IMPACTASSETS 50™
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
ImpactAssets 50
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
Boston Impact Initiative
Demographic-based impact
Place-based impact
Racial equity and justiceFirm Overview
Boston Impact Initiative (BII) is a nonprofit impact investing fund working to build financial, social and political power for entrepreneurs of color. We do this by investing in the people, places and social enterprises that share our vision of an equitable economy and need access to catalytic, integrated capital. Over the last nine years, we have pioneered how to deploy integrated capital — financial, knowledge, social and political capital — to regenerative local enterprises owned and controlled by communities of color. We’re also transforming the impact investing field through field-building and investor education so that economic and racial justice becomes integral to any community-based investment strategy. Our community-based model offers a system-changing approach for those working to close the racial wealth divide and catalyze power in communities of color.
Years of Operation: 5 – 9 years
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: Less than 25%
We believe we can build a future where entrepreneurs of color and their communities have the financial, social and political power to create a sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy by investing integrated capital in social enterprises and community-controlled real estate to increase wealth and asset-building opportunities for communities of color.
BII Fund II is a nonprofit impact fund that invests integrated capital (debt, equity and grants) in the people, places, and enterprises committed to contributing to a more socially just, equitable, and sustainable economy. BII Fund II invests in enterprises owned by entrepreneurs of color in Massachusetts and the Northeast who are committed to charting new markets, democratizing ownership and decision-making in the workplace, growing climate resilience and providing systemic solutions that build power for communities of color. The fund also invests in commercial and residential real estate projects that increase diverse ownership and control over buildings and land and/or support community ownership or control of land to prevent displacement. Recognizing the need for patient, non-extractive equity capital for small and medium sized enterprises, BII Fund II deploys a majority of its capital as equity and near equity instruments.
BII is a nationally recognized leader in impact investing with a racial justice lens. Since 2013, we’ve pioneered how to deploy integrated capital—financial, knowledge, social and political capital—to regenerative local enterprises owned by entrepreneurs of color to help close the racial wealth divide. In our investing strategy, integrated capital allows us to blend capital types (grants, debt, equity), and structure exits that preserve ownership for founders and workers. As trust based investors, we evaluate investments based on financial, social, ecological and governance criteria. In our impact management, we incorporate impact criteria at due diligence, impact covenants during structuring, and impact measurement annually during the life of the investment. Our charitable loan fund structure allows us to include accredited and non-accredited investors. BII is also building the field nationally through fund manager and investor education that advances fresh perspectives on trust-based investing, balancing risk and return, and democratizing ownership and decision-making.
Investment Example
Boston While Black is a membership network for Black professionals, entrepreneurs and students – native or new to Boston – who are seeking connection and community. Founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, Boston While Black has grown to include young professionals, community activists, business leaders, creatives, politicians and some of Boston’s largest employers. Boston While Black now hosts a digital community; small, intimate events; and a wide range of curated programming, including speakers, cultural experiences, neighborhood tours and town halls; it also provides access to leadership programs. Before working with BII, Boston While Black had been bootstrapped by founder Sheena Collier. BII Fund II made a $250,000 convertible note investment in Boston While Black to better capitalize the business and position it to deliver on its growth opportunities. Boston While Black plays a critical role in convening and supporting Boston's black community.
Leadership and Team
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Betty Francisco – CEO, Board and Investment Committee More Info
Betty joined as CEO of BII in 2021. She is a business executive, impact investor and community leader with more than 24 years of experience. She is known as a powerful convener and changemaker. In 2022, Boston Magazine named Betty as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Boston and the Boston Business Journal named her as a 2020 Power 50 – Extraordinary Year Extraordinary People honoree. She is the co-founder of Amplify Latinx, a social venture that’s building Latino economic and political power in Massachusetts. Before joining BII, Betty was the General Counsel at Compass Working Capital where she oversaw its legal affairs, compliance, and risk management. |
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Henry Noël Jr. – Investment Director More Info
Henry Noël Jr. is the Investment Director for the Boston Impact Initiative Fund and is focused on the intersection of impact investing, economic justice, and building resilient inner-city communities. Prior to BII, Henry Co-Founded Haiti Venture Impact Partners, an Impact Investment Management Firm that worked to discover, support, empower, and invest inHaitian Companies. Henry describes himself as A Passionate Championof rigorous investment analysis coupled with purposeful attention to measurable, social and environmental impact. He has over 20 years of experience evaluating investment opportunities, structuring securities, raising capital, and financing business growth. |
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Aliana Piñeiro – Impact Director More Info
As impact director, Aliana works with BII’s portfolio companies to effectively measure and manage their impact. She is interested in how impact investing can evolve to become more just, equitable, and inclusive. Before joining BII, she worked as a researcher at the Global Impact Investing Network publishing practitioner-oriented research for impact investors around the world. Previously, she was an impact evaluator for organizations operating in Latin America, including RUNA, a social enterprise in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Originally from Boston, she began her career in asset management, spending several years at ClearBridge Investments in New York. |
Financial Performance
Impact Performance
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Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments: |
100%
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BII seeks to invest in businesses that have a product or service that generates positive social and/or environmental impact. Specifically, we are looking for businesses that are catalyzing power in communities of color and share our belief that a sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy is possible. For real estate projects, we look for community control over buildings and land, while preventing displacement. This criterion is used early in the screening process as companies and projects enter our pipeline. During due diligence, we assess prospective investments’ capacity to address unmet needs, build climate resilience and expand clean energy products and services, and increase financial, social and political power in communities of color. We examine how this positive social and/or environmental impact is weaved into the business model and assess the risks to continuity of that impact over time.
BII aims to make investments into companies or real estate projects that build financial, social, and political power within their organizations, responsibly steward natural resources, and minimize their ecological footprint. BII requires at least 33% business or real estate ownership by people of color. Additionally, we seek opportunities for worker ownership through a cooperative or employee stock ownership plan and for real estate, we seek tranches of community ownership. We expect a diverse team with jobs that pay at least the local Living Wage and offer benefits and a path for professional growth. We also look for procurement policies that focus on diverse and local vendors. Within the context of the industry or real estate project, we seek to understand the environmental stewardship and sustainability measures built into operations. We also look for the level of democratic decision making within the organization and engagement with local community and other stakeholders.
Impact Tracking and Monitoring
Learn More
P.O. Box 300443, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 USA
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