Taking CSR to the next level with crowdfunding

For businesses today, it makes sense to maintain a corporate social responsibility program. Giving back to the communities where they operate increases the company’s value in the eyes of stakeholders. Majority of consumers admit that corporate philanthropy also affects their choice of brands and stores to support.

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While nearly every type of business, from small companies to large organizations, has sought to do its part in providing help to society through CSR projects, current methods can’t keep up with the pace of needed changes. Good intentions may not be enough when companies do not know the best, most direct way to give back to the community. Likewise, the intended beneficiaries of social responsibility may not always be able to communicate their needs to the entities that could provide the necessary aid.

This is why companies seeking greater impact of their CSR projects should look no further than the possibilities opened by modern technology. These days, an emerging method is through online fundraising. Through sites that call attention to social realities, individuals pool their resources and donate to support a proposed solution to problems.

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Companies looking for better ways to donate can turn to crowdfunding sites to improve their current CSR programs. Through available technology, the process of gathering donations and bringing people under a single cause has been made easier than it was before. What used to take months to complete can now be done in a matter of days.
 
In addition, crowdfunding allows companies to participate in worthy causes in a highly transparent channel. The other participants and recipients of the donations know exactly how companies have helped the cause and businesses get the immediate boost to their image.

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Alex von Furstenberg does his part to help communities through the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation. Visit this website to learn about the organization’s goals and methods.

Hedge funds and private equity funds: Becoming more accessible

A private equity fund is defined as an equity capital that is not publicized. Private equity funds come from private sources, including investors and funds that make investments directly into private companies or acquire public companies resulting to the delisting of public equity.

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Meanwhile, a hedge fund is an investment offered to a limited number of bigwigs. The risk involved in this type of investment is in counterbalancing potential losses by way of hedging investments in various approaches, such as short-selling.

Nowadays, small businesses have a rough time obtaining credit, much less acquiring hedge funds and private equities. This may be due to lenders’ tight credit policies or their refusal to take risks on small businesses. Fortunately, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding have become practices that small businesses can take for them to cope with financial struggles, Forbes Magazine explains. These practices avoid traditional capital sources and instead acquire financing from the masses. Because of the plausibility of these practices, Congress passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in 2012.

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This development eventually results to a liberal access to hedge funds and private equity funds to accredited investors. Although non-accredited investors would not be admitted here, many small businesses can benefit from this. It seems that capital-starved entrepreneurs have more options in gaining investments with less risk.

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Investment expert Alex von Furstenberg served as the co-managing member and chief investment officer of Arrow Capital Management, LLC, a private investment firm focused on global public equities. This Facebook page provides more updates about public and private equity markets.