Getting Started with Impact Investing

An Interview with Susan Farrar of Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County.

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Curious about impact investing, but not sure of where to start?

In this 30 minute interview, Susan Farrar, Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County (CFSCC), discusses impact investing with Marc Rand, Managing Partner of Community Capital Advisors.

https://youtu.be/CUyAwj0CCtY

Their conversation covers her 20 year tenure at CFSCC, how the foundation got into impact investing over time, and engaged stakeholders across board, donors, and executive staff leadership in the process. Today, the foundation manages $136MM portfolio through 625 funds, including $12.6MM in annual grant making (the majority of which comes through donor advised funds).

This conversation will be especially relevant for community foundations seeking to understand what options are available to them in moving a greater portion (or all!) of their portfolio into impact. Marc and Susan discuss:

• Developing a multi-pronged impact investing strategy that manifests across SRIs, CDFIs, DAFs, etc.

• Navigating comfort levels across various levels of risk

• Addressing "where does the money come from?" and growth strategies over time

• Setting up impact investing structures, policies, and procedures — and how to find support when starting at the beginning

“These conversations are happening in every community, whether or not you’re aware of it.” As impact investing grows even amidst compounding global crises, know that you are not in it alone. “[We began to understand] this is doable….[and realized] there was support, there were templates, there were colleagues, and a network out there who could help us do it.”

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Ready to take the next step with impact investing? We’re here to help!

Contact marc@communitycapitaladvisors.us to get started.