Invitation to social business seminar

[Benjamin]

Dear Members,

Calling all Social Businesses and Leaders!

We at socialinvestments.com wish to invite like minded businesses,
leaders in the field, investors and ethical organisations to our
breakfast seminar, 'THE FUTURE TRENDS DRIVING THE GROWTH OF SOCIAL
BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE', on 26th June 2008.

Hosted by Melanie Howard, an expert on future forecasting and social
business expert Rod Schwartz, the seminar will reveal the wider
trends that are creating social business opportunity. It will offer
practical advice on maximising this opportunity and will draw
attention to the elements necessary for social businesses and
enterprises to flourish.

The seminar will provide an opportunity for all to participate in the
crucial debate surrounding the opportunities in the social business
sector and offer insight into the thinking behind
socialinvestments.com, a newly launched initiative which brings
social businesses and enterprises to the doorstep of potential
investors and the wider public.

We would like you to join us and learn how you could participate in
the future of socialinvestments.com and the social business sector.

The seminar will take place at The Vine, 48 Gray's Inn Rd. Please
arrive for 8.30am for breakfast and a presentation and discussion.

Please drop me a line by 30th May if you are interested in attending.

Regards

Benjamin McCarron
rsch@catfund.com

Melanie Howard profile
Melanie Howard is one of the UK's leading social trends forecasters:
previously Co-founder of the consumer think tank and strategic
futures consultancy, the Future Foundation, she is now writing The
Future Unwrapped - the what, why, how and where of future studies due
for publication in 2009. She advises a number of businesses on how
best to use future insight to improve strategic planning and is a
Visiting Professor at Henley Management College; an Innovation
business research fellow at the Royal College of Art and a member of
the Sustainability and Marketing Task Force. Currently she is
planning a Catalyst-In trip to Argentina and working as an advisor to
Catalyst and socialinvestments. com.

Rod Schwartz profile
Rod is founder of Catalyst, a VC, research and advisory firm
(Catalyst Fund Management & Research Ltd) dedicated to helping social businesses succeed.
Rod's background is equity research, investment banking and venture
capital. He began his career in strategic planning at PaineWebber
before shifting to Equity Research, where he became the top-rated US
financial services analyst. Rod moved to London in 1987 to join
Lehman Brothers, where he ran the Equities business in Europe. In
1994, Rodney joined Paribas to become Head of Investment Banking for
Financial Institutions. In 1997 he left Paribas to start Catalyst.
As well as being the proud developer of socialinvestments. com,
Catalyst runs an annual conference for social business CEOs, teaches
a course at the Said Business School (Oxford) on "social finance",
sponsors the "Catalyst in" series, maintains the Social Business Blog
and is raising a fund, Catalyst Fund 1, to invest in social
businesses. Rodney also sits on the Board of AXA Investment
Managers, the Ethical Property Company and UKSIF, is Chairman of The
Green Thing and former Chairman of Justgiving.com and Shelter.

Details on The Vine (IWPR)
The Vine Café is at 48 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LT, 100m from
Chancery Lane tube station. It is in the building of the Institute
of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), a social enterprise with which
Catalyst is affiliated.