Volans Connects
Over the last five years, an increasing number of global corporations have realized that by working with successful social entrepreneurs , they can find ways to increase their market share and profits while reducing poverty and environmental degradation, and improving social stability.
As these corporations know, growing and strengthening any organization depends on the talent and commitment of the individuals working in it. For this reason, making capital available to entrepreneurial social ventures, while necessary, is not a sufficient condition for spurring their expansion and impact. The needs of the social venture extend to general management, market research, strategic and financial planning, human resource management, marketing and communications, legal advice, accounting and auditing, information systems to name a few. Such services are readily available in the business world; yet social ventures lack access to such organizational support services.
Volans Connects - a program within Volans Ventures - responds to this gap within social ventures by tapping increased corporate awareness of the multiple benefits that can accrue to the financial bottom line through working with social ventures.
These benefits include:
- Market intelligence: social entrepreneurs shed light on how to seize emerging market opportunities by using appropriate technology, sourcing and costing structures and marketing strategies tailored to low income populations.
- Attraction and retention of talent: many global companies note the challenge of hiring and retaining talent in today's highly competitive market. Offering the possibility of a mid-career stint with accomplished social entrepreneurs has turned out to be a competitive recruitment tool. In addition, it reinvigorates weary workers, promotes staff loyalty and fosters a sense of personal purpose and accomplishment that monetary incentives cannot always provide.
- Leadership and "Intrapreneurial" Development: companies spend millions of dollars annually on courses, off-site workshops, etc., geared to enhance leadership among their staff. After business and technical expertise, the top qualities sought among employees are experience of global markets, as well as leadership capabilities and creative thinking. Working alongside social entrepreneurs around the world stimulates the very qualities that corporations seek in their staff and future leaders.
- Enhancement of brand value: as a few CEOs and senior level professionals of major global companies have noted, working with social entrepreneurs enhances corporate image.
- Career options in tough times: economic downturns can turn into life-changing and career enhancing opportunities as companies seek to offer a way to scale back numbers by providing career breaks for high performing staff and a chance to deploy their unique skills by supporting innovative social enterprises.
- Supporting "encore" careers among corporate alumnae: a growing number of companies are interested in continuing to engage their senior executives who, upon leaving their positions at national or global companies, wish to pursue new opportunities to engage with others in a significant way.
On the talent supply side, Volans Connects partners with global corporations seeking to deploy their specific expertise to support the work of high impact social ventures. That expertise can exist within their organizations, or among recently retired individuals from these entities seeking to contribute their expertise to innovative, socially transformational organizations.
On the talent needs side, Volans Connects works with recognized entrepreneurial social ventures from the networks of Acumen Fund, Ashoka, AVINA, EchoingGreen, Endeavor, Schwab and Skoll Foundation to structure their offerings of service opportunities and makes these offerings known to corporate partners. In this way, Volans Connects actively promotes and prepares both supply and demand.