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Workshop Purpose
Workshop Purpose
The SLIC (Strengthen Local Investing for Communities) Workshop is a newly launched partnership facilitated by the Community Investment Project to improve the practice of local impact investing by community foundations and deepen mission-aligned community outcomes. The Workshop brings together 4-8 community foundations over six months to assess past investment activities, calibrate activities relative to existing ecosystem stakeholders, receive frank and constructive peer advice, and design new three-year program improvement strategies.
Considering joining the 2024-2025 SLIC Workshop?
Considering joining the 2024-2025 SLIC Workshop?
Program Structure and Process
Program Structure and Process
The Workshop includes three virtual peer learning convenings and customized foundation coaching.
With the assistance of coaches, foundations will immerse themselves in peer programs and local impact investment portfolios guided by each other’s “Learning for Action Question”. Coaches and peers will consult together about how they might strengthen their work and create more mission-aligned community outcomes. Coaches will provide and guide foundations through data-gathering tools to more deeply explore their impact investing program and their community investment ecosystem.
The following schedule of Workshop activities will be conducted virtually:
Your Portfolio's Performance
Peer Session 1
Your Portfolio's Performance
Peer Session 1
Steps to Prepare:
Investment and Portfolio Assessment (tool)
Draft Learning for Action question to guide process
Review and critique program policies and processes
Consider portfolio data
In the Session:
Share Learning for Action questions
Present programs and performance data
Discuss investments, policies, and processes
Hear from field practice speaker
Neighbor Need & Opportunity
Peer Session 2
Neighbor Need & Opportunity
Peer Session 2
Steps to Prepare:
Ecosystem Interviews and Survey (tool)
Review feedback from ecosystem partners
Discuss investment needs and opportunities
Map sourcing pathways
Identify areas for desired peer advice
In the Session:
Compare ecosystem assessment
Review requests for peer advice
Topical breakouts hosted by coaches
Hear from field practice speaker
Your Three-Year Plan
Peer Session 3
Your Three-Year Plan
Peer Session 3
Steps to Prepare:
Impact Investment Stakeholder Focus Group (tool)
Identify outstanding questions and additional data gathering needs
Draft three-year program goals and measures
Draft peer advice for peers
In the Session:
Present three-year program goals and measures
Receive peer fearless feedback
Discuss ongoing data gathering needs
Hear from field practice speaker
Getting Started
Getting Started
Cohorts launch on a rolling basis once four participating teams are identified. To join a future SLIC Workshop, contact Travis Green to discuss the program and engage necessary stakeholders in the review and approval of the program.
Program Design and Consulting Team
Program Design and Consulting Team
Participating foundations will create a Program Redesign and Consulting Team that includes staff engaged in the day-to-day sourcing and operation of your impact investing program, key strategy staff responsible for the direction and management of your impact investing efforts, representation from your staff/board/community advisory committee responsible for evaluating investment opportunities, and member(s) from governing bodies responsible for approving your program’s policies. Ideal Program Redesign and Consulting Teams will be between three and seven members.
In addition to advising the refinement of your own impact investing program, Team Members will consult with peers helping the other foundations strengthen their programs. Team members should expect to commit 8 hours a month to the SLIC process over the course of six months.
Workshop participation will also include a coaching and facilitation fee.
Participation Criteria
Participation Criteria
As an advanced impact investing workshop, SLIC requires that participating community foundations have experience with impact investing and readiness to critique and refresh their efforts after discussions with peers. To participate, your community foundation should have:
An active impact investing program that has deployed at least three investments since 2020,
An ongoing investment commitment to impact investing with capital ready to be deployed in the next three years,
Identified staff responsible for impact investment programs (staff may include CEO, CFO, or team members with other responsibilities),
An existing process for assessing investments and making investment decisions,
A shared staff and board commitment to update your impact investing program, and
An understanding of the Community Leadership of community foundations and foundation-defined community impact objectives.
If these criteria are not met by your foundation but you would still like to advance your local impact investing practice, please contact travis@rootwealth.org.
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