DENVER – CO Impact Days and Initiative announced today the 60 social ventures that are invited to meet face to face with investors in order to seek millions of dollars of “impact investments” at CO Impact Days Social Venture Showcase on March 4, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. MST.
The 60 finalists, chosen from more than 280 applicants, will convene at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) for the first of its kind, statewide marketplace for impact investing. The chosen social ventures will have the opportunity to showcase their ability to provide a return on the funder’s investment while improving Colorado communities to more than 200 accredited investors.
“This is the first time in the U.S. that 200 accredited impact investors will come together for a statewide marketplace, where they can connect with each other, learn, and have intimate access to social ventures representing projects, for profits, nonprofits, and funds at any stage of growth,” said Dr. Stephanie Gripne, Founder of the Impact Finance Center and creator of CO Impact Days and Initiative. “This is a first for impact investors and social ventures.”
The goal of CO Impact Initiative is to catalyze $100 million in impact investments into Colorado social ventures in the next three years, and it is kicking off with CO Impact Days on March 2-4. CO Impact Days encourages a new breed of impact investors and community members to Learn. Connect. Invest. Among the more than 200 accredited impact investors, foundations, and family offices participating in CO Impact Days and Initiative are Gary Community Investments, Colorado Health Foundation, The Denver Foundation and Innovest Portfolio Solutions, along with Linda Appel Lipsius, Andrew C. Currie, Rich Hoops, Jim and Melanie Davidson, and Jenn Vervier.
“Impact investing allows me to support both for profit and nonprofit social ventures using my experience as an agency president, skills as an entrepreneur, and resources from my success,” says Melanie Davidson, President & COO of Fruition, a Denver based marketing agency. “Where else in the U.S. can I come to meet 200 other leading philanthropists and investors, learn from the best national and regional leaders in this space, and get the first look at Colorado’s top social ventures?”
CO Impact Days’ innovation is uniquely possible here because Colorado is home to a number of national leaders in impact investing and a thriving and collaborative community of social venture entrepreneurs in both the for profit and nonprofit sectors, , philanthropists, and investors who are committed to growing Colorado’s economy and creating good jobs while ensuring our state remains one of the best places to work, live, and play in the U.S.
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