Return on Inclusion
Dealflow | May 25, 2023
Village Capital and Volunteers of America back Let’s Get Set to help low-income mothers claim tax benefits
ImpactAlpha, May 25 — Millions of low-income tax filers in the US miss out on an estimated $12 billion each year in unclaimed …
Philadelphia, PA
Muni Impact | May 25, 2023
Impact Muni Bond: Social bond to tackle poverty and unlock growth in Philadelphia
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha has partnered with HIP Investor to highlight upcoming bond issues with social and/or environmental significance. Disclaimer: Nothing in this post …
Return on Inclusion | May 24, 2023
Seven lessons from successful financial activists
What does it take to be an effective financial activist? After supporting 156 Just Economy Institute fellows over the past six years, we …
Squire Servance, founder of Syridex Bio.
Investing in Health | May 24, 2023
Syridex Bio scores $5 million from New Jersey to back local health businesses
ImpactAlpha, May 24 — A former life sciences lawyer, Squire Servance founded Princeton-based Syridex last year to invest in access to quality healthcare …
Dorcia Whitebrake, an Everytable franchisee candidate. Photo by Everytable.
Ownership Economy | May 18, 2023
With inclusive loans and business support, franchise ownership offers a path to wealth for entrepreneurs of color
ImpactAlpha, May 18 — Employee ownership is having a moment. One promising strategy: democratizing the franchise model to widen pathways to ownership and …
Dealflow | May 17, 2023
New Summit Investments teams with Gratitude Railroad to back diverse-led funds
ImpactAlpha, May 17 – The partnership grew out of the firms’ shared belief that “investing in emerging managers will not only generate positive …
Return on Inclusion | May 16, 2023
Illumen Capital raises $168 million second fund to fight bias in asset management
ImpactAlpha, May 16 – Recent economic volatility has pushed the share of global assets managed by women and people of color below an …
Agents of Impact | May 12, 2023
Aina Abiodun, VertueLab: Centering community in climate tech in the Pacific Northwest
ImpactAlpha, May 12 – Nigeria-born climate entrepreneur and “professional nomad” Aina Abiodun is bullish on place-based climate innovation. “There is nothing more urgent than …
Oakland, California
Inclusive Economy | May 9, 2023
Turning local community ownership projects into a national movement
ImpactAlpha, May 9 – Kentucky Derby winner Mage isn’t the only community-owned asset with national momentum (almost 400 fractional investors held a 25% …
Photo by MPOWER.
Dealflow | May 9, 2023
MPOWER secures $150 million debt investment from Goldman Sachs for higher-education financing
ImpactAlpha, May 9 — Washington, D.C.-based MPOWER provides loans that don’t require a cosigner or collateral to international students and “DREAMers” to attend …
Inclusive Economy | May 4, 2023
Overheard in Philadelphia: Bridging capital gaps to build wealth in underserved communities
ImpactAlpha, May 4 — ImpactPHL’s Total Impact Summit gathered Agents of Impact in Philadelphia for the second consecutive year, following a three-year pandemic …
Photo credit: CoolIT
Return on Inclusion | May 4, 2023
KKR acquires CoolIT to advance both climate impact and worker ownership
ImpactAlpha, May 4 – The world’s growing uses for data are creating an environmental problem: data centers consume a lot of energy. Preventing …
Chicago, Illinois
Muni Impact | May 3, 2023
New crop of muni-bond investors helps Chicago fund equitable COVID recovery
This story was originally published by Next City as part of The Bottom Line, a newsletter exploring scalable solutions to advance affordability, inclusive economic growth and access …
Neighborhood Economics conference in Jackson, Miss. | Photo credit: Nonprofit Finance Fund / Twitter
Faith-Based Investing | May 2, 2023
Can Black churches spark a revival in Jackson, Mississippi?
ImpactAlpha, May 2 – Jackson, Miss., a predominantly Black city of 150,000 people, has faced water, sewer and hospital crises and most recently …
Creative Economy | April 21, 2023
How cultural impact bonds can finance creative sectors to drive economic growth
The cultural and creative sectors are a key driver of global growth and an essential component of smart cities. Culture impact bonds could …
Lourdes Germán | Photo credit: Public Finance Initiative
Agents of Impact | April 21, 2023
Lourdes Germán, Public Finance Initiative: Tilting the $4 trillion muni market toward racial equity
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 21 – Attorney and academic Lourdes Germán recognized early the power of public finance. She has spent years working at firms including …
Lafayette Square's Damien Dwin (center)
Return on Inclusion | April 19, 2023
Lafayette Square is banking on low-income communities and worker solutions
The middle market is immense, as is the opportunity for uplift among the low-income people who make it work. That’s the investment thesis …
Return on Inclusion | April 17, 2023
MassMutual invests $100 million in second Catalyst Fund for diverse founders
ImpactAlpha, April 17 – MassMutual launched its first Catalyst Fund in 2021 with $50 million to invest in diverse-led and rurally-based startups in …
Dealflow | April 14, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: COVID recovery funding
ImpactAlpha, April 14 — Community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions played a crucial role in channeling COVID-relief funding to small businesses …
Photo credit: Native Women Lead
Dealflow | April 7, 2023
Deal spotlight: For female fund managers, catalytic grants are about more than money
ImpactAlpha, April 7 – Catalytic capital comes in many varieties, but the purpose is the same: to spur investment to people, places and …
Photo credit: Native Women Lead
Return on Inclusion | April 6, 2023
Native Women Lead secures backing from Comcast to finance Indigenous women-owned businesses
ImpactAlpha, April 6 – Indigenous women-owned businesses employed more than 61,000 people and generated $11 billion in revenues last year. Women are the …
Return on Inclusion | April 5, 2023
VC alternatives for diverse founders gain traction after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
The demise of Silicon Valley Bank represents an opportunity for business-financing alternatives. That’s especially true for models that serve women and business owners …
Return on Inclusion | April 3, 2023
No Label Ventures to channel capital to immigrant-led businesses in Europe
ImpactAlpha, April 3 – People who uproot their lives in one place are uniquely compelled to succeed in another. That’s the premise of …
Image by Freepik
Impact Management | March 21, 2023
Ten outcomes and three levers for investors in racial and economic equity
ImpactAlpha, March 21 — Moral imperative? The threat of economic instability? Or the unrealized economic potential of our nation’s diversity? Whatever their motivations, …
Photo credit: Wheel the World
Dealflow | March 21, 2023
Wheel the World secures $6 million to make travel more accessible to people with disabilities
ImpactAlpha, March 21 – Wheel the World is a travel planning site aims to “make the world accessible” for people with disabilities. “We …
Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash
Climate and Clean Tech | March 16, 2023
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator backs ChargerHelp and Repurpose
ImpactAlpha, March 16 — Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator is back women-led climate tech startups ChargerHelp and Repurpose. South L.A.-based ChargerHelp will use the …
Features | March 15, 2023
Freada and Mitch Kapor write the book on startup investing to close gaps of equity and opportunity
ImpactAlpha, March 15 — Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein have spent more than a decade betting on diverse founders with lived experience …
Return on Inclusion | March 10, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Representation matters
ImpactAlpha, March 10 — At your Oscar party this weekend, keep an eye, and ear, out for Rihanna. The Agent of Impact received …
Macro's Charles D. King | Credit: Getty
Creative Economy | March 8, 2023
Charles King’s Macro raises $90 million to amplify diverse voices in Hollywood
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 8 – Hollywood super agent turned entrepreneur and investor Charles King created Macro in 2015 to put voices and perspectives of …
Inclusive Economy | March 6, 2023
DreamSpring secures $5.3 million grant from Kauffman Foundation for small business lending in underserved Kansas City
ImpactAlpha, March 6 — Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation is providing $5.3 million to DreamSpring, an Albuquerque-based national community development financial institution, or CDFI. …
Return on Inclusion | March 6, 2023
Want to wring impact from ESG? Look to governance
If ESG is a foot in the door to an economy built around sustainability, inclusion and equity, then governance is the power that’s …
Photo by Eduardo Barrios on Unsplash
Investing in Health | March 1, 2023
How private investment in the care economy can work for care workers as well
The pandemic heightened awareness of the foundational role that caregiving plays in the US economy. Yet care infrastructure for childcare, eldercare, and other …
Photo by BlocPower.
Climate and Clean Tech | March 1, 2023
BlocPower raises $154 million to decarbonize buildings in low-income neighborhoods
ImpactAlpha, March 1 — Brooklyn-based climate tech venture BlocPower has raised $154 million in debt and equity funding to partner with municipalities in …
Photo by Bitwise Industries.
Inclusive Economy | February 28, 2023
Bitwise Industries raises $80 million to upskill workers on Chicago’s South Side
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 28 – Fresno, Calif.-based Bitwise Industries has raised $80 million to take its model for upskilling low-income residents for high-growth tech jobs …
Dealflow | February 24, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Black and Brown green startups
ImpactAlpha, February 24 — Founders are using their proximity to communities and their own lived experience to build climate solutions. Local accelerators and …
Montrose, Colorado
Opportunity Zones | February 23, 2023
From Alabama to Utah, rural Opportunity Zones attract private investors for local development (video)
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 23 – Opportunity Zones are bringing investors to the table in a place they’ve long avoided: rural America. The capital gains tax …
Photo by 2Gether-International.
Signals | February 23, 2023
The impact case for bridging financing gaps for disabled founders
ImpactAlpha, February 23 — Mexican-American paralympic athlete Diego Mariscal, who was born three months premature with cerebral palsy, is out to prove the …
photo: Christopher Burns
Ownership Economy | February 21, 2023
Move over, private equity. Here comes worker ownership.
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 21 – Who better to buy an established, profitable small business than the employees who work there? They know the operations, the …
Impact Tech | February 21, 2023
COMMUNITYx snags $2 million to build the Instagram of social and environmental activism
ImpactAlpha, February 21 — COMMUNITYx has raised $2 million to connect global activists to petitions, events and fundraising campaigns around racial justice, climate …
Inclusive Economy | February 17, 2023
Rihanna: Shining star power on inclusion in music and business
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 17 – Years before this week’s elegant and understated Super Bowl appearance, Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty turned down the NFL’s invitation to headline …
Image credit: Comun
Financial Inclusion | February 16, 2023
Spanish-language digital bank Comun secures $4.5 million from investors.
ImpactAlpha, February 16 – Nearly 10% of the Hispanic population in the U.S. is unbanked and 40% don’t have a credit card or …
Evette Ellis and Kameale Terry. Photo by ChargerHelp!
Green Infrastructure | February 15, 2023
ChargerHelp scores $17.5 million to repair EV chargers and create inclusive green jobs
ImpactAlpha, February 15 — More electric vehicles on the road means more demand for EV chargers that work. Broken and unreliable chargers have …
Return on Inclusion | February 13, 2023
Community Preservation Corp. invests $5 million in SHIFT Catalyst Fund to back diverse developers
ImpactAlpha, February 13 — SHIFT Catalyst Fund has secured a $5 million equity investment from Community Preservation Corp. to invest in real estate …
Inclusive Economy | February 9, 2023
Turning the boom in small-business starts into a long-term driver of economic mobility
ImpactAlpha, February 9 — A record 10 million Americans applied to start new businesses over the past two years, as President Biden highlighted …
Photo by Nex Cubed.
Return on Inclusion | February 8, 2023
Nex Cubed scores $5 million from Costco to invest in diverse founders from historically Black colleges
ImpactAlpha, February 8 — San Francisco-based accelerator Nex Cubed is looking to raise $40 million for an HBCU Founders Fund, which will back …