Giving Compass' Take:

• This Mission Investors Exchange post delivers details on what collaborative investment supporting communities really looks like.

• The tools to making such local impact already exists — it's just a matter of the willpower to turn intent into action. How can we ramp up our efforts to form strategic partnerships?

• Here's more about philanthropy’s unique role in impact investing.

How can foundations and private investors work with others to better align their investment decisions with their locally focused missions and values?

For many foundations, the answer lies in collaborative place-based impact investing (PBII), or using impact investing — investments made with the intent to yield financial and social or environmental returns — to commit capital locally and support communities.

Several insights emerged last month at a national convening of over 50 place-based impact investing leaders from foundations. These lessons, which can help advance the practices of others already engaged in these efforts and those just starting out, include the following:

  •  Leverage landscape analyses to build and strengthen collaborative relationships
    • Frequently, the critical first step in launching a PBII effort is conducting an analysis to map relationships, assess community needs, and identify capital gaps.
  • Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Learn by doing. 
    • Numerous stakeholders found they learned the most by actually launching efforts, making deals, and applying real-time corrections and adjustments.
  • Use committed leadership to overcome barriers to collaboration. 
  • Effective collaborations are embracing the transformative potential of impact capital to promote systemic change. 
    • Many communities see an opportunity through PBII efforts to redefine their leadership roles and how they use their capital to advance systemic changes.
Read more about place-based impact investing by Matthew Eldridge at Mission Investors Exchange.