StartingUpGood

#ICYMI The GIIN released its State and Size of the Impact Investing Market report for 2026 last week. Download the full report: ow.ly/LHMR5102sZ2

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that Anthropic plans to allocate 20% of its shares—valued between $300 billion and $400 billion after its expected IPO—to the public good. However, nonprofit leaders raise concerns about vague commitments, unclear governance, and how much will actually benefit charitable causes, signaling a critical need for transparency as this massive potential funding source evolves. philanthropy.com/news/anthro…

Alliance magazine proposes that philanthropy's $2.4 trillion endowments risk undermining responsible investment by relying on flawed ESG ratings dominated by a small oligopoly and dependent on company self-reporting. This creates gaps in accountability for corporate harms, especially amid a global funding crisis for independent business and human rights research. The authors from Swedwatch suggest foundations directly engage with civil society actors around risks and harms identified within their endowment portfolios to help drive robust active stewardship engagement. alliancemagazine.org/blog/ph…

Liberia’s former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf nominates USAID for the Nobel Peace Prize: devex.com/news/devex-newswir…

Impact investing assets under management have grown to $1.76 trillion, up $200 billion since 2024 despite geopolitical and market challenges. This slower yet steady growth signals resilience and maturity in the market, with institutional investors leading capital allocations and family offices driving fund formation, reports Impact Alpha. impactalpha.com/chin-up-impa…

Social Finance launches a $21 million Local News Impact Investment Fund backed by the MacArthur and Knight Foundations to address the local news crisis in the U.S. The fund provides patient, flexible capital to sustainable news organizations, helping them expand coverage and build sustainable business models that strengthen community engagement. socialfinance.org/news/21m-f…

Good review of The GIIN's State and Size of the Impact Investing Market report 2026 by Pioneers Post: pioneerspost.com/news-views/…

ImpactAlpha highlights a pivotal shift as veteran leaders exit long-standing roles in impact investing, marking the sector’s transition to a new phase of growth and strategy: impactalpha.com/a-changing-o…

The GIIN just released its annual State and Size of the #ImpactInvesting Market report. More than 3,000 organizations now manage an estimated $1.76 trillion USD in impact assets worldwide. Other key takeaways: - A handful of large investors (28%) control 93% of impact assets. - Impact and financial performance satisfaction held steady at 91% and 71% - same as last year. - Public equity allocations fell while private market allocations grew. - North America saw the biggest long-term gain. - Respondents planning to adopt AI rose from 53% to 92% in two years. Note: the 2024 and 2026 figures come from different respondent groups. Download the full report: thegiin.org/publication/rese…

Main programming of the GIIN's Impact Forum starts on Wednesday 28 October, where it will launch the State and Size of the Impact Investing Market 2026 - the GIIN’s annual look at where impact capital is going and how investors are feeling. events.thegiin.org/event/Imp…

Short primer on how The World Bank could get more private capital to low-income countries from Dan Peters of the Gates Foundation: giftarticle.ft.com/giftartic…

MIT Solve Challenge Final winner Flint Paper Battery also selected as one of Time's Best Innovations of 2026. Its biodegradable, forever-chemical-free rechargeable units perform on par with less sustainable and more volatile lithium-ion batteries. This social enterprise is partnering with Amazon and Logitech at the enterprise level and plans to sell A and AA batteries at major retailers by the end of 2026. time.com/collection/best-inv…

"This is really a government story and a community story and a teacher’s story before it’s a technology story," explains Kathleen Reen of SpaceXAI when discussing the company's partnership with El Salvador to provide access to learning platforms to both rural and urban students at the World Bank's annual meeting: youtube.com/watch?v=6xHVgrE-…

The World Bank kicked off its 2026 Annual Meeting with an informative conversation about the potential of “Small AI” - practical, affordable AI designed for specific tasks and local needs. It featured Ajay Banga, Kristalina Georgieva, Tharman Shanmugaratnam among other government and tech leaders. Watch the full conversation: live.worldbank.org/en/event/… Or catch 8 minutes of highlights: youtube.com/watch?v=CD4RuQTd…

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) at the AI for Good 2026 Summit highlighted the urgent need to ground AI's future in energy efficiency, safety, and human values. Read this overview for more information about two IEC-hosted sessions. The first asked whether the world can power AI, the second asked how the world can govern it in practice. linkedin.com/pulse/connectin…

ImpactAlpha reports that recent backlash against ESG investing has shifted the focus from intentions to measurable outcomes, demanding verified evidence of impact rather than just good intentions. This evolving discipline now hinges on rigorous KPIs, independent verification, and long-term materiality, illustrated by successful $700 million and $1.24 billion deals delivering real social and environmental value. impactalpha.com/from-intenti…

Size isn’t inherently negative for large INGOs. The question is how they use it. During a recent @devex discussion, @CARE USA CEO Michelle Nunn made a case for the importance of global organizations. “I would just make the positive and affirmative case for the value of global organizations alongside local organizations with a lot more capacity built at the local level where we are facilitators and supporters. But I don’t see us as simply working our way out of business. I think we actually have a job to do.” Intermediaries should: •Amplify local voices, not speak on their behalf •Help grassroots organizations become stronger, not make them more dependent •Create pathways to funding, not add layers between donors and communities medium.com/startingupgood/ma…

Sustainability Magazine lists the top 10 largest certified B Corps in the world, including Danone, Warby Parker, Benefit Systems and Amalgamated Bank sustainabilitymag.com/top10/…

Even when funding reaches on-the-ground-doers, the big decisions often stay somewhere else. Which problems to solve. What success looks like. How to measure it. @sanofi Foundation's Sandrine Bouttier-Stref made the case that innovation "can come from the community itself, from the young generation, because they know better than us what they need to do." Our full take from UNGA 2026 on how intermediaries can help communities make more decisions for themselves: medium.com/startingupgood/ma…

AI wealth could mean a windfall of new funding for global health aid, reports Stephanie Nolen for the New York Times, who interviewed more than two dozen people working in global health, philanthropy and AI. nytimes.com/2026/10/20/us/po…