Thinkshift co-founder Sandra Stewart to judge new Impact Narrative Awards
Prestigious international group launches first-ever award dedicated to impact investing communications; mission-first PR firm Thinkshift lends its storytelling expertise
San Francisco — Based on her work with leading impact investing clients over the last decade, Sandra Stewart of Thinkshift Communications has been selected as a judge for the first-ever awards dedicated to impact investing communications: the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment’s Impact Narrative Awards.
Stewart, a former journalist who co-founded Thinkshift, is part of a five-person international selection committee and will provide strategic guidance to the award winners, who will be announced in October.
Says Stewart about the competition, “A well-told story is the most powerful form of communication—and the impact investing world needs more of them. Too often communications about impact investing are complex and confusing, and these awards will champion those who succeeding at storytelling.”
About the awards
Because stories are an essential tool that connects people with ideas, the GSG, Torino Social Impact and Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia, the Italian National Advisory Board, have joined forces to launch the Impact Narrative Awards, which aim to identify best-in-class examples of impact investing stories used to persuade financial institutions and governments to put their full weight behind impact.
The awards are open to any organization involved in impact investing and the wider ecosystem (social entrepreneurs, accelerators/incubators, market builders, and so on) and to any kind of content used to tell the story, including text, video, infographics and pictures.
Entries are due August 23. There is no fee to enter either of the two categories, one for narratives addressing governments and the other for those aimed at the financial sector. Winners will be announced to 1,500 impact professionals at the GSG Global Impact Summit October 6–8 and promoted by the GSG, an international organization dedicated to catalyzing impact investment and entrepreneurship to benefit people and the planet.
Other members of the selection committee are Dolika Banda, financial expert and GSG Ambassador; Elena Casolari, CEO of Opes Italia Sicaf Euveca, a pioneer in the impact investing space; Tim West, founder, editor and CEO of Pioneers Post; and Matias Kelly, former Secretary of State for Social Economy in Argentina and founder of Sumatoria, an impact finance firm.
Thinkshift delivers prize to competition winners
Stewart’s San Francisco-based firm, Thinkshift, will develop a communications strategy centered on the award-winning content that includes defining outreach goals, key audiences, story line(s), and appropriate media outlets and other communications channels; developing an outreach strategy; and coaching the winning team on executing the strategy.
Adds Stewart, “I’m honored to serve as a judge and then to work with the prize winners pro bono, and I’m excited to see the creative work impact enterprises come up with!”
ABOUT THE GSG
A registered UK charity since 2017, the GSG currently has 33 member countries plus the EU. Chaired by impact leader Sir Ronald Cohen, the GSG brings together leaders from finance, business and philanthropy to solve the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. The GSG was established in August 2015 as the successor to and incorporating the work of the Social Impact Investment Taskforce established under the UK´s presidency of the G8.
ABOUT THINKSHIFT COMMUNICATIONS
Thinkshift Communications is a mission-first PR firm that builds brand value, fuels growth and advances mission goals for revolutionary sustainable businesses, cleantech companies, social enterprises, and other high-impact organizations. Its PR and thought leadership programs bring the heart of a brand to life, tell stories that connect with media and markets, and deliver real business benefits. Inspired by the power of business to help solve urgent social and environmental problems, Thinkshift is a Certified B Corp and a California public benefit corporation. Follow @thinkshift on Twitter.
