Novel strategies in an impact fundraising drought, staking workers to a share in the AI economy

·23 min·2 clips

Impact fundraising has plummeted from $161 billion in 2022 to under $37 billion last year, a wipeout for fund managers.

The episode opens with host Brian Walsh and editor David Bank reflecting on a tumultuous week, including events like the killing of Renewables Good in Minneapolis and legal attacks on the Fed chair. They transition to discussing impact fundraising, where PitchBook data reveals a dramatic decline from $161 billion in 2022 to under $37 billion last year. Despite this, some fund managers succeed through specialization, such as Super Organism, a biodiversity-focused VC fund backed by LPs like Lucas Walton's Builder's Vision. Private credit emerges as a bright spot, exemplified by TLG Capital raising over $82 million for loans in African markets like Benin and Togo. Larger funds, like those from TPG and Brookfield, continue to thrive due to institutional preferences for billion-dollar vehicles. Political volatility in the U.S. is driving LPs toward Europe, where impact funds have outpaced North American ones for three years. The second segment focuses on AI's productivity gains, which concentrate wealth among owners while workers face disruption. Joseph Blasey proposes permanent funds, modeled on Alaska's oil-revenue fund, to dividend AI wealth to citizens. This contrasts with worker ownership models like ESOPs and retraining programs, with Blasey emphasizing ownership over skills updates. Policy ideas include Senator Mark Kelly's federal trust fund and Martin Smith's citizen equity wallet. The final segment examines One Community, a film production company behind the Netflix movie Nona's, which uses impact campaigns like watch parties and letter-writing to drive social change. The discussion touches on measurement challenges for film impact and industry shifts, such as Netflix deals allowing crew residuals. The episode concludes with credits and a call to subscribe to Impact Alpha.

As heard by us

A brisk impact-investing roundup connects fundraising geography with the harder question of who shares in AI's gains.

Impact fundraising is under enough pressure that private credit and other less familiar strategies deserve a closer look. This Week in Impact gives that squeeze a useful geographic frame, pointing to PitchBook's finding that Europe-based and Europe-focused impact funds have…

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Why you'd press play

You get a sharp tour of impact fundraising's drought, why Europe is drawing attention, and the case for sharing AI's upside with workers.

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