Foundation playbook: Leading endowments seek to model diversity, equity and mission alignment. “There has never been a more crucial moment to bring the leading impact investors into one city and one room,” Mission Investors Exchange’s Matt Onek declares in a curtain-raiser for this week’s MIE National Conference in Los Angeles. On stage, the Who’s Who of foundation asset owners and their partners will share how they are incorporating racial equity into investment management, building climate-resilient communities, catalyzing private capital and – slowly – aligning their philanthropic endowments with their philanthropic missions. On the sidelines, conversations at private dinners and after-parties will take up campus protests, threats to democracy, and ways to counter the backlash against ESG and DEI. “MIE is dedicated to empowering our members to deploy more capital for social and environmental good,” Onek writes.
Invest Appalachia closes $35.5 million to invest in Central Appalachia. The MacArthur Foundation led a new batch of limited partners to help the fund reach a final close. “We have closely followed and admired the design and development of Invest Appalachia, and see it as true leadership in the field of place-based investing,” said MacArthur’s Allison Clark. Other new LPs include Truist Bank, Chordata Capital and the Greater Clarke Foundation. Invest Appalachia, launched in 2022, has deployed over $6 million in flexible and patient loans for local projects and businesses supporting Central Appalachia’s sustainable and economic development (see, “Appalachia emerges as a climate refuge – and its community infrastructure feels the strain”). “Central Appalachian communities are not just dreaming of a just and resilient future – we’re actively building it,” said Invest Appalachia’s Andrew Crosson (see, “Agent of Impact”).
Pension funds help catalyze gender-lens investments in Asia. Women-owned businesses face a global financing gap of $1.7 trillion. Pension funds manage assets worth more than 20 times that. “Such institutional investors could ultimately determine the destination of innovative and impactful gender-lens financing,” writes Lisa Maria Braun, a consultant for the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, or ESCAP. Bangkok-based ESCAP offers grants, technical assistance and market-building convenings through its Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship program for Southeast Asia. In a guest post on ImpactAlpha, Braun shares how pension funds can be catalytic – rather than catalyzed – investors in local gender-lens fund managers by providing anchor investments and/or helping crowd in other institutional investors. Local fund managers are critical for the financing of women-led businesses. “The role of pension funds as catalytic partners of gender-lens investing cannot be overstated,” Braun writes. “When catalytic capital is invested in gender-lens investment funds and effectively reaches women-led enterprises, it showcases businesses’ viability and sends an encouraging message to cautious institutional investors.”
Don’t miss these upcoming ImpactAlpha partner events:
In New Orleans, the city’s housing finance agency has become a “green bank” to underwrite community solar, water treatment projects, and resilience hubs. …
Private equity fund managers looking for value-creation opportunities are increasingly finding their way to impact themes like climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture, employee engagement …
ImpactAlpha, January 19 – Impact investors have for years debated the need for embedded structures to incentivize impact outcomes for impact fund managers. …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 15 – The $4 trillion muni market is so big that small movements in the pricing of bonds can mean shifts of …
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – That women are more adversely affected by climate change is well established (in impact and development circles at any …
This week’s Agents of Impact Call continued a tradition started nearly a decade ago by Fran Seegull of the US Impact Investing Alliance …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 29 – It’s the age-old struggle: labor vs capital, workers vs. owners. But what happens when employees get a stake in the …
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – A growing ecosystem of Native-led entrepreneurs, lenders, financial intermediaries and nonprofits are driving Indian Country’s emerging economy. “It’s kind …
ImpactAlpha, July 28 – Most historically Black colleges and universities were formed during the Reconstruction era. In the more than a century since, Spelman, …
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 22 – Even as some politicians ramp up anti-ESG rhetoric, asset owners and allocators are signaling an appetite for investment strategies …
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building was…aspirational. “We are still a …
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 – “A labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The rebound in blended finance; how Big Tech …
When one door closes, another one opens. For Zarû Systems’ Loren Taylor, that second door may open onto a self-contained modular vertical farm …
🎧 This Week in Impact. Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: federal funds to …
The era of cake-ism (as in having it and eating it, too) has come to an inglorious end. “I think we’re in an …
Host Brian Walsh dives into ImpactAlpha’s top stories, with commentary from editor David Bank. Up this week: Tracking the players building the US’s …
ImpactAlpha podcasts are back! We’re pleased to share our revamped interview show, Agents of Impact, hosted by David Bank and Sherrell Dorsey, founder …
Impact(ed) is part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network, a set of shows hosted and produced by leading voices in impact and sustainable investing, …
On This Week in Impact, Brian Walsh dives into some of ImpactAlpha’s top stories, with commentary from editor David Bank. This week: the …
Venture capital invested nearly $500 billion in 2022. By investing into startups seeking transformational scale, successful venture-backed companies have the potential to change …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 29 – “Net zero is not going to get us anywhere,” Ariane Mahler of Veridien Global Investors told David Bank of ImpactAlpha …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 22 – Diverse innovators building for all customers in large industries like digital health, fintech and the future of work have been …
In the dynamic economic environment of the Asia-Pacific region, a significant investment opportunity is emerging: institutional investors’ capacity to champion gender equality through …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This series of guest posts is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Editor’s note: This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Latin America is witnessing a transformative trend in family office philanthropy: the shift towards impact investing. Traditionally, philanthropy in the region has been …
Rural economic development is a complex issue, including in Colombia. Rural regions are often culturally diverse areas, but have limited access to quality …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
In the realm of AI discourse, much attention is directed towards fostering responsible development of the technology itself (e.g. Is it free from …
Developing an investment strategy that meets our fiduciary requirements as resource stewards, embodies our racial justice values, and prioritizes the communities we serve …
(Editor’s note: In this conclusion to ImpactAlpha’s four-part Macro Impact series, contributing editor Rob Brown parses the economic signals for public and private …
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is seeding green projects in primarily low-income communities by sending $27 billion through a network of nonprofit lenders. …
The winner of a contest to sharpen the impact lens of students through deal sourcing and diligence was a team from London Business …
ImpactAlpha, January 26 – Ines Schiller got the idea for seaweed tampons while training in South Africa to be a marine environment guide. …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 23 – Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact. That’s the tagline we’ve used for the dozens of Agents of Impact we profiled …
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished …
Sustainable development? “More of the same.” Forest carbon credits? “Outside-imposed extraction.” Impact investing? “Are we really going far enough? Or are we just …
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — In 15 years in impact investing, Christopher Bentley noticed “a lot of for-profit companies focused on the criminal justice …
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Monica Brand Engel’s advice to impact investors is this: Imperfect execution is ok. “Authentic impact is about accepting imperfection …
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 11 – Samuel Yeboah isn’t discouraged by the economic storm battering his home country of Ghana and many other emerging economies. “As …
Many investors look at promising new climate solutions and say, ‘Great, come back to me when you have traction.’ Azolla Ventures is more …
ImpactAlpha, June 30 – The first thing that Katherine Stodulka does when you meet her is suggest you meet someone else. Then she’ll …
ImpactAlpha, May 26 – A decade ago, investors pushed back against the loan products Jessica Espinoza was designing for female business owners as …
Foundation playbook: Leading endowments seek to model diversity, equity and mission alignment. “There has never been a more crucial moment to bring the leading impact investors into one city and one room,” Mission Investors Exchange’s Matt Onek declares in a curtain-raiser for this week’s MIE National Conference in Los Angeles. On stage, the Who’s Who of foundation asset owners and their partners will share how they are incorporating racial equity into investment management, building climate-resilient communities, catalyzing private capital and – slowly – aligning their philanthropic endowments with their philanthropic missions. On the sidelines, conversations at private dinners and after-parties will take up campus protests, threats to democracy, and ways to counter the backlash against ESG and DEI. “MIE is dedicated to empowering our members to deploy more capital for social and environmental good,” Onek writes.
Invest Appalachia closes $35.5 million to invest in Central Appalachia. The MacArthur Foundation led a new batch of limited partners to help the fund reach a final close. “We have closely followed and admired the design and development of Invest Appalachia, and see it as true leadership in the field of place-based investing,” said MacArthur’s Allison Clark. Other new LPs include Truist Bank, Chordata Capital and the Greater Clarke Foundation. Invest Appalachia, launched in 2022, has deployed over $6 million in flexible and patient loans for local projects and businesses supporting Central Appalachia’s sustainable and economic development (see, “Appalachia emerges as a climate refuge – and its community infrastructure feels the strain”). “Central Appalachian communities are not just dreaming of a just and resilient future – we’re actively building it,” said Invest Appalachia’s Andrew Crosson (see, “Agent of Impact”).
Pension funds help catalyze gender-lens investments in Asia. Women-owned businesses face a global financing gap of $1.7 trillion. Pension funds manage assets worth more than 20 times that. “Such institutional investors could ultimately determine the destination of innovative and impactful gender-lens financing,” writes Lisa Maria Braun, a consultant for the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, or ESCAP. Bangkok-based ESCAP offers grants, technical assistance and market-building convenings through its Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship program for Southeast Asia. In a guest post on ImpactAlpha, Braun shares how pension funds can be catalytic – rather than catalyzed – investors in local gender-lens fund managers by providing anchor investments and/or helping crowd in other institutional investors. Local fund managers are critical for the financing of women-led businesses. “The role of pension funds as catalytic partners of gender-lens investing cannot be overstated,” Braun writes. “When catalytic capital is invested in gender-lens investment funds and effectively reaches women-led enterprises, it showcases businesses’ viability and sends an encouraging message to cautious institutional investors.”
Don’t miss these upcoming ImpactAlpha partner events:
In New Orleans, the city’s housing finance agency has become a “green bank” to underwrite community solar, water treatment projects, and resilience hubs. …
Private equity fund managers looking for value-creation opportunities are increasingly finding their way to impact themes like climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture, employee engagement …
ImpactAlpha, January 19 – Impact investors have for years debated the need for embedded structures to incentivize impact outcomes for impact fund managers. …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 15 – The $4 trillion muni market is so big that small movements in the pricing of bonds can mean shifts of …
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – That women are more adversely affected by climate change is well established (in impact and development circles at any …
This week’s Agents of Impact Call continued a tradition started nearly a decade ago by Fran Seegull of the US Impact Investing Alliance …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 29 – It’s the age-old struggle: labor vs capital, workers vs. owners. But what happens when employees get a stake in the …
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – A growing ecosystem of Native-led entrepreneurs, lenders, financial intermediaries and nonprofits are driving Indian Country’s emerging economy. “It’s kind …
ImpactAlpha, July 28 – Most historically Black colleges and universities were formed during the Reconstruction era. In the more than a century since, Spelman, …
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 22 – Even as some politicians ramp up anti-ESG rhetoric, asset owners and allocators are signaling an appetite for investment strategies …
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building was…aspirational. “We are still a …
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 – “A labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The rebound in blended finance; how Big Tech …
When one door closes, another one opens. For Zarû Systems’ Loren Taylor, that second door may open onto a self-contained modular vertical farm …
🎧 This Week in Impact. Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: federal funds to …
The era of cake-ism (as in having it and eating it, too) has come to an inglorious end. “I think we’re in an …
Host Brian Walsh dives into ImpactAlpha’s top stories, with commentary from editor David Bank. Up this week: Tracking the players building the US’s …
ImpactAlpha podcasts are back! We’re pleased to share our revamped interview show, Agents of Impact, hosted by David Bank and Sherrell Dorsey, founder …
Impact(ed) is part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network, a set of shows hosted and produced by leading voices in impact and sustainable investing, …
On This Week in Impact, Brian Walsh dives into some of ImpactAlpha’s top stories, with commentary from editor David Bank. This week: the …
Venture capital invested nearly $500 billion in 2022. By investing into startups seeking transformational scale, successful venture-backed companies have the potential to change …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 29 – “Net zero is not going to get us anywhere,” Ariane Mahler of Veridien Global Investors told David Bank of ImpactAlpha …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 22 – Diverse innovators building for all customers in large industries like digital health, fintech and the future of work have been …
In the dynamic economic environment of the Asia-Pacific region, a significant investment opportunity is emerging: institutional investors’ capacity to champion gender equality through …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This series of guest posts is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Editor’s note: This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Latin America is witnessing a transformative trend in family office philanthropy: the shift towards impact investing. Traditionally, philanthropy in the region has been …
Rural economic development is a complex issue, including in Colombia. Rural regions are often culturally diverse areas, but have limited access to quality …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
In the realm of AI discourse, much attention is directed towards fostering responsible development of the technology itself (e.g. Is it free from …
Developing an investment strategy that meets our fiduciary requirements as resource stewards, embodies our racial justice values, and prioritizes the communities we serve …
(Editor’s note: In this conclusion to ImpactAlpha’s four-part Macro Impact series, contributing editor Rob Brown parses the economic signals for public and private …
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is seeding green projects in primarily low-income communities by sending $27 billion through a network of nonprofit lenders. …
The winner of a contest to sharpen the impact lens of students through deal sourcing and diligence was a team from London Business …
ImpactAlpha, January 26 – Ines Schiller got the idea for seaweed tampons while training in South Africa to be a marine environment guide. …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 23 – Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact. That’s the tagline we’ve used for the dozens of Agents of Impact we profiled …
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished …
Sustainable development? “More of the same.” Forest carbon credits? “Outside-imposed extraction.” Impact investing? “Are we really going far enough? Or are we just …
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — In 15 years in impact investing, Christopher Bentley noticed “a lot of for-profit companies focused on the criminal justice …
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Monica Brand Engel’s advice to impact investors is this: Imperfect execution is ok. “Authentic impact is about accepting imperfection …
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 11 – Samuel Yeboah isn’t discouraged by the economic storm battering his home country of Ghana and many other emerging economies. “As …
Many investors look at promising new climate solutions and say, ‘Great, come back to me when you have traction.’ Azolla Ventures is more …
ImpactAlpha, June 30 – The first thing that Katherine Stodulka does when you meet her is suggest you meet someone else. Then she’ll …
ImpactAlpha, May 26 – A decade ago, investors pushed back against the loan products Jessica Espinoza was designing for female business owners as …
On this week’s podcast, ImpactAlpha’s Jessica Pothering and David Bank join host Brian Walsh to talk about pulling the levers of risks and returns in new financial structures for unlocking capital in emerging markets. Plus, the headlines.
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