The Oikos Institute for Social Impact was established to train, inspire and nurture social entrepreneurs within communities of faith and for-profit enterprises. We offer degree and non-degree programs through our strategic partnerships with seminaries and colleges, conferences and congregations throughout the United States and abroad. Our distinctiveness is rooted in the restoration of communities using appreciative inquiry. We refer to this process as Fishing Differently. Participants in our courses learn how to access multiple sources of capital (F.I.S.H.) to achieve the vision and mission of their organizations. This training is well suited for congregational leaders who are consumed with the day-to-day tasks of congregational ministry, yet hunger for a more expansive, outwardly focused approach to ministry. The program seeks to help gifted clergy live into a vision of leadership that reaches beyond the typical, inwardly focused, parochial patterns of congregational life. We also train experienced pastors to become Facilitators, so that they may train local congregations on how to Fish Differently. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), such as architects and real estate developers, who work with local congregations, are encouraged to become Facilitators as well. The Oikos Catalytic Loan Fund provides flexible, affordable and responsible financing and technical assistance for community stabilization and development efforts and initiatives that benefit low- to moderate-income families and individuals throughout our service areas.
