Knowledge Items

By Cathy Clark and Jorge Soriano RSF Social Finance (RSF) is an innovative public benefit financial services organization dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money. RSF offers investing, lending, and giving services to individuals and enterprises committed to improving society and the environment. Since 1984, RSF has given out more than $285 million […]

By Ben Thornley, Brenna McCallick and Daniel Brett In May 2007, the $8 billion W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, launched a Mission Driven Investments (MDI) initiative that, with a commitment to investing directly in for-profit companies, stands as a successful and especially innovative example of a large institution aligning endowment preservation […]

Global Lessons on Leveraging Capacity with Capital for Impact Laurie Spengler, then-CEO of Enclude, visited campus in 2014 to share her perspective of how people and institutions are collaborating to create successful impact investments worldwide. Enclude is a global professional advisory firm that influences over $250MM of impact investing capital and capacity development, dedicated to […]

By Erin Worsham At the Social Capital Markets conference, SOCAP13, nearly 2000 social entrepreneurs, investors, foundations, corporate and government representatives gathered to discuss the latest trends in impact investing and how to “build this market at the intersection of money and meaning.” Reflecting on the conversations that the author had during the conference, she shares […]

By Cathy Clark, Matthew H. Allen, Bonny Moellenbrock and Chinwe Onyeagoro As a potential extension of its pioneering work on impact investing, the Rockefeller Foundation commissioned us to be part of a global research consortium aiming to understand the needs of impact enterprises around the globe. One of the foundation’s initial questions was, if impact […]

By Daniel Brett Aavishkaar is a pioneer in early stage investing in the country and has been active in the space for over a decade. We are guided by the fundamental belief that investing in early stage entrepreneurial ventures can not only deliver commercial returns, but also bring about significant efficiencies and developmental impact to […]

By David Nicola and Cathy Clark This paper serves as the environmental response to a McKinsey & Company paper on Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) issued in May 2012. SIBs are the “hot topic” in the world of impact investing, yet few are discussing the possibility of applying the SIB model to environmental causes. This paper […]

The goal of this e- guide is to help those with an interest in investing in early-stage impact enterprises learn how this work is being done by their peers from wherever they are in the world. Using “The 7-Step Framework”, this guide aims to help investors, especially those exploring how impact investing compares to their […]

MicroVest Capital Management, LLC is a private, for-profit investment adviser dedicated to reducing global poverty by applying a commercial framework to investing. We seek sustainable solutions to poverty by facilitating the flow of international private capital to low-income financial institutions. We believe a commercial approach offers the most effective, scalable, and sustainable solution for generating […]