The Power of Impact Investing: Putting Markets to Work for Profit and Global Good

“Impact investing can be a powerful instrument of change.”
—Judith Rodin, President, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Margot Brandenburg, in the introduction

A new wave of investors is using impact investing to address some of the greatest challenges of our time—from climate change and water scarcity to lack of access to health care, education, and affordable housing—with the intention of also generating a financial return.

This couldn’t happen at a more critical time. While philanthropy continues to be a transformative force for good, global philanthropic funds, even when combined with the development or aid budgets of many national governments, add up to mere billions of dollars. Meanwhile, the cost of solving the world’s problems runs into the trillions.

In The Power of Impact Investing, Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin and Margot Brandenburg, two of the foremost experts in the field, explain what impact investing is, how it compares to philanthropy and traditional investments, where opportunities are evolving around the world, and how to get started.

By sharing moving stories of impact investors and the exciting social enterprises benefiting from these investments, Rodin and Brandenburg offer a compelling resource for anyone interested in better understanding the power of impact investing—including retail investors, high-net-worth individuals, and heads of family offices, foundations, banks, and pension funds—while also offering experienced impact investors an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and benefit from the perspectives of other investors.

Judith Rodin is president of the Rockefeller Foundation, one of the world’s leading philanthropic organizations. Since joining the Foundation in 2005, Dr. Rodin has recalibrated its focus to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Prior to the Rockefeller Foundation, she was the president of the University of Pennsylvania and provost of Yale University. Dr. Rodin is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and earned her PhD in Psychology from Columbia University.

Margot Brandenburg was formerly senior associate director at the Rockefeller Foundation, where she managed its impact investing initiative. She is currently a fellow at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, where she is working on the launch of several social enterprise start-ups. She also chairs the board of Brooklyn Cooperative Credit Union and is adjunct faculty at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

For more than 100 years, the Rockefeller Foundation’s mission has been to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Today, the Rockefeller Foundation pursues this mission through dual goals: advancing inclusive economies that expand opportunities for more broadly shared prosperity, and building resilience by helping people, communities, and institutions prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. To achieve these goals, the Rockefeller Foundation works at the intersection of four focus areas (advance health, revalue ecosystems, secure livelihoods, and transform cities) to address the root causes of emerging challenges and create systemic change. Together with partners and grantees, the Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot—or will not. To learn more, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.