Impact investing is about using markets and money for social good. Impact investing is built on the belief that private capital can play a powerful role in solving the massive global challenges of our day, and that capital markets should work for good as well as profit. This vision is realized through investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.
Every month, PCV will give you a roundup of what’s new in the field, what conversations are taking place, and how you can get involved. Here are some highlights from August:
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″]Impact Investing: From From Innovation to Practice[/custom_headline]
A new report from our good friends at Georgetown’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation takes a deep dive into building the policies, coalitions, and investment practices needed to make positive social and environmental outcomes a key part of every investment decision. The report was written by Anne Johnson alongside PCV Board member Michael Chodos. They focus in on the current state of impact investing education and training, and assesses opportunities to meet emergent demand and build capacity across the sector. Read more >
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″]5 Key Drivers Of Business Value From Impact Measurement[/custom_headline]
This new report from our partners at The GIIN highlights ways in which impact investors and investees are already using impact measurement practices to inform investment and management decisions, and to drive business value. The report looks into the connection between measuring the social and environmental performance of impact investments, and the application of these data to generate business value for investors and investees. Read more >
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″]Impact Investing Gets Serious At All Levels[/custom_headline]
Even as impact investing has become more popular among high net worth individuals, nonprofits, and social enterprises, it’s been an inconvenient truth that the endowments of many of the private and community foundations that are leading the movement haven’t been walking the talk of the grant-making side of the house. According to Darren Walker of The Ford Foundation, it’s time to change that. The longer that the largest holders of capital treat impact investing as somehow not financially rewarding, the more of a drag it becomes on the movement. Read more >
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″]Data-Driven Decisionmaking In Social Impact[/custom_headline]
It’s a myth that investors have to sacrifice profits for social purpose, says Jean Case, the CEO of the Case Foundation and chair of the National Geographic Society, in a recent talk at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. In this informative interview, Jean answers questions around what she sees as some of the most promising developments in entrepreneurship and impact investing, as well as the limits of data-driven decision-making. Read more >
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″]Women Are The Trailblazers[/custom_headline]
The impact investing movement stands out in a lot of ways – but one way is particularly important: women are emerging as a driving force behind its growth—as investors, as entrepreneurs and as leaders of the movement. A recent NASDAQ piece notes that women are spearheading and populating this sector more so than any other financial services sector. In this great post from The Case Foundation, Sheila Herrling takes a look at several of the fierce women leading the charge. Read more >
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″]CDFIs Should Embrace Change — And Impact Investing[/custom_headline]
Impact investing draws some of its narrative from the track record of CDFIs. And while impact investing has gained momentum, so has the CDFI industry, growing and transforming at an impressive rate for over 20 years. CDFIs have made steady impact over the past years across various industries they finance including affordable housing, small businesses, and community facilities. In this piece for OFN, Jeremy Nowak talks about how, given the heightened nationwide interest in issues of income inequality, poverty and racial justice, this is an important moment for CDFIs to reinvigorate their profile within the broader impact investment world. Read more >
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″]Impact Investment Starts With True Understanding[/custom_headline]
Investments in social impact are changing the way nonprofits and B Corporations think about funding. In a column for Forbes, Jim Gibbons – President & CEO of Goodwill International – discusses his organization’s experiences measuring their social impact, why getting it right is essential for effective participation in the impact economy, and how other nonprofits and social enterprises can get started. Read more >
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″]Long-Term Thinking And The Marketplace[/custom_headline]
Impact investments represent some of the greatest wealth generating opportunities of our time. The trillions in investments needed to stave off the catastrophic effects of climate change, for example, will also underwrite the rebuilding of a new, clean global energy grid. The companies that deliver essential services to the emerging global middle class will be among the Fortune 500 by 2030.With those powerful trends in mind, our friend Dennis Price at ImpactAlpha looks at some recent developments that suggest the shape of things to come. Read more >