Non-Concessionary Impact Funds: What And Why?

Non-concessionary impact funds are a type of private investment fund that aims to achieve positive social, environmental or other beneficial outcomes while offering market-rate financial returns to investors. They differ from concessionary impact funds, which may accept lower financial returns to achieve their nonfinancial goals.

Some of these funds invest in particular sectors, such as renewable energy, affordable housing, health care, education or sustainable agriculture, where the sector focus is the primary driver of the nonfinancial goal. In other cases, the funds may seek to benefit particular communities, such as those that are underserved by financial markets, or to ameliorate social ills, such as racial or gender-based wealth gaps.