September 08, 2016

What's Up With Impact Investing and Higher Education?

September 08, 2016/ Paul Perry

As impact investing spreads to new areas of education, we got to wondering about who's backing what in higher ed. So far, it's a sparse field. Lumina is one foundation that sees potential here.

August 29, 2016

Is Impact Investing About to Turbo-Charge the Charter School Movement?

August 29, 2016/ Paul Perry

Some charter advocates, frustrated by the slow pace of building new schools, see impact investing as the key to the rapid expansion of charters nation-wide.

July 28, 2016

Among Foundations, Who's the Biggest Impact Investor?

July 28, 2016/ Sue-Lynn Moses and David Callahan

Impact investing is spreading in foundation land, but actual dollar amounts are still hard to come by. That said, there's little doubt about which foundation has laid out—by far—the most capital.

June 06, 2016

Capital Women: 9 Gender Lens Investors to Know About

June 06, 2016/ Kiersten Marek

If gender equity really is the golden investing opportunity everyone says it is, these nine people are on track to transform the field of finance and impact investing—and maybe philanthropy, too.

May 19, 2016

Are Impact Investing and Women's Leadership Connected? We Ask Clara Miller

May 19, 2016/ Kiersten Marek

Heron's chief aims to shake up the way philanthropy does things, and by the look of it, she has done a bang-up job. What does this story tell us about how women's leadership is shaping impact investing?

April 26, 2016

In Chicago: Impact Investing for the People, Not Just the Privileged

April 26, 2016/ David Callahan and Alyssa Ochs

Forget the tech types supposedly leading the charge to disrupt yesterday's philanthropic models. Here's an example of establishment foundations working to invent the future.

April 05, 2016

Through the Gender Lens: A Look at a New Blended Capital Fund for Urban Cores

April 05, 2016/ Kiersten Marek

Living Cities is starting a new blended capital fund to seed business development in distressed communities. With $31 million in potential funding, we take a look through a gender lens at these new projects.

February 12, 2016

A Friend To Urban Farming With Some Deep Pockets

February 12, 2016/ Alyssa Ochs

Urban farming and healthy food markets are one more place where social enterprises are gaining traction. Among those backing this trend is the Nonprofit Finance Fund. We look at a recent loan in Oakland.

February 04, 2016

India: A Top Testing Ground for Omidyarism and Impact Investing

February 04, 2016/ Jack Bedrosian

India has been a focal point for American philanthropy for many decades, and a testing ground for any number of ideas. Now it's ground zero for the impact investing movement.

January 22, 2016

Why Are these Big Name Backers Getting Behind Lodo Therapeutics?

January 22, 2016/ Sue-Lynn Moses

Multi-drug resistance is a major obstacle in the treatment of global disease scourges such as tuberculosis. This company’s cutting edge molecule research offers some hope.

January 06, 2016

Meet the Funders Behind Crowdfunded Small Business Loans in New York City

January 06, 2016/ Alyssa Ochs

Kiva has introduced a New York City-focused lending effort extended to small businesses and community entrepreneurs. Let’s take a closer look at the funders supporting it so far.

December 18, 2015

How All That Salad Dressing Is Making the World a Better Place

December 18, 2015/ Kiersten Marek

Newman's Own was one of the early prototypes for how to marry business and charity. We talk to the organization's longtime president, Bob Forrester, about what it's been up to lately.

December 15, 2015

What Is Steve Case Doing to Bring Solar Power to Africa?

December 15, 2015/ Jack Bedrosian

Steve Case continues his run of impact investing, joining Al Gore in supporting an African energy start-up. However, he remains curiously absent from the new tech-centric Breakthrough Energy Coalition.

December 03, 2015

Sorry, Bill Gates, But Billions for Energy Research Is Not How to Win the Climate Battle

December 03, 2015/ Tate Williams

Bill Gates has rounded up a squad of billionaires to save the day on climate change, using their investment wisdom and bank accounts to advance energy tech. Too bad they're putting money in the wrong place.

November 17, 2015

A Foundation Puts Capital Behind a Push for More Skilled Workers in India

November 17, 2015/ Sue-Lynn Moses

India may be one of the most populous countries in the world, but it's facing a serious skilled workforce crisis. The Michael and Susan Dell think impact investing can help address this problem.

November 12, 2015

Impact Investing for Health: The Big Money Flowing to the Healthy Futures Fund

November 12, 2015/ Sue-Lynn Moses

In 2012, the Kresge Foundation partnered with like-minded organizations to launch the Healthy Futures Fund. Now the partners are ponying up another $100 million to improve health outcomes in low-income areas.

November 11, 2015

Everything on the Table: How the Heron Foundation Does Impact Investing

November 11, 2015/ Kiersten Marek

Impact investing means different things to different foundations, and the Heron Foundation is both unusually ambitious and also quite broad in its approach. We dig in with Heron Vice President Toni Johnson.

October 28, 2015

A Quick Look at an Innovative Funding Lifeline to Small-to-Midsize Arts Organizations

October 28, 2015/ Mike Scutari

As more foundations embrace impact investing and other kinds on financial innovation, what might this trend mean for arts organizations? Well, check out the Andrew Mellon Foundation's Revolving Loan Fund.

October 26, 2015

Inside MacArthur's Impact Investing: A Conversation With Debra Schwartz

October 26, 2015/ Kiersten Marek

MacArthur has been doing impact investing for decades, mainly in affordable housing. Now, as part of a new focus on "big bets," it's getting more ambitious. We talk with the foundation's point person for this work.

October 23, 2015

The High-Profile Investors Who See Digital Jobs as a Path Out of Poverty

October 23, 2015/ Sue-Lynn Moses

As the world’s youth population swells, ensuring the growth of jobs is critical. Dell, Khosla Impact, and the Omidyar Network recently put up millions to stay ahead of the global youth unemployment curve.