It’s not a class. It’s not a club. It’s not a case study. The University Growth Fund is a full-fledged investment firm, investing real money into companies, and entirely accountable to our investors. As students, they work extra hard to make the best investment decisions possible. Realize Impact invested in this fund not only because it helps teach venture capital to the next generation, but also...
Decarbon8: Time to Transform Transportation
Please meet the 2021 Decarbon8-US investees! We invite investors, donors of all sizes and types, and climate champions to join us in accelerating the climatetech revolution, to hopefully realize outsized gains and impact along the way. C-Motive Disruptive ultra-high efficiency and high torque motors for e-mobility, industry, renewables generation and more. Why we’re...
$1.5 million for the Truss Fund
Realize Impact added another $92,000 investment to the Truss Fund today. This fund makes loans to social enterprises addressing poverty in the developing world, specifically for pandemic-mitigation. This additional funding came from three donor/investors, bringing the total number of donor/investors recommending this investment to 23. The only more popular investment is the Decarbon-8 fund...
The Third Repayment, Aquacycle
Back in 2020 four donor/investors used then then-new philanthropic investment service to recommend $177,800 of investment into Aquacycle, San Diego company with a novel technology for cleaning wastewater. Aquacycl® has developed the BioElectrochemical Treatment Technology (BETT®). The BETT® systems select and control natural bacteria for the purpose of accelerating wastewater treatment rates...
Over $6 million and 120 Investor/Donors
For years Realize Impact searched for a service that would make a difference in impact investing. The new philanthropic investing service is that calling. Since launching in February 2020 eighteen months ago, over 120 investor/donors have moved over $6 million into mission-driven for-profit organizations. 31 investments so far, many summarized on our blog. Why is this working so well? Simplicity...
Six new investments
July has been a busy month for philanthropic investments. We’ve invested over a half million dollars into six companies and funds: MedMountain Ventures – The world needs healthcare innovation, yet most healthcare companies never make it to market. Our niche is finding the best companies and helping them find their way. Apis & Heritage – Helping Workers of Color Own Their...
Ethical Apparel Africa
At the end of 2020 with the recommendation of one couple, Realize Impact made a $50,000 loan to Ethical Apparel Africa, an apparel sourcing company that provides expert technical guidance, independent quality control, sourcing, logistics, and compliance assurance in West Africa. We didn’t blog about this loan at the time as $50,000 was all the company needed to deal with a pandemic-related...
Investment #25 – Truss Fund II
Truss Fund makes loans to social enterprises addressing poverty in the developing world. The fund focuses exclusively on graduates of the GSBI Accelerator, a program of Miller Center at Santa Clara University. In just the past thirty days Truss Fund has approved a loan to Doselva, a spice business connecting Nicaraguan smallholder farmers to export markets, a loan to All Across Africa...
Investment #24 – Gigawatt Global
Gigawatt Global is a Jerusalem-based, Dutch-registered company backed by American investors creating a platform to provide renewable electricity to some of the most challenging countries in Africa — geared to offering strong potential returns on investment while supporting humanitarian and social causes including clean energy, women’s empowerment, health, education, access to clean...
Investment #23 – Nano PharmaSolutions
The Problem Most drug candidates (>70%) are poorly soluble resulting in poor bioavailability. Many technologies (e.g. spray dry dispersion, hot melt extrusion, liposomal, nano emulsion, nano crystals, etc.) have been developed to address this solubility concerns in NCE. However, all of these methods use chemicals that become a part of the drug. This can lead to potential drug product toxicity...