Social Enterprises – Croixstone

Congrats to the SEED20 Class of 2024

“We distributed awards totaling over $41,000! With Wells Fargo’s generous match, our fundraising total surpassed $60,0000 (a new SEED20 record!) and continues to grow.”

– Social Venture Partners Charlotte (Host organization of SEED20)

What a night! On Tuesday, March 26, ten leaders from local Charlotte region nonprofits took the stage at the annual SEED20 pitch contest hosted by Social Venture Partners Charlotte (SVP), the unique nonprofit organization that hosts this annual program to identify, spotlight and support the Charlotte region’s most innovative ideas for tackling pressing social issues.

An electrified atmosphere. The SEED20 Class of 2024 took the stage at Central Piedmont Community College’s New Theater and captivated us with their inspiring narratives on how they are transforming the greater Charlotte area for the better. Our very own Mark Weber (Managing Partner and Co-Founder) also took the stage to share the story about his personal involvement with SEED20 and host organization SVP. Mark is a former board member with SVP and he and Patti Weber (our CEO) are long term Partners (donor volunteers) with this innovation-centric nonprofit.

Congrats! Croixstone extends a hearty congratulations to the SEED20 award winners.

• Wells Fargo People’s Choice Grand Prize of $20,00: Day Services Program at Children’s Attention Home
• Second Place Prize of $7,000: Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats
• The Brand Building Shop’s Brand Narrative Package valued at $8,000: Rooted Hearts Ministries
• The Professional Video Production Package valued at $3,500: Siloam Educator Institute at the Charlotte Museum of History
• Coaches’ Award of $2,000: Our Daily Bread Foundation
• Community Vote Prize of $1,000: Day Services Program at Children’s Attention Home

Learn More. Click here to learn more about the SEED20 Class of 2024.

Application Period for SEED20 2024 is Now Open

About Croixstone and SVP Charlotte: Croixstone is a proud Community Partner of Social Venture Partners Charlotte (SVP Charlotte). This unique nonprofit organization provides a way for passionate and committed individuals and companies to collectively invest their money, skills and time to nurture and support some of the most promising nonprofit organizations attacking social and economic inequality within the greater Charlotte region.

What is SEED20?: SEED20 is the nonprofit pitch contest hosted annually by SVP Charlotte. This high-profile program provides a terrific opportunity for innovative nonprofits to tap into professional development around messaging, gain access to high quality marketing assets, benefit from incredible community exposure, and build their social capital.

Spread the word: SVP Charlotte announced yesterday that the application period for the SEED20 Class of 2024 has officially launched. Please share the following link with your professional network and help us spread the word: https://tinyurl.com/applytoday4Seed20

Save the date: You don’t want to miss the SEED20 Class of 2024. Join us to watch them take the stage on Tuesday, March 26 at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte.

SEED20 OnStage is Back!

Join the Croixstone team (virtually or in-person) for a very unique nonprofit experience.

The big picture: The Charlotte region’s most unique nonprofit pitch contest, SEED20 OnStage, returns to the stage this month on Thursday, April 27 at 7pm EDT.

About the host organization: This signature event is hosted and produced by Social Venture Partners Charlotte (SVP), one of the Charlotte region’s most unique nonprofits that supports fellow nonprofits.

Why it matters: Innovators imagine the future and fill in the gaps. The SEED20 stage provides social entrepreneurs across the Charlotte region with a platform to share their innovative ideas that benefit our community.

How it works: 10 nonprofits will give three-minute pitches on why they are passionate about the work they are doing and the impact it is making on our community. You and the rest of the audience then vote on the grand prize of $20,000.

And there is more: After the pitches conclude, you will have the opportunity to grab an adult beverage, snacks, and then mix and mingle with the nonprofit leaders who inspired you.

Check out these links: Click and learn more. You’ll understand why you want to be in the room on event night.
• Check out SVP’s pitch for SEED20: 47 Second Pitch Video
• Learn more about the nonprofits: Visit the event website at SEED20 Class of 2023
• Buy event tickets: Onstage Tickets! (in person are $80 and if you can’t make it in person, livestream tickets are available for $25)
• Donate: Use Pledge to donate to one or all of these amazing nonprofits (no fees for contributions less than $1,000– you can reduce the tip amount all the way to 0)

Croixstone and SVP: Croixstone has served as a corporate partner with Social Venture Partners Charlotte for several years. SVP is a nonprofit comprised of Partners (both corporate and individuals) who donate their professional skills and invest their collective social and financial capital in innovative nonprofits who are tackling Charlotte’s most pressing problems.

“Innovation is seeing what everyone has seen
and thinking what nobody has thought.”

-Albert Szent-Györgyi

Croixstone’s Lisa Cahill to Participate in ENCOUNTER Charlotte

One of Croixstone’s favorite hometown nonprofits is Leadership Charlotte. This great organization has a mission to develop and enhance volunteer community leadership by providing a diverse group of emerging and existing leaders with the opportunity to increase their community knowledge, civic network, and service to the community.

Leadership Charlotte offers two programs to fulfill its mission. The organization’s core program is “Leadership Charlotte”, a 10-month program where an average of 50 participants explore current issues with a variety of community leaders. Additionally, the organization offers a scaled-down version of its core program called “ENCOUNTER Charlotte.” This program serves as an orientation to Charlotte and to community leadership over a two-day period each spring and fall.

Croixstone’s very own Lisa Cahill (Senior Talent Leader) is participating in ENCOUNTER Charlotte’s spring 2023 program. She joins participants from a diverse portfolio of organizations across the Charlotte region including: Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, Novant Health, Truist Financial, Microsoft, Grant Thornton, Bank of America, Second Harvest Food Bank, Dowd YMCA, and more.

Croixstone’s CEO, Patti Weber, and Managing Partner, Mark Weber, are past participants of ENCOUNTER Charlotte. Learn more about the organization here.

Fortune’s 6th Annual “Change the World” List

On September 21, 2020, Fortune Magazine revealed its sixth annual “Change the World” list, which showcases over 50 companies that have made an important social or environmental impact through their profit-making strategy and operations this year.

Three companies from the Southeast USA made the list:

#15 Charlotte-based Bank of America

#49 Atlanta-based UPS

#51 Miami-based ChenMed

Explore the full list here.

What You Need to Know About Social Enterprises

On April 16th, Social Venture Partners Charlotte (SVP) will host the annual SEED20 program which identifies, highlights, and connects the community to twenty of the region’s most innovative ideas for tackling pressing social challenges. In today’s business world, nonprofits are not the only ones concerned with being integrated into the social fabric of society. Earlier this week, Forbes ran an article titled the “The Rise of the Social Enterprise: A New Paradigm for Business” which illustrates that businesses today need to make a shift in management in order to be more integrated into the social fabric of society.

Social enterprises are revenue-generating businesses with a twist. A social enterprise has two goals that are equally important:

Achieve social, cultural, community economic and/or environmental outcomes
Earn revenue

In the Forbes’ article, a yearlong research and survey of business and HR leaders by Deloitte revealed that “citizenship and social impact” were rated critical or important by 77% of respondents.

One of the trends identified is that companies today must be “social” in a truly external sense, and one of the biggest challenges is that C-suite executives are not operating or organized effectively to deal with the new world of economic growth and technology revolution while effectively addressing diversity, inclusion, fairness, equity at work and more.

There are two dimensions to the evolution of social enterprise.

Moving from an organization which operates as a functional hierarchy to one that operates as a “network of teams.”
Each part of the company looks at the impact of external factors and the company’s footprint in the external world.

Click here to read more about the new paradigm shift for businesses addressed in the article and click here to learn why social enterprise can be a win-win for companies.