• Our Story & Strategy

Our Founding Purpose

Since 2016, the Georgia Social Impact Collaborative (GSIC) has served as Georgia’s only statewide impact investing network. Through a comprehensive set of educational and engagement programming, GSIC brings together public and private sector investors, social entrepreneurs, nonprofits and leaders of all kinds to inspire the use of creative capital to address wide ranging social and racial inequities in Georgia. The impact investing field is notoriously jargon-laden, and we want partners to understand our work and our model. Let’s level-set on two definitions: impact investing and placed-based impact investing ecosystems.

Impact investing is the practice whereby capital is invested expecting to generate both financial returns and measurable positive social impact. The term “impact investing” means many things to many people and for good reason! The field of impact investing is a global practice touching every country across the globe. Impact investments span all asset classes in both the public and private markets. Impact investors can be professional investment managers, private investment funds, family offices, angel investors, endowed nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, health and higher education systems, and more.

Through place-based impact investing, local organizations can shift how capital flows and encourage more community-centered investment activities. Community-centered finance (or place-based impact investing) uses the tool of finance to achieve better community outcomes. Community-centered investors have different risk/return expectations. Some investors may tolerate lower financial returns and/or greater risk for the promise of community impact. When capital ecosystems function to advance community-centered investment, there are many players across four groups – Capital Supply, Capital Aggregators, Capital Demand, and Capital Enablers.

As these definitions suggest, impact investing and capital ecosystems are expansive terms. Tackling impact investing even within the context of a place-based ecosystem can make for a “big tent” and an unclear mission or model. While we pride ourselves on being adaptive and responsive to the emergent needs and opportunities in our ecosystem, GSIC does not aim to be everything to everyone who might connect to impact investing.

Our Vision for Georgia’s Impact Capital Ecosystem

Our goal is to develop and coordinate a high-functioning impact investing ecosystem in Georgia. A high-functioning place-based impact investing ecosystem is a local or regional network where resources, stakeholders, and investments work together effectively to drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes within a specific geographic area. It connects local capital with high-impact projects and organizations, aiming to support sustainable community development and address local challenges while generating financial returns.

GSIC defines a “high-functioning place-based impact investing ecosystem” as one that:

  • Provides Pathways for Collaboration, Partnerships, Co-Investment, and Network-Building

     Effective collaboration among investors, government agencies, businesses, nonprofits, community organizations, and philanthropies creates a supportive environment for impact investing. Stakeholders work together to align on regional or local goals, co-design projects, and pool resources, ensuring that capital flows toward impactful solutions. A high-functioning ecosystem is one where ecosystem stakeholders (Capital Suppliers, Capital Aggregators, Capital Seekers, and Capital Enablers) are known and in relationship with each other. Opportunities for individuals and institutions to form new relationships are possible.

  • Prioritizes Local Knowledge, Context, & Understanding

    A successful place-based ecosystem prioritizes deep knowledge of local needs, resources, and opportunities. This understanding enables targeted investments that address specific challenges, such as affordable housing, workforce development, or health disparities, making investments more impactful and relevant to the community. High-functioning ecosystems are ones that also identify local stakeholders (Capital Suppliers, Capital Aggregators, Capital Seekers, and Capital Enablers) working in specific community impact areas.

  • Encourages Impact-First Capital, Blended Finance, & Catalytic Capital

    Impact-first capital is essential to fund projects that may be less attractive to traditional investors due to perceived risk or lower returns but provide significant social impact. A high-functioning ecosystem creates opportunities for mission-first investment and blended finance (or catalytic capital) approaches – combining grants, public funding, and private capital to attract investment in high-impact projects that benefit the community.

  • Centers the Needs and Opportunities of Those Without Traditional Capital Access

    To center the needs of those without traditional capital access, a place-based impact investing ecosystem should emphasize inclusive decision-making by involving community members directly in planning and project selection, ensuring that investments align with their priorities. Additionally, developing accessible capital vehicles such as flexible loan structures, micro-investments, and pooled funds provides smaller, manageable capital options for underserved individuals and startups. By prioritizing community input and creating flexible financing models, the ecosystem can ensure investments are responsive to local needs and foster broader economic inclusion.

  • Pushes for Continual Improvement & Impact Evaluation

    High-functioning ecosystems push for continual improvement. Impact investing is not a linear practice, nor is it achievement-based. There is always room for improvement and evolution. A high-functioning ecosystem encourages practitioners to employ transparent and standardized impact measurement frameworks to assess social and environmental outcomes. Clear metrics and accountability structures help ensure that investments produce the desired impact, build trust, and attract additional capital from investors who value measurable outcomes. Stakeholders are encouraged to consider new models, tools, and practices.

Our Values & Approach

  • Leads as a Field-Builder

    GSIC is an impact investing collaborative – a collection of organizations and individuals who intersect with impact investing and impact capital. GSIC itself does not control assets or make investments ourselves. Rather, we see ourselves as influencing the practices of those who do make investments. To bring about our vision for Georgia, we work deliberately as an educator, convener, and thought leader.

  • Takes an Asset-Based Approach

    We believe Georgia has tremendous assets already. There are billions of dollars controlled by foundations, institutions, government agencies, and companies located in and across Georgia. Likewise, there are already organizations, social enterprises, and businesses working in Georgia who are advancing critical social impact. We start building from within at the same time we invite non-Georgia investors to see what we see – Georgia is a great place to invest more impact capital!

  • Prioritizes Place-Based Impact Investing

    Over the years, GSIC has supported learnings and provided resources related to the “big field” of impact investing – such as divesting and portfolio screening, Environmental Social and Governance (ESG), and Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). While important, the growth of ESG and SRI investing among Georgia’s institutional investor community does not necessarily mean that greater capital is flowing into Georgia. In other words, those dollars are doing good in the world, but they aren’t necessarily doing good in our communities. For Georgia’s anchor institutions and foundations, creating impact in Georgia should be of the greatest concern. Moving forward, GSIC will prioritize our efforts on place-based impact investing and entities directly influencing the flow of capital in Georgia’s ecosystem. This shift will not be to the exclusion of responsible impact investing, but it may mean that GSIC develops a near-term focus on place-based impact investing.-first capital is essential to fund projects that may be less attractive to traditional investors due to perceived risk or lower returns but provide significant social impact. A high-functioning ecosystem creates opportunities for mission-first investment and blended finance (or catalytic capital) approaches – combining grants, public funding, and private capital to attract investment in high-impact projects that benefit the community.