NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

ImpactAssets, a nonprofit impact investment firm that invests in funds and companies that create social and environmental return alongside of financial return, today announced the launch of the ImpactAssets COVID Response Fund, a hybrid of rapid-response charitable giving and flexible impact investing with an initial capacity of more than $1 Billion in investment opportunities.

The Fund will focus on the immediate unmet needs of small businesses and individuals as well as companies fighting on the front lines of the pandemic, across three groups of beneficiaries:

• Small businesses and individuals in communities hardest hit by the economic downturn;
• Frontline Heroes: companies and projects that advance our immediate fight against the pandemic, including treatments and vaccinations, personal protection equipment (PPE) manufacturing and delivery of health services;
• Mission-Critical Changemakers: companies that have materially advanced progress on climate change and social equity and whose survival is integral to preserving and continuing that progress.

“Now more than ever, the world requires the robust and scalable power of impact investing and philanthropy to support those in need and create a more resilient and equitable future,” said Margret Trilli, ImpactAssets President and Chief Investment Officer. “We have been thrilled to see impact investors leaning in at record levels to support critical needs in this moment of crisis.”

ImpactAssets consulted with The Rockefeller Foundation, one of the most credible and experienced impact advisors in the sector, on the development of the Fund. “This is exactly the kind of response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has the potential to deliver solutions to the people, communities and businesses that are struggling most,” said Adam Connaker, Principal, Innovative Finance, The Rockefeller Foundation. “We look forward to collaborating and exploring further opportunities to put catalytic philanthropic capital to work with ImpactAssets.”

The ImpactAssets COVID Response Fund taps a pipeline of 5,000 partners and beneficiaries from the ImpactAssets ecosystem of mission driven portfolio companies, fund managers and community banks. The Fund will evolve as the needs of communities and individuals shift through response, recovery and reinvention. One key pillar of the strategy includes channeling critical charitable dollars to community banks and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) lenders, who are in critical need of capital to support the unprecedented plight of small businesses and individuals in their communities.

“In response to these unprecedented times, the ImpactAssets COVID Response Fund will leverage ImpactAssets’ experienced investment team, its robust investor network and established deal pipeline to identify and vet high-impact opportunities in need of capital,” said ImpactAssets Board Member Kim Wright-Violich, Managing Partner, Tideline. “This Fund is wisely built to deploy capital strategically and immediately, to support companies and individuals who need it most right now.”

“The ImpactAssets COVID Response Fund meets an extraordinary spectrum of need,” said Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Co-Founder and Principal, Blue Haven Initiative and ImpactAssets Board Member. “Through the fund, our family office is supporting mission-driven companies rapidly delivering products and services related to the crisis, as well as stabilizing affected social enterprises and small businesses across the country and around the world.”

Photo courtesy of Sudipto Sarkar.