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Social impact investment (SII) -- the provision of finance to organizations addressing social needs with the explicit expectation of a measurable social, as well as financial, return -- has become increasingly relevant in today’s economic setting as social challenges have mounted with public funds in many countries under pressure. Source: https://www.oecd.org/.

Any and all SMU students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Businesses that are intent on making social change and earning a return - doing well to do good.

Equity is the quality of being fair and impartial. Disparities in social and economic equity are appropriate targets for social impact investing. 

Yes, both from an academic perspective - we are launching a Social Impact Investing course in the spring of 2024 and we anticipate many opportunities for engaged, hands- on learning as student participants in the Lab.

One of the central roles of the Phillips Foundation - SMU Social Impact Investing Lab is to mentor those emerging ventures whose objective(s) focus on social impact. We intend to a be a source of mentoring for what we anticipate will be a score of big ideas driven by changemakers. 

Similarly, we intend to develop specific internship opportunities as we build the Lab.

We will be developing a consolidated social media information stream that will leverage social media platforms, email, blog updates and more. Submitting your contact information on the "Contact Me" button will ensure you are added to our media database.

TBD. Share your contact info in "Contact Me" to learn about future events.

All are welcome as we are very determined to create a vibrant and dynamic social entrepreneur / social impact ecosystem on campus, across all dfisciplines, departments and student organizations.

Phillips Foundation is a private family foundation and catalytic capital platform that leverages its assets to maximize social, environmental and financial value. They are thought-leaders and doers in the social impact space. https://phillipsfdtn.org/about

It was launched as a collaboration between the Phillips Foundation, the SMU Meadows School of the Arts and the Cox School of Business.

We have three SMU faculty who will lead the Lab. James Hart and Dr. Doric Earle will lead the Lab's operations while Carlos Martinez will be the Deal Executive and Fund Manager.

Just come with a big idea, a business plan and a plan to measure your success.

Hit the “contact me” button or email any of the leaders of the Lab, Dr. Hart, Dr. Earle or Carlos Martinez. We will be happy to respond.  

The SMU Impact Lab provides students experiential learning opportunities in all areas of due diligence. Students work in due diligence teams with advisors and investors under the direction of the Impact Lab Fund Manager and are responsible for preparing investment memoranda and presenting prospective investments to the Fund’s Investment Committee for approval. Students may apply to become part of a due diligence team on the Application to Due Diligence Team application page.

All SMU students, faculty, staff and alumni are welcome to apply. To apply please visit the Apply for Funding Page and complete the application. 

Applications are received on a rolling basis and considered by the Impact Lab Due Diligence Team. Once an application is deemed to be a potential investment, the founders will be contacted for presentations, meetings and documentation that will be required to complete the due diligence process. Companies are then selected for investment by the Investment Committee.

The SMU Impact Lab manages an “evergreen” investment fund that invests in entrepreneurial concepts where the investment will create a demonstrable social impact. The fund targets direct equity investments in a variety of areas aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For more information about our areas of interest please visit our Investment Themes under our Social Impact Lab page.