I sat down with Maja Beckstrom of the Pioneer Press to talk about impact investing. Check out our conversation:
Though it’s a new buzzword, impact investing is an old concept.
“If you really trace this movement of aligning investments with your values, you need to go back to the Quakers and the 17th century,” says Susan Hammel, executive in residence for impact investing at the Minnesota Council on Foundations. As abolitionists, most Quakers wouldn’t invest in the slave trade and as pacifists they didn’t invest in war.
Top of my mind these days is investing in line with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion values. Many institutions promised bold moves after George Floyd was murdered. Who is following through and doing this well? Racial justice requires new pathways for capital flows. I’m excited to be part of the McKnight Foundation’s Groundbreak Coalition, aiming to deploy $2b in flexible capital over 10 years to disrupt the status quo. In Minnesota we are a generous state, a charitable state, a hard-working state: we need to try new approaches to create that famous quality of life for all. We are leading a session on Place Based Impact Investing at the Mission Investors Exchange conference in Baltimore. Reach out if you’ll be there so I can include you in the informal MN meet-ups.
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