Recent federal legislation has focused on getting more capital into the hands of startup business ventures, with implications for the increased use of crowdfunding as a way of getting smaller investments from a larger number of investors. In addition, traditional venture capital firms are sharing space with social venture capital firms, who measure their investments on environmental and social impact rather than on financial ROI alone.

For social entrepreneurs, finding funds to start up or move a project to the next level can be challenging. Without nonprofit status, donations and grants are virtually out of the question. So, how can businesses with a social component secure funding through investment or crowdsourcing? Our chat will provide insights from experts in both of these funding arenas.

We'll cover topics such as:

• What makes for a viable "social venture"?
• Where do social enterprises typically get startup capital?
• How is funding for social enterprise different from more traditional business and nonprofit models?
• What makes for a strong pitch when seeking funding for a social venture?
• How (and how well) does crowdfunding work?
• How do you measure the success of a social enterprise?

Our panelists for this chat:

Tom Dawkins is Co-Founder of startsomegood.com, a site helping social good initiatives raise funds and grow a community of supporters. Startsomegood has taken the crowdfunding model - which is growing in popularity world-wide - and customized it to reflect the unique needs of social entrepreneurs. The site taps into the power of the crowd, allowing social entrepreneurs to ask for small amounts of money from supporters from around the world. Tom is a serial social entrepreneur, previously founding Vibewire, and was the first Social Media Director at Ashoka.

Josh Cohen is Managing Partner at City Light Capital, a venture capital firm investing in USA-based, high-growth companies dedicated to tackling some of society’s toughest challenges. City Light's success is measured by the financial returns they achieve and the impact their companies create through improvements in the ways we protect people, property and places, educate and inform ourselves, and consume energy and environmental resources, while promoting an open society. Josh is currently on the Boards of LicenseStream and City Light Carbon and is an Observer to the Boards of 2Tor and ShotSpotter.

Come ready with your questions, since much of the hour will be devoted to audience participation. Please note that this chat will take place at 7 PM ET.

How It Works:

This live chat will happen entirely in the chat window below. It will NOT HAVE AUDIO. When the chat goes live, you can submit your questions and comments and interact with presenters and other readers. Don't miss it!

Tweet during the event! #grantspace

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