David Bank

Overheard at SOCAP: Agents of Impact: Investing for inclusion, equity and diversity is essential for long-term performance.

Systems thinkers don’t leave home without their slide decks. At last week’s SOCAP conference in San Francisco, the quickest way to capture some of the abundance of innovative thinking on offer was simply to snap pictures of the slides.

For many impact investors and entrepreneurs, it was a day to step back, lay low and make sense of an election outcome that was always a possibility but was rarely fully contemplated.

This fall, the Sorenson Impact Institute moved into its new home at the University of Utah, the Impact & Prosperity Epicenter. The

Oakland-based Illumen is expanding its investment strategies to include first-time managers and direct co-investments, particularly from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.

Small business advocates in Illinois this year succeeded in getting the state Senate to approve a “small business bill of rights” to ensure business owners know the true interest rates on their loans – only to see

The chat is hopping whenever Agents of Impact gather for an ImpactAlpha call. Sure, we recruit thoughtful leaders and tease out takeaways from the speakers and guests.

The singer and music teacher Melanie DeMore stepped to the microphone and started, “On this, the third night…”

Institutional capital hasn't yet figured out how to invest at scale in climate adaptation strategies, which is why crucially needed adaptation finance is in such short supply.

Among the curses of impact investing is that the patient capital needed for many high-impact solutions is inherently more expensive – precisely because it is so patient.