How Remarkable Conversations are Shaping the Future of Impact Investing

By Kate Jenkins, Head of Community and Partnerships at Remarkable

As part of Spark Festival 2024, we hosted an event called 'Investing and Giving for Impact' at Canva in Surry Hills. "Sold Out" may be a little bit of an overstatement because the event was free to attend but we were happy to have a room completely full of engaged people who were ready to learn and network. 

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Setting the Stage for Impact‍

The event was born out of an impact investing and effective giving discussion panel at SouthStart earlier this year which received some great feedback. We decided to keep the conversation going and continue to educate and inspire the ecosystem on how to use capital for good.

Moderated by me (Kate Jenkins, Head of Community & Partnerships) we were joined by these outstanding panellists who are each leaders in their field:

• Robyn King, Head of Social Impact at Canva
• Julianne Wilkin, Head of Impact Investment at Save the Children Global Ventures
• Zara Fulton, Head of Investment at Remarkable

The event explored a range of topics, including:

• How to challenge the misconception that philanthropy and impact investing are only for high-net-worth individuals.
• How companies can leverage their power to improve their social impact.
• Emerging trends in impact investing and the importance of measuring and communicating these outcomes effectively.

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Insights from the Panellists

Robyn, Julianne and Zara shared some wonderful insights including:‍

Robyn King shared her journey from corporate law to social impact, highlighting Canva’s Two Step Plan and the creation of the Canva Foundation. Her message, “Look at what’s in your hands and start now,” reminding us that anyone can start making a difference with the resources available.

Julianne Wilkin provided an inside look into how Save the Children balances financial returns with mission-driven outcomes, showing how charities can make impactful investments.

Zara Fulton talked about how Remarkable on behalf of CPA focuses on co-investing and how she uses her background working in research in the USA to find Disability Tech investment opportunities.

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Key Takeaways and Practical Advice

Our panellists left the audience with many words of encouragement and insights, some of which included:

• Encouraging businesses to ensure their social impact is measurable;
• For startups wanting to attract impact investors a good tip is to start by aligning their values with their missions; and
• For people in our ecosystem to start giving now with whatever they have and can.

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A Catalyst for Future Action

With the response we’ve had to this event, it shows there is growing demand for conversations around investing and giving for impact so watch this space for more events like this!

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