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.
When COVID-19 and the ensuing economic disruption hit, I worried that impact investing would recede as investors sought comfort in old-style investing and social entrepreneurs kept their day jobs. Luckily, my worries were for naught: more investors are interested in doing good and doing well. More philanthropists are looking for innovative ways to address the multiple crises we face: health, economic, racial, civic, climate, and rural. Social entrepreneurs are launching and growing their ideas to address the world's problems. These leaders give me hope!
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