“In my experience as an engineer, design thinker, and scientist, I rarely paid attention to bias because I did not see it. Many thanks to the Impact Experience organizers and the Stanford psychology department research team for their groundbreaking work. They have found a way to make the invisible visible.” - Ade Mabogunje, Senior Researcher, Stanford University
Our Impact
Why does this matter?
Impact Experience is Equity focused across four sectors: Investment, Education, Health, and Environment.
Investment: At Impact Experience, our investment-focused work is committed to catalyzing positive change through strategic financial engagement. Recognizing the immense potential of capital to reshape industries and uplift communities, we work with philanthropists, financial institutions, venture capitalists, impact investors, foundations, asset managers, and businesses to channel their investments toward ventures that demonstrate both financial promise and an inherent commitment to sustainable and ethical practices. By merging the worlds of profit and purpose, we aim to redefine success in the investment landscape and pave the way for a future where capital serves as a tool for genuine global progress.
Health: In the realm of health, Impact Experience partners with companies and organizations across the U.S. and internationally to advance racial and gender equity within the healthcare sector. We understand that health is the cornerstone of sustainable development and individual potential so we work directly with leaders at various levels to identify areas of opportunity, generate trust, enhance strategy, and drive impact within internal teams as well as external stakeholders. Our partnerships encompass a diverse range of stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, local communities, and global health organizations. Together, we strive to create an environment where access to quality healthcare is not a privilege but a fundamental right, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to lead a healthier, more vibrant life.
Education: Education is a fundamental catalyst for social change, and at Impact Experience, we have been driving impactful initiatives in this sector. Through our engagements, we have worked with educators, policymakers, and organizations to promote inclusive learning environments and enhance educational access and equity.
Environment: Recognizing the intricate balance between human progress and environmental sustainability, we champion initiatives that prioritize eco-friendly solutions, conservation efforts, and climate justice. We have also incubated Business Climate Finance, an initiative that seeks to reduce carbon emissions in corporate cash deposits and retirement accounts while also promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. By collaborating with corporations, foundations, and organizations, Impact Experience is helping to develop innovative solutions to some of the most pressing social and environmental problems of our time. Our aim is to drive forward a future where environmental consciousness isn’t just an afterthought but the very foundation of our decision-making, ensuring a thriving planet for generations to come.
Unlocking Impact: Empowering Change Through Collaboration Experiences:
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Past Engagements
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Through our diverse portfolio of projects, we showcase the impact we have made in collaboration with our partners. Below, you'll find information about several of our previous projects we led in partnership with organizations and communities around the world. These examples specifically illustrate the strategies we used, the challenges we faced, and the remarkable results we attained. These success stories serve as a testament to our expertise and commitment to delivering tangible results.
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INVESTMENT
CASE STUDY:
Leveraging Finance to Enhance Movement Organizing
In October 2024, Impact Experience hosted a 1.5-day virtual convening, "Leveraging Finance to Enhance Movement Organizing," with support from the Wallace Global Fund, which brought together over 30 diverse stakeholders, including movement leaders, financial professionals, and social justice advocates. The event focused on aligning financial decisions with social justice priorities, promoting environmental sustainability and racial justice, and supporting marginalized communities. Key discussions centered on integrating community needs into financial decision-making processes to ensure financial tools address frontline communities' social, economic, and environmental challenges. Additionally, participants emphasized the need for robust data and comprehensive metrics aligned with social justice goals to advocate for systemic change within financial systems. Attendees shared real-world success stories, offering valuable insights and best practices for leveraging finance to achieve concrete social justice outcomes. The convening featured participants from a range of sectors, including impact investing (Adasina Social Capital, Illumen Capital, CS Fund, Rhia Ventures), movement organizations (Hip Hop Caucus, Justice Funders, Just Economy Institute), climate and environmental justice (Stand.earth, Sunrise Project, Ecotrust, Sierra Club Foundation), and Indigenous rights and sovereignty (Roanhorse Consulting, Native Women Lead) among others. This cross-sector collaboration enriched the dialogue on racial justice, economic empowerment, and environmental advocacy.
Before the convening, Impact Experience conducted a series of in-depth case study interviews with movement-building organizations. These interviews aimed to understand the challenges and opportunities these organizations faced in leveraging financial tools for their initiatives. The insights from these conversations were instrumental in shaping the agenda for the convening, ensuring that discussions addressed the real-world needs of participants while promoting actionable strategies. By integrating the perspectives of experienced leaders in the field, the agenda was tailored to foster meaningful dialogues around financial engagement, community-centered approaches, and successful practices that drive social justice outcomes.
As a next step, we are preparing for the virtual launch of our comprehensive report in Q1 2025. This report will capture the key findings from the convening and case study interviews, offering actionable insights and recommendations on how financial tools can be leveraged to support movement-building efforts across various sectors.
CASE STUDY:
Re+Fund
More than 50% of nonprofits within the U.S suffer from frequent or chronic budget deficits, and those led by people of color receive even less funding with more strings attached. Without an endowment to sustain these non-profits, many are forced to fundraise to meet their basic operational need, which requires more manpower and time that ultimately diverts the organization away from its intended mission and purpose.
The Re+Fund Impact Experience focused on creating an avenue for non-profit organizations to receive and generate more equitable and sustainable funding. This convening gathered a select group of leaders and advocates to co-design a model supporting non-profits and social impact organizations within the U.S. in gaining financial independence through the democratization of investment access. The research and learnings from the Re+Fund initiative will be elevated for others to continue building upon and put into practice.
CASE STUDY:
CNOTE
Women of color are among the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States. However, less than 5% of small business lending goes toward supporting women-run businesses, particularly businesses run by women of color. To address the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs of color, the Wisdom Fund and CNOTE commissioned Impact Experience to oversee a human centered design research initiative aimed at identifying the mechanisms for removing barriers faced by women of color when applying for loans, and to cultivate more expansive networks for these women in order to spur business growth and promote more equitable opportunities for wealth creation.
Impact Experience convened more than 30 women of color borrowers and lenders for a two-day virtual experience which revealed ongoing challenges and surfaced new opportunities towards unlocking more capital for women of color. Research participants represented a diversity of racial and ethnic backgrounds, industries, geographic regions, and stages of business. This research will culminate in a report authored by Impact Experience, guided by the insights that surfaced during the convening, and by surveys and interviews of 60+ women of color business owners. Additionally, Impact Experience surveyed more than 20 CDFIs, capital providers, and intermediaries to better understand the challenges that community lenders face when women of color come to them for lending.
Please see here for a link to the final report that we put together in collaboration with CNote -
CASE STUDY:
ILLUMEN CAPITAL
(Montgomery, AL)
Illumen Capital and Impact Experience have brought multiple groups to Montgomery, Alabama to host leading asset managers, family offices, foundations and entrepreneurs representing over $50 billion in assets under management to explore the ways in which the history of racial terror has affected the asset management industry, and how we can use this context to create ways to reduce bias and stop the underestimation of women and people of color within the asset management business.
CASE STUDY:
WILLIAMSON, WV
Impact Experience brought together more than 90 leading impact investors, entrepreneurs, universities, and innovators to develop a regional economic transition strategy alongside local leaders in Williamson, connecting them to global networks of talent and capital.
Williamson, WV was fighting for its survival in the wake of the coal crisis. In the past four years, the county had lost more than 2,000 jobs, roughly 25% of its workforce. The community was also battling some of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and opioid addiction in the country. Read more...
CASE STUDY:
YERBA BUENA CENTER OF ARTS, CULTURE BANK
The Challenge: Impact Experience partnered with the Yerba Buena Center of the Arts on the Culture Bank Initiative (www.culturebank.org) to develop business models to redefine the relationship between artist entrepreneurs and investors so that it is non extractive and fully values the artists' contribution. This project further focuses on the artist entrepreneurs’ relevance in the face of major challenges, specifically mental health. Check here the Case Stories that we developed in partnership with CultureBank
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South Carolina
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Detroit
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India
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Philippines
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Buffalo, NY
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Kansas
CASE STUDY:
OAKLAND, CA
CASE STUDY:
GEORGIA
Impact Experience partnered with the Sapelo Foundation to focus on Impact Investing and working with marginalized communities to build inclusive business models and strategies to address some of the most pressing problems of racial equity, the opioid epidemic and economic development. For more information about the Georgia Impact Experience, please see: https://www.ncfp.org/blog/2018/jun-dedicated-community-drives-change-in-rural-south.html
In partnership with Stanford SPARQ, a renowned social psychology research center, Impact Experience brought together 17 leaders in impact investing, technology, and entrepreneurship to explore issues of implicit bias in impact investing.
Women and minority entrepreneurs receive disproportionately less investment capital, making it difficult for those structurally disadvantaged by society to build businesses and affect change in their communities. Read more...
ENVIRONMENT
CASE STUDY:
ADASINA/ETC
The Adasina ETC Group Impact Experience was designed to address implicit bias, structural racism and co-create solutions to these and other challenges across systems of agriculture and food access and production. The goal was to develop better ways to shift public capital markets towards more equitable agricultural practices by discussing the nuances and diverse perspectives of farmers, researchers, asset managers, and community leaders to build better systems and institute benchmarks that support the sustainable implementation of new systems.
As part of an ongoing effort, Impact Experience has engaged with a number of local partners in Houston to drive a diverse, inclusive and equitable rebuilding process. Having already engaged 50 participants immediately after the Hurricane, we are building on insights across a number of key areas including: social, economic, health, psychological and environmental challenges.
We will continue to build on each of the commitments from entrepreneurs, investors, thought leaders and the community itself to inform insights for marginalized communities and those trying to support them.
CASE STUDY:
HOUSTON, TX
HEALTH
CASE STUDY:
SONOMA
“As we begin to rebuild the homes, the businesses, and the new landmarks of Sonoma County, our artistic Second Responders will be at work cobbling back together the pieces of our souls, helping us pave the pathway to hope.” - Kristen Madsen
In October 2017, destructive fires swept across Sonoma County in what is now referred to as the Northern California Firestorm. The fire has destroyed over 36,000 acres of land with an economic loss of $1.2 billion. What these numbers don’t tell us is the long-term devastation that the fires have had on the residents of Sonoma County. For families across the county, the process of rebuilding homes and lives has been a long and tenuous journey.
During times of devastation and loss, artist and creative communities play an integral role in instilling a sense of solidarity and hope. Using art as a tool to gather community, we have found that across communities in the U.S. from New Orleans, Houston, Puerto Rico, to Sonoma County, artist-entrepreneurs are at the heart of rebuilding the hearts and minds of families. Artist-entrepreneurs have the unique ability to address intergenerational trauma that cannot be rebuilt through building material infrastructure. The trauma is deeply embedded in the history, culture, and souls of individuals who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice in the wake of a disaster. In order to address these challenges, it is important to gain a deeper look into ourselves as individuals and how we can harness the power of the community.
On July 12, 2019, Impact Experience brought together artists, foundations, and entrepreneurs for “A Pause” to carve out intentional time and space to share lessons learned from across communities, explore areas of intersection, and co-develop opportunities to strengthen local creative communities. The inspiration behind this Impact Experience comes from our previous engagement in New Orleans where we brought a Sonoma County delegation together with Houston, South Carolina, and New Orleans communities to share lessons learned and best practices in the rebuild process in response to climate disasters. As part of our brainstorming strategy session, the Sonoma delegation expressed interest in supporting a more inclusive and equitable artist-entrepreneur ecosystem in their community. Our Sonoma Impact Experience also drew from a collective vision from the Map One Sonoma Strategy Summit with the aim to “launch a new story where all Sonomans see themselves as investors in an equitable and regenerative future through an appreciation for our cultural wealth by the end of 2020.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Impact Experience has partnered with Miriam Rivera (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/news-history/miriam-rivera-elected-stanford-trustee-receives-2008-porras) to address key needs facing the Island in the rebuilding process including restoring key services, economic development and the role of impact investors in getting community input into the rebuilding process.
CASE STUDY: NEW ORLEANS INCLUSIVE RESILIENCY AND RECOVERY
CASE STUDY:
PUERTO RICO
CASE STUDY:
THE STEVE FUND
The Impact Experience team hosted delegates from New Orleans, Sonoma County, Houston and other Resilient communities throughout the country. The aim was to share best practices and learnings across Inclusive Resiliency and Recovery efforts. The urgency that marks disaster relief efforts affords great challenges and also powerful insights regarding what is possible with limited time and resources. There are no easy answers and every region needs tailored preparedness plans and recovery protocols. Best practices regarding: housing, access to water and food, inclusive preparedness strategies and other domains were explored.
CASE STUDY:
HEALTH EQUITY
On October 1-2, Impact Experience hosted an Impact Experience at Stanford in collaboration with The Steve Fund, an organization focused on supporting the mental and emotional well-being of youth and adolescents of color.
Many factors can adversely impact the mental and emotional well-being of youth and adolescents of color including discrimination, stigma, cultural mistrust of health care professionals, and feelings of isolation. In order to tackle these mental health care disparities, we must collectively work toward a more inclusive and equitable approach.
In this convening, The Steve Fund and Impact Experience brought together a diverse group of committed stakeholders - investors, foundations, public health researchers, entrepreneurs, mental health experts, technology companies and community leaders - to collaboratively ideate innovative solutions to tackle challenges related to mental health disparities and develop creative, intentional programs in the Bay Area for youth and young adults of color.
The Impact Experience team host ongoing Health Equity Impact Experiences. Leaders from medicine, biopharma, health plans, public health departments and financial firms as well as from community-based and philanthropic healthcare organizations come together to explore implicit bias, deepen understanding of structural racism and co-create solutions to challenges to be implemented within their organizations. In partnership with Nina Kjellson, General Partner at Canaan and Health Innovator Fellow with the Aspen Institute, Impact Experience provides integrated data and storytelling as participants explore the ways in which structural bias continues to influence healthcare outcomes.
The foundation for the Health Equity Impact Experience is grounded in Montgomery, Alabama a city with deep historical roots in the Atlantic and domestic slave trade and one of the birthplaces of the Civil Rights movement.
EDUCATION
During the Health Equity Impact Experience, provocateurs provide the foundation of engagement around the unique and nuanced challenges and opportunities within the healthcare industry. The convergence of data and experience sheds light on long-standing, systemic biases that perpetuate adverse health outcomes for people of color. By deepening the understanding of the legacy of slavery, racial terror, government-sponsored compulsory sterilization, medical violence, and present-day manifestations of the structures that continue to uphold and perpetuate inequity and injustice within our healthcare systems and communities, participants build a community and support system in order to catalyze future programs and interventions.
CASE STUDY:
STANFORD
Impact Experience partnered with Illumen Capital and Stanford University SPARQ to convene a group of 30 investors, venture capitalists, hedge fund managers, academics, foundation directors and financial advisors to discuss the effects of implicit bias in the financial services sector. SPARQ researchers shared important findings from their research examining both the causes and detrimental effects of implicit bias, as well as potential methodologies for reducing bias in the workplace.
CASE STUDY:
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
On March 28-29, 2019, we brought together tribal leaders, university leaders, fund managers, philanthropists, and community leaders to collectively brainstorm equitable and inclusive strategies for Opportunity Zones in Arizona. The convening was hosted by Arizona State University on the Tempe campus. The Impact Experience focused on discussing and ideating solutions across sectors to spur collaboration and ensure inclusive and equitable economic development that maximizes the potential for the social and environmental impact of Opportunity Zones in Arizona. We are excited to continue to engage with the Arizona community around the implementation of impact-oriented Opportunity Zone projects.
CASE STUDY:
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
In an inspiring convening in Montgomery, Alabama, Impact Experience teamed up with The Annie E. Casey Foundation to delve into solutions that direct more capital towards communities of color, aiming to reshape economic landscapes for enhanced equity. This collaboration was underpinned by our mutual commitment to investing in diverse leadership and the entrepreneurial spirit. The discussions, enriched with empathy and cultural awareness, marked a significant step toward dismantling systemic barriers to economic inclusion.
See video highlights from the dynamic discussions and strategic insights that emerged from the gathering.
LET US KNOW
if you’re interested in joining or supporting an Impact Experience.