Purpose Driven Social Impact
The TBN Asia Conference is an annual event designed to shine a spotlight on social entrepreneurship and impact investing, which is proving to be an asset class capable of creating positive economic empowerment. Held during 12-14 Sept 2024, the plenaries, workshops, and exhibition booths were a wonderful complement to the main conference that helped to bring together potential funders, mentors, coaches, and specialist advisors all in one room.
Purpose Driven Social Impact
With the theme of Purpose Driven Social Impact, Chairman of TBN Asia Melvyn Mak gave an impassioned opening speech about how purpose, partnerships and people are at the core of human flourishing and social impact.
Catalyst of Change?
Chairman of Lien Foundation Laurence Lien then spoke about how a catalyst of change involves 3 aspects:
- Human Dignity
- Solidarity (unity/agreement among people with common interest)
- Subsidiarity
To address today’s challenges, we must move from the “I era” to a “we era,” centering collective values and shared responsibility. This shift calls for:
- Progressive reforms: starting with inner transformation to drive external change
- Empowering individuals and communities: supporting personal and communal growth
- Trust-based philanthropy: building relationships rooted in trust, not control
- Systems-based solutions: focusing on interconnected strategies for greater impact
- Strategic influence: widening our reach, deepening our impact, and collaborating with communities of interest (COIs)
- Adaptive leadership: mobilising people to address issues together and fostering collective sense-making
This approach requires a whole ecosystem view: from founders to funders, government to beneficiaries, social workers, academics, and advocates.
Another dynamic speaker was Eugene Seow, who spoke passionately about purpose. Here’s some of his notes:
- When you are driven by purpose, you share not sell; you transform not transact, you steward not progress
- The way we see the problem is the problem (Stephen Covey)
- Not just meet needs BUT mine potential
- not just fix problems but find purpose
- purpose is who we are and why we are
- purpose empowers, purpose dignifies
Beneficiaries and Donors both have a need:
- Beneficiaries have material and social needs
- Donors have validation, recognition and purpose needs
Note: every beneficiary can also GIVE (their story! everyone has a story. And it can empower others)
You can’t give what you don’t have, but everyone has a story. So share that.