“Impact” has never been a more important topic to CEOs. After maneuvering through years riddled with widespread social unrest, racial injustice, and climate change, companies have been tasked with conducting business ethically and in support of positive change. With this focus, the role of a Chief Impact Officer (CIO - not to be confused with Chief Investment Officer, Chief Information Officer or Chief Innovation Officer…)

“Venture Philanthropy” is a word that has been popping up more frequently in my conversations, and I realized people were using it to describe different concepts (including myself), so I wanted to clear up the confusion.

For those of you who know me well, you know I’m an unashamed Swiftie. So much so that an article was written about my two-day fight to get tickets to her upcoming Eras Tour (spoiler, I got them). And my daughter, Willow, may or may not be named after one of her songs… (my husband wasn’t down with the name “Swift Reiter” 🙄).

When the news about the fall of FTX, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, came out, your first thought probably wasn’t, “well gosh, I wonder how this might affect the world of philanthropy?”

Although these three people seem to have little in common aside from the fact that they are all A-list(?) celebrities, they do share a unique thread: they each also happen to be Chief Impact Officers.

In case you missed it, Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, and his wife, Connie, have committed $400 million to Black private equity and venture capital managers.