Gingras Global Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 44

Battle Creek Community Foundation Embraces Impact Investing

Executives often use jargon when they talk about impact investing, sprinkling phrases like “social ROI” and “double bottom-line” into conversations on the topic.

One phrase you won’t hear us use, though, is “rescue mission,” says Gingras Global’s Managing Partner Romy Kochan.

That’s because impact investments, which are made with the intention of generating a measurable social benefit, are also expected to generate a financial return or, at a minimum, a return of capital to the investors.

“Impact investing is not about rescuing. It is about enhancing and empowering the good in others,” she says.

Romy Kochan sat down recently with her client, Battle Creek Community Foundation CEO Brenda Hunt, to talk about the Cereal City’s embrace of impact investing, including the foundation’s decision to help fund the $30 million restoration of historic Heritage Tower and other projects that will spur small businesses and help reduce poverty.