New Revivalists
Democracy and Peace | December 16, 2019
Small vs. big – not blue vs. red – is the great battle of the next American century
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 16 – While I was running Village Capital a few years ago, I noticed two starkly divided realities in the U.S. Vilcap, …
Creative Economy | December 16, 2019
Local, inclusive and entrepreneurial: How stakeholders are taking back capitalism in 2020
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 16 – The people are rising up. Protests erupted this year in cities around the globe, sparked by price hikes and …
Dealflow | July 30, 2019
mHUB launches fund to revive manufacturing in Illinois
ImpactAlpha, July 30 – Illinois’ economy is generally on the up, but manufacturing employs only half as many people as it did three decades …
Creative Economy | July 15, 2019
Beyond Coal: Three tech-driven projects model a more diverse and sustainable Appalachian economy
ImpactAlpha, July 15 – Evidence of unsustainable value creation and neglect mar Appalachia’s coal country. But the region is determined to cut a path …
Entrepreneurship | July 10, 2019
Beyond Coal: Seeding Appalachia’s sustainable future with public and private capital
In a two-part series, we explore how local leaders are blending capital and piloting projects to reinvent Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities. In April, the …
Entrepreneurship | June 3, 2019
Getting smarter about place-based investing
ImpactAlpha, June 3 – A set of briefs from Urban Institute and Mission Investors Exchange round up the ‘tricks of the trade’ in local …
New Revivalists | May 30, 2019
Start.coop: Accelerating co-op businesses to expand ownership for workers and customers
ImpactAlpha, May 30 – Greg Brodsky grew up watching his father build a local carpet store into a 2,000-store chain that buys and sells …
Features | May 1, 2019
A prototype for diversity in Pittsburgh’s tech scene
ImpactAlpha, May 1 – Erin Gatz has a novel idea for promoting equity in tech: Priming female ‘makers’ for entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh’s buzzing startup …
Catalytic Capital | April 23, 2019
GoATL fund backs LIIF’s charter school finance program in Atlanta
ImpactAlpha, April 23 – The impact investment fund of Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta put $1 million into the Low Income Investment Fund …
Creative Economy | March 11, 2019
Backstage accelerator backs 25 underestimated founders in Detroit, Philadelphia, L.A. and London
ImpactAlpha, March 11 – WhoseYourLandlord, founded in Philadelphia by Ofo Ezeugwu to empower and inform renters, is among the first 25 companies backed by Backstage Capital’s …
Entrepreneurship | February 27, 2019
Philadelphia’s impact investors step up to finance local job-creation and a storefront revival
ImpactAlpha, February 27 – First Step Staffing has a disarmingly simple impact strategy for integrating homeless and previously incarcerated people into the workforce. The …
Catalytic Capital | February 6, 2019
Prudential commits $100 million to narrow the racial wealth gap in Memphis, New Orleans and Atlanta
ImpactAlpha, February 5 – Place-based, blended finance through a racial lens. A $100 million commitment from Prudential Financial is a trifecta of impact …
Entrepreneurship | January 29, 2019
Blueprint Local: Texas fund is a blueprint for investors betting on their hometowns – and the businesses bringing them back
Austin, TX – The idea is simple but execution has been hard: helping local investors invest in local entrepreneurs to revive local communities, all across …
Entrepreneurship | December 18, 2018
The Opportunity Alpha: Year in Review
Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! The Opportunity Alpha The maximum opportunity, we wrote last summer, is “to flip the switch from scarcity to an abundance …
Features | November 20, 2018
After Amazon, jilted cities mobilize for inclusive growth
Now that Amazon’s beauty pageant is finally over, runners-up like Birmingham, Kansas City, Baltimore and 200 other cities can move ahead on their …
Dealflow | November 14, 2018
Evergreen Cooperatives launches fund to catalyze employee ownership
ImpactAlpha, November 13 – Evergreen Cooperatives builds worker-owned businesses, giving low-income, low-skilled workers access to new economic opportunities. The Cleveland-based cooperative employs 250 …
Entrepreneurship | November 1, 2018
Boston is a growing hub of global – and local – impact investing
When Jessica Brooks started at Boston Community Capital, it was one in a handful of impact investors in Boston. The kind of work …
Entrepreneurship | October 22, 2018
Jessica Norwood: ‘Believe in you’ money for black entrepreneurs
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: …
Entrepreneurship | October 16, 2018
North Carolina idea: Invest in ecosystems that invest in entrepreneurs
A healthy environment for startups begins with a targeted investment in the systems nurturing founders and budding entrepreneurs. That’s been the driving philosophy …
Dealflow | October 1, 2018
Western New York Impact Investing Fund backs recycled insulation startup Cleanfiber
ImpactAlpha, October 1 – The Western New York Impact Investment Fund has backed Cleanfiber to add a new production facility and create dozens of …
Climate Finance | September 19, 2018
Bloomberg Philanthropies selects Seattle and Atlanta for climate-challenge accelerator
ImpactAlpha, September 19 – The $70 million Bloomberg climate challenge seeks to promote sustainability and climate change awareness in 20 American cities. Seattle …
Dealflow | September 6, 2018
Arlan Hamilton’s Backstage Capital launches accelerator for diverse startup founders
ImpactAlpha, September 6 – The Backstage Accelerator for diverse founders is launching in four cities: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London; the fourth city …
Conservation | August 21, 2018
Tennessee impact fund’s first investment aims to ease traffic congestion
ImpactAlpha, August 20 – LaunchTN, an organization that supports Tennessee-based startups, has made its first investment from its $1.7 million seed-stage impact fund, …
Inclusive Economy | July 30, 2018
Remembering Jeremy Nowak, pioneer of social finance and champion of “the New Localism”
The future, Jeremy Nowak liked to say, “belongs to the problem-solvers.” The Philadelphia civic leader and social financier, died Saturday after a heart …
Features | June 13, 2018
Neighborly Q&A: Returning the power of public finance to civic visionaries
ImpactAlpha, June 12 – Municipal bonds are literally private investments in public goods, making them perhaps the original impact investments. About $435 billion in …
Entrepreneurship | June 8, 2018
How Peru’s startup ecosystem is unlocking talent and driving inclusive growth
ImpactAlpha, June 8 – Here’s a statistic that may surprise you: One in four working-age individuals in Peru was involved in an early-stage company last …
Entrepreneurship | May 15, 2018
Invest in where you know: Impact investors rediscover the power of ‘place’
ImpactAlpha, May 15 – Everything old is new again, including the notion that investors have a role to play in creating thriving economies …
Entrepreneurship | March 8, 2018
South by Social: Austin is the capital of impact entrepreneurship, too
This time of year, people from all over the country don their best hipster duds, dust off their cowboy boots and descend on …
Features | March 2, 2018
Melissa Bradley: Boosting the success of Washington D.C.’s founders of color
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Melissa …
Features | March 1, 2018
Daryn Dodson: Tackling investors’ racial and gender biases to unlock hidden value
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Daryn …
Entrepreneurship | February 27, 2018
Heather Fleming: Bringing global social innovation home to the Navajo Nation
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Heather …
Entrepreneurship | February 24, 2018
New Revivalists are using these six strategies to revive entrepreneurship and the American Dream
With David Bank When you meet and and talk with dozens of leaders working to revive entrepreneurship in cities and towns across the U.S., …
Entrepreneurship | February 23, 2018
Brian Dixon: The 34-year-old African-American VC turning inclusion into a competitive advantage
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Brian …
New Revivalists | February 21, 2018
Rural Arkansas powers an entrepreneurial revival on camelina and biofuels
By Amy Hartzler, BALLE “Y’all lost?” The first words to welcome us to De Witt said so much, offered by an older gentleman …
Entrepreneurship | February 21, 2018
Bryce Butler: Quarterbacking capital into Louisville’s neighborhood economies
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Bryce …
Entrepreneurship | February 16, 2018
Mark Warner: ‘Virginia is for Entrepreneurs’ shows policy leadership
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Sen. …
Entrepreneurship | February 15, 2018
Lisa Skeete Tatum: Unlocking the value of women’s talent in the workplace
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Lisa …
Entrepreneurship | February 14, 2018
Ben Hecht and Ellen Ward: Closing the racial wealth gap with early capital and innovative finance
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalists: Ben …
Entrepreneurship | February 13, 2018
Charlie Brock: Building a startup ecosystem for Tennessee’s entrepreneurs
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Charlie …
Entrepreneurship | February 9, 2018
John Lettieri and Steve Glickman: Turning capital gains into community investments
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalists: John …
Features | February 8, 2018
Brandon Dennison: Transforming coal country, one social enterprise at a time
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Brandon …
Entrepreneurship | February 7, 2018
Jacob Haar: Financing the financiers expanding small-business lending in America
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Jacob …
Entrepreneurship | February 6, 2018
Carmen Rojas: Building a 21st-century economy that works for working people
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Carmen …
Entrepreneurship | February 2, 2018
Bryce Roberts and Tim O’Reilly: VCs that help startups raise revenues, not rounds
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalists: Bryce …
Entrepreneurship | February 1, 2018
Propeller: Helping local entrepreneurs rise with New Orleans’ revival
New Revivalists is a series from ImpactAlpha and Village Capital profiling the people, places and policies reviving entrepreneurship — and the American Dream. New Revivalist: Andrea …