Why is I.G. The Best Company To ‘Escape’ To?
Well, firstly, it’s official. We won! I.G. Advisors is one of #TheEscape100 Best Companies To Escape To. We achieved one of the top 100 scores of any organisation reviewed by Escape the City in their 2019 awards, out of thousands. So, we’re feeling pretty great about ourselves right now. We were measured against 6 criteria — Mission, Impact (scale), Innovation, Environment, B-Corp Status and Workplace Culture — and we’re really proud to be celebrated for our commitment to excellence in all of these areas.
We founded I.G. Advisors to bring dynamic and entrepreneurial thinking to the social impact sector, and we work incredibly hard as a team to deliver the very best work for our clients, partners and each other, whilst being honest, ethical and true to our values. It’s not an easy task, but we constantly push ourselves, and our clients, to do better, and we bring care, energy and enthusiasm to everything we do! We feel really special to have our hard work recognised like this.
So, to celebrate, we asked some of our team to share what the best, and most surprising, parts of ‘escaping’ to I.G. have been for them:
Alisha (CEO)
Best Thing: Hands down, being able to work with my husband (it’s true!) and to build a team of amazing people around us.
Most Surprising: How, as a person who craves novelty, I’ve never once been bored.
Emily (Senior Advisor)
Best Thing: Finally being in a team where my energy and drive were not only welcomed and encouraged, but matched by the people around me!
Most Surprising: What a huge difference it can make for clients to have an external perspective on problems that feel insurmountable — from day one I was supporting small changes that had a massive impact, beyond what I expected was possible.
Amy (Junior Advisor)
Best Thing: Being inspired by my incredible colleagues. I am constantly stimulated by our discussions, debates and ideas — we are constantly growing together.
Most Surprising: The huge amount of satisfaction I gain from working across such a variety of social causes and projects, and this fulfilment continues to grow!
Jasmine (Junior Advisor)
Best Thing: I finally get to spend every day doing work that is meaningful and fulfilling.
Most Surprising: To find an amazing team of people with big hearts and great souls.
Emma (Office Manager)
Best Thing: Very supportive staff, positive energy in the office and all around a warm, ‘family’ feeling.
Most Surprising: I can’t compare the welcoming to many other places I have been.
I.G. Advisors is a consultancy which bridges the gap between fundraisers, corporates and philanthropists to maximise impact. We provide strategic advice to both charities and donors, advising charities on how to fundraise effectively, and advising donors on how to create the most impact with their resources. If you’d like to find out more about how we can support you, please get in touch or visit impactandgrowth.com for more information.
While philanthropy and football may seem worlds apart, I’ve started thinking about the many similarities that can provide valuable lessons for those in the philanthropic sector. I for one, am always learning about the essential elements of football that can inspire and inform effective philanthropy.
Through the power of collective design, our fundraiser and grantmaker #FixTheFlow Fellows have imagined the future of our philanthropic funding system, and we should all listen carefully.
In the coming months, our Associate Carli is exploring the complexities of social innovation and will share her learnings, insights, and questions with you.
I.G.’s CEO Emily shares some of the mistakes and challenges she found during her leadership journey, and what she learned and will share in I.G.’s new Leadership Lab.
I’m expected to show up as a leader, but don’t feel like a leader. Introducing Impact & Grow: A Leadership Lab.
Leveraging Limited Funds For Humanitarians: Insights from the 2024 #HX24 conference, organised by Save the Children UK and the Humanitarian Leadership Academy.
Social enterprises have a particularly interesting relationship with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) as they need to capture both the financial and social/ environmental impact of their work, and speak to a wide range of potential funders and investors. Caitlin McLoughlin chatted to Abhinav Khanal, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Bean Voyage, to explore this further.
Image Credit: Bean Voyage
A round up of everything the I.G. team did in 2023!
Introducing a new, dedicated funders stream to I.G.’s #FixTheFlow Fellowship! We’re accepting applications until 17th November (for a 2024 start). Join our movement at fixtheflow.org
Join us for one (or all!) our eight workshops in our Autumn Training Series, where we will cover some of the trickiest topics facing fundraisers today.
What does meaningful and effective learning actually mean in practice?
Our Advisor Caitlin interviews Kore Global’s Emily Boost on learning how to learn and all things feminist evaluation and learning.
How do we balance our passion and our desire to give our best, whilst not being consumed by failure to live up to our own or others’ expectations?
At I.G. Advisors (I.G.), we’re often approached to design and implement evaluations for our clients to understand the impact of their grantmaking, fundraising or programmatic strategies, and identify opportunities for evolution.
The ‘lone saviour’ approach won’t cut it (and it also might destroy you).
It’s hard to believe it now that we’re living through a polycrisis, but the financial crisis and Great Recession of the 00s felt like a once-in-a-lifetime jolt to the world order at the time.
What you can learn from others leading philanthropic networks like yours
‘Well, we could have called that one.’
I.G. Advisors (I.G.) recently had the pleasure of collaborating with The Big Give and Rosa on the Women and Girls Match Fund.
Being a parent is often a thankless task. You take something and nurture it, treating it with love and care, losing sleep and worrying if — against all odds — , it will achieve its full potential and become the best it can be. It may never, ever show gratitude for your sacrifice. And then one day it will grow up and leave.
New I.G. Insights report explores how fundraisers and funders can support digital fundraising for racial justice issues.
#TaxPhilanthropy — wealth holders have the power to pay more tax right now even if governments fail to reform their policies
How starting small might be the most effective way to change the world.
An insight into “Modern Grantmaking: A Guide for Funders Who Believe Better is Possible”
A couple of weeks ago, I.G. brought back its much-loved book club event for our first in-person get together in over a year.
Podcast listeners — a new episode of What Donors Want is out! We had the honour of speaking with David Simas, CEO of the Obama Foundation.
(Spoiler: our 2020 Small Business Award does)
This past year has been unlike any that we’ve ever experienced before. There have been significant changes, opportunities, and challenges in the ways we use technology, interact in communities, and approach giving and philanthropy — all of which have spurred much-needed transformation (and hope!) during a time when nothing seemed possible.
Podcast listeners — a new episode of What Donors Want is out! We had the pleasure of diving into participatory grant-making (PGM) with Hannah Paterson, Senior Portfolio Manager at The National Lottery Community Fund.