ImpactAlpha

Tsao Family Office builds a theory to go with its practice of impact investing (podcast) On the latest Agents of Impact Podcast: Bryan Goh, the CEO and chief investment officer of the Tsao Family Office in Singapore

🎧 Who would be funding this, if not us?

That’s the question Bryan Goh, the CEO of the Tsao Family Office in Singapore, says his team asks all the time. “We’re very careful where we fund that we don’t distort things,” Goh says on the Agents of Impact podcast.

impactalpha.com/tsao-family-...

Beth Bafford to leave Climate United as legal battle with Trump administration drags Find out about Beth Bafford's departure from Climate United and her decision to begin a new role at RBC Wealth Management.

@bethbaff.bsky.social leaves @climateunited.bsky.social.

ImpactAlpha has details on her next chapter and her decision to join RBC Wealth Management.

impactalpha.com/beth-bafford...

Redemption Bank builds an engine for Black wealth – in Utah (podcast) Redemption Holding Co., which last fall completed the acquisition of Holladay Bank & Trust, has flipped the script on Black bank ownership

🏦 Redemption Bank is flipping the script on Black bank ownership, which has been in decline for decades.

Ashley Bell explains why it's happening in Utah and what separates Redemption from every other African American owned bank in history.

impactalpha.com/redemption-b...

Denver-based Next50 is aligning its $265 million endowment around an “aging investment framework."

☎️ RSVP to ImpactAlpha's next call: Building an investment portfolio that makes aging an asset. Wednesday, March 11 at 10am PT / 1pm ET.

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🎧 On "This Week in Impact," how impact investors are reacting to @antrhopic.bsky.social's showdown with the Pentagon. Plus, six common excuses foundations use for not investing for impact.

impactalpha.com/anthropics-s...

Six barriers keeping foundations from impact investing – and how to overcome them Impact investing in philanthropy has been around for decades. It’s been almost 20 years since the Rockefeller Foundation popularized the term “impact investing.” ...

Foundation leaders gathered in Asheville, NC, this week for @confluencep.bsky.social y.social's annual gathering.

Stacey Faella of the $90 million Woodcock Foundation, wondered why impact investing continues to be a niche activity among philanthropies.

impactalpha.com/six-barriers...

Sharing wealth with workers creates value for private equity buyout firms. So why not share more? “Being able to combine a great asset return for our investors and do good by our employees was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he says.

Riverside is part of @ownershipworks.bsky.social, an association of private equity firms that have committed to sharing a slice of their equity gains with hourly and frontline workers at the companies they buy and sell.

Why others are sharing wealth with workers.

impactalpha.com/sharing-weal...

‘Purpose trusts’ power a business movement toward broader ownership and stakeholder governance Explore purpose trusts as an innovative exit strategy for values-driven businesses while preserving their missions and community benefits.

Values-led founders are rethinking their exit options and broadening the ownership of the businesses they’ve built.

How purpose trusts are giving employees & other stakeholders access to a share of future profits without capital or financial risk. #OwnershipEconomy

impactalpha.com/purpose-trus...

In a dangerous world, impact investors look for the alpha in responsible AI Anthropic’s standoff with the Pentagon highlights the confoundingly complex challenges of crafting effective guardrails around a transformative technology that is charting the fastest ...

Just hours after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared @anthropic.com’ s Claude a “supply-chain risk,” the military used the AI system against Iran in Operation Epic Fury, @axios.com and @wsj.com reported.

Now, impact investors are responding.

impactalpha.com/in-a-dangero...

States of the union take a policy lead in the US + Mast Reforestation's new biomass burial carbon credit strategy Dive into This Week in Impact for insights on clean energy, AI regulation, and small funds driving returns in Africa.

🎧 As the Trump administration steps back from domestic policy, how states are taking the lead on clean energy, the ownership economy, and AI regulation.

Plus, why a drone-focused reforestation startup pivoted to bulldozers burying burned trees.

impactalpha.com/states-of-th...

UK’s Manufacturing Africa to launch $200 million fund for green manufacturing startups For its next phase, Manufacturing Africa is launching the Forge Africa fund, a $200 million special purpose blended fund that leverages development financier funding and pension capital.

The funding gap for businesses that are too small for private equity and too risky for commercial lenders led UK's Manufacturing Africa to launch the special-purpose Forge Africa fund.

impactalpha.com/uks-manufact...

How states can help finance business transitions to employee ownership Illinois is poised to create the largest dedicated public investment vehicle for employee ownership in the country

@repguzzardi39.bsky.social's Employee Ownership Development Act could create the largest dedicated public investment vehicle for employee ownership.

The legislation would authorize Illinois' treasurer to deploy some of the state’s non-pension investment portfolio.

impactalpha.com/how-states-c...

This family foundation is trying to ‘meet the moment’ with all of its $100 million in assets (podcast) The Russell Family Foundation is a regional small fry among the giant pension, insurance and sovereign wealth funds in the Net Zero Asset ...

🎧 “Addressing climate as a key component of our work is really where we need to stay the course, and now is not the time to be shifting," says Kathleen Simpson of the Russell Family Foundation.

TRFF's plan to "meet the moment."

impactalpha.com/this-family-...

Green bank grantees press forward as appeals court weighs the fate of frozen climate funds A court hearing today by an “en banc" panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit could eventually reinstate funding for the program, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, most of which has remai...

⚖️ A critical court hearing today by the full bench of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit could reinstate funding for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, most of which has remained frozen in Citibank accounts while the legal battle plays out.

impactalpha.com/green-bank-g...

Good jobs, worker voice and ownership in the age of AI Explore the importance of worker voice in the age of AI and how it can shape a future of shared resources and empowerment.

Pacific Community Ventures is among the investors designing a future in which #AI is wielded to uplift community voices and build economic mobility.

Bulbul Gupta explains how the nonprofit CDFI is incorporating ethical AI into its impact underwriting & measurement.

impactalpha.com/good-jobs-wo...

From planting trees to burying them, Mast Reforestation follows the market for carbon credits For its latest act, Mast Reforestation turns to biomass burial for generating carbon credits on wildfire burned lands.

@mastreforest.bsky.social pivots.

“When I first heard about the idea of biomass burial my initial reaction was that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of,” says @nature.org's Joe Fargione. “I looked into it further...turns out that it’s actually a good idea."

impactalpha.com/mast-refores...

A fund for Canada’s Indigenous communities opens the tap of public finance There have been many attempts to bring private and public finance together to fund social programs. Many have been unsuccessful (cf. “social impact ...

🇨🇦 A first-time fund from Indigenous-led Raven Group in Canada has a fresh take on the “pay for success” model.

The fund reached a $32+ million second close to pay for community health-focused projects designed by Canada’s First Nations and Native tribes in the US.

impactalpha.com/a-fund-for-c...

(Human) agents of impact are shaping the algorithm for 'good AI' Guests on this Agents of Impact Call shared strategies for investors looking to shape the algorithm for 'good AI.'

☎️ This week, we brought together Katy Knight, Chris Jurgens, Paul Fehlinger and Mohamed Nanabhay to sketch an investment thesis around responsible and ethical AI.

It kicked off ImpactAlpha’s Shaping the Algorithm beat, in partnership with Siegel Family Endowment.

impactalpha.com/human-agents...

How US retail investors can find opportunities for climate action in the Global South Investing in climate solutions presents impact investors with some of the most exciting opportunities, from transforming what we eat to the electricity running ...

Where can US based investors, retail and institutional, turn to take advantage of investments in the Global South?

Carbon Collective compiled a helpful database of listed climate companies, especially those in low- and middle income countries, or LMICs.

impactalpha.com/how-us-retai...

Shaping the algorithm: Investing across the tech stack to orchestrate ‘good AI’ Explore how impact investors going beyond deploying AI for good to mobilize capital to ensure the building of “good AI” itself.

“The question for investors right now is whether we will fund an #AI economy designed merely to maximize profits for a few, or one built to reinforce human ingenuity, agency, creativity and the public good,” says Katy Knight of Siegel Family Endowment.

impactalpha.com/shaping-the-...

How ‘Impact LPs’ are supporting fund managers long after the raise This month, Colorado renters for the first time will be able to earn cash back for rent payments and share in the appreciation of their properties.

Gary Community Ventures has been working its local wealth building strategy in Colorado for decades.

How the organization and other "impact LPs" really get to work after the check clears.

impactalpha.com/how-impact-l...

How institutional allocators can invest in “good AI” for societal resilience and the public good.

Join Chris Jurgens of @omidyarnetwork.bsky.social
@paul-fehlinger.bsky.social of @projectliberty.io + others.

☎️ Register for our Wed., Feb. 18th call.

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Demand for critical minerals creates new opportunities to put Africa first Africa is at the center of a new geopolitical scramble for valuable mineral resources. The prize this time isn’t gold or diamonds. It’s ...

The imperative at this week’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, or convention, in Cape Town: Seize the moment to turn the extraction of the continent’s mineral wealth into a driver for sustainable economic development and shared prosperity.

impactalpha.com/demand-for-c...

Asset management giants are raising record sums, including for impact and the energy transition The biggest are getting bigger.  Apollo Global Management, TPG, KKR and other publicly traded asset management firms touted record fundraising hauls on their ...

LP/GP: The biggest are getting bigger. Apollo Global Management, TPG, KKR and other publicly traded private equity firms touted record funding raised on their year-end earnings calls.

impactalpha.com/asset-manage...

Breaking into impact investing: Mapping student pathways and experiences How do students break into impact investing? New survey insights from ICM's Mosaic Fellows reveal career pathways, skills, fellowships, and advice for landing roles in impact finance.

@harvard.edu researchers surveyed Impact Capital Managers' Mosaic fellows about their #impinv career pathways.

Shawn Cole and Jonah Zahnd identify the books and experiences survey participants noted as being partly behind their success.

impactalpha.com/breaking-int...

Australia's green bank backs Indigenous-owned reforestation project The Clean Energy Finance Corp., Australia’s green investment bank, committed $40 million to a reforestation project on the Tiwi Islands that is being ...

Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corp. committed $40 million to a reforestation project on the Tiwi Islands that is being developed in partnership with the Tiwi people who inhabit and steward the islands.

impactalpha.com/australias-g...

With WISER Act, Illinois looks to lead on workforce transparency Fran Seegul argues for the financial materiality of The WISER Act, a proposed workforce disclosure law in Illinois.

A company’s workforce is its greatest asset, but investors need clear data on how companies invest in their people. Illinois’ #WISERAct is a first step toward better workforce disclosure. Check out @franseegull.bsky.social's op-ed today in @impactalpha.com : impactalpha.com/with-wiser-a...

In Philadelphia, Kensington Corridor Trust demonstrates a neighborhood-led model of revival without displacement The Kensington Corridor Trust brings new life to a neighborhood while ensuring protection against displacement and gentrification.

Kensington Corridor Trust in Philadelphia is planning a community stewardship trust to allow neighborhood residents to buy shares for as little as $10 a month and receive dividends.

KCT has teamed up with The Guild, based in Atlanta, to set up the stewardship.

impactalpha.com/in-philadelp...

🎧 On "This Week in Impact," how patient capital built India’s booming affordable home lending market; Nippon Life Insurance’s step-up to system-level investing in Japan; and the push and pull behind the growing interest in climate adaptation.

impactalpha.com/patient-capi...

Join @urbaninstitute.bsky.social on February 10th at 3p ET for a virtual launch event on the Center for Local Finance and Growth.

@dennisprice.bsky.social will moderate a discussion on the role of mission finance in advancing an economy for all.

Register here: www.urban.org/events/next-...