The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) has released a new report: Roadmap for the Future of Impact Investing which provides immediate actions required to further accelerate impact investing to address our most pressing social issues.

“As an industry, impact investing drives the flow of much-needed capital towards solutions to the most critical social and environmental challenges facing the world today,” GIIN’s report states. “The resources available from government and philanthropy are insufficient; impact investing seeks to both bridge this gap and finance new models for addressing global problems.”

For instance, meeting the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 will require innovative financial solutions. GIIN shares that currently the “financial markets would need to provide an estimated several trillion dollars each year,” but GIIN says that effective impact investing could help to bridge that gap.

GIIN’s Roadmap provides immediate action steps needed over the next 5 to 7 years across the field to further catalyze and accelerate impact investing to achieve the impact investing ecosystem’s goals.

We’re sharing highlights of GIIN’s recommendations for the field to enhance the impact investing ecosystem:

• Increase accessibility to impact investments for a broader set of individuals and institutions.

• Develop and share best practices for impact measurement, management and reporting.

• Launch a global campaign to raise awareness and encourage incentives and design requirements to access capital that aligns with positive impact.

• Increase awareness of impact investing for investors and finance professionals through education and training.

• Enhance policy and regulation, for instance, establishing tax incentives for impact investing.

These are just a few of the recommendations that the GIIN shares with impact investing, the hope is that in the future “it will be ‘normal’ to factor social and environmental impact into all types of investment decisions.’”

For those who may be interested in impact investing or new to the field, GIIN recommends:

• Educate yourself and your colleagues about impact investing options by exploring the resources and information available. (You can view CMF’s impact investing work and resources here.)

• Lead by example; begin aligning your assets and financial decisions with your values.

Here in Michigan, Jennifer Oertel, CMF’s Impact Investing Expert-in-Residence (EIR), said there’s emerging impact investing projects happening across the state.

“It is a very exciting time in Michigan,” Oertel said. “As CMF’s Impact Investing Expert-in-Residence, I talk with people every day, often several people, around the state that are either already active in impact investing and want to expand their practice or that are looking for advice on getting started.”

Oertel said there’s several investment products and funds under development right now in our state, one of which will focus on the environment, specifically the Great Lakes.

CMF members are engaging in impact investing to support many initiatives which include workforce and economic development.

CMF most recently highlighted how the Sturgis Area Community Foundation is leveraging mission-related investments (MRIs) to provide access to housing and catalyze economic development in our rural philanthropy video series.

"The epiphany was 'wow - this works.’ Let's do it. How can we do it more, bigger, better?” Mary Dresser, co-director, Sturgis Area Community Foundation said of their MRIs.

The Sturgis video is one of a growing collection of CMF videos that shows CMF members in action leveraging impact investing in the communities they serve to achieve social and financial returns. You can view the full collection here.

CMF members are also participating in The Michigan Collaborative, part of Community Capital Management’s (CCM) impact investing CRANX fund. The fund was recently named the best performing fund by Morningstar, an investment research firm, out of more than 250 funds.

The CRANX fund is the fund that is available for CMF members to invest in targeted fixed income investments in affordable housing, small business lending, and civic infrastructure.  This was  announced last August, Investing for Impact: The Michigan Collaborative.

Want more?

Have a question? Connect with Jennifer Oertel, CMF’s Impact Investing Expert-In-Residence.

Stay tuned for more information about an upcoming webinar this summer that will provide guidance in making impact investments and provide model documents around impact investing.

Read GIIN’s Roadmap for the Future of Impact Investing.

Learn more about Investing for Impact: The Michigan Collaborative.