Optimizing the U.S. Impact Investing Activities of Impact America

The Jalia Ventures Capstone is a partnership between the SIPA and Impact America Fund, an impact investing fund born out of Jalia Ventures and focused on catalyzing impact within underserved communities. The SIPA Capstone team conducted community-based research and developed detailed case studies on three scalable mission-driven ventures impacting low- and moderate-income communities in the U.S. These ventures include Red Rabbit, a local healthy school meal provider; Pigeon.ly, a low-cost prison communication platform connecting inmates and their support networks; and ConnXus, an online platform that connects companies with diverse suppliers. These case studies include a detailed assessment of each company's mission and impact goals, including an analysis of the additional time and costs associated with mission implementation and management; current impact; potential for impact growth; and the identification and role of community partners, corporations, and non-profit partners. The case studies also include the counsel of external experts in the impact investing space, who provide insights on the development of impact plans and metrics. Drawing on lessons learned from the experiences of these companies and experts, the report provides recommendations for how to formally measure impact in the fund’s investments and ensure effective mission management as these companies grow and scale. Finally, the report draws on several takeaway recommendations from our analysis of the impact investing industry and the three portfolio companies to recommend a framework to assist the Impact America Fund with selecting, evaluating and managing future investments.