Don't Donate... INVEST

What a difference a word makes! A tremendous amount of assumptions can go into a simple word.... and sometimes challenging those assumptions is an uphill battle.

Donor-types and investor-types have expressed interest in supporting our efforts, so we thought it best to use the same word to describe what we hoped each could do: invest.

Investors expect a return, and frankly, we think that’s a good thing. Since we are a socially-motivated company, those interested in contributing financially are typically socially-motivated as well. All these folks expect a social return, but a subset also hope for a financial return, and they are not used to using the same word to describe both types of expectations.

Exhibit A: My father-in-law was warned by the Compliance Officer at his brokerage firm that he should limit involvement with Karisimbi Partners because he is restricted from “investing” in deals outside his firm.

Exhibit B (from the opposite direction): a charitable foundation balked when we used the word “invest” because they are restricted from making contributions to any but those with 501(c)3 status (which we have via a strategic partner, but most that have such status avoid using the word invest).

Both camps find themselves challenging underlying assumptions from opposing sides of the divide between profit and non-profit institutions. Jessica Jackley (one of Kiva’s co-founders) states, “people still have a lot of misperceptions about the limitations of being a (non-profit). It’s a tax code, not a religion.” Yet misperceptions are not easily erased.

We feel both donors and investors should expect a measureable impact for their contribution. This keeps Karisimbi Partners accountable. Instead of perpetuating a ‘donor mentality’, we’d prefer an ‘investor mentality’ (especially one that tallies more than merely money). Some prefer to call this Social Return on Investment. This mentality carries more dignity and mutual respect to contributor and contributee…. modeling the relationship we hope to soon have with clients.

So even if our use of the word invest conveys more than commonly ascribed, we intend to continue using the word (and expand its meaning) for the good of all involved.

Onward & upward,
-Carter