Now that the third class of iCats Fellows has arrived at their Fellowship destination, we want to share our excitement about the Program with you. The iCats Program (“impact catalysts”) was started by LGT Venture Philanthropy in 2008. Since its inception, we have sent out 28 business experts to provide know-how to our investees. LGT Venture Philanthropy is an impact investor supporting organizations with outstanding social and environmental impact. Our team in five continents strives to increase the sustainable quality of life of less advantaged people by inspiring clients for active philanthropy, providing individualized philanthropic advice and investment implementation. Meet the Fellows and read more about latest developments.
iCats class 2011 trained and started their Fellowship
Our 2011 class of 13 passionate people from around the world just started their 11 months Fellowship at the beginning of February. They met at the 1st House of Philanthropy Solutions in our new office in Zurich (CH) from the 6th to the 9th of January 2011 to participate in the orientation workshop. The 4 day training focused on studying business models of the organizations, working on a case study, learning about cultural differences, exchanging experiences with Fellow Alumni, and building up a relationship with their regional LGT Venture Philanthropy mentors and their peers in order to support each other throughout the year. Meet the Fellows on the following page.
iCats are responsible leaders of tomorrow
During their engagement, iCats internalize the urgent need for more sustainable and responsible ways of living and doing business. This experience strengthens their values and skills which are fundamental to become a responsible leader of tomorrow. We are intensifying our efforts to define partnerships with corporations and academic institutions to collaboratively shape future leaders.
iCats case studies manifest insights to significant learning
iCats do not only provide know-how to organizations. They also enhance their social and business skills by working on challenging projects, at fast-growing social organizations in complex environments. Sharing what has been learned is an important contribution to the sector. Three iCats have written case studies with leading business schools (INSEAD, IESE, SAID). They manifest valuable experiences from scaling social organizations. Teaching the cases to students and iCats will harness the findings for the social and the private sector.
Scaling up the Program
Based on the positive feedback of our investees and former iCats Fellows and the significant contribution of iCats so far, we have decided to scale up the Program. The class size was increased from 7 (2010) to 13 Fellows in 2011 and will continue to grow. We scale alongside the need of our investees and the number of passionate business professionals we attract. Further developments of the Program include: intensify the matching of iCats for shorter term roles (3-9 months); expand of our mentoring network for remote support; attract funding for iCats scholarships; expand partnerships with other philanthropic partners (e.g. BonVenture). A big thank you to our iCats Partners Artemisia, Auridis, Dasra, NewPhilanthropyPartners, Rianta Capital, Forum for Active Philanthropy, Avina Foundation, d.o.b foundation, elea Foundation, BMW Foundation, ResNonVerba , Schwab Foundation, Voxtra and our IT partner Consileon for their engagement.
Fellowship 2012 timeline
New posts will be open for application on www.icatsprogram.com from June to July 2011.
Get active!
- Register and apply on www.icatsprogram.com if you are a passionate business professional
- Spread this information to your contacts and promote the Program through your networks and events
- Become a Partner and benefit from the experiences and resources of the iCats Program
- Fund scholarships for future iCats or introduce us to contacts that might be interested
- Integrate the iCats Program into your CSR/HR/leadership programs if you are a corporation that fosters responsible employees
