McKnight Foundation’s Tonya Allen: Philanthropy has the right and responsibility to counter attacks on DEI (Q&A). Tonya Allen won’t take the bait. The president of Minnesota-based McKnight Foundation isn’t retreating in the face of right-wing attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Instead, Allen is putting the heft of the $2.6 billion family foundation behind strategies that redress the historic and systematic economic exclusion of people by race. “As a private institution, we have the right to express our mission as long as we are not discriminating against anyone, and we are not,” says Allen, who took McKnight’s helm in 2021. To redress policies that have led to persistent wealth gaps, McKnight has helped mobilize the Groundbreak Coalition and $1 billion in flexible capital for Black homeowners, entrepreneurs and commercial developers.
TPG Rise Climate acquires renewable fuels storage and delivery company Olympus Terminals. California-based Olympus (formerly Chemoil), transports and stores renewable fuels, such as renewable diesel. The fuel, made from fats and oils, such as soybean or canola oil, is processed to have the same chemical composition as petroleum diesel used by heavy-duty vehicles, but it burns more completely and is therefore cleaner. California, which has passed regulations such as the low-carbon fuel standard, has been the largest consumer of renewable diesel since 2018, averaging 81% of total use in the US. By acquiring the company, TPG hopes to help Olympus play a role in the state’s renewable diesel value chain. “Olympus’ assets and operations are central to the sustainable fuels ecosystem,” said TPG’s Jonathan Garfinkel.
ESG will be key to supplying ‘green’ metals needed for the energy transition. A single wind turbine requires 4.7 tons of copper, while EV batteries use copious amounts of lithium, nickel and cobalt. Procurement of these critical metals will need to increase seven-fold by 2030, setting off a global scramble to secure supplies. In addition to long development times, high capital intensity and price volatility, the mining industry’s poor track record on safety, human rights and pollution threatens to dampen investment, says Levi Zurbrugg of investment advisor Saturna Capital. “To ensure a future that is both sustainable and equitable, meticulous environmental, social and governance oversight and innovative sourcing are key,” he writes in a guest post on ImpactAlpha.
Amy Bell, previously with The Cook's Nook and Whole Foods, joins MCE Social Capital as chief financial officer… Alex McCarthy (who will join DBL Partners), Christiana Lee (who will join Spring Lane Capital) and Aakash Kotak (who will join Builders Fund) are among 25 graduate student Mosaic Fellows selected by Impact Capital Managers… In an open letter, George Clooney, Regina King, Ava Duvernay and other actors, filmmakers and activists called on Hollywood studios to produce more stories and projects that prioritize social impact following the closure of Participant (for context, see “Shutdown of Participant challenges other investors to drive impact through film”).
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 …
U.S. impact investors, we have a problem. In truth, there are several, and they all center around just how challenging it is to …
Achieving net-zero emissions requires transitioning from a fossil-fueled economy to one energized through metals and materials. Nearly $2 trillion in investment in mining …
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 …
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 …
McKnight Foundation’s Tonya Allen: Philanthropy has the right and responsibility to counter attacks on DEI (Q&A). Tonya Allen won’t take the bait. The president of Minnesota-based McKnight Foundation isn’t retreating in the face of right-wing attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Instead, Allen is putting the heft of the $2.6 billion family foundation behind strategies that redress the historic and systematic economic exclusion of people by race. “As a private institution, we have the right to express our mission as long as we are not discriminating against anyone, and we are not,” says Allen, who took McKnight’s helm in 2021. To redress policies that have led to persistent wealth gaps, McKnight has helped mobilize the Groundbreak Coalition and $1 billion in flexible capital for Black homeowners, entrepreneurs and commercial developers.
TPG Rise Climate acquires renewable fuels storage and delivery company Olympus Terminals. California-based Olympus (formerly Chemoil), transports and stores renewable fuels, such as renewable diesel. The fuel, made from fats and oils, such as soybean or canola oil, is processed to have the same chemical composition as petroleum diesel used by heavy-duty vehicles, but it burns more completely and is therefore cleaner. California, which has passed regulations such as the low-carbon fuel standard, has been the largest consumer of renewable diesel since 2018, averaging 81% of total use in the US. By acquiring the company, TPG hopes to help Olympus play a role in the state’s renewable diesel value chain. “Olympus’ assets and operations are central to the sustainable fuels ecosystem,” said TPG’s Jonathan Garfinkel.
ESG will be key to supplying ‘green’ metals needed for the energy transition. A single wind turbine requires 4.7 tons of copper, while EV batteries use copious amounts of lithium, nickel and cobalt. Procurement of these critical metals will need to increase seven-fold by 2030, setting off a global scramble to secure supplies. In addition to long development times, high capital intensity and price volatility, the mining industry’s poor track record on safety, human rights and pollution threatens to dampen investment, says Levi Zurbrugg of investment advisor Saturna Capital. “To ensure a future that is both sustainable and equitable, meticulous environmental, social and governance oversight and innovative sourcing are key,” he writes in a guest post on ImpactAlpha.
Amy Bell, previously with The Cook's Nook and Whole Foods, joins MCE Social Capital as chief financial officer… Alex McCarthy (who will join DBL Partners), Christiana Lee (who will join Spring Lane Capital) and Aakash Kotak (who will join Builders Fund) are among 25 graduate student Mosaic Fellows selected by Impact Capital Managers… In an open letter, George Clooney, Regina King, Ava Duvernay and other actors, filmmakers and activists called on Hollywood studios to produce more stories and projects that prioritize social impact following the closure of Participant (for context, see “Shutdown of Participant challenges other investors to drive impact through film”).
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 …
U.S. impact investors, we have a problem. In truth, there are several, and they all center around just how challenging it is to …
Achieving net-zero emissions requires transitioning from a fossil-fueled economy to one energized through metals and materials. Nearly $2 trillion in investment in mining …
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 …
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 …
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