Impact Capital Managers (ICM) is a membership association of impact-focused fund managers dedicated to strengthening practitioner performance and advancing the integrity of the private capital impact investing market. Its network includes more than 150 funds representing over $80 billion in assets deployed across 5,000+ companies globally. In collaboration with its affiliate, ICM Institute, the organization also contributes to field-building through research, education, and professional training initiatives.
With support from C3, Impact Capital Managers is facilitating the launch of a Catalytic Capital Community of Practice (CoP) in partnership with Prime Coalition and Rhia Ventures. The effort is unique among C3’s network partners because it focuses on catalytic capital intermediaries rather than on investors directly. The CoP brings together intermediaries working at the frontier of catalytic, impact-first, and concessionary capital, giving practitioners a space to align on definitions, share tools, and strengthen the infrastructure supporting this growing field.
The CoP serves three stakeholder groups: managers of catalytic or impact-first capital; capital orchestrators, or “financial backbone” organizations; and nonprofits structured to receive and deploy charitable capital. It aims to connect these practitioners with one another and with investors and others across the field. Other networks can adopt the tools, frameworks, and guidance the CoP produces to increase their collective impact.
In 2026, ICM formed a founding steering committee with Prime Coalition, Rhia Ventures, and Blue Haven Initiative and surveyed prospective members to shape the community’s scope. The CoP is now developing a shared glossary of catalytic capital terms and criteria for membership, and it plans to convene its founding cohort in early 2027. ICM is facilitating the launch, but the goal is a durable community shaped by its practitioners and independent of ICM.
“In their pursuit of impact, catalytic capital intermediaries frequently take on risk that mainstream capital won’t, serving an essential role within the ecosystem. Yet they often work without shared language or tools,” said Marieke Spence, executive director of Impact Capital Managers. “With C3’s support, we’re drawing on our experience building ICM’s own network to help launch a community these practitioners will lead on their own. The tools they incubate – like a shared glossary, or a roadmap of alternative corporate forms – will bring welcome clarity to not just ‘impact-first’ investors and intermediaries, but to all stakeholders in our field.”
For more on Impact Capital Managers, visit: https://www.impactcapitalmanagers.com/