VCs love to talk about , where a giant return is possible. Some friends in the impact investing world have recently started talking about generating giant returns by investing in (such as a nonprofit building in rural Colorado) and Ponies (an immigrant restaurant in Seattle currently using payday lending at 35% for their working capital). While these returns have an economic component, they can also have dramatic impact on our society. Unicorns Zebras If you are interested in impact investing, I encourage you to join the (IFC) and presenting funders The Anschutz Foundation, Zoma Foundation, , , and at , Nov 15–17, in Denver, Colorado. Impact Finance Center The MacArthur Foundation Colorado Health Foundation Gary Community Investments CO Impact Days 2017 CO Impact Days is a three-day experiential executive education conference that teaches investors and philanthropists how to make their investments more effective and their philanthropy more efficient. It also will connect attendees to one hundred of the Rocky Mountains’ most exciting social ventures — projects, nonprofits, for profits, and funds. CO Impact Days’ Founder Dr. Stephanie Gripne (recently written up in , ) points out that we need to stop bifurcating our philanthropy from our investing and start treating our philanthropy as an investment. Forbes Is This Wildlife Conservation PhD The Steve Jobs Of Impact Investing Gripne and a growing number of her colleagues are taking Emerson’s quote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” to heart. They are working on figuring out a new investment model where we can start investing in the companies, nonprofits, projects, and funds that society needs. Another voice in the movement is Ross Baird in his new book, . Ross makes a strong case that we are missing many of our innovations because of an outdated, obscure, misaligned investment model. According to Baird, The Innovation Blind Spot: Why We Back the Wrong Ideas―and What to Do About It “While most communities across the US think in two pockets — the business and philanthropy communities don’t intersect — Colorado is leading the country in one-pocket thinkers. From the way we invest and support startups, to how employees can own and build wealth in companies, to how finance can be used to reshape traditionally philanthropic sectors such as the environment and early childhood education, Colorado is leading the way.” An article by Jennifer Brandel, Mara Zepeda, Astrid Scholz & Aniyia Williams, , introduces Zebras as an alternative to to Unicorns. And Gripne’s paper, , makes the case that the reason we do not have $1B impact funds for nonprofits, immigrants, and women, is not because we do not have $50M of institutional quality of deal flow. Rather, it’s because there is no incentive to create the infrastructure to do the necessary capacity building to find and scale up these investments. Gripne and her team are also working on a new paper to be introduced at CO Impact Days, inspired by the Zebras article mentioned above, “ ?” Zebras Fix What Unicorns Break Laying the Groundwork for the National Impact Investing Marketplace If Angels Invest in Unicorns, do Heroes Invest in Zebras and What About Ponies and Donkeys This conference is not just about Coloradans. CO Impact Days was designed to expand regionally and replicate to up to five other regions throughout the U.S. creating the National Impact Investing Marketplace. Indiana is bringing a cohort of ten community leaders, Washington is bringing five, and Maryland is bringing three. CO Impact Days is the first statewide marketplace for direct investing, and is just Phase 1 of the national model. Gripne and her team (which , , who led Greater Cincinnati Foundation for 20 years and wrote the book on Community Foundations and Impact Investing, and , trustee on Arca Foundation, Brenn Foundation, and Sapelo Foundation) have their sights set on a national marketplace, and they want to invite you in on the ground floor. Andrew Currie Kathy Merchant Nicole Bagley Last year’s inaugural CO Impact Days led to over 20 impact investments from first-time, direct investors. They included Nicole Bagley’s investment in (a tech platform that provides a matchmaking service for the aging population to find housemates and additional income, companionship, or help around the house) and the investment in (providing up to $50K loans to Colorado for those of who have a good idea and good character), among others. Silvernest Kenneth King Foundation’s Colorado Lending Source’s Main Street Character Loan Fund In addition to producing CO Impact Days, IFC is also rolling out a new tool, , to catalyze new investors and source Zebras, Ponies, and Donkeys. Impact investing giving circles will provide philanthropists and investors with a low-cost, low risk, first safe investment opportunity by using a donation in a pooled donor advised fund (to be hosted by a community foundation, thus supporting their work as well). impact investing giving circles IFC plans to pilot these impact investing giving circles in Colorado in the areas of Conservation & Water, Women, Rural Community Investment. Its Food Impact Investing Giving Circle will be piloted in multiple cities including Chicago, Boston, and Denver, with and an Immigrant & Minority Impact Investing Giving Circle is being launched in Seattle in partnership with to refinancing payday loans for restaurants. Chef’s Collaborative Ethnic Business Coalition To Get involved in CO Impact Days 2017 Register as an Investor: http://bit.ly/2vMVtFb Register as Community Attendee: http://bit.ly/2gIgQSf Volunteer to be a Social Venture Judge: http://bit.ly/2gN41tO Donate to support CO Impact Days & Initiative: https://goo.gl/3282Tg Join CO Impact Days & Initiative Mailing List: http://tinyurl.com/y76n29ma Originally published at Feld Thoughts .

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