Impactathon®
Impactathon® is a registered trademark of Innov8social.
Our Theory of Change
We believe that to catalyze the change we wish to see, the social impact sector must be more inclusive of diverse voices, communities, problems, and solutions. We do this by partnering to serve, collaborating to build, and scaling to impact.
Innov8social works with mission-driven companies, institutions, and foundations who host our customized, meaningful experiences for their leadership teams, constituents, students, and communities. Impactathons catalyze critical thinking and collaboration to name and addres gaps and opportunities in social impact. We provide post-Impactathon support to keep the momentum going, and can offer a deeper systems-based approach to changemaking.
Watch Impactathon Show
Highlighting and empowering the Impactathon community.
New episodes posted on @impactathon IGTV and Youtube!
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Why Engage in an Impactathon®?
Hear Impact Talks from thinkers and doers in the space.
On topics such as how to identify gaps in a system, why some social enterprises fail, how to stay aligned with a mission, how to create a meaningful career in social impact.
Engage in social impact through a hackathon experience.
Including design thinking approach, getting feedback, using concepts of lean methodology, pivoting, working in teams, pitching, using storytelling and presentation techniques.
Learn core concepts of engaging in the social impact sector.
Such as how to frame a problem (root causes v. symptom), how to adopt a social entrepreneurship mindset, examples of business models, legal structures, and ways to measure social impact.
Join a global community of aligned impact problemsolvers,
Meet your next co-founder, investor, or team member during Impactathon®. After the event, you will have the option to join and engage with fellow Impactathoners, including participants, speakers, and mentors and learn about emerging resources in the space.
Articles
“Raising Storytelling Standards Is the Key to Social Impact” (UCLA Anderson, 2017)
“NFL Athlete Eric Reid Launches Foundation With Student Impactathons to Empower Young Social Entrepreneurs and Social Justice Activists” (Eric Reid Foundation, 2018)
“What Might Impact Ecosystem-Building Look Like in a Pandemic World?” (2020)
“5 Ways We Iterated Impactathon® with a Beginner’s Mindset” (2021)
Photos
Past Impactathon® Photos
- Photos from Impactathon® 1 at TechShop SF
- Photos from Impactathon® 2 at Impact Pop
- Photos from Impactathon® 3 at UCLA Anderson
- Photos from Impactathon® 4 at Soka University
- Photos from Impactathon® 5 Mini at Food Hacking 2018
- Photos from Impactathon® 6 Eric Reid Foundation
- Photos from Impactathon® 7 NYC with HAP
- Photos from Impactathon® 8 Open World at Stanford d.school
- Photos from Impactathon® 9 Customer Success for Good Meetup at WeWork SF
- Photos from Impactathon® 10 at Soka University
- Photos from Impactathon® 11 at UCLA Anderson Impact Week
- Photos from Impactathon® 12 with Innova360 at Impact Hub SF
- Photos from Impactathon® 13 As You Sow
- Photos from Impactathon® 14 Soka University Bridges to Business
- Photos from Impactathon® 15 TECLA in SF
- Photos from Impactathon® 16 Join the Journey for Future Flourishing (virtual)
- Photos from Impactathon® 17 Soka University Bridges to Business (virtual)
Podcasts
Testimonials
“Impactathon embodies the spirit of social innovation in an organic, authentic way through programmed problem solving, real collaboration, and action-oriented ideation.”
“Reflecting back on it, all of our business pitches would not have been delivered so smoothly without your guidance. To draw on a sports analogy, a team is only as good as its coach. I particularly enjoyed the creative exercise you taught us where individuals role play spontaneously. I appreciate everything you did for all us.”
“Before the [Impactathon], I had no idea what [social] entrepreneurship was and had not even thought I would dive into [a] startup in the future. But now, I’m feeling it can be exciting to create my own business!”
“What really impressed me about the Impactathon was how it offered its participants different outlets to generate ideas or simply get the creative juices flowing. For example, in one exercise, we all were placed in a role-play situation.”
“I had so much fun during the Impactathon!”
“Thank you so much for giving us useful advice and heartwarming encouragement throughout [Impactathon]. At the beginning [], I was so nervous about the pitch because I do not like public speaking and had avoided it for long. However, I gradually felt the joy of working as a team and innovating the best idea through trial and error. When I did my presentation, I was still nervous, but I felt the accomplishment of giving a pitch, which I had never done before.”
“Thank you for teaching us the 10 important points to pitch. That helps me construct my business ideas such as defining problems, solutions, and so on.”
Be part of expanding the social impact ecosystem