The challenges of developing FSG’s new website helped crystallize who we are. We’ve always struggled to explain the different worlds we bridge: philanthropic strategy, corporate responsibility, evaluation, nonprofit management, community foundation operations, social entrepreneurship, economic development, education reform, global health . . . the list goes on and on. The website forced us to distill what we are all about: finding better ways to solve social problems.
We firmly believe that the social problems our world faces today can and must be solved. Doing so requires that we approach them differently than before. We need a new set of tools that combine the best practices of philanthropy with those of business, strategy with evaluation, investing with donating, and good intentions with accountability for results. We need to create a new generation of leaders who shatter traditional boundaries to achieve social impact in ways we have never yet seen.
Like it or not, we are being forced to think differently about how we give to charity, operate our businesses, invest our capital, relate to developing countries, and measure results. The paradigms we have accepted for so long no longer fit the opportunities we face. New frameworks like catalytic philanthropy, shared value, impact investing, and collective impact challenge us to abandon long-held assumptions and grapple with unfamiliar demands.
It is thrilling to see and feel this change already happening around us. It is driven by innovations in technology that bring cellphones to the world’s poor and enable a global exchange of knowledge; by an outpouring of new knowledge from consulting firms, research organizations, and universities; by constantly emerging new social enterprises; and above all by the growing number of talented and hard-working people who are finding their life’s purpose in healing the world.
FSG is proud to play a part in this global movement, helping clients succeed in this new reality, introducing new frameworks to the field, and building a growing international team of skilled social impact consultants. Our new website is designed to share the learning and experience we have gained over the past ten years, but it is also intended to help us keep learning by stimulating dialogue with the many other people and organizations around the world who also contribute to the growth of this movement. Together we are reshaping the world.
