2025 Foundation Local Impact Investor Accelerator

The Local Impact Investing Workshop is a 9-month action-learning network for foundations ready to build governance consensus and an action plan for local impact investing. The Workshop includes deep education and training provided in a virtual setting with peers, along with customized coaching support to each foundation team.

Workshops:

• Explore the field of local impact investing while your team builds shared understanding of how this tool could create positive and equitable mission impact in your community.

• Help each foundation design and enact a local impact investing strategy, including action steps needed to advance that strategy.

• Engage and tap the expertise of foundations from around the country that are investing locally.

• Improve and evolve the framework through our collective learning and action – to build a stronger toolkit and strategy set for use by Workshop participants and the field.

• Advance the field of local impact investing by capturing and disseminating the learning and stories surfaced in the Workshop.

At the conclusion of the Cohort, each participating community foundation will have a set of local impact investing guidelines, a proposed investment policy, capital deployment tools including a decision-making rubric, and an initial implementation plan for board approval. We are optimistic that each foundation will also have the beginnings of an investment pipeline to test drive its strategy and program. 

The Workshop includes six virtual peer learning convenings, customized working groups with coaching in-between peer gatherings, and foundation-identified board engagements to grow understanding of local impact investing and share the emerging program design. The Community Investment Project coaches will set agendas, analyze and prepare materials, and provide thoughtful guidance and coaching throughout the engagement. 

The Community Investment Project charges a fee for participation and your foundation must form a Peer Cohort Working Group. Each working group should include participants who are critical – as decision makers, influencers and/or implementers – to strengthening your community leadership using the tool of local investing. We recommend at least 4 and no more than 7 members. Your team should include key foundation staff (e.g., CEO, CFO, Program Officer) and board members (e.g., Board Chair, members of investment committee). If it is your practice to include engaged community partners (e.g., community members of your investment or grants committee) in such strategy building work, you may consider including these individuals too. As you finalize your Working Group, consider whether each member – and the team as a whole – meet these criteria: 

• Has the capacity, by position or personal characteristics, to influence your community foundation's understanding, vision, action, and practices now and in the foreseeable future.

• Brings key decision-making, implementation and/or advocacy skills to your work during the Accelerator, and as you carry the work on in the future.

• Agrees to attend all Accelerator workshops and Working Group meetings. We anticipate that the Accelerator will require approximately 40-45 hours for members over the nine months.

Kansas Community Philanthropy Innovators Network, 2018-2022

• Coffeyville Area Community Foundation

• Hutchinson Community Foundation

• Norton County Community Foundation

• Topeka Community Foundation

• McPherson Community Foundation

• Dickinson County Community Foundation

• Solomon Valley Community Foundation

Indiana Community Foundation Local Impact Investing Accelerator, 2020-2022

• Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County

• Community Foundation of Grant County

• The Portland Foundation

• Tipton County Foundation

• Wayne County Community Foundation

• Community Foundation of Noble County

• Community Foundation of Wabash County

• Huntington County Community Foundation

• Blue River Community Foundation

National Community Foundation Local Impact Investing Accelerator, 2022-2023

• DeKalb County Community Foundation

• The Community Foundation Alliance

• Montana Community Foundation

• Charlottesville Area Community Foundation

• Yampa Valley Community Foundation

• San Joaquin Community Foundation

• Williamsburg Community Foundation