TheChangeXchange.org is the portal where social investors and cool nonprofits meet!
Portland social investment site connects social enterprises with investors
ChangeXchange, Springboard Innovation’s new online tool, introduces emerging and proven social ventures to community members and funding organizations alike to allow them to help fill the biggest gap of innovation—seed funding. It also provides a pathway for citizens who want to make a difference. By exploring project profiles, users then “invest” in their chosen project. Their return? Social profit.
ChangeXchange fills a specific niche in philanthropy, providing seed funding only to nonprofit organizations that have integrated sustaining strategies into their business plans, building a new kind of change organization that won’t have to spend its time writing grants to make a difference. It can stay focused on mission. ChangeXchange allows anyone, regardless of financial or social background, to become an investor in positive social change. This means that you can be a key part of the most cutting edge and innovative solutions to problems in your own community!
TheChangeXchange.org creates a bridge between social entrepreneurs and investors. This Portland, Oregon-based initiative, a program of Springboard Innovation, is poised to serve as the new model for using the web to achieve the missions of innovative, sustainable nonprofits.
A selection committee made up of leaders in the business, academic and nonprofit sectors reviews proposals submitted by nonprofits hoping to be "listed" on the site. If the selection committee agrees that the project meets its criteria for inclusion, it folds the nonprofit into its cutting-edge process to connect with global citizens looking for philanthropic outlets.
ChangeXchange founder has strong background in nonprofit and philanthropy worlds
Amy Pearl is the executive director and co-founder of Springboard Innovation, from which ChangeXchange sprang. She draws on extensive experience in the education, corporate, and social sectors to shape her vision of addressing global challenges with interdisciplinary problem solving.
"By designing educational experiences to teach social entrepreneurship skills and strategies to youth and adults in under-served, needy communities worldwide, we can build a more equitable, innovative, and capable society," she says.
In a very real sense, ChangeXchange represents the confluence of Pearl's passions, skills and experience. The group's mission statement reflects her belief that sustainable nonprofit concepts need only seed money to take flight.
Public already recognizes social value of nonprofit investment concept
Springboard Innovation launched TheChangeXchange.org in April (read the launch release here. The City of Portland immediately picked up the story for its web site, and public support soon followed.
"There's a lot of online philanthropy going on right now," says Anna Raksany, who shares much of the Springboard/ChangeXchange workload with founder Amy Pearl. "We fill a different niche—anyone with $5 can be an investor." Even the smallest donation makes a difference.
The public is definitely interested. The average site visit was four minutes and twenty seconds in July, an incredible amount of time by web standards. "Now, we’re working hard to make sure that those visitors are also investors," says Raksany.
Founder seeks global involvement in social investment strategy
To date, much of the support for ChangeXchange has come from Portland, where the company is based. "We are broadening our base outside of Portland," Raksany says, “to reach both investors and social entrepreneurs throughout the nation.”
However, the early interest in "buying" shares has been quite encouraging. "The investment part has been very pleasing—during the first two weeks alone of the launch of ChangeXchange, over $2,000 were raised," Raksany says.
It helped that, in May, popular blog Idealist.org mentioned ChangeXchange. "It brought a huge amount of traffic to us," Raksany says.
The nonprofits that have made the cut at ChangeXchange are hoping the investment dollars will ignite their dreams to become part of that traffic.
Contact
- 503-452-6898
Address
- ChangeXchange and Springboard Innovation
- 107 SE Washington
- Suite 253
- Portland, OR 97214
