Measuring the Other Bottom Line

Conference at Santa Clara University`s Center for Science, Technology, and
Society to Explore Metrics to Measure the "Social Impact" of Socially Beneficial
Businesses

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Should a bank that strives to lift millions of people out of poverty be shunned
by investors because its profit margin is not like Wells Fargo`s? Should food
manufacturers that serve starving children lose out because they can`t match
General Mills` bottom line?

Those who invest in "social entrepreneurs" agree that, no, such enterprises
should not be judged on profits alone. Social or environmental impacts are
necessary bottom lines as well. But so far there is no standard way to measure
that "social impact," despite its crucial role in helping investors compare
potential investments and helping owners improve their operations.

Finding ways to measure social impact is the focus of a Nov. 20 conference at
Santa Clara`s Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS), Change that
Counts, Building Sustainable Social Business. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. in the California Mission Room in Benson Memorial Center of Santa Clara
University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California, 95053.

"As social entrepreneurship has grown and matured, it has become glaringly clear
that entrepreneurs and investors alike need a common set of measurements from
which to gauge success going forward," said Radha Basu, managing director of
CSTS. "We hope this conference will help to crystallize the issues of most
importance in this effort."

The Change that Counts conference brings together working social entrepreneurs,
social investors, and specialists in investment metrics to explore the issues
and strategies that are shaping the social sector today.

In attendance will be top investors and leaders in social entrepreneurship like
Sally Osberg, president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, and Jerry Glenn,
futurologist and director of The Millennium Project. In addition, the 2009 Tech
Laureates - the 15 world-changing, winning social entrepreneurs who will be
honored Nov. 19 at the annual Tech Awards Gala - will be on hand to share with
investors their own stories, and how they believe social impact should be
measured.

Among the other attendees:

* Matt Flannery, co-founder and CEO of social investing micro-finance innovator
KIVA.org, which has helped facilitate more than $93 million of small,
"micro-loans" to entrepreneurs worldwide
* Tatyana Mamut and Aaron Sklar of IDEO's Evaluation for Social Innovation
initiative. They will be part of a moderated panel addressing the relationship
between social impact metrics and social investment practices
* Anne-Marie Burgoyne, portfolio director of Draper Richards Foundation,
responsible for identifying and supporting the Draper Richards Foundation
Fellows
* Marc Koska, frequent speaker and co-founder of Star Syringe, a manufacturer of
a safer syringe for use in worldwide health-care markets
* John Kohler, Redleaf Venture Group and Executive Fellow, Global Social Benefit
Incubator

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40
miles south of San Francisco in California`s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,758
students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and
engineering, plus masters and law degrees, and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished
nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. masters
universities, California`s oldest operating higher-education institution
demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more
information, see www.scu.edu.

Santa Clara University
Deborah Lohse, SCU Media Relations
Assistant Director
408-554-5121 (Media)
dlohse@scu.edu

Copyright Business Wire 2009