Beeck Center Georgetown University Beeck Center: Social Impact + Innovation

Inclusive Community Impact Investing

The bipartisan passage of Opportunity Zones (OZs) legislation in December 2017 created a new incentive for investment of capital into low-income communities across the country, catalyzing multi-stakeholder conversations on the topic. Tapping into the robust conversation around OZs and the lack of impact requirements in the legislation, the Beeck Center launched the Inclusive Community Impact Investing project in 2018 to incorporate impact objectives into investment strategies for low-income communities. Our nationwide work focuses on collaborating with the many stakeholders involved in this arena, testing new models of community investment and creating tools to measure and track the impact of investment.

 

Following the project’s founding, the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate response brought to the forefront the disproportionate effect of this crisis on low-income and under-invested communities. Increasingly fragile economies and underfunded support systems underscore the need for equitable, impact-oriented community investments with a focus on innovation, maximizing assets, and leveraging relationships to positively impact social outcomes. Creating resilient ecosystems that foster community need with targeted assistance, ensuring access to capital, and implementing proactive policy are all essential in vulnerable communities to reduce the racial wealth gap.

Project Reports & Resources