Imagine my surprise when a hedge fund manager invited me to a retreat of the “Gratitude Railroad” rather than the typical finance conference centered on topics such as derivatives: aka highly complex products no one understands. With a conference name that intriguing, I had to find out more.
It turns out the Gratitude Railroad is a community of action oriented investors seeking to do good and do well (right up my alley as those of you reading along this year know). Two extremely successful guys, Howard Fischer and Eric Jacobsen, started the Gratitude Railroad after meeting in the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative.
I guess this is what happens when Wall Street executives and tech entrepreneurs go to Harvard, which makes me a proud HKS alumnus (yah, I slipped that in, such an obnoxious Haavaad thing, I know).
Having been in impact investing for 20 years, well before the term was coined, I’m delighted to see hedge fund and private equity fund managers, venture capitalists, investment bankers, corporate lawyers, and successful entrepreneurs devoting their amazing talent to this work.
They contribute their understanding of risk/return, financial acumen, and business savvy to solving the world’s most pressing problems such as climate change, social justice, and sustainability.
Since we met at Big Path’s Impact Capitalism Summit on Nantucket, I figured the retreat might be held someplace nice. Sure enough, they held the event in Deer Valley, Utah. We started our days with yoga and ended with hikes; now that’s my kind of non-conference conference. In between the exercise we heard from innovators and investors on subject such as:
Besides spreading the world through convenings, the Gratitude Railroad is launching tracks (get it? Choo choo!) to do impact investing. Their first track, the Builders Fund, is a fund investing in purpose driven companies. Most recently the Gratitude Railroad launched a Farmland track. I think it’s time to start laying the rails—perhaps for a medical device track—in Minnesota. What do you think?
These investment bankers gone good realize that we need to get more capital committed to impact investing. Being investment folks, once they get a good idea, they act on it. My main take away from the retreat was we need more funds; we need to invest in the funds that exist and—in general—talk faster and do more (oh, maybe they talk fast because many are from New Yawk).
In a hike down the mountain I think I convinced Howard to visit us here in the Twin Cities and have dinner with our investment bankers gone—or going—good. Interested in learning more about where the smart money is investing? Join us!
Tweet me your thoughts @susan_hammel.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This powerful quote is how Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison opened his keynote address at the Minnesota Council on Foundations annual conference last month. As Americans, we stand for individual freedom, the right to pursue happiness, and the dignity of each person. These fundamental values are under assault. We need to muster our courage and act. Perhaps it’s reaching out to a friend with disabilities who is worried about funding cuts. Maybe it’s shopping and dining at non-traditional places and restaurants such as those found on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Or maybe it’s running for public office so we’ll have better leadership choices. Let me know what actions you’re taking in these fraught times.
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