Ceniarth’s Impact-First Portfolio Is Not Making Money. That’s the Point.

In a commentary for ImpactAlpha, Ceniarth reports on four years of impact-first transactions designed to deliver value to vulnerable and marginalized communities, while preserving and recycling resources to cover expenses and a reasonable rate of inflation.

“Unlike those in the mainstream impact market attempting to convince financial investors that impact has alpha, or at a minimum does not drag on returns, we have always believed that deep impact, particularly on poverty, has a clear cost and trade-off,” write Ceniarth‘s Diane Isenberg and Greg Neichin. “Our thesis has been simply that for philanthropic funders motivated by impact-first, these types of investments can be made on a real dollar, breakeven basis.”

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