Investing in a Better Future
The School of Business community believes that business has a unique ability to create transformational social, ecological and economic impact.
This belief is a core aspect of our mission. Our students seek out opportunities to explore this responsibility - both inside and outside of the classroom.
In 2018, four PSU graduates of the MSF program approached The School of Business Dean, Cliff Allen, with a proposition. They wanted to research trends in impact investing and the role it could play in addressing emerging environmental, economic and social issues. They painted a compelling case for how an impact investing program could fit at the school, in Portland and across a broader region.
Today the fund is managed by PSU graduate students in the MBA and MSF programs as well as students in the social innovation certificate program in collaboration with active investment groups and funds such as the Alliance of Angels, E8, the Keiretsu Forum Northwest, the Portland Seed Fund, and TiE Oregon. Students participated in a multi-term course where they learn and apply skills of investing and managing the Impact Investment Fund Portfolio, including report outs to donors.
In keeping with our mission, Impact Ventures invests in high-potential, regional start-ups that provide a strong financial return while making a positive environmental or social impact on the world around us.
How it Works
Impact Ventures is a student-led social good investment process based on a co-investment model, with investment rounds led by professional organizations.
- Students, partners and investment committee source deals.
- Students evaluate deals based on criteria.
- Students perform deep due diligence on select companies.
- Investment committee receives proposal and listens to student presentation.
- Investment committee decides to invest or pass.
Ways to Get Involved
Join an Investment Committee
The School of Business is currently seeking professionals with experience in early stage investing and/or impact assessment to serve as mentors to the PSU graduate students leading this project. Your expertise and time will be used to evaluate student pitches, assess fund performance and provide advice and ideas to students.
Become an Investment Partner
Join the Oregon Venture Fund, Portland Seed Fund and Keiretsu Forum as investment partners of Impact Ventures. If you or your business is interested in learning more about this unique partnership, please contact Cliff Allen.
Make a Gift
Your gift to Impact Ventures makes an important impact in the trajectory of students' careers as well as in our community by providing critically needed starting capital. Gains on the portfolio will be reinvested into the program itself and into scholarships within The School of Business, creating a self-sufficient model for this innovative program.
- Goal: $1M
- Currently Invested: $150K (approximately)
Student Profile
Alexis Nelson
Current Investment Committee Member and Student Advisor
By the time Alexis Nelson decided to pursue a Master of Science in Finance (MSF), she already had an impressive list of accomplishments: an MBA, experience in the investment management industry and a successful adventure-focused business, LifeCycle Adventures. With a solid passion for business and extensive experience, Alexis needed a program that would challenge her and help her begin her next chapter.
At PSU, she came across a story about the increasing popularity of impact investing at universities. This gave her an idea for her graduate capstone project - how The School of Business could start an impact investing fund. Alexis leveraged her startup experience and learnings from her MSF to help set up a program designed to build social equity alongside profit.
"I knew that this project could help me satisfy my entrepreneurial drive, challenge myself in a new way and learn more about the venture capital and startup landscape in Portland," she says, "This program can add huge value to the local startup community"