Dear Colleagues,

The past two years have been marked by extraordinary challenges. At the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, we have striven to meet this moment with intentionality. We must also do so as a field, as impact investing has moved beyond a niche practice and increasingly reframes the way we think about traditional finance and our economy. These paired realities demand both reflection and action.

For the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, they have inspired us to rethink our theory of change. Our founding mission from 2016 – to place measurable social, economic and environmental impact alongside risk and financial return at the core of every investment decision – is still relevant today. But changing realities coupled with the mainstreaming of impact and ESG investing inspired us to imagine a future that our collective efforts could help achieve.

In late 2020, as the Alliance prepared its advocacy plans for the new administration, it became evident that the most effective path forward for advancing key priorities would be in coordination with like-minded allies across the field. As a result, the Alliance and B Lab organized a group of now nearly 60 impact-oriented business and investor organizations calling on the Biden-Harris Administration to establish a cross-agency, cross-sector Initiative on Inclusive Economic Growth.

In 2022, the Alliance looks forward to further engagement on the Coalition on Inclusive Economic Growth’s policy priorities.

On behalf of the Coalition, the Alliance and B Lab collaborated with the Department of Commerce on the Inaugural Interagency Convening on Equitable Economic Growth – the first-of-its-kind in the Biden-Harris Administration to focus on racial and economic equity. This convening gathered nearly 150 key private sector leaders, with thousands more tuning in virtually. Participants also included many senior administration officials, including Ambassador Susan Rice, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Guzman and the Deputy Secretaries of the Labor, Transportation and Treasury Departments. The Interagency Convening will be an annual event to promote progress and accountability from the government and the private sector on issues related to advancing economic, racial and gender equity.

In December 2020, the Alliance published a public policy agenda that offered 12 recommendations to the incoming administration and Congress. Throughout 2021, the Alliance has continued to build on the priorities conveyed in the report, “Private Capital Public Good: Leveraging Impact Investing to Support a Just & Equitable Recovery,” to address the urgent and ongoing social, economic and environmental challenges facing the country.

Key industry wins in advancing the policy docket recommendations have included interagency alignment on Community Reinvestment Act reform, historic equity and equity-like investments in community development financial institutions, momentum for mandated corporate sustainability disclosure and progress around the future of fiduciary duty.

In June 2021, the Alliance authored “Impact in Place: Emerging Sources of Community Investment Capital and Strategies to Direct it at Scale,” a report commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The report is meant to spark broader conversations around ways that public, private and philanthropic organizations can better invest in under-resourced communities and uplift them as essential stakeholders and partners.

The report and five accompanying case studies explore the current community investing landscape, related to how different sources of capital are supporting the small business ecosystem, diverse entrepreneurs, affordable housing, community wealth building and more. It also examines emerging sources of community investment capital, such as corporate treasury commitments to economic development, the role of high-net-worth individuals, donor-advised funds and innovative, participatory models that center community members directly within the decision-making process.