Thoughts from the Executive Director

Greetings – I’m thrilled to be writing this as Georgia Social Impact Collaborative’s new Executive Director! It’s been an exciting and busy first few months. For many of you, I’m a new name and face in your impact investing ecosystem. Now is as good a time as any to introduce myself and share my perspective on the work that GSIC has ahead of us. I hope that this will give you a sense of how I intend to operate as GSIC’s Executive Director and that some of what I share excites you or sparks ideas of how your work will intersect with GSIC’s in 2025 and beyond.

My first few weeks on the job were spent immersing myself in GSIC’s documents, records, data, and conversations with board members. This proved to be time well spent because it impressed upon me one important takeaway. GSIC is important to so many people across Georgia.

What leads me to believe that?

• Since 2016, GSIC has mounted an impressive thought leadership and programming agenda that has engaged hundreds of unique stakeholders across the state. Mind you, there was a 2-3 year period where in-person convenings were stymied by COVID. While I believe there is an opportunity for GSIC to curate a more deliberate learning and convening agenda in the future, when GSIC hosts an event or tees up a conversation, people show up, and that should be celebrated.
• Beyond people’s investment of time, GSIC has also benefited from considerable grant support. Dozens of foundations, individuals, corporations, financial institutions, and leaders gifted operating funds that paved an operating runway that has allowed GSIC to undertake its work adaptively over the years. When there was an idea floated in the ecosystem, like “We should put on Georgia’s first statewide CDFI conference!” There was a resource base to take this from idea to execution. When these seed funders reflect on what their dollars have helped GSIC create, I hope they see what I do. Is GSIC a finished product – a fully-built piece of impact investing infrastructure with an airtight approach to doing its work? Of course not. However, these early dollars afforded GSIC a period of time during which it could take a trial and error approach to honing its value proposition. One of my central goals for GSIC in 2025 is to redefine our organization strategy – to translate its broad mission and vision into something that is more actionable for the organization and ecosystem partners. Quite frankly, we would not be in a position to do so had GSIC not had the ability to do the work and learn by doing.

There is considerable work ahead of GSIC in the coming months and years. However, I am reassured that GSIC is a necessary and important piece of Georgia’s impact investing ecosystem. This doesn’t feel like an unfounded claim. I believe your actions and investments in GSIC over the preceding years make the case for me.
Given all this, it should come as no surprise that my top priority during my onboarding phase has been engaging with GSIC’s amazing network of stakeholders and key partners. Here are two reasons why.

1. Impact investing, especially when tackled at an ecosystem level, requires trust. During my time in the field, I have been fortunate enough to see several collaborative impact investing efforts – like Invest Appalachia and the Partners for Rural Transformation – grow from idea to functioning model. I’ve had the opportunity to ask leaders involved in these efforts “what enabled your efforts to succeed?” Their answers started with trust. Impact investing – especially when undertaken with a place-based or equity lens – challenges and often disrupts investment norms. At its best, impact investing calls us to examine the “why” behind so much of what we take for granted as common practice. Why do foundations place all of their mission-fulfillment expectations on only 5% of their assets? Why must collateral be required to make traditional debt investors feel secure? Why do we value the impact an investment creates less than the financial return it generates? For some, calling these questions can be uncomfortable. I want GSIC to be a place where new ideas and possibilities can be considered in spite of discomfort. Before we can get there, you all need to know and trust me. (Please note: This trust and your patience may be tested during football season when UGA faces off with my beloved Tennessee Volunteers 🙂).
2. GSIC’s impact can only occur when others successfully take steps towards impact investing. In August 2020, GSIC’s board planted a flag for the organization. GSIC works to mobilize $250MM in impact capital for Georgia. While this seems like a straightforward enough goal, in the impact investing landscape, GSIC is what you might consider an enabler. We do not directly control any assets or dollars ourselves. We operate to facilitate others’ investment. In other words, for GSIC to reach our goal, other individuals, organizations, and leaders have to opt-in to our vision, and they must see themselves as working towards a set of collective impact goals. For this to be true, GSIC must be relevant to partners working across the state.

   There is no shortage of impact investing resources, practitioner groups, and learning forums across the field. Outlets exist where you could turn to learn about impact investing, community development finance, socially-responsible investing, etc. So, why look to GSIC? Should GSIC even exist? I would respond to these questions with an emphatic “yes!” I believe folks should look to GSIC and engage with our network because we have a unique value proposition to offer. If you fall somewhere in Georgia’s impact investing landscape – whether you have capital to invest, or you need impact capital – your interests align with GSIC’s. GSIC has an opportunity to shape the impact investing discourse and practice here in Georgia. I recognize that delivering on GSIC’s promise is both my responsibility and your opportunity.

I share all this because I want each of you to believe me when I say “I want to hear from you!” Following the announcement about my new role, I’ve been busy scheduling dozens of one-on-one meetings with key partners across the state. I’m incredibly grateful for those of you who’ve already carved out time to speak with me and for the warm welcome I’ve received from the broader GSIC community. These conversations have been incredibly valuable in understanding the current landscape and identifying opportunities for collaboration.

I’m energized by the passion and dedication I see all around me, and I’m confident that together, we can build an impact investing ecosystem that grows a more equitable, prosperous Georgia. Stay tuned for more updates from me, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to connect! Hopefully by now I’ve convinced you I mean it 🙂

Sydney England
Executive Director, GSIC