When Jane Siebels left her family's Iowa farm and got a big job in Europe, her father never asked how much money she made. "But he always asked if I was being fair to my clients, if I was being honest, and if I was giving back," says Siebels.
If her father's questioning pointed Siebels in the direction of doing good, Sir John M. Templeton showed her how. As a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton, Siebels followed in Sir John's socially minded footsteps, becoming a "kind of socially responsible representative for Templeton." As much as Siebels admired Sir John, the feeling was mutual: Sir John not only chose Siebels to be a trustee of the John M. Templeton Foundation, but when she left Templeton to start the first socially responsible investment firm, he was a founding investor.
Today, Siebels' Green Cay Asset Management is known for short selling unethical companies in an effort to bring about change. Meanwhile, to find companies with values that she'd like to support, Siebels dives deep, finding organizations that other impact investors might overlook and, through an innovative online contest, crowd-sourcing in-depth research by local analysts to get at what's happening on the ground.
In 2009, after seeing a need for greater efficiency and collaboration amongst philanthropies, Siebels founded an invite-only social networking company for philanthropists called iGivingWorld. Ever the Iowan, Siebels likens iGivingWorld to her own "Field of Dreams"—with the game being philanthropy and the entire world her playing field.
More Remarkable GiversJane Siebels's Videos
<- A daunting task: Jane Siebels and the Templeton Foundation have to match dollars
- Advice to a new philanthropist: Jane Siebels says to know your motivations, think outside the box and establish goals
- A “sword I can use”: Jane Siebels sells unethical companies “short” to influence their practices
- Bad values = bad business: Jane Siebels spots the red flags—and acts on them
- “Cooperation and synergy”: Jane Siebels pushes for more collaboration with other donors
- Don’t “reinvent the wheel”: Jane Siebels’ iGivingWorld helps philanthropists learn from each other
- Efficient and collaborative philanthropy: Jane Siebels and iGivingWorld
- “Everything is possible”: Jane Siebels offers advice from Sir John Templeton and her family
- Facebook for philanthropists: Jane Siebels explains iGivingWorld
- For Jane Siebels, deciding where to get involved comes down to a personal connection and opportunities for partnership
- Hometown values: What Jane Siebels’ dad cared about most
- Jane Siebels goes online to crowd-source local analysts and train them to investigate company values in their own country
- Looking at things differently: Jane Siebels recaps her career
- “One of the biggest challenges”: Jane Siebels says measuring success in philanthropy is hard
- Philanthropy’s impact on life: Jane Siebels finds joy in interacting with great people in her philanthropy
- Preserving Sir John Templeton’s philanthropic intent: Jane Siebels admits it isn’t easy
- Red flags: Jane Siebels identifies companies with bad values – and shorts them
- Saturdays in the office: How (and when) Jane Siebels got involved with the Templeton Foundation
- Significance with success: Jane Siebels merges business and philanthropic life through socially-conscious investing
- Take a closer look: When it comes to impact investing, Jane Siebels goes in depth