Kaat Peeters - Leaving a legacy. Grow your social impact

Impact is the sum of the effects of an organizations actions on top of and next to what would have happened anyway. It concerns the social and environmental changes that would not be taking place without your actions.

The Center for Social Impact (Michigan) describes impact as a significant, positive change that addresses a pressing social challenge, as a result of a deliberate set of activities with a goal around generating social impact and social change. Often, the word impact is associated with collisions. However, when we use the word impact in this book, we mean the beneficial change we can make to society, the environment, culture, education, the economy, our wellbeing and our quality of life.

Activities that have an impact can be direct or indirect, small or far-reaching, immediate or long-term, close or far away. Impact can be positive or negative, direct or indirect, and even unintentional.

Before we embark on a journey to make an impact, we need to reflect on which benefits we are bringing and to whom. We also need to reflect on any potential, unintended, negative consequences. In our opinion, impact needs to be sustainable.

Organizations working consciously towards creating an impact often follow a sequence in terms of their inputs activities outputs outcomes impact. This sequence is called the logic model approach. This approach underpins the Theory of Change of an organization, whereby you believe that your efforts are converted into desired societal results. We believe that by doing x, the result y will be reached.

THE LOGIC MODEL

RISING YOU

Rising You is a Belgian social enterprise that facilitates the integration of refugees through programs that provide training in climbing techniques, technical skills (e.g. industrial painting) and soft skills. This innovative solution has a remarkable impact: 93 % of the young refugees who participate in the program get a long-term job. The number of companies that ask for training sessions for their future technically-trained employees is growing fast. Rising You also enriches the refugees quality of life.

YOUR LOGIC MODEL

Be the change you want to see in the world

Mahatma Gandhi

Steve Jobs stated that death is the destination we all share in his commencement address at Stanford University. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is lifes change agent. Death is indeed the only certainty we have as humans. As a result, death reminds us that our time is limited. Once we realize this simple, plain and undeniable fact (usually when something dramatic happens in our lives), we do not want to waste something that is so valuable.

Humans care; it is our nature. Humans want to have an impact. Our time on earth is finite and we need purpose. Our minds cannot live without thoughts, reflection and meaning just as our bodies cannot live without food. We need to connect and share with others, which is how we give meaning to our lives. We want to have purpose but finding purpose is a journey in itself. If we embark on this journey properly, we will create change, as Steve Jobs pointed out.

Our time and dedication to make a difference are precious. In the words of Anika Horn from Social Venturers: Do something to fan your flame each day. Each interaction is another spark of impact, however small and insignificant it may feel in the moment. We each guard that little flame of passion to save the world and we work daily to create sparks in others. We connect and introduce. Some of us invest. We help define national policy. We create space and we listen. We can instigate and amplify social impact in our communities and beyond.