Doing something good
What motivated this angel investor to become a Rainmaker?
Jenna Gordon is an angel investor with a professional background in the area of child protection social work. She has a specific interest in responsible investment and entrepreneurs who focus on a positive impact agenda. Jenna is a mother, a writer and a passionate advocate of children’s needs and the necessity for children to be enabled and empowered to reach their developmental potential. We spoke to Jenna about doing good and her motivation to become a Rainmaker…
Why did you become a Rainmaker?
The values and the bigger picture ambitions of the Rainmaker Foundation align with my own. I straddle two worlds: born into financial good fortune, I have experienced the corporate and commercial world as a client and felt the strengths but also limitations of our economic system for creating sustainable societies. On the other hand, my professional life has taken me on a detailed and eyeopening journey into the inspiring but often challenging experience of working in the public and voluntary sector.
I often feel a frustrating pressure to compartmentalise each ‘identity’, when in actual fact, the knowledge gained from both ends of the spectrum seem invaluable for bringing together a picture of what a stronger and more fruitful financial system, based off the dual principles of purpose and profit, could look like.
The Rainmaker Foundation is a powerful and unique catalyst for empowering charities in a world that is exponentially steaming ahead with innovative, disruptive ideas, concepts and technology. This new industrial age, less forgiving of a cultural dependence, is likely to outpace social sector providers, negatively impacting on their ability to protect beneficiaries if we don’t enable charities to be part of this global future. The community culture of the Rainmaker Foundation — equally valuing the expertise of civil society actors alongside the gurus of the tech world and leaders from the business sphere, has provided me with an opportunity to share knowledge across sectors and a sense of treading collectively with others on the road to social progress.
As an Impact Investor and philanthropist, do you ever feel torn on which approach is more effective?
I believe it is possible to find investments that hold social, ethical and/or environmental benefits, whilst also providing a financial return. In my mind, it’s these facets that bring long-term reward and sustainability to those companies and their stakeholders.
I also tend to find that there are more similarities than differences between tech and social entrepreneurs seeking to bring their values to life. So for me, I’m always investing in the person behind the cause, whether it’s for profit or otherwise!
Most memorable experience with the Rainmaker Foundation so far?
A unique event at the House of Genius involving Rainmakers from a range of different backgrounds, coming together anonymously to think critically and constructively about the challenges charities are facing. The feedback given was honest, creative and valuable for the charities, and meaningful for us as the ‘genius’s as we put so much depth and passion into it. Rainmakers were present to make a practical difference and they did.
What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a Rainmaker and/or supporting doing something good?
Being a Rainmaker is about community in every sense. Doing something good requires you: your thoughts, knowledge, skills and interest, all of which will prove valuable beyond the professional sector you find yourself currently focused on. Just go for it!
Originally published in www.thefintechtimes.com on May 15, 2017 and featured at www.rainmakerfoundation.org
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CONNECT
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MENTOR
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