While this year has looked and felt different than any other, much of our work at Impact Engine has remained on track, and we certainly didn’t slow down!
During the small sliver of 2020 when quarantine wasn’t on anyone’s radar, we produced our annual Chicago Impact Investing Showcase, with another record-blowing list of attendees (thanks to all 700+ who signed-up!). The theme of the event was “The 5Ps of Impact,” outlining the ways in which companies and investors can create positive impacts. The agenda included fireside chats with Dr. Helene Gayle of The Chicago Community Trust and Rodrigo Garcia of the Illinois State Treasurer office as well as presentations from leaders at YWCA, Rumi Spice, Gourmet Gorilla, Next Street, and Fixer.
An exciting moment from this year was announcing the close of our very first private equity fund, led by Managing Partner Priya Parrish. The $31.5M fund makes investments in both impact funds and directly in growth-stage companies within our impact areas of economic empowerment, education, environmental sustainability, and health. A goal of the fund is to promote the growth of impact investors in the middle market by both allocating capital and helping them refine their impact strategies. The fund also supports operating companies. Investments include Lumos Capital Group and Footprint.
Our second venture fund also made new investments this year: Afresh (an inventory management system that prevents food waste at the grocery store level), SupplyShift (a supply chain ESG data management platform), and TimeDoc (a chronic care management platform). Across the rest of our portfolio, notable mentions include: PadSplit and Sokowatch each respectively raised $14M and $10M Series A rounds, Pangea was named one of “The 50 Best Small Companies to Work for in Chicago,” Full Harvest won the Food Category in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas 2020 competition, Climb Credit was included in Inclusive Fintech 50’s 2020 cohort, ReUp earned a spot on HolonIQ’s North America EdTech 100 list - and much more. We are also extremely proud of the many ways in which our portfolio has participated in the fight against COVID-19.
Back at (now virtual) HQ: Impact Engine was selected to the ImpactAssets 50, a public database that recognizes exceptional impact investors, for the second year in a row. ImpactAssets also highlighted Impact Engine as a lead contributor to SDG #8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, in their 2020 Impact Report. The Conscious Investor included Impact Engine in its “Resource Guide for Impact Investors,” and sat down with CEO Jessica Droste Yagan to talk about our aforementioned 5P Framework. Managing Partner Priya Parrish spoke with McGuireWoods as part of its “Women in PE to Know” series. And one of the brightest spots of 2020 was congratulating Principal Elizabeth Coston McCluskey on the arrival of her new baby girl, Madeline!
Our team collectively worked together to produce a dozen new pieces for our blog. You’ll find Priya’s “In Defense of Private Equity: Why Our Society Needs Middle Market Investments”, Partner Roger Liew’s “Working at a Women-Led Fund: A Man’s Perspective”, and much more on our website. We also launched an Impact Highlights page, which offers a deeper look at the outcomes of our portfolio thus far. This page showcases our diversity stats as well: 58% of our investments are based between the coasts, 22% are led by CEOs of color, and 42% are led by women CEOs.
While much uncertainty still lies ahead, we look forward to staying connected remotely - please mark your calendars for our virtual Chicago Impact Investing Showcase series, kicking off at 12 p.m. CT, February 10th. Lastly, many thanks to our supportive Impact Engine community and to our portfolio for its collective display of adaptability during this difficult time. We wish everyone a more equitable, peaceful, and healthful 2021!
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