“I’m too broke to get sick” is a phrase I have heard muttered before. Typically this is a snarky commentary on the high price of receiving medical treatment. However, the statement takes a different meaning when you consider the non-healthcare costs of being sick, particularly lost wages. Imagine you are one of the 20% of…
Read MoreIf you’ve attended one or more meetings in the past year in which there was a conversation about what was needed to help stoke your local startup scene, please take a moment to metaphorically raise your hand. Across the country, economic development groups, entrepreneurs, and community advocates are all trying figure out what makes a…
Read MoreWhen you have a bad experience at a local restaurant, what do you do? Speak to the manager? Complain to friends and neighbors? If you’re like me, you just try to ignore it and move on. But what if the experience was so egregious that you can’t move one? It’s logical that you no longer…
Read MoreWhether you are an avid reader or someone resolved to become an avid reader, you may be in need of inspiration for that next book. Let Access Ventures help by sharing some of our favorite reads. Our organization places a great emphasis on learning and development, for which books are a critical component. Over the…
Read MoreImagine this scenario: you have a strong conviction to protect our planet for future generations and you devote a lot of time and resources to this effort. You spend your evenings and weekends organizing awareness campaigns, clean up efforts, and fundraisers. You sacrifice some bucket list items to send donations directly from your paycheck to…
Read MoreNeighborhoods are complex – a patchwork of organizations, households, and people all with varied backgrounds. Diversity, whether racially, educationally, professionally, or socially, is one of the hallmarks of thriving neighborhoods. Therefore, no single issue within a community is the sole factor that determines its success or failure. Solutions to community problems need to embrace the…
Read MoreWhen Access Ventures began to make investments into early stage companies, we were faced with the reality of having to find “venture scale” ideas in order to make our fund economics work. We have a strong desire to invest in local, impact-minded enterprises; ones that work directly in the community. However, those investments must be balanced with…
Read MoreB Corps and public benefit corporations have been around for almost a decade now and yet there are still a ton of questions surrounding them.* What does this mean for the current and future landscape of business? How do we measure and track a company’s social impact in the same way we measure and track…
Read MoreThe Access Ventures team has just returned from the Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) conference in San Francisco. SOCAP, according to its website, is a “network of heart-centered investors, entrepreneurs, and social impact leaders who believe in an inclusive and socially responsible economy to address the world’s toughest challenges.” We were thrilled to be a sponsor for…
Read MoreIt is the annual gathering of Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) at historic Fort Mason in San Francisco, California this week. SOCAP is a world-renowned conference series dedicated to increasing the flow of capital toward social good, and the annual flagship event is the leading gathering for impact investors and social entrepreneurs. It has attracted over 10,000 people since…
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