On Monday June 13, The Impact Investing Summit (iiSummit) aims to mobilize the power of private capital in the Midwest for social and financial return. hosted by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The first-ever summit will focus on the ways this growing industry bridges social and environmental impact with investment vehicles that are attractive to mainstream investors.
Impact investing is an emerging asset class that is gaining increased recognition from institutional investors, high net worth individuals, and private foundations. In this nascent industry, there is a range of options around financial returns, type and location of investment, and potential exits. The iiSummit will bring together national experts in this field—including members and advisors to private foundations; State Department and SBA representatives; and institutional, venture capital, and individual investors—to explore impact investment options for the Midwest.
This summit supports current efforts of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Global Partnership Initiative (GPI). In 2010, GPI began the “20ii – Investing for Impact” initiative to leverage the assets of corporations and investors to achieve social and environmental impact in underserved markets and help achieve the U.S. government’s foreign policy objectives.
At the iiSummit, institutional investors, high net worth individuals, private foundations, and USG representatives as well as a broad range of investment practitioners will examine the impact investing sector in a series of lectures and panel sessions. Topics for discussion include successful investment models, social innovation and policy, and social impact trends in the Midwest.
“The Midwest is generating novel for-profit ventures that are creating both social and financial returns but require growth capital,” said Linda Darragh, clinical professor and director of entrepreneurship programs for the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth. “But we can no longer rely on philanthropy alone. Impact investments are the fuel needed to grow this new class of ventures that will better our society and environment.”
“The iiSummit aims to further this discussion by educating the investment community about how to harness private capital in the Midwest and direct these resources for social and financial return,” said Jamie Jones, associate director of the Social Enterprise at Kellogg (SEEK) program at the Kellogg School. “This is an ideal time to bring impact investing and new investment models to the forefront of the business community, especially here in Chicago.”
The events of the day will be capped off by three presentations from Midwest ventures that highlight the opportunity for impact investments.
Speakers:
-Kris Balderston, special representative for global partnerships, U.S. Department of State Global Partnership Initiative
-David Chen, managing partner, Equilibrium Capital Group
-Sasha Dichter, director of business development, Acumen Fund
-Sean Greene, associate administrator for investment and senior adviser for innovation at the U.S. Small Business Administration
-David Kirkpatrick, managing director and co-founder, SJF Ventures
-Wes Selke, investment manager, Good Capital & Hub Ventures
-Thomas Debass, U.S. Department of State Global Partnership Initiative
-Noel Kullavanijaya, Equilibrium Capital
-Tom Balderston, Investors’ Circle and Patient Capital Collaborative
-Patrick Fisher, Creation Ventures
-Deborah Quazzo, NeXtAdvisors
-Karen Lehman, Fresh Taste Initiative
-Keith Crandell, ARCH Venture Partners and Clean Energy Trust
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© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
