Model

“We must build bridges between unlikely allies to ‘answer the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.’” —Eric Harr, Founder & CEO, Laudato sì Challenge

Mission

Take up the challenges set forth in Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical letter, Laudato sì, by answering the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth—through bold, coordinated and measurable impact.

model

To achieve our mission, we leverage the precision and rigor of the venture philanthropy model with the clarity, alignment and time-bound strengths of the “commitment model.”

Honed over the past seven years, our approach is to thoughtfully-align stakeholder interests so that our partner enterprises can drive positive impact (and in some cases financial outcomes) and public and faith sector partners can care for our common home and the most vulnerable members of our common household.

First, LSC finds and partners with enterprises that have bold and innovative solutions that measurably “answer the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.”

Next, we work with our partner enterprises to co-create Commitments to Impact, which are new, specific, measurable and time-bound impact initiatives, and we provide a combination of resources, guidance, network and/or capital to support these commitments.

Finally, we bring leaders from the private, public, faith and academic sectors—”the four legs of the stool”—to advance and accelerate our Commitments to Impact. We work on an ongoing basis to help our “partner enterprises” scale and build organizational capacity and efficiencies, so they can generate a higher Return of Impact (ROI) over time.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

The Laudato sì Challenge has three strategic priorities that drive our actions and decisions:

  1. Put the principles of Laudato sì into action, by answering the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth through the fulfillment of our new, specific, time-bound and measurable Commitments to Impact;

  2. Build trust with our key stakeholders, including LSC patrons, via successful pilots of each Commitment to Impact.

  3. Secure mission-aligned, strategic and high-integrity capital for our 501(c)(3) operating foundation -- funding that grows in line with our impact.

WHAT MAKES OUR MODEL UNIQUE

We strive to align private sector business objectives with public sector and faith sector impact outcomes, so that we may address intractable problems in a sustainable and scalable way, benefitting all stakeholders. Our operating model is to thoughtfully-align interests so that private sector partners can drive mission and financial returns, academic sector can implement academic findings, faith sector partners can achieve impact outcomes—and vulnerable people can build better lives.