors should
behave more like investors, efficiently allocating capital to those organizations that are sustainably achieving greatest social impact. As evident from the impressive submissions we received, these business students are offering new ways to increase social investing.”
Teams of students were asked to develop a marketing campaign, an online resource or some other tool that provides a new way of thinking about the giving process. The winning team will receive $7,500 and
$2,500 to donate to a charity of choice. Awards will also be granted to second and third place winners.
One finalist will be selected by public vote through the Liquidnet’s Facebook page and the remaining four to six finalists will be selected by a panel of judges that includes Seth Merrin, Founder & CEO, Liquidnet; Ken Berger, President & CEO, Charity Navigator; David Bonbright, Chief Executive, Keystone Accountability; Bob Ottenhoff, President & CEO, GuideStar; Hope Neighbor, Founder & CEO, Hope Consulting; and Mari Kuraishi, Co-Founder & President, GlobalGiving.
For more information about contest guidelines, eligibility and additional background information, please visit http://www.netimpact.org/liquidnetchallenge
About Liquidnet For Good
Liquidnet recognizes its responsibility to leverage all of its resources–financial capital, human capital, technology, and expertise – to strengthen the local communities where it has operations and offer innovative solutions to global challenges.Since 2007, Liquidnet has committed its time, expertise, resources and a portion of its revenues to Liquidnet For Good, the company’s social engagement program. Key initiatives includeLiquidnet’s comprehensive partnership with the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, a holistic living, learning and healing community for orphaned and vulnerable youth in Rwanda and Markets for Good, Liquidnet’s effort to convene the players in the philanthropic and impact investing ecosystem to promote smarter social investing.
About Liquidnet
Liquidnet is the institutional equities marketplace, bringing together the world’s largest asset managers and public companies on a single network that directly connects traders, portfolio managers, analysts and corporate issuers. Liquidnet enables its Members to achieve greater performance by moving from investment idea to implementation faster, ultimately retaining more alpha throughout the entire institutional investment cycle. Launched in 2001, Liquidnet extends to 39 equity markets across five continents. Liquidnet is headquartered in New York with offices in Boston, London, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore. For more information on Liquidnet, its liquidity, block executions, and additional investment capabilities, visit www.liquidnet.com
About Net Impact
Net Impact inspires a new generation of leaders to put their business skills to work for a better world. We help members transform their careers into ones that make a ‘net impact’—benefiting not just the bottom line, but people and planet too. More than 20,000 student and professional members turn to Net Impact for learning, connections, and leadership opportunities. Net Impact chapters can be found in cities across the globe and on the world’s leading business school campuses.